If we look for justice, on this side of heaven, we will probably die very disappointed. Whenever I hear of a child born with a permanent disability or born into an abusive household, or a child robbed of their childhood, or a child raised in squalor or a war zone, or in a refugee camp, it simply does not feel fair or just. Some things should be and can be corrected if we took the gospel seriously and loved our ...
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The Book of Job is one of the most interesting books in the Old Testament. Most scholars agree that the person of Job didn’t exist but that he represents every person who has ever suffered undeserved hardship. Job had everything: wealth, health and a large family to ensure his future legacy. He assumed his life was good because God had rewarded him for being loyal and for having lived a good and righteous life. (Satan argues that Job is only ...
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A question we may ask ourselves today is, who is Jesus, and especially, who is Jesus for me? Who do I think Jesus is? We remember that Jesus asked that question of his disciples just before he turned to go to Jerusalem and the fulfillment of his mission. It is the crucial question, and much depends on our answer. In the first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses is giving his last speech to the people before they enter ...
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Epiphany (from Greek for “appearance”) used to be one of the Great Feasts of the Liturgical calendar, along with Easter and Pentecost. The weeks following January 6th were called the Sundays “after Epiphany” and the season extended to Ash Wednesday. This is my excuse for still writing about Epiphany, the feast that traditionally celebrated St. Paul’s mission to the Gentiles. Paul’s mission was fiercely opposed by some of the other apostles who wanted to cling to the rites and traditions ...
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This is the only time, in the Church’s three-year cycle of readings, that we hear from the Book of the Prophet Jonah. The Book of Jonah is also one of the shortest books in the entire Bible, yet, even at that, we only get the Coles Notes version of the story today. I encourage you to read the entire book–all two pages of it– and you will discover so many truths about yourself and your faith journey.
Like last Sundays readings ...
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Jonah was a reluctant prophet to put it mildly. In that short book of the bible, a mere four chapters, we read his story. In the proclaimed excerpt, we do not hear of his initial reluctance to take on the task which God calls him to. Jonah was the guy who ended up in the belly of the big fish, traditionally a whale, when he is thrown overboard by the sailors of the ship he has taken to elude God, ...
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Once again, the first reading and the gospel passage share a common theme; they are both stories of God calling someone. In that first reading from the Book of Samuel, the child, Samuel, with the help of Eli, the high priest, discovers that God is actually speaking to him. Similarly, in the gospel of John, we have Jesus calling his first disciples. While these are stories of “calling,” they are, more importantly, stories of “discernment” on behalf of the one ...
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In Christus vivit, Pope Francis’ response to the 2018 Youth Synod, he writes “All the faithful, whatever their condition or state, are called by the Lord, each in his or her own way, to that perfect holiness by which God is perfect.”
There have been times when I have willfully ignored the place to where I was called because it seemed too far out of sync with what I wanted or where I was situated at that moment; but more often ...
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“This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.”
There are few occasions that this line has been repeated in the gospels. Among the many lessons hidden in those few words, is the one that teaches us what pleases God. Jesus’ baptism happened before his public ministry. Up to this point in his earthly life, while he was being baptized, Jesus had done nothing extraordinary yet: no miracles, no great speeches, no massive conversions. He had spent thirty years ...
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As we come to an end in our church’s Christmas celebration, let’s all take a moment to reflect on the greatness of all that has just occurred. Before Jesus’ birth, angels descended upon Mary and Joseph and told them who their son would be. At his birth, the shepherds and the Magi recognized and accepted Jesus as the Messiah. And here we are at his baptism, where Jesus fully accepts that he is God’s son, this being a pivotal moment ...
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