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Of all the miracles Jesus performed this is the only miracle found in all four gospels. The Early Church must have thought this story was indispensable in the lives of people. They just had to tell this story. In fact, it is found twice in the Gospel of Matthew.

Opening lines are very telling. This is the opening line of today’s gospel account: When Jesus heard that Herod had beheaded John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. ...

You may or may not have noticed, but there is a connection between today’s 1^st reading (1 Kg. 3:5-12) and the gospel (Mt. 13:44-52). It is deliberately set up that way from week to week in the Lectionary. In these two readings we are deterred from seeking or settling for anything that is 2^nd best, superficial, or mediocre. These Scripture readings rail against dumbing down your life to some low-stub-your-toe-run-of-the-mill kind of spirituality. What they do, instead, is invite you ...

Have you ever wanted to say something biting to someone, but at the last minute decided against it, and later on were really glad that you showed some restraint? Did you ever label someone as an enemy only to discover, with the passage of time, that same person as an ally? Did you ever want to cut someone out of your life, but you did not and were glad you did not burn what would later become an important bridge in your life? These readings, especially ...

The Parable of the Sower of the Seeds is one of the classic parables.  Parables seemed to be Jesus’ preferred way of teaching.  All parables, including today’s, have these four things in common: 1) They always bring out a truth, not a scientific or historical, more a mythical truth.  Think of when you were a child and your parents read you a fairy tale.  They were not true as far as talking foxes go or trolls living under bridges go, ...

There are two Old Testament prophets of the O.T. who had particularly keen and powerful visions of a Messiah who was to come. One is the Prophet Isaiah that we hear a lot about during Advent. He lived about 700 years before the birth of Jesus. He speaks about what seems to be impossible scenarios like a lion and lamb lying down together (lions eat lambs the last time I checked); a baby putting his hand in a snake’s den and the snake not harming it ...