“So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us” (1 Thess. 2:8). Open […]
Learn more“O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Rom. 11:33). There was a time in the life of the Church when bishops were chosen […]
Learn more“Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matt. 22:21). For the Roman Emperor, a coin, a medium of exchange, was an opportunity for propaganda. Pick it […]
Learn more“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice” (Phil. 4:4). When St. Paul sat down to write a letter to one of the churches, in Rome or Corinth or Philippi (as in our second reading today), […]
Learn more“You will see greater things than these” (Jo. 1:50). That’s what Jesus tells Nathanael when Philip brings him to meet the Messiah. Jesus tells him that before Philip called him, he had seen him under the fig tree. […]
Learn more“Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Phil. 1:27). St. Paul brings into bold relief the principal point he wants to make in our reading today. Without the benefit of italic, underlining, […]
Learn more“Peter came and said to Jesus, “Lord, if another… sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times” (Matt. 18:20). Peter’s […]
Learn more“For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them” (Matt. 18:20). Jesus doesn’t talk much about the Church: he calls his followers “disciples” (Matt. 10:24) and even “friends” (Jo. 14:15), but rarely […]
Learn more“Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer” (Rom. 12:12). St. Paul takes us out to the margin today, in our reading from Romans: to the boundary between the present and the future. The past is […]
Learn more“We, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another” (Rom. 12:5). In our Gospel reading this morning, Jesus makes a not quite solitary mention of the “church”: “on this rock […]
Learn more“When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God upon this mountain!” (Ex. 3:12). When Moses encountered God at the burning bush, as he does in our reading tonight, God laid out an agenda. […]
Learn more“Woman, great is your faith!” (Matt. 15:28). Faith is basic to the Christian life, so we ought not to be surprised that Jesus is talking about it in our Gospel today. Faith is trust in God: confidence on […]
Learn more“You of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matt. 14:31). So, how much faith is enough? How much faith do we really need? Is it possible to have a little faith, but not enough? We know that Jesus […]
Learn more“Do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions” (Rom. 6:12). Bob Dylan must have been channeling St. Paul when he wrote, “You’re gonna have to serve somebody.” That line is […]
Learn more“So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matt. 10:31). Fear figures large in our Gospel today: in fact it’s mentioned three times by Jesus, as he sends out his disciples in mission. […]
Learn more“As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven” (2 Kgs. 2:11). There are some weird weather patterns where the […]
Learn more