It may seem strange that on the first Sunday of Advent, a season we equate with joy by recalling the first coming of Christ, that our mass readings dwell on the second coming and the terror some may face as a result. These readings remind us there are two ways people will face the end […]

When we read or hear the gospels, it’s easy to picture the scenes in our head—like a motion picture. This Sunday’s readings lend themselves to that exercise, as dramatic as they are. In John’s gospel, for example, we have a tense courtroom confrontation between a prosecutor and the accused. The prosecutor is Pontius Pilate and […]

A great philosophical debate started a few centuries ago when someone asked: “If a tree falls in a forest but no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” Earthbound scientists thought that was an easy one, saying, “The falling of the tree or any other disturbance will produce vibration of the […]

Humanity’s faith in God is a miracle. He makes the little that we offer Him go a long way—without being showy about it. His most beautiful miracles in the Bible are displays of subtlety. In the book of Kings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/1kings/19), when Elijah stood on the mountain waiting for a message from God, it did not […]