In this Sunday’s readings we celebrate the examples set by John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ in one shared sacramental act. We also witness two different styles of outreach in John and Jesus. In 21st century terms, these styles…
This Sunday we celebrate the epiphany of the Lord. This celebration is called THE epiphany, but it isn’t the only one our Lord inspired. He works through his people by epiphanies. They happen every day, just as miracles do—below our…
Visiting my parents’ grave on Christmas Eve, I realized something about the gravestone inscription that hadn’t hit me until then. When my father chose the epitaphs for my mother and himself, he didn’t use occupations or accomplishments to help visitors…
When people mention “Baltimore Catechism” it’s usually in some derogatory way—either as “old-school” and naïve or simplistic and irrelevant. But one of the core questions in that catechism asks “Why did God make me?” The answer goes, “God made me…
As children we tend to love teachers who are nice, offer lessons we can easily understand, and grade on a generous curve. By the time we’re adults and we’ve learned a bit more of what life has to teach us,…
Prophets have been preparing us for Christ’s coming for centuries, as we see in this Sunday’s readings. In our gospel passage (Lk 3:1-6), Luke tells how John the Baptist fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy of a voice crying out in the desert:…
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…
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…
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,…
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 (),…