As God’s children, we have many blessings. As Adam’s descendants we’ve accumulated many problems—all self created. God has always kept his laws simple for us. “Love me, love your neighbor.” But as today’s readings remind us, we always manage to…
Today’s readings give us the “GoodCop/BadCop” treatment in sending out the word of God. Paul, as usual, is the bad cop. He tells his men “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”…
Hollywood makes a lot of money on end-of-the-world movies, but why don’t they make an end-of-the-end-of-the-world story? Today’s second reading from Revelations is very cinematic, and the ultimate feel-good scenario. “The great distress” is over and the multitude of survivors…
Today’s first reading reminded me of a Chinese proverb: “Just as tall trees are known by their shadows, so are good men known by their enemies.” The disciples had powerful enemies—after all, they were the same ones who had Jesus…
Thomas was weird—judging by these readings, anyway. He was with the disciples before Jesus’ crucifiction, so he must have witnessed the miracles Jesus performed. Jesus even raised Lazarus from the dead. So why was it so hard for him to…
The footrace to Christ’s tomb ended with a startling revelation on that first Easter morning. Not only did Jesus rise from the dead, but so did all who believe in him. Peter, John and Mary of Magdala were the first…
Passion Sunday refers to Christ’s passion, but passion implies extreme emotion. We know how extreme emotions affect human beings. They can make people do nutty things. That’s evident from the way the people around Jesus behaved throughout today’s readings. We…
“Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new!” Today’s first reading from Isaiah is most appropriate for a mass that marks the first formal intention for our new…
The Prodigal Son is a classic morality play–one that’s so poignant that it proves one of Jesus’ most under-appreciated miracles was his ability to change hearts through the power of his words. Raising Lazarus from the dead was amazing, but…
One of the hardest tasks expectant parents face is choosing a name for their child. There are perennial favorites like John, Matthew or Michael for a boy and Mary, Susan or Sarah for a girl. Then there are those parents…