(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) The Christian model of a good shepherd doesn’t make much sense to the casual reader. In this Sunday’s gospel reading (Lk 15:1-32), Jesus asks, “What man among you having a…

(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) Look up the name Onesimus in the dictionary and you’ll see it means “useful,” “helpful,” or “profitable.” Look it up in the Bible and, according to St. Paul, it means ‘slave.’ In…

(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) Theologian Thomas Merton wrote, “Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real.” But some biblical accounts make it seem like pride and humility are two sides of the same…

(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) God’s will is unstoppable. Even atheists recognize this. It’s why our legal system has something called an “Act of God defense,” when nature’s unpredictability causes hardships nobody could have foreseen…

(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) There’s as much mudslinging in the Bible as there is in our own modern lives. This is the art of insult and accusation, especially of the unjust variety. The aim…

(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) Religious leaders of all faiths have one thing in common. Their faith. Supplies of this precious asset may vary, but an abundance has led the faithful throughout history to do…

(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) For what profit comes to man from all the toil and anxiety of heartwith which he has labored under the sun?All his days sorrow and grief are his occupation;even at…

(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) This Sunday’s Mass is all about forgiveness. We are called to be as persistent in offering it as we are in asking for it. It’s a family trait—if you count…

(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) “Life is a journey, not a destination.” That bit of wisdom has been credited to Ralph Waldo Emerson, but what he actually wrote in a series of essays was: “To…

(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) Where is God? Up in the sky? If so, he’s out of our reach. What is God? A scary old guy who punishes and rewards? If so, we’re out of…