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 (),…

Halloween was once a holy day to remember the dead. Over the centuries it became secularized into a holiday marked by dressing in costumes mimicking the dead and concealing our living identities. This Sunday’s mass readings are a good opportunity…

There’s a bit of deja vu in this week’s gospel reading. Jesus repeats the same question he posed in last week’s reading: “What do you want me to do for you?” The answers to his question in both cases are…

Jesus gave us many parables by which to gauge and change our behavior. His story-telling has influenced authors for centuries and explains why we can still find great truths in all forms of fiction. As we approach Halloween we’ll be…

All of us who pray are psalmists at heart. Our prayers to God tend to have all the elements of the Psalms that the faithful have prayed for millennia—including Jesus. According to a book Father Pete is using in his…

Human couplings have a long history of decoupling, dating back to the first—Adam and Eve. Their divorce was from their creator and it set off a long chain of discord that continuously amped-up the consequences of that separation among human…

By the time Pope Francis reads this Sunday’s gospel to a congregation attending his mass in Philadelphia, he will have toured the U.S. Capitol and met Americans of every belief system—all of whom hope his teachings reflect their beliefs. Some…

The problem with people is our sense of entitlement. The next time you feel deserving of a favor from God, think of the Prodigal Son story. This son, one of two, set off to escape his humdrum life. To fund…