“If you had been here, my brother would not have died.” That accusation is thrown at Jesus twice the story of the raising of Lazarus – once by Martha and a second time by her sister, Mary. Its prominence in the story might tell us why St. John included the raising of Lazarus in his… Read More »

Someone recently pointed out the similarities between the home in Nazareth and Garden of Gethsemane. In the home a young girl responds to the will of God for her: “May it be done to me according to your word.” In the garden a weary prophet prays, “Not my will but yours be done.” Since the… Read More »

Jesus told the people, “You know me and also know where I am from.” It reminds me of saying back in the day, “I know where you’re coming from” as in “Those bell bottoms are really groovy.” “Yeah man, I know where you’re coming from.” The people could not imagine that could know where God… Read More »

There was a book published a few years ago, God: a Biography, by Jack Miles. Of course the book was more about how human beings think about and deal with God than any kind of biography of God. The author points out that there is development in our understanding of the divine nature. For example,… Read More »

St. Thomas Aquinas once observed that anything we say about God is more wrong than it is right. God is so much more than our limited language and thoughts that every image we have of God is incomplete. That is why the Bible can refer to God both in paternal and maternal ways. Jesus calls… Read More »

When Jesus asks the man who had been sick for 38 years if he wanted to be well the man answered by saying all the reasons he was not well. Like the sick man we have all our excuses made up on why we are not kinder, for forgiving, more generous. Contrast that with the… Read More »

When you read the lives of the saints there are many stories of miracle performed, of heroic missionary journeys, of austere penances, of courageous martyrdoms, of the formation of dyanmic communities, of political influence and/or defiance. The life of St. Joseph contains none of these. Instead he is described as the husband of Mary, as… Read More »

Seeing seems pretty straight forward. If there is enough light you look at something and you can see what it is. Maybe if your eyeballs are old you get some glasses or have cataracts removed to help bring things into focus. Simple, right? Maybe not. Did you notice last year NASA launched the James Webb… Read More »