Someone asked me on Sunday, “why poor in spirit? Don’t we want to be rich in Spirit, to be full of Spirit?” Since the first of the Beatitudes of Jesus proclaims a blessing in being poor in spirit the question is an important one. I was reminded of the story Jesus told of the Pharisee… Read More »

The Gospel of Luke was written in Greek and sometimes the English translation does not capture the intensity of the story the way St. Luke told it. The story of the widow of Nain is an example. The ordinary English translation says something like: “When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for… Read More »

I am not a big fan of most movies which depict Bible stories. But one very positive effect of the current batch of movies is to humanize the characters. They are shown walking through real streets with all of the chaos of society and they speak in contemporary idiom instead of lofty “Biblical” language. When… Read More »

The scripture readings assigned for today’s feast of the Sacred Heart use the image of a shepherd as the model of mercy. People in Bible times knew what shepherds were like, and could relate to that image. Me, I grew up in a row home in Baltimore. What did I know about shepherds? Recently I… Read More »

Everyone learns in catechism that that “great commandment” of Jesus is to love God and love neighbor. I’m always struck by the fact that, at least the way St. Mark tells the story, the commandment is not to love but to hear. “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is… Read More »

St. Paul says, “stir into flame the gift of God that you have.” I like the idea of stirring into flame, of rekindling first love, of growing in ardor. But what struck me was that in order to heed the Apostle’s voice we need to know what our gift from God is. We all have… Read More »

On the feast of the Visitation you immediately notice the gift that Mary gave to her kinswoman, Elizabeth. She walked the ninety or so miles from Nazareth to Judea to support Elizabeth in her pregnancy. We should not overlook, however, the gift that Elizabeth gave to Mary — the gift of blessing. “Blessed are you… Read More »

I was struck by a phrase in the epistle — God bestowed upon us very great promises so that we “may come to share in the divine nature.” I was trying to image how I could share in the divine nature. I can’t create from nothing like God. I can’t redeem the world like God.… Read More »