Remember that in the pre-Vatican II liturgy the “last gospel” was proclaimed at every mass from the Prologue of St. John (John 1:1-18).  Part of the rite was to genuflect at the line “and the Word became flesh.” While it is certainly a good practice to reverence the Incarnation, the prologue as St. John wrote… Read More »

St. John in his epistle addresses “the children,” “the fathers,” and “the young men.”  He does not explicity address “the mothers” or “the young women.” Contrast that with St. Luke who goes out of his way to mention the presence of women in the life and mission of Jesus. Obviously Mary plays a major role… Read More »

The Epistle of St. John which we read in the days after Christmas has been chosen not so much as commentary on the events of Bethlehem themselves but because it reminds us of the effect that having God-with-us should have on the community. Welcoming and loving Jesus as God sharing our humanity implies expanding that… Read More »

Herod ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under. St. Matthew does not tell us if that order was carried out. He might have just been keeping this horrible action “off screen,” as it were. But perhaps the soldiers — or at least some of them… Read More »

What we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life. St. John in his epistle tells his readers why they should believe him when he talks about Jesus. He had experiences which convinced him that Jesus was “the Word of… Read More »

What does it mean to be a “holy family?” A theologian, Paul Tillich, once said: “This holiness is not their moral or cognitive or even religious quality but their power of pointing beyond themselves.” To be a holy family means to point beyond oneself, to learn it’s not about me.  Being a holy family does… Read More »

The Bible readings for our Christmas liturgy start off by addressing “the people who walked in darkness.” Hey, that’s us. We’re the people who walk in darkness. We’re in darkness because of a pandemic which just won’t go away. We’re in darkness because of a national unwillingness to deal with endemic racism. We’re in darkness… Read More »

“Go, tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD: Should you build me a house to dwell in? … The LORD reveals to you that he will establish a house for you. ” God told David, I’ve got news for you, buddy. You don’t do for me, I do for you. There is a human… Read More »

Every parent echoes the words of the people at the birth of John the Baptist. “What, then, will this child be?” Unfortunately all to often the answer becomes: “He could have been a prophet but air pollution in the neighborhood gave him asthma so he could not speak with authority.” “She could have been a… Read More »

Mary celebrates the coming birth of the two boys, Jesus and John the Baptist, with a prayer that, in English, we call the Magnificat. It reminds us that the presence of God we see in these births changes the way we look at the world. God has cast down the mighty from their thrones and… Read More »