The Israelites were cranky. They had witnessed all that God had done for them — the ten plagues in Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the gift of manna, the sending of quail. They still complained: “What have you done for me lately?” We all can get so obsessed about the particular problem in… Read More »

The initial foray of the people of Israel fleeing slavery in Egypt trying to enter the Promised Land was a bridge too far. When they saw the inhabitants of the region they said, We felt like mere grasshoppers. Because they had such low self-esteem they could not imagine being able to occupy the land of… Read More »

In the Book of Exodus the wife of Moses is Zipporah, daughter of the priest of Midian. In the Book of Numbers we read this:  Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses on the pretext of the marriage he had contracted with a Cushite woman. The Cush were an African people, not Semites like the Midianites. Did… Read More »

Sometimes you just have a bad day. Things get overwhelming, you fell like you’re carrying more than you can bear, you want the world to just go away. Moses felt that way. I cannot carry all this people by myself, for they are too heavy for me. Jesus felt that way. When Jesus heard of the… Read More »

A group of parishioners from my former parish once visited the Holy Land. When I asked the highlights of the trip I expected to hear about Nazareth or Bethlehem. Instead, they gushed about the fact that after traveling around the country when they returned to Jerusalem they found a KFC restaurant. They were ecstatic at… Read More »

The Weekly Sabbath is the heart of Jewish religious practice producing, in Abraham Heschel’s memorable phrase, “a cathedral of time.” The book of Leviticus also calls for a Sabbath year — every seven years the land should lie fallow to be given a chance to rest — and for a Year of Jubilee. When seven… Read More »

Besides sacred spaces there is a human need to create sacred times, times when we connect in a particular way to God. The Bible describes the sacred times for the Jewish people. The LORD said to Moses, “These are the festivals of the LORD which you shall celebrate at their proper time with a sacred… Read More »

St. Martha should be a particular patron for Americans. Like her we tend toward action, toward doing something. We judge ourselves and others, and others judge us, on what we have accomplished. This is true even with God — we figure we have to do something in order to get God into our life. We… Read More »

The commentator on the Olympics said that Katie Ledecky had swam over 21,000 miles in training before coming to the Olympics — she could have swam to Japan from her home! She dedicated herself completely to her goal. The parables of Jesus challenge us to have the same kind of dedication toward a life in… Read More »

The LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as one man speaks to another.  At times, I wish my prayer was like that — but it’s not. Often I have difficulty hearing what the Lord is saying to me. On a retreat a few years ago, Tony DeMello, SJ, called that encountering the… Read More »