How do you know when you are blessed? I googled a Christian website. Some of the answers: You know you are blessed when your prayers are answered. You know you are blessed when you and your loved ones are healthy. You know you are blessed when you needs are well provided for. You know you… Read More »

When the disciples saw the hungry crowd they thought in terms of what they didn’t have. “Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here in this deserted place?” Jesus asked them to focus on what they did have. “How many loaves do you have?” Once you see how blessed you are it can… Read More »

The way St. Mark tells the story, after the encounter with the Syro-phoencian woman Jesus started to think of his mission as including more than “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Jesus left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the… Read More »

How to deal with “those others” is a perennial question. At one end of the spectrum is Jesus’ initial response to the pagan woman. His mission, he asserted, was to the lost sheep of Israel. He said to her, “Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of… Read More »

The queen of Sheba witnessed Solomon’s great wisdom. The Biblical story of the Queen of Sheba has echoes in many cultures. Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Coptic, Yoruba legends all tell her story. The kings of Ethiopia claimed descendence from her and Solomon’s child. In more modern times there have been songs, plays, paintings, movies about the… Read More »

There was a book a few years ago, Jesus, the Pharisee, that pointed out that both Jesus and the Pharisees were trying to help ordinary people live God’s commands in their daily lives. Their differences can be summarized as minimalism versus maximalism. The Pharisees minimalist approach — what’s the least I have to do to stay… Read More »

Solomon said, “The LORD intends to dwell in the dark cloud; I have truly built you a princely house, a dwelling where you may abide forever.” Solomon apparently did not notice the contradictory nature of his statement. The LORD lives “in the dark cloud” and is not about to be limited or constrained by human… Read More »

Pope Francis has called Catholics to become “missionary disciples.” The founder of my religious congregation, Fr. Judge, had a similar idea when he said “Every Catholic is called to be an apostle.” For most of us the idea of being a missionary or being an apostle can be overwhelming. We’re not that confident in our… Read More »

My guess is the disciples were really happy when Jesus said it was time for a vacation. “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”  My guess is they were really disappointed when the crowds showed up and caring for them ruined their time away. Every parent can relate to the… Read More »

Ben Sirach, writing 800 or 900 years after the events, has high praise for David as the ideal king. Like the choice fat of the sacred offerings, so was David in Israel. He kind of glosses over the crimes that characterized David’s reign with a reminder that “the Lord forgave his sins.” This contradicts the… Read More »