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 »

Moses chided Aaron for participating in the creation of the Golden Calf. Aaron responded: “The people gave gold jewelry to me, and I threw it into the fire, and this calf came out.” It reminds me of politicians who, confronted with some egregious activity, respond “Mistakes were made.” What Aaron and politicians — and all… Read More »

Somethings you only appreciate looking back. At the time you were miserable but later you saw that it did you good … things like your mother making you eat spinach; walking to school in three feet of snow, up hill, both ways; learning algebra. (Even looking back, I still am not sure what good learning… Read More »

St. Matthew’s Gospel has five long sermons — the best known being the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7. Matthew 13 is sometimes referred to as the Sermon in Parables. Parables were, of course, Jesus preferred manner of teaching. He most often did not present doctrine or catechism but stories. The meaning of these stories… Read More »

The Ten Commandments have seven “thou shalt NOTs” and three “thou shalt” — honor the Lord, honor the Lord’s Day, honor your parents. The emphasis seems to be on what we should not do more than on what we should do. Even the commandment to honor the Lord’s day — “Remember to keep holy the… Read More »

In the years immediately after Vatican Council older priests would come to the seminary for “updating.” They would learn the latest in Biblical scholarship and theological reflection. One priest came out of one session shaking his head and saying the words of Mary Magdalene:  “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they… Read More »

The “instruction before marriage” in the old liturgy contained this line: “Sacrifice is usually difficult and irksome. Only love can make it easy and perfect love can make it a joy.” While we ordinarily think of marriage as getting something — getting a partner for life — it also demands giving something up — “the… Read More »

The LORD saved Israel on that day from the power of the Egyptians. There is an ancient Jewish tale that at the Exodus the angels were rejoicing when they noticed God weeping. “Why do you weep? Your children of Israel are saved.” “Yes,” God answered, “but my children of Egypt are dead.” The Bible says that… Read More »

In The Ten Commandments Cecile B. DeMille creates a character, Dathan, to voice the opposition to Moses. While the character is fictional the idea is not. Some of the Hebrew children were frightened of what would be required of them to move toward freedom. “Far better for us to be the slaves of the Egyptians… Read More »

What is obvious are that people are different. People don’t look alike, they don’t talk alike, they don’t think alike. What faith teaches us is that those differences pale to insignificance in light of what we all have in common — we are all children of God, made in God’s image and likeness. As Christians… Read More »