The four gospel writers told the story of Jesus to lead us to faith. St. Matthew shaped his narrative to demonstrate that Jesus was the fulfillment of the hopes and dreams of the chosen people. Jesus is a new Moses leading the people not into the promised land but into the kingdom of heaven. He… Read More »

A common expression: How do you make God laugh? Tell God your plans. The Bible suggests that the reverse is also true: we find God’s plan laughable. Abraham found the plan of God that he and Sarah were to be parents in their old age laughable.  Abraham prostrated himself and laughed. Indeed, this promised son… Read More »

We can relate to the reaction of Zachariah and Elizabeth’s relatives and neighbors exclaiming at the birth of John, later to be the Baptist, “What, then, will this child be?” We can say that about every child because we recognize the infinite possibilities present. On Sunday,  seeing Seraphina rejoicing and celebrating at being back in… Read More »

It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram. The word “covenant” is one of the most important in the Bible. It says that God has entered into an unbreakable relationship with Abram, and through him the Chosen People, and eventually the “new covenant” with the Church. Entering into covenant God has… Read More »

God told Abram as he entered the promised land all the land that you see I will give to you. What God doesn’t mention to Abram in giving this promise is that at this time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were occupying the land. God was giving Abram the land that someone else occupied … which helps to… Read More »

For the next few weeks the daily Bible reading is taken from the stories of the patriarchs in the Book of Genesis. We start, of course, with Abram and Sarai — later, Abraham and Sarah. The story begins with Abram being told that in order to respond to what God wants of him he must… Read More »

How do you deal with a storm? A storm can knock out electricity and leave you in the dark. It can blow your balcony furniture down the block. It can send torrential rain so you can’t see where you’re driving. Storms can be times of terror. St. Mark’s gospel describes how the disciples of Jesus… Read More »

We are accustomed in the Church to hearing the Ten Commandments. Certainly Jesus as a faithful Jew would have known and obeyed them. However, Our Lord had some commandments of his own that we, his followers, must heed as well. We should be aware of the challenge of the commandments of Jesus. For example, Jesus… Read More »

St. Paul listing his litany of difficulties that he went through in his life as an itinerant missionary reminded me of a quote from a philosopher: “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” The Apostle’s “why” was his single-hearted devotion to Christ. His treasure was clear to him and so he was willing to… Read More »

Jesus appends to the Lord’s Prayer an additional saying: “If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you.” In doing so, he emphasizes the petition about seeking and giving forgiveness for “trespasses.” Forgiveness goes to the heart of a godly life. This text comes on the sixth anniversary of the massacre at… Read More »