“Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” These words, addressed to Mary by Elizabeth, are a challenge to each of us. Do we have the same belief, the same trust in God? Do we trust that if we seek first the kingdom of God and… Read More »

Jesus left us certain commandments — “turn the other cheek,” “love your enemies,” “give to everyone who asks of you” — that we have to respond to. Sometimes we respond like Zachariah with doubt and skepticism about the possibility. Sometimes (hopefully, often) we respond like Mary and ask for more information to help us understand… Read More »

There was a news item the other day that a group of Republicans are calling themselves the “Abraham Lincoln Republicans.” They are going back into their history to understand who they are and what they stand for. The New Testament does something similar to this — looking at the history of Israel to understand what… Read More »

St. Matthew begins the Gospel by framing the birth of Jesus with a quote from Isaiah: “They shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” He ends his gospel with Jesus telling his disciples “I will be with you always.” The evangelist wants us to understand that “God is with us” not only… Read More »

Several features of the genealogy of Jesus as recorded by St. Matthew stand out. First, the list is not reluctant to point out the less than stellar ancestors of Jesus. Matthew deliberately mentions some women in the list, including a woman who seduced her father-in-law, a prostitute, a pagan, an adulterer. The evangelist doesn’t need… Read More »

In the Book of Numbers we meet Balaam, called a prophet even though he is not a Jew. In giving his oracle he proclaims it to be “the utterance of the man whose eye is true; the utterance of one who hears what God says and knows what the Most High knows.” Quite a claim!… Read More »

Picture this. I’m the oldest. My siblings are coming into the house from outside. I say to them: Wipe your feet. What they hear is “wipe your feet because if you don’t you’re an ignorant slob and you deserve a beating.” Next scene. My sibling are coming into the house from outside. My sister is… Read More »

The Christmas season has been co-opted by society to be the time when we are “laughing all the way” and have “Oh, what fun.” Of course the Christian roots of the season offer “tidings of comfort and joy” but always because of where the birth of Jesus inevitably leads — to our salvation, which is… Read More »

If they criticized Jesus you can be pretty sure they will criticize you as well. No matter what you do there will be naysayers out there. ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’ Such attitudes are not helpful in spreading the gospel.… Read More »

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.” The great African bishop, St. Augustine, preached a sermon about Mary where he reminded the congregation that Mary was a member of the Church,… Read More »