Only three birthdays are celebrated in the liturgy: Jesus, Mary and John the Baptist. Pretty elite company! This reflects the important place that John the Baptist played in the history of salvation. The sermons in the Acts of the Apostles testify to this. The writings of the Fathers of the Church look on John as… Read More »

We have been reading the Old Testament lessons telling the story of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah for the past few weeks. They end today with the account of the conquest of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and the exile of the people. The Gospel account of the Sermon on the Mount also concludes today… Read More »

Around the year 622 B.C. “the book of the law” was found in the temple in Jerusalem. (Perhaps this book was an early version of the Book of Deuteronomy?) King Josiah took this find as the model on which to base the reforms he was instituting in the kingdom of Judah. The need to reform,… Read More »

The deliverance of Jerusalem from the Assyrian army of Sennacherib around the year 700 B.C. was prophesied by Isaiah. This led to a popular opinion that God would protect the Holy City against the enemies of Judah. “Mount Zion, is the city of the great King. God is with her castles; renowned is he as… Read More »

Human beings like explanations, like to link up cause and effect. When the Northern Kingdom of Israel was destroyed and taken into exile in 721 B.C. by the Assyrians (i.e., the Iraqis — some conflicts are perennial) the Biblical author explained the catastrophe as a result of the people of the northern tribes (now we… Read More »

Sometimes it’s a matter of asking the right question. Einstein claimed that the theory of relativity developed because he asked, “What would it be like to ride on a beam of light?” The ancient Rabbi Hillel inspired modern-day politicians as diverse as Robert Kennedy and Ronald Reagan with the question: “If not us, then who?… Read More »

Jesus was not reluctant to supplement the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament with some commandments of his own. The Sermon on the Mount contains several of Jesus’ commandments; for example, “Thou shalt not worry.” Several times in Matthew 6 Jesus hammers home the point. “Stop worrying about tomorrow.” Obeying that commandment runs clean counter… Read More »

Back in the day the nuns would urge us to give a “spiritual bouquet” to someone on special occasions. We would make up a card where we would list all of the masses, communions, rosaries, prayers, etc. that we would offer for that individual. When I heard the words of Jesus, “store up treasures in… Read More »

It is one year since the massacre of the church goers at Mother Bethel AME Church in Charleston, S.C. The current pastor was interviewed on the news and the commentator was amazed that so many of the family and friends of the victims were ready to extend forgiveness to the gunman. “What would you say… Read More »

Elijah is take up to heaven in a horse-drawn fiery chariot. From this Biblical story arose the tradition that Elijah did not die and that he will return to once again bring the message of God into the world. The prophets spoke of Elijah’s return heralding a new age. Both John the Baptist and Jesus… Read More »