“I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” These words of Jesus were central to the vision of the founder of my congregation, Fr. Thomas Judge, C.M.  Probably every founder, every missionary, every apostle (can’t you see St. Paul responding to those words!) wanted to “set… Read More »

Have you ever noticed that Jesus very often does not answer a question directly?  When Peter asks “Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?” Jesus goes on a seeming digression about the “faithful and prudent steward.” “Who is my neighbor?” “A man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho…” “You do not have a… Read More »

St. Paul said, “Where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more.” That word of encouragement should be taken to heart. How easy it is to notice that things seem to be going from bad to worse. That was as true in Paul’s time as in our own. But the Apostle wanted us to understand that… Read More »

Jesus says we need to be “rich in what matters to God.” That brings to mind an image from St. Dorotheus of Gaza. He said that God is at the center of a circle and all of humanity is arrayed around God on the rim of the circle. When we move down the radius to… Read More »

You don’t have to worry about Caesar getting what belongs to Caesar. Caesar, which is to say the Feds, the Government, the Man, the IRS, the Brass, the Powers-that-be will get what belongs to them. You can be sure of that. They will try to get even something more than what belongs to them. Caesar… Read More »

Dom Helder Camara was one of the towering figures of the post-Vatican II Church. He was a bishop in Brazil who proclaimed a vision of a more just and peaceful world. He envisioned the agents bringing about that vision as the “Abrahamic minorities.” This image flows out of  St. Paul who urges on believers, “the… Read More »

St. Paul wrote to the Romans to describe the understanding of the gospel of Jesus as he had been preaching it. One term that he stresses is “credited as righteousness.” He wants to dispute the idea that the grace of God is “worker’s wage … credited not as a gift, but as something due.” Righteousness… Read More »

The founder of my religious congregation, Father Thomas Judge, C.M.,  worried over the newly arriving Italian immigrants losing their Catholicism. With little pastoral care for these immigrants they were “leaking” from the Church. Since they were from a traditionally Catholic country they should have the Faith as a birthright. We tend to think this way:… Read More »

In St. Luke’s gospel Jesus sends the disciples out in pairs. Pope Gregory the Great has an interesting take on why. It was not so much that they would have companions on the journey, holding hands and singing kumbaya. Rather, the presence of another would provide the opportunity for the disciples to practice forgiveness, to… Read More »

For the next four weeks the readings for the day will be taken from St. Paul’s letter to the church at Rome. Since he did not know this church he used the letter as an introduction, setting out his understanding of the gospel. For example, we find in chapter 1 a reference to the “wrath”… Read More »