We hear the term “body of Christ” so often (every time we receive Holy Communion) that the richness of the term can be obscured. For St. Paul “body” was the best image of the Church on three levels. First, a body to be a body must be one, must be whole, must be a unity… Read More »

St. Paul says: “I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you.” The process of receiving the faith from those who have gone before and then handing it on is known as tradition. As Tevye the milkman says in Fiddler on the Roof “Because of our traditions each of us knows who… Read More »

September 11. That date will always be associated in the minds of Americans with evil. While the enormity of that sin is obvious for all to see, the power of sin is also at work in our lives in a less dramatic fashion. That is why the call to repentance is such an important part… Read More »

“You are what you eat,” my mother used to tell me. She was trying to get me to put down the potato chip and pick up an apple. St. Paul has something similar in mind when he says, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ?… Read More »

The Olympics were not the only games held by the Greek states in ancient times. In non-Olympic years athletes would gather at Corinth (which is on an Isthmus) for what were know as the Isthmian games. Since St. Paul was a tent maker he had lots of business during the games. The apostle took the… Read More »

Social scientists ask: is it nature or nurture? Is how one turns out due to one’s genes or the way one was raised? The feast of the Birth of Mary suggests that both nature and nurture shape us. The scriptures describe Mary as part of a long history in Israel. Genealogies are listed to show… Read More »

We don’t know the exact words of Jesus. The New Testament was written thirty and more years after his death so we are dependent on the recollections of those who heard him. In addition, Jesus spoke in Aramaic and the Gospels are written in Greek so we are dealing with a translation of his words… Read More »

Jesus spent the night in prayer before he chose the twelve apostles. Always a wise move — to pray before making a major decision. You have to wonder what his criteria were in making the choice because, at first glance, the twelve do no look like the pick of the litter — Judas betrayed him,… Read More »

Being rich in mercy does not mean that anything goes. St. Paul, for example, when he hears of immorality in the Church at Corinth urges excommunication, “The one who did this deed should be expelled from your midst.” Certain behavior is expected of a follower of Jesus. However, Pope Francis stresses mercy in the Church… Read More »

When my mother would say “I’ve told you 10,000 time…” she would add, “hyperbole added for emphasis,” … that is unless she really had told me 10,000 times. Jesus reflected his Semitic culture in using hyperbole. “If you eye is your problem, pluck it out.” Hyperbole lies behind statements like the necessity of hating ones… Read More »