Everyone learns in catechism that that “great commandment” of Jesus is to love God and love neighbor. I’m always struck by the fact that, at least the way St. Mark tells the story, the commandment is not to love but to hear. “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is… Read More »

St. Paul says, “stir into flame the gift of God that you have.” I like the idea of stirring into flame, of rekindling first love, of growing in ardor. But what struck me was that in order to heed the Apostle’s voice we need to know what our gift from God is. We all have… Read More »

On the feast of the Visitation you immediately notice the gift that Mary gave to her kinswoman, Elizabeth. She walked the ninety or so miles from Nazareth to Judea to support Elizabeth in her pregnancy. We should not overlook, however, the gift that Elizabeth gave to Mary — the gift of blessing. “Blessed are you… Read More »

I was struck by a phrase in the epistle — God bestowed upon us very great promises so that we “may come to share in the divine nature.” I was trying to image how I could share in the divine nature. I can’t create from nothing like God. I can’t redeem the world like God.… Read More »

For all of you old Latins out there this feast used to be called Corpus Christi. Back in the day, when I was growing up, St. Rose of Lima Catholic School had a grand procession on Corpus Christi (which was on a Thursday in those days) where we would honor the Blessed Sacrament at a… Read More »

The only citation of the Epistle of St. Jude in the lectionary occurs today. The epistle is only twenty-five verses long, after all. But the epistle does demonstrate a Trinitarian faith going back to New Testament times. “Build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the love… Read More »

One thing that becomes clear in the gospels is that Jesus was not “sweet.” Always loving, yes, but not sweet. Jesus driving the money changers out of the temple was a loving thing to do — calling people back to authentic worship — but no one would call that a “sweet” action. Any parent can… Read More »

Jesus asked the blind Bartimaeus a question: “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus addresses that same question to us. “What do you want me to do for you?” How do we answer? Bartimaeus asked for a personal healing. “Lord, I want to see.” While there is certainly nothing wrong with seeking… Read More »

St. Mark portrays the apostles as particularly dense. After Jesus talked about his suffering and death, James and John asked for high places in the kingdom. It reminds me of the all to human tendency to look at everything through the lens of “what’s in it for me.” There was a book a few years… Read More »

“Be holy.” How are we to obey that Biblical command? What does it mean to be holy? Does it mean we say more prayers, go to Church more often, obey the commandments more faithfully? While these might be good things to do, they do not make us holy. My favorite definition of holiness: holiness happens… Read More »