At first it seems hard to explain the hostility that Jesus aroused. He was “meek and humble of heart,” after all. An observation from the Book of Wisdom might help provide an explanation: The wicked said among themselves, “Let us beset the just one, because he sets himself against our doings.” How easy it is… Read More »

The cover of the current issue of Time magazine asks the question: is truth dead? In what is know as the “post-modern” mentality we easily accept that there are differing opinions. The problem with that way of thinking is that some things are not a matter of opinion but of facts. It doesn’t matter what… Read More »

The modern awareness of the harm done (to both men and women) by patriarchy has been one of the blessings of our age. With some justification, the Bible has been accused of promoting, or at least excusing, patriarchy. However, a careful reading of the Bible explodes the myths of patriarchy. For example, there are feminine… Read More »

Excuses. Excuses. Jesus asked the blind man, “Do you want to be well?” He never answered the question. Instead he gave all of the excuses justifying why he wasn’t well. I wonder if something similar happens in our own spiritual life. Jesus asks of us: Do you want to be holy? Do you want to… Read More »

St. John does not focus on the miracles of Jesus. He only records a few and calls them “signs.” It is not the miracle (the show of divine power) that interests the evangelist but a deeper spiritual meaning in the event. The healing of the “royal official’s” son is reported by Matthew and Luke as… Read More »

“Is the Lord in our midst or not?” the scripture lesson asked last week. We get out of a warm bed on a Sunday morning, we gather as a people in this place because we believe that God is here. Today the scripture readings take us a step further. They ask, “Can we see that… Read More »

Mary could have said “no.” When the angel asked her to be the Mother of God she could have refused. God is not a tyrant, forcing people into obedience. God created humanity with free will so that we could respond with generous hearts to the divine plan. If Mary had said “no” the plan of… Read More »

On this date in 1980 Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated. As he was holding up the chalice during the mass, gunmen sent by the government of El Salvador shot him and killed him. His blood and the Blood of Christ mingled on the floor of the chapel. All this because the Archbishop dared to defend… Read More »

Once when I was in leadership I contacted an organization to help us think about how to raise funds for our missions. Their questions were like this: “how many thousands of people…” “How big was the….” “How frequently did you…” I did not feel comfortable with that starting point. I thought of Fr. Bob faithfully… Read More »

The common law, the anglo-saxon law that the USA inherited from England, approach is to think in terms of minimums. We have the fewest number of laws that are necessary to keep good order in society. The law in this way of thinking is a necessary evil for a civilized society. As long as you… Read More »