We should not stay away from our assembly,  as is the custom of some, but encourage one another. Of course we have all be condemned to stay away from the assembly during the pandemic. How we yearn for the day when we can once again gather as a community and raise our voices in joyful… Read More »

Because of the explanation of the Parable of the Sower we tend to concentrate on what happened to the seed. How was the word received? What obstacles exist to keep the seed from flourishing? But the parable as it was delivered was about the sower, not the seed. Jesus suggests that the sower’s job is… Read More »

The scripture readings for this day remind us that family relations can be complicated. On the one hand, it is in family that we receive the faith, the values, the morality that shapes our life. St. Paul says to Timothy:  I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your… Read More »

The conversion of St. Paul was a really big deal in the Church’s history, the only such feast in the liturgical year. St. Luke in the Acts of the Apostles tells the story three different times and Paul himself gives his take in the letter to the Galatians. The three accounts in Acts differ in… Read More »

Did you ever wonder if Mr. Zebedee was upset with Jesus? He had worked his whole life to build up his fishing business. He must have been pretty successful at it, able to hire on some help. No doubt part of the reason for that success was the presence of two strapping sons. Those extra… Read More »

St. Mark begins the gospel reporting on the large crowds that followed Jesus. He was not, however, universally admired. Almost from the beginning of his ministry the “Pharisees and Herodians” were conspiring against him. Even his family, those who would seemingly have been closest to him, were not fans.  His relatives said, “He is out… Read More »

After the initial success of Jesus’ preaching mission he establishes a core group as an embodiment of the new Israel that his ministry inaugurates. Jesus  appointed Twelve, whom he also named Apostles, that they might be with him and he might send them forth. Notice that the apostles have two roles: to “be with him”… Read More »

In St. Mark’s gospel Jesus is portrayed as having a large following. The crowds seem to pursue him not because of his message but because they think they will get something out of it — healing, wholeness, health. Even his disciples are somewhat clueless about the identity of Jesus. The demons know who he is:… Read More »

Melchizedek, without father, mother, or ancestry, without beginning of days or end of life, thus made to resemble the Son of God, he remains a priest forever. The emphasis the Letter to the Hebrews puts on Melchizedek seems somewhat puzzling. A priest has the role of lifting the people up into the presence of God.… Read More »

In his book, The Sabbath, Rabbi Abraham Heschel described the Sabbath as a “cathedral of time.” Just as we need sacred spaces to put us in the presence of God, so we must set aside time where our attention and focus is on God. Before the pandemic, the idea of sabbath rest was almost completely… Read More »