It is easy to recognize that St. John does not construct his gospel in the same way as the other evangelists. One way of looking at the structure is to see it as instruction on living the life of an Easter people. In chapter one Jesus calls the first disciples. In chapter two he shows… Read More »

The community of believers was of one heart and mind … they had everything in common… There was no needy person among them. St. Luke gives an idealized picture of the first generation of Christians. Reading between the lines of the Acts of the Apostles you can see that things did not operate quite as… Read More »

Thomas gets a bum rap. Oooh, Doubting Thomas, boo, hiss: but doubt is not a bad thing. If you think about it the opposite of belief is not doubt but certainty. Two plus two equals four. I don’t have to believe it because I am certain of it. However, most of life requires belief, faith,… Read More »

The way the Bible is set up causes us to miss some of the intent of St. Luke in writing a two volume work — the gospel that bears his name and the Acts of the Apostles. The Evangelist intended in doing so to highlight that the ministry of Jesus and the  life of the… Read More »

The preeminent Catholic theologian of the modern era was a German Jesuit named Karl Rahner. His thought can be  difficult to parse at times but in the end he bases everything on the experience of prayer that even the unlearned share. He wrote : “The Christians of the future will be a mystics, those who… Read More »

The days had been intense for the disciples of Jesus. The Last Supper, his arrest and trial, his torture and execution, his death and burial, and finally the appearance of the Risen Lord. You can easily imagine that the disciples were looking for things to calm down, to return to normal. So they went home… Read More »

Every now and then a particular text from scripture bites me. Today in the sermon of St. Peter he says, Now I know, brothers and sisters, that you acted out of ignorance, just as your leaders did. This is, of course, an echo of the word of Jesus from the cross: Father, forgiven them for… Read More »

For the past several months St. James has been using a program called Sycamore. The usual pattern for Catholics is to provide the catechism which has all the answers. Sycamore is designed so that those who attend can ask questions. In an age which calls itself “spiritual but not religious” the starting point has to… Read More »

When I was growing up the emphasis was on learning the catechism. As long as you knew the right answers you were in good shape. The problem with this approach was that the faith could remain theoretical, something in a book with little to do with life. Today the emphasis has shifted to having “a… Read More »

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce the news to his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. That this gospel is designated for the day Pope Francis died seems almost a commentary on his life. The Risen… Read More »