A recent best seller called Cold Mountain told the story of a family during the Civil War. While the story it tells is fiction, it reflects a historical period. You get to feel something of what those who lived through the war experienced in this historical fiction. The Book of Daniel in the Bible does… Read More »
NOVEMBER252019
There is a famous story in my religious community when we first went to Mexico. The parish was in a very poor area and the new pastor was going around visiting the people to get to know them. One elderly woman slipped a few pesos into the priest’s hands as he was leaving. She whispered… Read More »
NOVEMBER242019
During the recent family trip to England my sisters were very interested in the life of the royals. Because of Princess Di and Megan Markel they wanted to visit the palaces and castles and estates associated with the Windsors. We saw gold and jewels and furs and art and statues from the age of opulence.… Read More »
NOVEMBER232019
One of the limitations in human thought is that we inevitably think in terms of time. When we are confronted by the mystery of death we naturally suppose that time is at work. There is a before death and an after death. Jesus instructs us that God is not limited in that way. “God is… Read More »
NOVEMBER222019
Sacred places were important to the Maccabees. After they retook Jerusalem from the pagan overlords they re-dedicated the temple as THE sacred space of the Jews. We remember that re-dedication to this day in the feast of Hanukkah. Jesus thought the sacred space of the temple was important and needed defending from those who were… Read More »
NOVEMBER212019
As you come down the Mount of Olives walking toward the walled city of Jerusalem you come upon a small chapel called by its Latin name, Dominus Flevit (the Lord wept.) There is a beautiful panorama of the city from the chapel and you can imagine that this was the place where Jesus “saw the… Read More »
NOVEMBER202019
Both St. Matthew and St. Luke report Jesus telling the parable of the talents. St. Luke has a “backstory” to the parable. The person bestowing the talents petitions the emperor to be named king. “His fellow citizens, however, despised him and sent a delegation after him to announce, ‘We do not want this man to… Read More »
NOVEMBER192019
The Books of Maccabees report a revolt of the Jewish people against their Greek overlords in 160 B.C. The Greeks sought to create unity in their empire by promoting a common religion. This was, of course, anathema to the Jews who held onto their ancient faith. Even though these books did not make it into… Read More »
NOVEMBER182019
There is a poignant exchange between Jesus and the blind beggar on the road to Jericho. Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He replied, “Lord, please let me see.” You can understand the request that the blind man made. I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if… Read More »
NOVEMBER172019
What is time? On the one hand time is self-evident. This happens and that that happens and then the next thing happens. We are moving through time. However, physicists say that time only exists on the psychological level, not in reality. Philosophers have been wrestling with the meaning of time without any resolution for thousands… Read More »
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