A dear friend is a fisherman. Since I don’t get how enjoyable fishing is to him he explained that fishing helped him to be a better follower of Jesus. After all, his first followers were fisherman. He described three characteristics of fisherman that made them fit followers of Jesus. First, they go where the fish… Read More »

The expression in English “the writing is on the wall” has its roots in the story from the Book of Daniel. It means a warning of impending problems. Because of global warming the writing is on the wall about rising sea levels. Because of increasing partisanship the writing is on the wall about government inaction.… Read More »

“Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?” Speculation about the end times goes back to beginning times. We want to know how the story is going to come out. But Jesus suggests that we resist such speculation. He wants us to live in… Read More »

The first reading for the last week of the Church’s year is from the Book of Daniel. This is not considered a prophetic book in the Hebrew Bible but one of the “writings.” The book is not a report of the actions of a historical prophet like Isaiah and Jeremiah but a novelistic reflection on… Read More »

All the history buffs out there will recall that the climactic battle of the War for American Independence occurred at Yorktown in 1781.  The upstart American army led by General George Washington trapped the pride of the British military forces and compelled them to surrender.  The rag-tag Americans were so ill equipped that many didn’t… Read More »

Jesus told us that God is God not “of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” As we come to the end of the month of November, the time to remember our beloved departed, that reminder provides consolation. Life is not merely a biological fact, a certain combination of chemicals and… Read More »

The books of the Maccabees are not included in the Hebrew Bible. However, the story of the Maccabees is well remembered. Brave men and women, zealous for the law, revolted against those who would destroy their religion. The culmination of this revolutionary movement was the re-taking of the temple and then rededicating it for its… Read More »

There are certain basics in the spiritual life, elements that must be present for a genuine relationship with God. Gratitude is one of them for when we give thanks we are putting the focus where it should be — off of us and onto God. The story of Jesus curing the ten lepers illustrates this… Read More »

St. Luke’s version of the “parable of the talents” uses gold coins to talk about the property to be invested.  We usually look at this story from the point of view of those who received the money invested. What shifts when we see things from the viewpoint of the investor? Making an investment is really… Read More »

The books of the Maccabees describes a time of great trial in Israel. The Greek conquerors tried to impose a common religion on their realm and there was violent resistance from the Jewish people. Eventually they won their independence but there was terrible suffering during the war. There are many stories in the books about… Read More »