As St. Paul concludes his letter to the Romans he adds this thought: “I myself am convinced about you, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness.” He is addressing this to a community where there are tensions between the Jewish and Gentile Christians. He implies that if we have as our… Read More »

Christians have an ambiguous relationship with our church buildings. On the one hand are minds and hearts are lifted up to God when we enter into a beautiful church like St. Peter’s in Rome. You feel the presence of the sacred. On the other hand, church buildings are not essential to being church. After all,… Read More »

Jesus would talk to the scribes and pharisees in one way and talk to his disciples in another. When he addressed “the crowds” he had a particularly challenging message. They were following him because he said and did things which attracted them, which interested them. But Jesus did not use a “Madison Avenue” approach trying… Read More »

When St. Paul wrote to the church at Rome, a community he did not know, he stressed the theme of unity. This was not a new idea for him but one that he stressed in all of the communities that he founded. He didn’t KNOW that unity was needed among the Roman Christians but he… Read More »

St. Paul concludes his reflection on the fact that his own people, the Jews, have not responded to faith in Jesus by exclaiming: “How inscrutable are God’s judgments and how unsearchable his ways!” The Apostle believes that God wishes all to be saved and trusts that the divine mercy will embrace the Jewish people —… Read More »

The Bible might be the old, old story but it’s as fresh as today’s headline.  How maddening it is to see the candles, teddy bears, flowers left on the fence post in front of the place of the last shooting. People leaving these mementos mourn one of their own.  A tragedy, a waste.  We ask… Read More »

St. Paul wrote to the Romans: “The gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.” He is thinking of his own people, the Jews, who were chosen by God to bring the divine word into the world.  Even though they seemed to Paul to have missed the new revelation of God in Jesus, the Apostle… Read More »

William Faulkner  wrote: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” St. Paul would agree. He is deeply concerned about the children of Israel. They are the chosen people and God does not change. Their past includes “the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, the promises, the patriarchs, and… Read More »

There was a book a few years ago called The Denial of Death by Ernst Becker that won numerous awards. The basic idea is that civilization is a construct that makes it possible to avoid the fact that we are all going to die. His contention is that attempting to replace a religious explanation of reality… Read More »

All Saints’ Day can best be understood as including the “already” and the “not yet.” The “already” are, of course, the saints in glory. They are our heroes in the faith and continue to support us from their place in glory. The “not yet” are us. We are not yet the saints we are made… Read More »