In St. Luke’s gospel Jesus sends the disciples out in pairs. Pope Gregory the Great has an interesting take on why. It was not so much that they would have companions on the journey, holding hands and singing kumbaya. Rather, the presence of another would provide the opportunity for the disciples to practice forgiveness, to… Read More »

For the next four weeks the readings for the day will be taken from St. Paul’s letter to the church at Rome. Since he did not know this church he used the letter as an introduction, setting out his understanding of the gospel. For example, we find in chapter 1 a reference to the “wrath”… Read More »

The early Christians turned to the Old Testament in order to understand the life and mission of Jesus. For example, the poems about the “suffering servant” found in the Prophet Isaiah shaped their reflection on the meaning of the passion of Jesus. The Gospels suggest that Jesus himself referred to Old Testament antecedents. For example,… Read More »

  Everybody loves a banquet:  great food and drink, good times, fun people, and you don’t have to cook or clean up.  That’s how the scriptures describe being with God: a time of joy coming as a gift, with God as the father of the bride.  “The Lord will provide for all peoples a feast… Read More »

When a woman in the crowd blessed Jesus’ mother he replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” This is not to say that Jesus’ mother was not blessed. It was a statement that biology did not define blessedness. This was a startling statement for a Jew to make.… Read More »

The prophet Joel, like many of the Old Testament prophets, speaks of the coming “day of the Lord.” This language was adopted by the early Church in its understanding of the meaning of Jesus so it behooves us to seek to understand the significance of the term. The prophetic message was delivered at a time… Read More »

The Book of Malachi is not often used in the daily readings. It is the last book in the Old Testament in the Christian Bible. We don’t know anything about the prophet — in fact the word “Malachi” means “my messenger” which implies that Malachi might be a title, not a name. The book was… Read More »

The Book of Jonah is something like a novelette — not the report of an actual prophet but a parable about the power of God’s mercy. Written, perhaps in the fifth century B.C. it projects back to a time when Assyria was the great enemy. It was Assyria which had destroyed the northern kingdom of… Read More »

What did Jesus mean when he said, “There is need of only one thing.  Mary has chosen the better part.” What is the one thing needed? The traditional explanation is that the “better part” is prayer. Martha stands for work and Mary stands for prayer and prayer is better. However, does that explanation square with… Read More »

“And who is my neighbor?” That question posed by a scholar of the law to Jesus resonates throughout the ages. The story of the Bible tells of an ever expanding answer to that question. Jesus says in Matthew 24:14 that all the nations are meant to hear the gospel … which is to say that… Read More »