The Book of Baruch is not found in the Protestant Bible. Baruch is the name of the secretary of the prophet Jeremiah and this book reflects the memory of the teaching of the prophet. It was included in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures that goes back to the Third Century before… Read More »

Human beings haven’t changed much in our long history. The Jewish people returning from Babylon in 539B.C. are remarkably like us. So when we hear the lament of the prophets that the people must give up their tendency toward idolatry we should take it personally. One way of thinking about idolatry — looking for happiness… Read More »

Henry David Thoreau in his book Civil Disobedience wrote the government is best is that which governs least. Part of the mythos of the United States is that rules and laws are a burden, that human beings should be left to act as they see fit. This basically optimistic assessment of humanity is not the biblical one.… Read More »

The readings assigned for this date are providentially perfect for the saint of this date, Francis of Assisi. The radical call of Jesus to follow him, leaving family behind and not having a place to lay one’s head, characterized the life of Francis. Also of interest is the connection between the story of Nehemiah and… Read More »

St. Luke constructed his gospel with a definite turning point at 9:51. Jesus turns his face toward Jerusalem according to the evangelist and proceeds resolutely toward the events of this passion, death and resurrection. The gospel leads up to the events of Easter and then in the Acts of the Apostles shows the ever expanding… Read More »

The Feast of the Guardian Angels has its roots in the Scripture. The Bible often refers to angels as the agents of God in the world. Guardian angels in particular are a concept that grew out of the comment of Jesus that the “little ones” have “angels in heaven.” While not defined as doctrine in… Read More »

It is not a compliment when someone tells you, “You’ve got yourself an attitude.” It means you are stuck on your way of thinking, your way of acting no matter and you’ll bulldoze anyone in your way. Quite a surprise, therefore that St. Paul tells us to get ourselves an attitude – but the right… Read More »

Zechariah is the last prophet we know of in the Old Testament. Malachi is listed after him in the Bible but since Malachi simply means “my messenger” his work is considered anonymous by scholars. Zechariah wrote at a time when the Jewish people were attempting to reconstruct their lives after the trauma of exile. How… Read More »

St. Thomas Aquinas, like many theologians in the medieval period, speculated about the different “choirs” of angels: like the cherubim and seraphim, thrones and dominations, and, at the top of the chart, archangels. While such speculation can be fun, it is an exercise of the imagination. Theologically it is helpful to remember, as Pope St.… Read More »

The prophet Haggai accompanied the Jewish exiles when they returned from Babylon and began to rebuild their lives in Israel. He fussed with them because they seemed to be more concerned with building their own houses than in re-building the temple of the Lord. While you can sympathize with the people who don’t feel they… Read More »