Queen Esther, seized with mortal anguish, had recourse to the LORD. By a happy coincidence, or actually we should call it a providence, on the day when the Lenten reading of the Church mentions Queen Esther is the Feast of Purim on the Jewish calendar. Purim is the festival which recalls that it was Queen… Read More »

According to the Biblical story Jonah is sent to Nineveh to preach repentance. The story prompts the question: who really needed to repent? The story starts off with Jonah resisting the call to become a prophet. Fleeing from God, he ends up in the belly of the whale. That gets his attention and he decides… Read More »

Which is the most important line in the Lord’s Prayer? “Thy will be done?” “Give us this day our daily bread?” The way that St. Matthew introduces the Lord’s prayer suggests a different line. To the prayer itself Jesus adds this appendix: “If you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you.” In… Read More »

People will say that they prefer the New Testament morality to that of the Old Testament but I suspect that is not the case. Since the Old Testament gives us the commandments we can create a check list of how we are doing. Didn’t steal. Check. Didn’t murder. Check. You know where you stand by… Read More »

Maurice bought a classic convertible, an Alfa Romero Spider. He wanted to put it through its paces so he went to Pike’s Peak to drive up the mountain. Top down, sun shining, wind in his hair, wheels squealing at each hair pin curve, vroom, vroom – all was great until it wasn’t. He lost control,… Read More »

“Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.” These words of Jesus divide the world into two categories — the sick and the healthy. I would observe the health and sickness are not an either/or but on a… Read More »

This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless, Clothing the naked when you see them. We recognize these acts of mercy as the criteria for the… Read More »

One of the great blessings we have as a Church are the four gospels. Each of the evangelists, in the way they tell the story of Jesus, provides us with a particular perspective on how we encounter Christ. It seems clear to scholars that St. Luke had the gospel of St. Mark in front of… Read More »

The way of Lent is the way of JOY. Joy is probably not the first word you think of when pondering the meaning of Lent but look at the gospel for Ash Wednesday. It is taken from the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus describes the three spiritual activities which characterize the season: prayer, fasting… Read More »

A certain kind of student (like me) would offer a fervent prayer to God when they sat down to take an exam that they hadn’t prepared well for. “Just get me throught this, Lord, and I’ll go to Church every day for a week.” People like us hadn’t heard the admonition from the Book of… Read More »