Pope Francis urged that one of the major efforts of the church be “synodality.” The idea is pretty basic — let’s get the whole church together from around the world, clergy and laity, to talk about preaching the Gospel today. This goes back to the practice of the early church from the very beginning. The… Read More »

From his very first comments, Pope Leo  has called to world to peace. The Holy Father reminds us that in a world of war and violence the Prince of Peace is more needed than ever. However, I am reminded of a speech that Patrick Henry gave in the lead up to the American Revolution:  “Is… Read More »

Paul and Barnabas began their missionary journey in what is now the country of Turkiye. The cities they visited such as Iconium, Lystra and Derbe became the early home for a nascent Christianity. Despite their apostolic foundations, there are no Christians to speak of in those cities. Pope Leo XIV is a member of the… Read More »

“This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” You know someone is a soldier because of their uniform. You can recognize Pope Leo because he has on white papal robe. You can recognize a Jewish man because he wears a yarmulka. Jesus does not propose… Read More »

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me?” Sometimes we don’t see the most important things. It is easy to notice the wars, the violence, the hatred, the injustice. It can cause you think that the world is an ugly place. But… Read More »

For the next several weeks in the Easter season the Gospel for each day will be taken from what is known as the Last Discourse in the Gospel of John. Jesus is giving his final instructions to the apostles before undergoing his Passion. The Discourse starts: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have… Read More »

One of the more disturbing aspects of our current political climate is the reluctance to talk about, to read about and to teach about our history as it really occurred. The Bible is not afraid to look at the history of the people of God, warts and all. When St. Paul wanted to introduce the… Read More »

The story of the selection of Matthias as an apostle, successor to the traitor Judas, says alot about following the will of God. Peter is very clear that adding someone to the Twelve would have to be the one that God wanted. He carefully tried to figure out what the criteria would be for the… Read More »

In the Acts of the Apostles St. Luke describes the gradual rippling out of the Jesus movement from Jerusalem. That the non-Jews, the Gentiles, were attracted to the message was a source of amazement to the first believers. They were stretched out of their messianic expectations being limited to Israel to seeing that God intended… Read More »

When Pope Leo XIV was elected the people of Chicago were elated. He is from here. He roots for the White Sox. He likes deep dish pizza. He is one of us. The cardinals from the United States held a news conference after the election and they dismissed the idea of the significance of an… Read More »