He gave some as Apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the Body of Christ, St. Paul used the image of the body to describe the working of the Church — each contributing what their gift to the… Read More »

The human tendency is to divide the world up into “us and them.” The modern world’s divisions — blue state/red state, black folk/white folk, Cub fans/Sox fans — is merely the latest manifestation of this phenomenon.  Paul railed against it, preaching unity again and again. He tells us that the divisions that we see, the… Read More »

“I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” This saying of Jesus was a favorite of the founder of my religious congregation, Fr. Thomas Judge, CM, because it expressed the urgency he felt to bring the gospel into the world. He was concerned about what he called… Read More »

“Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.” These words of Jesus motivate me. I have been given so much — good health, excellent education. loving family, supportive community, fulfilling vocation — that I feel obliged to serve those who have… Read More »

A constant theme in the Pauline letters is the call to unity. He was most concerned with the division that existed between the Jews and Gentiles. In Christ, all are one. Through Christ Jesus the whole structure is held together in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in… Read More »

Back in the day the Sisters would have us make “spiritual bouquets” for occasions like Mothers’ Day. We would decorate a card and promise to offer ten Hail Marys, Our Fathers, and Glory Bes. I remember wondering “if ten is good twenty must be better.” That kind of thinking shows the danger in trying to… Read More »

One of the twentieth century’s great pastors said that you should preach with the Bible in one hand and the New York Times in the other. I take that to mean that we must interpret the public realm in the light of the Bible and the relationship we have with Jesus. That is directly counter… Read More »

There is a striking image in the Epistle to the Ephesians: May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened. In our culture the heart stands for sentiment or feeling. “Hearts and flowers” is a syrupy way of connecting with another. In the Bible the heart was much more the locus of action. We have a similar… Read More »

My favorite book of all time is Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger. There is a scene where Franny, about age 10, tells her brother that she doesn’t like Jesus anymore.  His saying, “You are worth more than many sparrows,” doesn’t seem true to her. What about her Easter chick or her pet cat. They a worth… Read More »

Some scholars wonder if St. Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians (although it is certainly in the Pauline tradition.) For one thing, he had spent considerable time there but the letter does not reflect an intimate knowledge of the Church you would expect. More than that it is the shift in tone from epistles… Read More »