We tend to think of suffering as something to avoid. Mothers can tell you that suffering is woven into their job description. The only picture my mother had on her bureau was of my youngest brother playing in the surf when he was a toddler. She explained that picture symbolized motherhood for her — the… Read More »

In the play Man of La Mancha Aldonza asks Sancho Panza why he is following Don Quixote. “What do you get out of it?” she questions. “You’ve gotten nothing.” Her question is a reminder that there is a human tendency to wonder “what’s in it for me?” St. Paul, explains the meaning of the cross not… Read More »

Jesus began his ministry “announcing the good news of God.” We call the accounts of his life “gospels,” good news stories. Those who are his followers strive to live the gospel life, the life of good news. Certainly part of that good news is that we are forgiven. No matter what we have done God… Read More »

Evangelization is now a given in Catholic circles. Pope Francis said that we are all missionary disciples called to spread the faith. We must be careful, though, not to equate evangelization with getting people on the Church rolls. As Jesus warns us, our yardstick for success as evangelists is not necessarily larger church membership but… Read More »

Corinth was a great place for St. Paul to base his missionary operation. In years when the Olympics weren’t being held athletes would gather from all of Greece to compete in the Isthmian Games. Paul had many occasions to utilize his skills a tent-maker. Like Jesus before him, Paul used the common experiences of the… Read More »

The evangelists took the story of Jesus they had inherited and told it in a way that made sense to their hearers. Apparently Jesus once gave a long sermon describing a radical way of life.  Matthew describes this sermon as “on the Mount” since his Jewish audience would make the immediate connection with Moses receiving… Read More »

The Gospels as we have them were written maybe fifty years after the events they report. We have no way of accessing what Jesus actually said. For example, there are two reports of Jesus teaching the Beatitudes, one in Matthew and one in Luke, that have subtle differences. Since both versions are in the Bible… Read More »

The Bible does not tell us anything about the birth of Mary. Legendary material from the second century AD give us some details, for example that her parents were Joachim and Anne, but we do not know how reliable those sources are. The gospel text chosen for this day is the genealogy of Joseph, not… Read More »

A few years ago some young  people were talking about why many of their peers were leaving the Church. “They don’t want to feel judged,” was a common answer. Yet, we make judgments all the time. St. Paul makes a judgment that someone who is acting immorally should not be a part of the community.… Read More »

Wherever you have two people rubbing up against one another there will be conflict. Jesus provides a method for dealing with conflict that treats those who are in opposition  with dignity and respect. However, Jesus recognized that not all conflict can be settled amicably. Hence, the last phase of conflict resolution: If he refuses to… Read More »