Some characters in the movies are not really believable. No one is really like Iron Man or Wonder Woman. (Well, somebody might be sorta like Wonder Woman.) On the other hand, there are movie characters that you feel comfortable with. Atticus in To Kill a Mockingbird is someone you would like to know. There weren’t… Read More »

Jesus quoted (Mt 9:13) from the prophet Hosea: “It is love that I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” The prophetic word continues to call the people of God today to examine our lives. For example, the reality that vast numbers of the younger generation no longer attend church must… Read More »

The catechism teaches that the Great Commandment of Jesus is “to love God and love your neighbor.” How striking that the original record of that commandment, St. Mark’s gospel, has a slightly different take! A scribe asked Jesus, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is this: Hear, O Israel!… Read More »

The prophet Jeremiah worked to bring “the word of the Lord” to Jerusalem. The people were suffering and were complaining about it. Why didn’t God take away their difficult? Jeremiah explained God’s complaint against them: “They walked turned their backs, not their faces, to me.” The remedy God had been applying up until then —… Read More »

In the US law is looked upon as a necessary evil. We want the freedom to do whatever we want … but compelling everyone to drive 55 miles per hour is necessary for safety and good order. Henry David Thoreau described this philosophy as the government which governs best is the one that governs least.… Read More »

The Bible teaches us to become like God. “Be Holy for I, the Lord, am holy,” in the book of Leviticus. “Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect,” in St. Matthew. “Be compassionate as your Father in heaven in compassionate,” in St. Luke. We can’t be like God as Creator, nor as Savior, nor… Read More »

The Feast of the Annunciation has been celebrated in the Church at least since the fourth century. You can understand why. On this day we celebrate that the “word became flesh.” Christmas happens only after the nine months of Mary’s pregnancy. The scene of the angel greeting Mary has been painted by dozens, even hundreds… Read More »

I owe you an apology. Let me explain why. Last week at a meeting I was asked to step forward if I thought the people of St. James had a personal relationship with Christ. I stayed back. I was thinking, perhaps, that those who had a personal relationship with Christ were the ones who knew… Read More »

Why did the father and the brother have such different reactions to the return of the Prodigal Son? When the father talked to the elder child he said, “Your brother was dead and has come to life again.” The father had mourned the loss of the younger son. He felt his absence on a deeply… Read More »

“Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons.” When you read that you know that trouble is coming. When someone is the favorite, the “teacher’s pet,” resentment is sure to follow. Nor is this limited to teen-age boys. When someone is on a pedestal, someone is being honored, there is a human tendency to want… Read More »