“While Matthew was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples.” Matthew’s response to the call of Jesus was to throw a party and invite his friends — who were a disreputable lot. You can see in that the beginnings of Matthew’s apostolic vocation: calling… Read More »

In all of his letters, St. Paul is very insistent on his prerogatives as an apostle. His experience of Jesus, his encounter with God, validated his role in the early church even though he “was not fit to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God.” However, his personal religious experience was… Read More »

“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” Faith, hope, and love are called the theological virtues in the tradition — theological because they connect us with God. Faith connects us with God’s mighty deeds throughout history culminating in the coming of Jesus. Hope connects with the… Read More »

St. Paul taught that receiving Communion was “participation in the Body of Christ.” That participation transforms the Church into the Body of Christ. The Apostle unpacks that image to say that each member of the body contributes their particular gift to make up the whole. When St. Therese of Lisieux read that passage she looked… Read More »

St. Paul fusses with the people of Corinth: “I hear that when you meet as a Church there are divisions among you.” The reality of divisions in the Church goes back to the very beginning. But for the Apostle, the fact that there are divisions is a direct contradiction to the meaning of the Eucharist.… Read More »

The scene in the Gospel of Mark where Jesus is with his disciples at Caesarea Philippi reminds me of Family Feud. Let’s start with the Apostle family. Who do people say that I am: John the Baptist. Survey said: X. Who do people say that I am: the prophet. Survey said: X. Who do you… Read More »

Pope Francis has added a new celebration in the Roman Catholic calendar — Mary “Mother of the Church” feast will be celebrated on the Monday following Pentecost. Pope Francis wants the devotion to “encourage the growth of the maternal sense of the Church in the pastors, religious and faithful, as well as a growth of… Read More »

The feast of the exaltation of the cross has two images. St. Paul says that Jesus “emptied himself” of his divine prerogatives in order to accept the cross. In the gospel (picking up an Old Testament theme) Jesus speaks of being “lifted up” — which we ordinarily thing of as a positive thing but being… Read More »

The epistle and the gospel for today offer an interesting commentary on each other. In the first letter to the Corinthians St. Paul tells us that knowledge inflates but love builds. Contrast a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade balloon with a brick house. The balloon looks very impressive coming down Broadway but it is only for… Read More »

Both St. Matthew and St. Luke report Jesus pronouncing “beatitudes,” a series of blessings for his followers. The differences are instructive. St. Luke reports Jesus as saying, “Blessed are you who are poor.” Notice the form is direct address, not the more impersonal “Blessed are the poor.” And in St. Matthew the beatitudes are somewhat spiritualized… Read More »