In today's first reading, we hear Joshua and all the people promise to serve Yahweh as their God and never to choose a false God. This reading fits beautifully with the life of Maximilian Kolbe, the first person canonized ...

My strongest memory of childhood is dessert time at our home. Mom had the amazing ability to divide a leftover half of cake into six equal pieces (even though we big kids probably "deserved" more than the little kids). The ...

The passage from Romans is both clear and powerful, and it only needs reflection and prayer rather any commentary that I might provide. Precisely because it is so clear, I would like to address instead the psalm and the ...

Exotic things, things that are "out of the ordinary" almost always have an appeal for us. By the very fact that they are unfamiliar, they catch our eye and draw our interest. By contrast, the "ordinary" often passes by ...

"Look toward heaven and count the stars," the first lines of the reading from the Book of Genesis, reminds me of the immensity of the universe. It makes me recall lying on a pier at a lake in Northern Wisconsin on a clear ...

"Which commandment is the first of all?"||"The first is, . . . 'you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.'"|"The second is this, 'You ...

After speaking of the Church, her origin, mission, and destiny, we can find no better way to conclude than by looking to Mary. In her we contemplate what the Church already is in her mystery on her own "pilgrimage of faith," ...

Both readings today talk about how to follow God. Following God is very simple, but it is not easy. The Israelites know what they should do, but instead of following God, they worship Baal and other gods. The Lord has ...

Today's readings hit me where I live, literally. Gideon's lament could be my family's, since we were one of those blessed with abundant rain this weekend (10 inches) which translated into 18 inches in the basement. When I ...

"Do not give us up," and "do not withdraw your mercy" are two key phrases that Azariah prays pleadingly (Daniel 3). These words remind me of something Fr. Gene McCreesh, S.J., said several years ago as he greeted me warmly ...