The story of the rich man and the beggar at the gate is so familiar that it probably has lost its power to disturb us - as surely it should. Why? Well, there is no indication in the story that the rich man had broken any ...

Faced with the old scenario of "desert island books," I wonder if I would take the Bible. I'd have to take it, right? But desert island books are for comfort and edification. The better reader I become and, I hope, the ...

In the first reading today we have Jeremiah, the prophet, comparing how living without faith would be like living without clean water. He tries to make the people understand that life cannot go on long without one or the ...

"Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it."|In two paragraphs, today's Gospel gives us a summary of the life of following Jesus. It will not always be easy and it ...

The first thought that came to me after reading today's scriptural passages was Barbra Streisand's song "People" from the show "Funny Girl." The lines that kept playing over and over in my head were "people who need people ...

So the Prince of Peace has apparently changed His script and speaks in today's Gospel of fire, and division. Jesus states quite definitely that He knows what He is about. what He must accomplish is clear to Him. His baptism ...

Today, with the fresh memory of Ash Wednesday in our hearts and minds the scripture readings speak plainly and bluntly of life and death. While the message is consistent through the readings from Deuteronomy, the psalm and ...

A parable is not a picture of reality. It is an illustration using an imagined case to convey a message. But, for the parable to be credible, people must recognize real situations in the imagined one. How credible was this ...

Lent for me this year includes the following: no sweets, no alcohol, no snacking, no saying anything bad about others, and additional spiritual reading. My wife and I also plan to add some type of service to the poor of ...

We hear the words of God speaking through the prophet Jeremiah in today's first reading during the Roman Catholic Liturgy. There are presented two geographical landscapes. The first represents those who trust only in ...