Ezekiel found himself in a time of dire circumstances.  Under the cruel monarch Nebuchadnezzar,  he and his fellow countrymen had been forcefully taken from their homes in Israel to captivity in Babylon.  Ezekiel's world ...

Today's readings seem to be about justice, imperfect judgments, and trusting God's loving kindness. They speak in answer to the sadness and anger in our world today. Probably at any time, but certainly now, with the United ...

PRE-PRAYERING | For those preparing to enter the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil, the readings for today form the context for the second Sunday of "the Scrutinies." The candidates for entrance are asked to, or more ...

In today's first reading, Susanna, who is married to Joakim, is described very early in the reading as a "God-fearing woman." As I continued to read I understood her to be a woman who did not literally "fear God" but very ...

Light in the Dark Valley|When we read through the long and beautiful story of Susanna from the book of Daniel, followed by the brief but equally beautiful story of the woman caught in adultery (John's gospel), we are struck ...

|Today is All Souls Day and a Sunday.  It seems particularly powerful to be gathering together as community for Sunday liturgy and to commemorate all the faithful departed.  I always appreciate praying in every liturgy for ...

Temptation, testimony, truth - today's readings contain wonderful settings that, coming during Lent, invite us to contemplate how we live our lives.||The story from Daniel is a powerful one, since we probably all have ...

Today's readings bring up the much-loved image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. The first reading from Hebrews speaks of people who lead us, and of God as "the great shepherd of the sheep." Then we have the beautiful ...

How interesting it is to juxtapose the story of Susanna with the story of the adulterous woman. The contrast between the two women could not be more clear. Susanna is completely virtuous and guiltless, while the woman in ...

This Gospel passage is part of Mark's chapter 6 and relates organically to all of the other parts of this chapter in various ways, but I would like to consider what this limited text says just on the surface.||Jesus has ...