Author name: Essjay Peatoo

No one likes taxes. But anti-tax animosity was especially intense in ancient Israel during the first century of the Christian era. In the Gospels, tax collectors (also known as publicans) are frequently mentioned in the same breath as harlots and sinners. If tax collectors had a lousy reputation 2000 years ago, they deserved it. Under

We all want to get in first; to find the best spot, to get the first choice, to get the freshest food. The line forms and when you’re first in line, you’re first. When you’re last in line, you’re last. We live our lives with this basic order and have been taught it since we

In in the passages leading up to today’s, Paul has been affirming the centrality of rising from the dead as part of our Christian faith. But then he asks: “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” It is a question any Christian—or non-Christian for that matter—could very well ask today.

Before retiring from Federal Service 25 years ago, I used to travel frequently.   While traveling and not frantically rushing to the gate to catch my plane, I sometimes would ‘people watch’ the other travelers. There were students and businesspeople engaged with their laptops until the very last moment before boarding. There were families, with

In these three final readings from the first letter to the Corinthians, we begin today the 15th chapter, which discusses resurrection from the dead and its relationship to the resurrection of Christ as a core belief of our Christian faith. In today’s reading (1 Corinthians 15:1–11), Paul introduces the subject by reminding the Corinthians of the Gospel

In today’s First Reading (1 Corinthians 12:31—13:13), we have likely one of the most quoted passages from Paul. We have seen Paul speaking to the Corinthian Christians about the various gifts of the Spirit with which different people are endowed so that they can better serve the needs of the community. He had been criticizing

September 15th  If you’ve been Catholic long enough, you surely have seen an image of the Virgin Mary with tears in her eyes and seven swords, or perhaps just one, piercing her heart. She is often dressed in black or navy blue and sometimes is holding the body of Jesus or her hands clasped tightly

Every year on the 14th of September we celebrate the feast of The Exaltation of the Holy Cross. While this feast focuses on the cross of Christ, it is not the same celebration that occurs on Good Friday when we enter into the Passion of the Lord and prayerfully participate in Jesus’ death.  While early

The Book of Sirach (sometimes called “Ecclesiasticus”), from which our First Reading today is taken, was originally among the Hebrew ethical teachings and dates from approximately 200 to 175 BC.  Sirach is among the “Wisdom” books in the Bible and is not included in many Protestant Bibles.  It is attributed to the Jewish Scribe Ben

(Part Four) Can you imagine a world without abortion? In some ways it is easy, just no more abortion. But think about it all the way through. What does it mean for the world? What might it mean for you? Abortion is the most devastating and contentious social issue in modern history. With over 40