Reflections

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You have heard that it was said: You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; in this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to […]

Thus says the Lord God: If the wicked man turns away from all the sins he committed, if he keeps all my statutes and does what is right and just, he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of the crimes he committed shall be remembered against him; he shall live because of the virtue

(Part Two) Today we continue our Reflection on the story of Nineveh.  Recall that Jonah was sent by God to get the people of the Assyrian capital of Nineveh to repent from their sins.  Recall also that Jonah was not happy when the people of the city responded to his call and actually repented.  He

(Part One) There are many Bible stories that even those who have never read the Bible know.  Or think they know.  Jonah and the whale is one such story. Many seem to be familiar with the hapless Jonah who gets swallowed by a whale, in whose belly he lives for three days. Some might even

The imagery in our first reading (Isaiah 55:10-11) evokes one of the central Lenten themes: Lent is a time to plant the word of God deep within you, to water it, to nurture it and let it be fruitful. The word of God never returns to its source void; it achieves the end for which

Today’s readings deal with the way we ought to behave towards each other. The First Reading (Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18) tells us the kinds of things we ought not to do, while the Gospel (Matthew 25:31-46) emphasizes what we should do. The general theme of the Book of Leviticus is in today’s opening sentence: “… Be holy, for I, the Lord,

Jesus certainly made strange choices in his selections for Apostles. When we look for “vocations”, we tend to search among committed and well-balanced Christians. But in today’s gospel (Luke 5:27-32) we see Jesus picking someone who was regarded as an immoral money-grabber, a religious outcast. Tax collectors in Jesus’ time were despised on two counts:

Today’s reading from Isaiah (Isaiah 58:1-9) is a magnificent and, in many ways, a frightening passage.  It points to where true religion is to be found.  The call is for an inward spirit to match our outward observances. It is a call that permeates Jesus’ teaching throughout the Gospel and is touched upon in today’s

The first reading for today (Acts 9:31-42) is about the baby church learning how to walk and is about its growing. Their focus is on Jesus and the growth comes from the Holy Spirit. The “baby” Christians are called “holy ones” and “disciples” or learners. We hear about Jesus working through Peter to heal two