At the end of today’s Gospel story, the landowner asks the grumbling worker, “have you got the evil eye because I am generous?” In the Gospel reading we have the contrast of the generosity of the landowner and the envious reaction of the laborers. We might see the landowner as representing God, and the worker [...]
A Prayer for Our Country I pray for the survivors of the attack on September 11, 2001. I pray for the families who have lost loved ones. I pray for the rescue workers and police on the scene. I pray for the doctors and nurses caring for the hurting. I pray for the reporters who [...]
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus offers us a courageous solution to life’s hurts. When someone wrongs the community in some way, rather than immediately resorting to litigation, both the offender and the offended should come together and try to sort out their difficulties. The courts should only be a last resort when all else has [...]
Jesus tells the disciples that He is going to suffer. The one on whom all their hopes are pinned states that His journey will be on the road of pain and death. Despite their protestations, Jesus says that is the way it has to be. They may not be able to understand now, because human [...]
Jesus, with His friends, has travelled far north into the region of Caesarea Philippi. In this secluded spot He asks them who people think He is. There’s variety of opinions: perhaps He’s John the Baptist, or Elijah, or Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. But what about the apostles themselves: what do they think? It’s [...]
The healing of the Canaanite woman’s daughter comes about through the mother’s faithful perseverance. Jesus is impressed with her unrelenting prayer. Her faith is a wonderful example. We may ask why Jesus responded to the woman in the way He did. After all, it does seem, to be honest, brusque, even a tad rude. The [...]
In today’s Gospel, the fact that Jesus can command the storm to be still, and can even cross the sea by walking on it, shows only one thing: that He is God. The disciples, even in their panic, would not only see the miracle – they would remember the scriptures. They would know that they [...]
In the days of Jesus, the people of Galilee came to realize that there was someone special in their midst. A young man had appeared who, it seemed, had special powers of healing, and who spoke in ways that captivated his listeners. This was someone who just had to be seen, and someone that people [...]
Today’s feast celebrates the presence of Jesus in the mystery of the Eucharist, His presence among us under the appearance of bread and wine. How is it possible, nearly 2,000 years after His death, that He is with us in this way? How do we know it is Him? When Jesus rose from the dead, [...]
Today we celebrate the most astonishiong, mind-bending truth of all: that though there is, and can be, only one God, yet in this one there are three persons. We could never have known that had it not been revealed through Jesus. In the Gospels He speaks of Himself frequently as the Son, sent into the [...]
