SHE DIED ANYWAY. Decay in the marrow. Radiation robbed her radiance. Fragile peals of thunder protected summer showers that watered her flowers. If the thunder don’t get you then the lightning will. Life submits to death. My parents, Moose and Sylvia, made an odd couple, like an elephant and a tickbird. He was Oscar. She […]
Heb 9:11-15 The blood of Christ will cleanse our consciences Among the writings that comprise the canon of the Christian Scriptures one work stands in a class by itself: the Epistle to the Hebrews. Each of the thirteen New Testament books is unique but Hebrews defies categorization. Is it a book, a letter, a sermon, […]
Acts 2:1-11 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak THE PROMISE OF THE SPIRIT The Gang of Twelve was in the house. The Big Three, Peter, James, and John, Mary the Mother of God, Matthias, the newly ordained Apostle, and 120 disciples waited on the Lord to produce what he […]
I just finished Dr. Paul Niskanen’s wonderful Catholic Courses class, The God of the Old Testament. It’s delightful. Full of “ah-hah” moments on a range of topics from historical oddities (I had no idea where the name “Jehovah” came from) to deep theological revelations, it packs some serious scholarly punch—all delivered in an engaging and […]
Saint Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians about a year before he died in prison at Rome. In the letter he states concisely what he believes the human heart most longs for, that is, the meaning of life: “For to me life is Christ, and death is gain.” Paul wasn’t suicidal but he did […]
On a hot summer day the kids and I were headed to the grocery store. Our house doesn’t have air conditioning and it gets hot—the thermometer in the living room read 85 yesterday—at 9 PM!—so when we’re in the car we try to make up for it. We had the air conditioner cranked up as […]
Jeremiah was the loneliest and saddest of the prophets but he was one of the greatest. He was a descendant of Eli, the priest who taught the prophet Samuel. Jeremiah did not want to be a prophet. “I know not how to speak,” he told God. His oracles reveal a sensitive man and the prophetic […]
Truth in advertising–after all the glowing reports of the benefits of a product, potential side effects need to be mentioned. Informed consent–before surgery, patients have to be told of all the things that could possibly go wrong. That way, they have the chance to opt out before it’s too late. As soon had the truth […]
The story of Paul’s journey into Arabia begins and ends in the Temple at Jerusalem (Acts 7:1—8:1; 22:17-21). Paul made his scriptural debut as the young prosecutor who guarded the cloaks of the members of the lynch mob who stoned Stephen (Acts 7:58; 8:1). Scripture offers scant details about the next few years of Paul: […]
By the time Cain and Abel show up in creation history, Satan had already inserted himself into human affairs and the fall of man. Adam and Eve were now living in a not so happy story of life without the garden, “toiling and suffering” in the outside world. The big lesson to be learned by […]
The Temple authorities cracked down on the Nazoreans. Peter and the Apostles were rounded up and brought before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Supreme Court. The majority of its members favored a drastic sentence. It was the influential Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, who took the initiative of securing their […]
When it comes to Divine Worship, there are a lot of misconceptions people have about Catholicism. Sometimes people aren’t necessarily wrong, but the signs of the liturgy are presented as empty clichés. A lot of times this behavior even comes from fellow Catholics. Take the Sign of the Cross. There is probably no prayer more powerful than those words […]
When a conquering hero of the ancient world rode into town in triumph, it was in a regal chariot or on the back of a stately stallion. Legions of soldiers accompanied him in the victory procession. Triumphal arches, festooned with relief sculptures, were often erected to immortalize his valiant victory. After driving out demons, healing […]
In ancient times the city of Damascus employed a system of subterranean canals that irrigated the plains and supplied Damascenes with drinking water. Some of these aqueducts were more than a mile in length. It was through these canals that Saint Paul escaped the city to enter Arabia (Gal 1:17), and through them he returned […]
A great light enveloped Saul of Tarsus, the zealous Pharisee and persecutor of the Church. Blinded by the light, he fell to the ground and heard a voice call him twice by name. “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”“Who are you Lord?” Saul asked. The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” […]
There is certain work of Christian literature written c. AD 190 that tells the story of how Saint Paul baptized a lion. By the power of God Paul tamed the animal, baptized him by immersion, and claimed the creature for Christ. “I, Paul, en route to Jericho, accompanied by two pious women, was confronted by […]
Saint Paul the Apostle was born in the ancient city of Tarsus in the Roman province of Cilicia (present-day Turkey) in the year of Our Lord 8, 12-14 years after the birth of Jesus Christ. [1] The city was situated thirty miles inland from the Mediterranean Sea and nestled beneath the shadows of the Tarsus […]
James “the brother of the Lord,” was a kinsman of Jesus. James became the first bishop of Jerusalem, a post he held from AD 40 until 62 when he was martyred under the persecution wrought by Herod Agrippa. The urgent work that James accomplished—he was a very productive leader—was to commission the Apostles to evangelize […]
The Protestant Church is all about the Bible; the Catholic Church is all about the Sacraments. Right? Not exactly. When it comes to personal Bible reading, Protestants often put Catholics to shame. But as far as Sunday worship goes, it is hard to find a more biblical service than the Mass. The readings are awesome […]
A frequent refrain to those who love traditional liturgical piety is that our piety, while nice and beautiful, is no longer culturally relevant. They tell us it is near impossible to teach today’s generation with these bygone customs. One of the customs they believe this applies to most is the issue of saying Mass ad […]
At first glance, the scene makes little sense. John’s strident call to repentance provokes an overwhelming response. People of all shapes and sizes flock to him in the wilderness. They are baptized in the Jordan as a sign of repentance and cleansing. Suddenly, out of the crowd steps John’s cousin, Jesus. Wait a minute. What’s […]
Every year right after Christmas, we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family. There is an important reason for this. It’s easy to think the “incarnation” means God took on a human body, that he appeared in human flesh. But there is much more to it than that. In Jesus, God unites himself to an […]
The seven Catholic Epistles written by Saints James, Peter, John, and Jude form a small but integral portion of the New Testament. These letters have always interested me, ever since I learned about the epistolary genre of Scripture when I was a boy at Catholic school. I wonder how much attention these writings receive, written […]
In the drama of the incarnation, Jesus is, of course, the star. That’s the way it is at every birth. All eyes are on the baby. The co-star, though, is definitely mom. Without her love and labor, the event could not have happened. In this case, without mom’s faith it couldn’t have happened either. According […]
