The gospel today has Jesus pronouncing woes on Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum because of their lack of faith. What has happened to these sites has struck me the times I have visited the Holy Land. There is nothing left. Capernaum, which Jesus used as a base of operations in the Galilee, has only the ruins […]

Memorial of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina [Jesus] said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” There are many questions asked in the gospels. Perhaps none is more important than the one Jesus poses in today’s gospel passage. It is so vital, in fact, that we find it in all three synoptic gospels. […]

Memorial of Saint Peter Claver “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?” Jesus is dealing here with the question of personal holiness. Christians today are weak on the notion of holiness (i.e., being different from the world around us and Christ-like in […]

The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. Yesterday, we began reading from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. Here, Paul contrasts human wisdom with the wisdom of God (which usually runs contrary to what we might feel […]

His disciples said to him, “If that is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” He answered, “Not all can accept this word, but only those to whom that is granted. There is no doubt that Jesus saw divorce as an evil, something neither intended nor willed by […]

Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him…. Undoubtedly, the sisters and brother we honor today had a very special relationship with Jesus. He visited them often and would stay at their home whenever he was in Jerusalem. The two gospel choices we have […]

Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene Jesus said to her, “Mary!” Mary Magdalene is a unique woman whose love for Jesus was profound and enduring, and his voice meant everything to her. We have to imagine here the tenderness with which Jesus addressed Mary. It was the sound of his voice that enabled her to recognize […]

Jesus said to his apostles: “As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Without cost, you have received; without cost, you are to give.” Jesus today sends his disciples out on mission, empowering them to cure the sick, […]

June 24, 2022, Sunday Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus “I tell you…, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.” This assertion of Jesus is where he answers the charge of the Pharisees that he is always […]

[The] LORD was not in the wind… [or] the earthquake… [or] the fire. After the fire, there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave. All of us long to hear God’s voice. The Israelites knew that […]