But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you… This is one of the “hard” sayings of Jesus. Perhaps it is on a par with forgiving 70 x 7 times. What often gets overlooked is the reason Jesus gives for loving even enemies: “that you may be children of […]

If salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything… In this passage, Jesus tells us that we are to be the salt of the earth and the light that must shine before others. If we are not this salt (and this light), Jesus tells us that […]

Memorial of Saint Justin, Martyr Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay? This question was addressed to Jesus not because people were troubled in conscience about whether they should pay taxes, but by “some Pharisees and Herodians who were sent to Jesus […]

…There is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age… It is not clear whether Peter was simply contrasting himself and […]

Now, this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ (John 17:3). It was the purpose of the life and death and work of Christ to give this eternal life to all believers. “As many as received him, to them he gave the […]

But I tell you the truth; it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you (John 16:7). As we approach the feast of Pentecost, the readings point us to the gift of the Holy Spirit we will celebrate on that day. It must […]

They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. Paul had scarcely become a Christian when he was asked to suffer for the faith. Stoning was not a pleasant way to die. Every stone left a bruise, and enough of them had been thrown that Paul was rendered unconscious […]

There were some Cypriots and Cyrenians… who came to Antioch and began to speak to the Greeks as well, proclaiming the Lord Jesus. The hand of the Lord was with them and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. The news about them reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem, and they […]

Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Today’s gospel passage, taken from Jesus’ famous “Bread […]