Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. These words, of course, were used to frame what we now say before receiving communion at Mass. They reflect the exquisite sensitivity of the centurion after asking Jesus to heal his servant. Not […]

Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house? As we end the prologue of the Gospel of Luke, we come to this incident when Jesus was only 12 and had gone with his parent to Jerusalem for the […]

Please, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, and I will follow you. This was the plea that Elisha made to Elijah, who was calling him to be his attendant. Elijah, however, refused. So Elisha got rid of everything he had and followed Elijah. Let’s be honest; sometimes, bible stories seem a bit strange. […]

Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth…. We could entitle this observation of Jesus as “Giving loose change to God.” We are told in the gospel today that a poor widow gave everything she […]

When he entered Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him. There is much that we don’t know about Paul’s stay in Rome. Acts tells us that he lived there for two years, and was allowed to evangelize from there. And that’s how the book ends. There are […]

[Apollos] had been instructed in the Way of the Lord and, with ardent spirit, spoke and taught accurately about Jesus… Apollos is spoken rather highly in Acts of as a man of eloquence, well versed both in the Scriptures and in the “new way of the Lord.” Strangely enough, despite all that he knew about […]

If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world… the world hates you. . We seem to find a paradox here: the world is spoken of as an evil place, one inimical to the Christian message. And yet, this same gospel tells us […]

It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first, but since you reject it and condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. Thus, spoke Barnabas and Paul when their preaching in the synagogue in Perga in Pamphilia was met with “violent abuse.” And so began […]

Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Though this statement from Simon Peter comes near the beginning of John’s Gospel, it reflects well the life of the early church. The first reading speaks of the peaceful growth of the church, and its spread throughout the whole of Israel. Peter’s […]