In this weekend’s reading from Acts of the Apostles we hear of the first council of the Church. This is known as the Council of Jerusalem, and was brought about by some members of the Church claiming you had to follow the Jewish faith prac tices first in order to Read more…
You may have been raised believing God is watching and waiting for us to mess up so He can punish us. That seems to have been the mindset of the people of the Old Testament and this idea has survived even to this day. This came from the Old Testament Read more…
In the Gospel passage this weekend Jesus tells His followers to love your enemies. He has taken the teaching from Leviticus, chapter 19, verse 18, and elevated this commandment to include love of enemies in general, not only your fellow countrymen. Jesus came to bring the mind of God to Read more…
In the Gospel passage today we hear Jesus reads from the Prophet Isaiah and indicates He is the fulfillment of this passage. He is saying Isaiah was speaking of Him when he writes that “the spirit of the Lord is upon me.” This passage of Isaiah ends with the wonderful Read more…
The last line of our first reading from the Prophet Micah proclaims these words; “he shall be peace.” We all want peace, we seek it, but we often define peace on merely worldly terms. In the world, peace is simply the absence of war and violence. Of course, that is Read more…
In the passage from the Letter to the Hebrews we hear that the high priest is chosen by God to off sacrifices for sins. No one takes this honor upon himself! We hear that Jesus did not take on the role as high priest for His own glory, but for Read more…
In the reading from James today the author states; “Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice.” The author then counters with; “But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits without inconstancy or Read more…
In the Gospel passage today we hear that many of Jesus’ disciples walked away because of what Jesus was telling them about Him being the “Bread come down from Heaven.” I’ve always thought that what these disciples heard was hard to hear. If you can imagine being there, listening to Read more…
Today we hear the familiar story of Jesus multiplying the five loaves and two fishes in order to feed five thousand. Perhaps you’ve heard this Gospel passage many times and it has become a bit too familiar. This can happen to us when we hear or do something frequently. The Read more…
The Church celebrates today the mystery of the Holy Trinity. We’re taught from our youth that we believe in One God, in three Divine Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is my understanding that we, as Christians, are the only religion who hold this belief. Other religious beliefs have Read more…