Today we hear the reading from John’s Gospel about the healing of the man born blind. This story has many aspects to it; that Jesus uses this man’s handicap to bring vision to all of us, the blindness of the religious leaders of His day; the lack of understanding of Read more
We don’t like anyone to tell us what to do or how to live our lives. That generalization seems to fit the current norm or our society. In spite of this, we are obliged to live according to many laws. The games we play all have a set of rules Read more
We hear from the Prophet Isaiah in today’s first reading that a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse. Jesse was the father of King David, one of the Old Testament leaders idealized by the Jews. It is important to know where we come from, who we are related Read more
In the Gospel reading today, Jesus invites Himself to Zacchaeus’ house. The reading indicates Jesus was initially going to pass through Jericho, but something changed his mind and he calls out to Zacchaeus in his perch. You can picture this in your mind, Zacchaeus, short in stature has climbed the Read more
The Apostles ask Jesus to increase their faith in the Gospel passage today. Jesus responds that even with a small amount of faith we can accomplish amazing things. We all too often believe we can’t do big things; we are simple followers of Jesus without the power to amaze. I Read more
In the first reading today, we hear from the Book of Wisdom which states: “Who can know God’s counsel, or who can conceive what the Lord intends?” Many of us ponder over these words, coming to the conclusion: who indeed? Yet, God has revealed His desires and intentions for each Read more
As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension. Luke, the author of the Gospel named after him, and the Acts of the Apostles both describe this event in each of these books. While the description is different between these two books, the importance of this event is what we recognize Read more
We hear the story of the Apostles being questioned by the Sanhedrin for preaching that Jesus was the Messiah. The Apostles had been arrested by the Jewish authorities for teaching about Jesus and healing the sick. However, during the night, an angel had opened the doors and instructed them to Read more
When we hear the familiar “Parable of the Prodigal Son”, I believe this should be titled the “Parable of the Loving Father”. I say this because it is the father who has the traits we all seek: he is generous, patient, loving and forgiving. The father is the person in Read more
In the Gospel passage today, Jesus speaks of many things. These could be considered wisdom sayings, in the tradition of the Jewish wisdom literature found in the Old Testament. Much of what he tells us is based on common sense. Unfortunately, common sense seems to be a rare commodity today. Read more