And another person said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home.” Jesus answered him, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.” Luke 9: 61-2 Having made, at the age of…[read more]
When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem. Luke 9: 51 Job opened his mouth and cursed his day. Job spoke out and said: “Perish the day on which I was born, the night when they said, ‘The child is a boy!” Why did I…[read more]
Naked I came forth from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I go back again. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. Job 1: 21 The Book of Job is a problem for us, as evil is a problem for us. We speak of the “problem…[read more]
God has made everything beautiful in its time. God has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11 In the classic American play Our Town by Thornton Wilder, Emily, the young woman who has died in childbirth, returns unseen to witness…[read more]
Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity! What profit has man from all the labor which he toils at under the sun? One generation passes and another comes, but the world forever stays. Ecclesiastes 1: 1-4 In my first introduction to the Book of Ecclesiastes, I remember hearing its author…[read more]
Go and learn the meaning of the words, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” I did not come to call the righteous but sinners. Matthew 9:13 During the past year, Pope Francis called on all people to ponder the place of mercy in the revelation of Jesus and in our own lives. If, however, we…[read more]
The plans of the diligent are sure of profit,/ but all rash haste leads certainly to poverty. Proverbs 21: 5 Many years ago, a friend said to me: “John, you do everything fast.” His comment reminded me of my childhood. Each evening, after supper, my parents and I would wash the dishes together. Inevitably, after…[read more]
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, “Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”— when you already have it with you. Prov. 3:27-8 What is the source of so much violence, the death and destruction…[read more]
If our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are the most unfortunate of people. 1 Cor 15:20 Recently I heard from a person struggling with drug addiction. Among his desperate assertions was: “My life is too far gone.” What do we mean when we speak of “my life”? Is it something…[read more]
Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. John 19, 25 By the time that Jesus is crucified there remain “standing by” him only his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary Magdalene and the Beloved Disciple John. As the church celebrated yesterday the…[read more]
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