Readings for September 1, 2013: 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time “Nice guys finish last,” says the world. “The last will be first,” replies Jesus. My guess is that the Lord of creation knows best who really wins in the end. …
Why Humility Opens Doors
How Narrow!
Readings for August 25, 2013: Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time Start small, finish big. That seems to be God’s motto. He begins salvation history with two people from what is now Iraq. When planning to raise a really big family,…
Not Peace but the Sword
Readings for August 18, 2013: Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time One of the themes of Pope Francis at World Youth Day 2013 was to “shake things up.” This is quite different from the advice I was given as a child:…
Solemnity of the Assumption
Readings for August 15, 2013: Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary I once asked a college theology class if anyone could explain the doctrine of the Assumption. A student replied, “Yeah, that’s the teaching whereby the Catholic…
Faith and Belief
Readings for August 11, 2013: Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time I recently visited Italy and was reminded of the religious contrast between America and Europe. In Europe, large numbers of people consider themselves agnostics or even atheists. In America, something…
The Root of All Evil?
Readings for August 4, 2013: Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time In his space trilogy, C.S. Lewis called him “the Bent One.” That is really an apt name for the one the Bible is calls “Satan” or the Accuser. The perverse…
Ask and You Shall Receive
Readings for July 28, 2013: Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time I’ve often heard people say that they don’t want to trouble God with their petty needs and concerns. After all, he has more important things to attend to, like running…
Martha and Mary
Readings for July 21, 2013: Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time I once got a harsh letter from a Baptist lady protesting that she could not find the word “Catholic” anywhere in the Bible. True, the earliest occurrence of the term…
The Good Samaritan
Readings for June 14, 2013: 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time To this day, the road from Jericho to Jerusalem is long, winding, and desolate. The two travelers could have been heading back home after weeks on temple duty. Or they…
Restore and Reactivate
Readings for July 7, 2013: Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time To some, being Italian-American means overindulging in pasta and joking about tough guys. But being Italian means being heir to a rich tradition stretching back before the Caesars, including philosophers…