One of the many stories told about St. Francis of Assisi recounts a day when he was interrupted from his gardening by one of his brothers. “Brother Francis, if you knew that today was the Day of Judgment, and that the Lord would come at any moment, what would youContinue Reading
What lesson are we to take away from the Gospel story of the widow’s mite? It is not about the virtue of generosity, after all, the widow receives no reward for her sacrifice of “all she had.” Jesus does not speak to her or directly praise her. What Jesus does,Continue Reading
In today’s readings we are given a glimpse of what might have been. The tension between Judaism and Christianity did not need to happen. Jesus is questioned by a scribe and the answer he gives is completely acceptable to the Pharisee. They agree on the greatest commandment and they agreeContinue Reading
“Master, I want to see.” In today’s Gospel, Bartimaeus calls to the “Son of David,” by doing so he recognizes Jesus as a prophet and wonderworker. Although others try to silence him, his plea becomes all the louder. Finally he gets Jesus’ attention and is brought before the Master. “WhatContinue Reading
In today’s Gospel, the sons of Zebedee do not know what they are asking. They are still thinking in terms of an earthly kingdom with royal privileges and honors. But rather than flatly deny them, Jesus instead tries to make them understand that what they have asked for is toContinue Reading
When Jesus tells His disciples “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the Kingdom of God,” to whom is He referring? St. Luke tells us of several women who provided for Jesus and His ministry out of their means (Luke 8:3), so we know that HeContinue Reading
What does it mean to belong to Christ? For St. Therese of Lisieux it meant that every task she was given was an opportunity to serve God, no matter how small or insignificant it seemed. St. Therese felt that people lived too much in fear of God’s judgment and notContinue Reading
As Christ prepares His disciples for His passion and death, His followers still do not quite grasp the reality of Jesus’ teachings. They are still thinking like men, motivated by their ambitions of position and power. They have not yet risen above earthly wisdom to the true wisdom that comesContinue Reading
In recent years icons have enjoyed a growing popularity. Iconography workshops abound and many people have them in their homes as devotional images. But this has also led to much discussion about what an icon is and isn’t. Differences in style aside, one thing that all proper icons have inContinue Reading
The healing of the deaf man with a speech impediment is told only in the Gospel according to St. Mark. Why was this? Besides the recounting of a miracle, what message was Mark trying to convey to his readers? Saint Mark addressed his Gospel to gentile converts living in RomeContinue Reading