Since my diagnosis with cancer, I have been reading the healing narratives in the Gospels. I felt a nudge to dwell with these stories of curing and cleansing, to understand…
Many American Catholics will probably recognize the name of Franz Jägerstätter (1907–1943), an Austrian Catholic who went willingly to his death rather than fight for Hitler’s Nazi regime. I imagine…
What is the chalice or cup of today’s Gospel—the cup that we, too, must drink? This earthen vessel symbolizes Jesus drinking our human life to the full and pouring it…
Poor Assyria. They believe themselves to be the intelligence that directs the axe, when they are just the axe. Poor Judah. They believe themselves to be God’s favorite, when they…
Matthew’s account of the hemorrhaging woman is a brief interruption in the Jairus story. What are we to make of it? Let’s review this important interlude line by line: Suffering…
The Lord God speaks—who will not prophesy? How does God’s Word translate to our time, when it feels as though everything is falling apart? Coastal cities with moderate climate and…
It is said that the Inca people and their Spanish conquerors could not understand one another at all. It wasn’t a question of language but of values. The Inca culture…
It sounds so simple, doesn’t it? “Love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you.” But how many of us really do that? Years ago, I suggested in an…
Elijah has come to an impasse. Imagine being holed up in a cave with men who intend to take your life in hot pursuit. His fidelity to Yahweh has resulted…
When Jesus is asked for the number one commandment, he gives two. The first—love God with everything you’ve got—is nothing new. Jesus quotes an ancient text, Deuteronomy 6:4-5, “Hear, O…
