When Moses came down from the mountain, he brought new laws for the Israelites that were life-changing for them. Perhaps most important, these laws were radically different. The Ten Commandments, unlike all previous codes, didn’t deal with politics or how to serve the ruling authority. Instead, they explained with how…

Let’s try something…First, take a big breath of air in and hold it. Now that you’re full of air, WITHOUT LETTING GO OF THE AIR YOU HAVE, try to breathe in another HUGE breath! Could you breathe in as much air the second time as you could the first time?…

In today’s gospel the Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus by asking him about divorces in marriage. Keep in mind that John the Baptist was beheaded when he spoke out against Herod divorcing his wife for Herodius who was his brother’s wife. But Jesus answers by telling them about God’s…

I would like to focus on today’s Gospel. It is a powerful gospel that I did not take seriously when I was younger and not in a relationship with Jesus. I would like to discuss two topics. First, “whoever causes one of these little ones to sin, it would be…

“A Line of Awesomeness” As we read today’s gospel of Mark 9:30-37 we see that the disciples were becoming self-absorbed and arguing as to which of them was the greatest. When Jesus confronts them about their discussion, he turns their argument inside out by telling them that if they really…

In an excerpt from, An Invitation To Faith, edited by Jean-Michel Coulet, Pope Benedict XVI states, “The person is the ‘measure of the dignity of work,’ according to the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. For this reason, the Magisterium has always recalled the human dimension of the…

  Dear friends, I have to admit that I’m glad that the Church connected today’s readings for me – I hadn’t thought about how, in ancient times, tradition and scripturally-based scruples overlapped, and extended into every aspect of human life. I wondered – why was washing hands before a meal…

“Do you also want to leave?” Jesus asks his closest friends, the twelve apostles. I cannot help but wonder what Jesus was feeling at this time. Was he frustrated, angry or what strikes me personally—just sad? What a 24 hours he’d had! He’d fed thousands, tried to get away to…

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time During the Israelites’ time in the desert, they ate the manna that came down from heaven, food for the body. Jesus explained to his followers that this bread only nourished the physical body. What he now offers is nourishment for the spirit. In the same…

They went on murmuring. Bread, you say? Coming down from heaven? Well, we know his mother and father. They live down the street! Jesus answers: forget knowing. It’s about believing, Believe that I love you, that I give my life for you, that I want you to be a part…