This week’s gospel presents the last words of Jesus on earth, before he ascended to the Father.  St. Matthew makes this both the conclusion and the climax of his gospel.  On a mountain in Galilee, Jesus began his final lesson by telling the disciples that He, the Son of God and their brother, has been given authority over creation.  He then commissioned them “to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”  They are to be taught everything the disciples were taught and know that Jesus is there with them until the end of the age. 

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Trinity SundayRead More »

A poor European family was migrating to the US a century ago. On the ship, they had bread and cheese they had purchased prior to sailing. After many days of cheese sandwiches, the son came to his father, “Papa, if I have to eat cheese sandwiches all the way across the Atlantic, I won’t make it.” The sympathetic father gave him his last nickel for ice cream. Hours later the child returned. The father noticed his wide smile. He asked what he had eaten. “Several plates of ice cream, papa, and then a steak dinner.” “For a nickel?” “No, papa, the food is free. It’s part of the passage ticket.” He returned the coin to his father. 

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PentecostRead More »

“I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.” Jesus is using an image that his early audience could relate to. A vine is made up of branches woven together, working together to produce fruit, but a branch when cut off cannot survive on its own. Jesus is giving us a lesson in living life fully; to do so, we must see ourselves as being connected, like branches, to one another.

Too often, we forget that our actions speak louder than words. “He says that he loves me but he’s never here!” cried one wife, hurt and angry by the turn her marriage had taken. “We kiss each other every morning and he says, ‘I love you,’ but then he calls me from the office to tell me that he’ll be working late and won’t be home for dinner. ‘I love you,’ he says before hanging up. But how am I supposed to believe him? He doesn’t do anything to show me that he loves me!”

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5th Sunday of EasterRead More »

In today’s first reading, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, Luke provides us with an ideal cameo of the first Christian community that sounds so unreal to us. They held all things in common. The wealthier members of the community would sell their property to assist those in need. Their generosity was rooted in faith. What prompted them to act in this way was the impact the resurrection of Jesus had on them.

While most of us acknowledge the duty to contribute to the community, some of us often find it hard to be truly generous with what we have. Sharing what we have, be it our personal faith or personal possessions can be a real struggle. Yet when you stop to think about it, we are blessed with what we have because someone, often our parents, was willing to initially share something that impacted our lives, nourishing us both physically and spiritually. 

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2nd Sunday of EasterRead More »

This gospel passage proclaims the heart of our faith. What we hear proclaimed is the report of an empty tomb. If you already believe, the empty tomb makes sense. Mark tells us far more than we may imagine, and at the same time less. Have you ever noticed that no gospel describes the resurrection itself, an event that is terribly difficult for us to imagine? The New Testament writers certainly believed and taught that Jesus rose from the dead. They also understood his resurrection not to be a simple resuscitation, but a transformation. What the risen Christ became was unlike what he had been before he died on the cross. 

What is the resurrection? That is a crucial question for us to ponder since our faith is based on it. We are convinced that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. If historians were to rank the significant events of all time, I believe that many would place this incredible event at the top of their list. Probably no other event has had a greater impact on world history than what happened on the third day following Jesus’ death on the cross. On that day an empty tomb was discovered.

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Easter SundayRead More »