Scripture

In today’s first reading (Thursday of the 22nd week of the year) St. Paul writes: Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s... Read more

Last week, the news broke that Father Matthew Hood of the Archdiocese of Detroit had this summer learned that he was not validly baptized— despite believing that he had been ordained a priest in 2017. Hood thought he had been baptized as a baby. But, prompted by a recently issued... Read more

 A police officer in Paraguay saved the life of a woman this month by talking to her and reading Scripture as she contemplated suicide. On August 9, Officer Juan Osorio of the Special Operations Group arrived at the Costa Cavalcanti bridge, which joins the towns of Ciudad del Este and... Read more

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Transfiguration. It is when Our Lord took St. Peter, St. James, and St. John up to the mountain to pray and He was transfigured before them; revealing a glimpse of His glory. These three Apostles—who would also be with Him in the Garden of... Read more

You probably know that most liberal New Testament scholars don’t have time for miracles. All those miracles stories and supernatural events? They’re all pious fiction. Somebody made it up. It’s “mythical.” They say the early Christians added that fairy tale stuff to make Jesus more... Read more

Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand in Mt 4:13-21 gives us an insight into how He responds to human helplessness, those moments when we feel overwhelmed by our personal and societal circumstances. Firstly, by His humanity, Jesus indeed freely chose to experience and share in our... Read more

There is a quote by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI that frequently makes the rounds in social media: “The world offers you comfort. But you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.” On the surface it is a summons to rise above the things of this world in order to achieve the... Read more

In Sunday’s Gospel we are told of a man who finds a hidden treasure buried in a field and that he goes and sells all he has to buy the filed in order to have that treasure. Why is it hidden and what does that mean for us? To say that the treasure, an image for the Kingdom of Heaven, is... Read more

Among the gospel writers it is a unanimous fact that Mary Magdalene is the first of the disciples to see Jesus risen and spread the news that he was back from the dead. All four gospel writers mention that on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, she makes her way to the tomb... Read more

I write this from my perspective as a priest responsible for the care of souls; I do not claim to be a medical expert. My pastoral concern is that we as a nation and as a Church have succumbed to excessive fear, which bespeaks a spiritual problem. The medical concerns arising from the pandemic... Read more