Scripture

On Sunday the Church throughout much of the United States celebrates a mysterious event called the Ascension of the Lord. As I have said, the Ascension of the Lord is mysterious, and as such, at times misunderstood. Many people have come to believe that the Ascension of the Lord is about how,... Read more

The scene is Pentecost Sunday and Simon Peter has just received the Holy Spirit along with 120 others. A crowd has gathered, intrigued by the manifestation of the Spirit in the upper room. The door opens and out steps Simon Peter. He begins to proclaim Christ. After an initial summary of... Read more

The Book of Genesis is a book of beginnings, a book of origins. From it we learn the beginning of creation, of humanity, and of the Israelites. The Israelites originate as a people from the great Old Testament patriarch Abraham and his wife Sarah. Abraham is called forth by God from the life... Read more

It really looked like the end of the road for her.  Caught in the act of a capital crime, her fate lay in the hands of an angry mob.  Desiring to kill two birds with one stone, the rabble decided to use her as a political pawn, and so dragged her to Jesus But they badly miscalculated.  He... Read more

You love evil more than good, and lying more than speaking the truth. (Ps. 52:3) Evidently, lies spread more than truth on the internet. A group of scientists published a research report, “The spread of true and false news online,” in Science magazine in March of last year. The study... Read more

There is an astonishing verse in the Exodus account, which is read this week in the Office of Readings. The Lord had parted the waters of the Red Sea with a strong eastern wind and the Israelites had just made the crossing with the Egyptians in hot pursuit. And in the morning watch, the Lord... Read more

As a boy, I remember wondering why so many people liked to rush to Church to get ashes smudged on their foreheads. Frankly, I had some revulsion at the idea. I didn’t like it at all and would secretly rub them off when no one was looking. Today, though I’ll admit I still don’t like it too... Read more

As the summit on sexual abuse continues in Rome, the prelates of the Latin Rite of the Church are reading from the Book of Proverbs in the Office of Readings of the Liturgy of the Hours. Some of the proverbs listed in the reading are particularly appropriate to the task at hand. He who winks... Read more

Have you ever wondered why Catholics treat Mary like a queen?  After all, the Scriptures don’t seem to tell us anything about this simple woman from Nazareth having a royal position in Christ’s kingdom.  And besides, Mary is not the wife of the King Jesus.  She is just his... Read more

When I read the recent results from a Barna Group report suggesting that just under half (47%) of Christian Millennials think it’s wrong to evangelize, I confess I felt a bit like the Apostle Paul, trying his best day by day, letter by letter to show his brethren that the promises to Abraham... Read more