The Book of Ruth can be dated to the early years after the Exile, 587-37 BC, during a time when intermarriage with foreigners was being debated. The book concerns the plight of three widows, Naomi ...
This past April 17, the funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was held in Windsor Castle, England. One memorable image was that of Queen Elizabeth, in widow’s black, sitting alone in the chapel for the ...
When I taught in the Oakland area, my friends and I often drove down the coast to Carmel by the Sea. There we enjoyed the 17-mile drive along the ocean, the Pebble Beach Golf Course, ...
Last month I wrote on the Transfiguration, emphasizing the words of God, “Listen to him,” and the setting of the passage within the journey of Jesus and the disciples to Jerusalem. Along the way, Jesus ...
The gospel reading for Sunday, Jan. 10th, four days after the insurrection in Washington, DC, narrates the baptism of Jesus. The passage includes: “A voice came from the heavens, ‘You are my beloved Son; with ...
Beginning on Jan. 10, the gospel readings for Sundays are taken, for the most part, from Mark’s Gospel. The weekday gospels are a continuous reading from Mark, starting on Jan. 11. Mark’s Gospel is the ...
Advent has begun and in many gatherings in our churches we sing/hear the familiar hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emanuel.” Beginning on December 17, the “O Antiphons” will be recited during the Liturgy of the ...
The readings of the Eucharistic liturgy for November 8th present two major understandings of the notion of wisdom in Scripture, one in reference to God and the other to human beings. The first reading (Wisdom 6:12-16), picking up ...
These days we often hear “turn the other cheek” with a reference to the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew’s gospel. Understanding a gospel passage involves a consideration of its ...
This year on Aug. 16 we hear Jesus utter the words, “O woman, great is your faith” (Matt. 15:28). The woman is a Canaanite, the first gentile woman portrayed as having faith in Jesus in ...
