It is sometimes difficult to understand the appeal of someone like John the Baptist. Who would want to go into the wilderness to hear some religious fanatic tell us to repent so that our sins might be forgiven? In our own...
Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937) was the first African American artist to achieve international acclaim. He attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and settled in Paris to continue studying. It was only after he became established as a salon artist...
We seem fascinated with calamities and disasters on a grand scale. We’ve only to look at recent box office successes at the movies. Attracted to these end-of-the-world plots, we are also deeply terrorized, praying these graphic images on the screen...
A poor widow puts two small coins into the collection plate. Not much of an event, not much of a donation. However, Jesus immediately sees her real identity. Jesus loves her, in her poverty and in her radiance. Though neither materially...
The Great Commandment is at the heart of today’s readings. We hear it in Deuteronomy and then quoted by Jesus in Mark’s gospel. This declaration of God’s unity and call to love God with all our being and to love...
In today’s gospel, we encounter Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, sitting at the side of the road as Jesus makes his way to Jerusalem. The road is crowded with people hoping to get close to Jesus. Bartimaeus, hearing that Jesus is...
St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus This month, on October 1, we celebrated the memorial of St. Thérèse of Lisieux . In her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, she describes her spirituality of childlike trust and love of God. In...
We have so many ways of judging people—by wealth, education, religion, gender, appearance. I’ve caught myself being surprised by a word of wisdom where I least expected it and in doing so recognize my own prejudices. Today’s readings caution us about...
Come away with me to Saint Peter’s Square. Look up and see the statue of Saint Peter dominating the whole place. Walk around the Basilica and try to count the references to Saint Peter. Bend low in the caves and...
Today we are offered two very different visions of right living before God. One is to blindly follow the letter of the law; the other is to follow its heart. It is tempting in daily life to hold others to...
