Fr Dino VaninIn antiquity, the only measure that could be adopted to curtail leprosy and prevent contamination was the creation of boundaries similar to other boundaries that figure prominently in the Bible. Here are the most well-known: No impure foods must...
I cry out to you ‘violence’ but you do not intervene. Why do you let me see ruin; why must I look at misery? They are words written millennia ago, and yet so vivid, so timely, so fitting. They are words, though, that put our faith to the test. So...
It is amazing to see how God’s Word is always calling us in the concrete, real situations in which we live so that, through it, we may find meaning, purpose, comfort and guidance. Simply put, every time we gather to do Eucharist, we experience God...
Undoubtedly, these thirteen verses from the Gospel of Luke (16:1-13)must be the most controversial parable in the whole Gospel. Well, it is so only to us Westerners, since our culture and our upbringing are keen on integrity and honesty and thus we...
Every year since 9/11/2001, people have gathered at Ground Zero, in front of the Pentagon and in a remote area of Pennsylvania for somber and dramatic remembrances of their personal loss. A heartrending, personal loss brings them together. The more...
In the Gospel of Luke (14:25-33), great crowds were traveling with Jesus. Let this be the starting point of our reflection. Due to a number of reasons, those great crowds have been reduced considerably over the centuries and, as it is painfully...
The Pharisees desired to attain self-worth by jockeying for the places of honor at the banquets attended also by Jesus. The Gospel, elsewhere, tells us that they always did that. They coveted the more honorable places as well as respect...
A careful reading of the Gospels reveals the utter amazement of the crowds over the fact that Jesus taught with authority and convincing force. Apparently, they were accustomed to hearing nice, soothing words of reassurance, compromises and watered...
After listening to the readings for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, it is hard to say: “thanks be to God” or “praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.” For each deals with pain and anguish: death, fire, baptism in the sense of a plunging into the...
The readings for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Wisdom 18:6-9; Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19; Luke 12:32-48) are all about genuine, factual faith; they are about tested faith, faith in action, faith for the long haul. Because of their faith in God’s...