A boy who was swimming in a lake one summer day went out too far and found himself in danger of drowning; fortunately, a man saw what was happening, and at the risk of his own life, swam out and rescued him. Afterwards the boy said, “Thank you for...
In the 1993 film Searching for Bobby Fischer, an eight-year-old chess prodigy, Josh, is taking chess lessons from Bruce, his tutor. In an attempt to motivate Josh, Bruce reaches into his valise and very slowly and reverently begins to remove a white...
One of my favorite saints is Catherine of Siena, who lived in 14th century Italy. The youngest of 25 children, she refused to marry, as her parents wished, and instead entered the Dominican Order. Catherine became known for her great holiness and...
Comparing the institution of the Eucharist in the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) with the Gospel of John, what stands out right away, is that the institution of the Eucharist is missing in the Gospel of John. It has been replaced by the...
In the Gospel of Luke (5:1-11), Jesus turns to Simon Peter and says: “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” In reply, he speaks for himself and the other disciples: “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing...
The readings for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time are a hymn to the culture of life: even life with all the trials and pain, and limits, and hardships that our human frailty imposes on us. This is possible because Christ lives forever to make...
Over lunch, a brother deacon recounted the story of his nephew’s First Holy Communion. He noted that after a period of great anticipation, the day had finally arrived. With family having traveled from near and far, all had made their way to the...
Eldad and Medad were not in the tent when the Spirit of God came upon the 70 in the Book of Numbers (11:25-29). Eldad and Medad weren’t there, but they still received the Spirit and began to prophesize. “Stop them,” Joshua told Moses, “Why?” asked...
