Just a very brief note of history to better understand today’s readings. In the second century before Christ, Israel was a small country sandwiched between Egypt and Syria. Alexander the Great had expanded Greek culture over a large section of the Mediterranean and...
This encounter between Jesus and Zacchaeus is a key point to understand our life as Christians. Jericho is a good-sized city located about 40 miles east and north of Jerusalem. According to Google, if I were a US Marine, that would be an eight hour walk in the desert....
One point in the Gospel is very clear from beginning to end: Christian life is service, service to others, service to God. Life is nonstop, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week service. God’s son Jesus comes to us to share our lives and integrate us into the life of the...
During the COVID19 pandemic I lived in the northern part of the Bronx and among other activities, I worked in Harlem giving out food to people on the street and those living outdoors in Marcus Garvey Park. I traveled on the Metro North train between the Riverside (in...
Today’s Gospel is probably one of those passages from the Gospel that would we prefer to skip over or completely edit out of the Gospel. Many people say that Jesus is being excessively hard here. Love and care for family is a basic human need and experience. For human...