The first reading today is from the Book of Judges and contains the Parable of the Trees (Judges 9:8-15). It speaks to a period of Israel’s history after the people had entered the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua but before the establishment of the...
“Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” On its own, the question reveals a fundamental human concern: the pursuit of eternal life or spiritual salvation asked in earnest by someone who is genuinely seeking to understand the path to salvation. But in the...
In the second reading today from the Letter to the Hebrews, the author tells us “persevere in running the race that lies before us.” It is an apt sports metaphor for life. Perseverance in life – the needed persistence in doing something despite difficulty or...
Much of our religious consciousness is affected by art; we have inherited specific images that are more artistic than biblical. For example, we always imagine St. Paul being knocked from a horse on the Damascus Road. There is no mention of the horse in scripture. ...
You can reduce today’s gospel to simply be a guide for settling disputes, but it is more than that. It is a guide for living together as His disciples. The goal is to guard the unity of the Church through truth, love, and mercy so that the Church remains an...
