Both Jesus and Paul were Jews. Jesus attended the synagogue on the Sabbath and join the pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem and the Temple for Passover. Paul was a zealous Jew, a Pharisee. Paul even...
Jesus the Jew
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Friar Reflection
Constancy For the Long Walk
The event in today’s Gospel happens right after Jesus’ comments in yesterday’s Gospel about the narrow gate. A group of Pharisees comes up to Jesus right after his teaching session and tells him he...
The Narrow Gate
“Lord, will only a few people be saved?” The question proposed in today’s Gospel a very basic question about our relationship with God. It is a question that still rolls through our minds and souls...
The Foundation
The gospel for today’s Feast of St. Simon and Jude is the simple list of the Apostles as given in the Gospel of Luke. Early Christian writers and later stories link Simon and Jude as missionary...
Adoption into Glory
For more than a week we have been reading from The Letter to the Romans. We transitioned from hearing about Abraham as an example of faith working its way through human imperfection to the source...
Amazing Grace
Today’s first reading from Romans forms the basis of the well-known hymn “Amazing Grace.” The hymn begins with the words, “Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound) That sav’d a wretch like me! I...
True Freedom
What is true freedom? A common understanding of freedom is the right to do what I want, whenever I want with no burdens and no responsibilities. As we hear in today’s first reading this is not...
Steward = Faithful, Prudent, Responsible, and Blessed
The disciples were full of questions, especially when Jesus spoke in parables. Jesus’ answers to their questions help us to understand the Word of God more fully. Jesus starts off today with the...
Through One Man: Sin and Death
In today’s first reading our selection from The Letter to the Romans moves on from its prior focus on Abraham as a model of trust/belief/faith even when he has moments of doubts. Moving ahead to...
Trusting and Human Imperfection
Today’s first reading is from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans, one of the most challenging and complex of all the New Testament books – and addresses an equally complex character in the person...