In the book of Deuteronomy, the Israelites are asked upon entering the Promised Land to give back to God the first of the fruits of the land as a sign of their indebtedness to God. This sign then also becomes a perpetual obligation, though it’s possible to see how the …

The First Letter to the Corinthians 15:54–58 (NABRE) highlights the victory won by Christ over death and our share in it. Paul uses the image of the corrupt being clothed with incorruptibility and the mortal being clothed with immortality. While the notion of immortality is essential to the Christian message, …

The Gospel According to Luke 6:27–38 (NABRE) looks at the golden rule, which focuses on the relationship between wanting and doing. “Do to others as you would have them do to you” is a statement we frequently hear, perhaps so often that some of the emphasis is dulled. While typical …

The word beatitude is synonymous with the word “blessed.” In the Beatitudes in the Gospel According to Luke 6:20–26 (NABRE), we encounter Jesus describing the conditions that need to be met in order for a person to be blessed. The idea of being blessed is common to Christianity, so much …

The Gospel According to Luke 5:1–11 (NABRE) describes Jesus’ call of his disciples and includes the wonderful passage: “from now on you will be catching men,” which sometimes is translated elsewhere as “I will make you fishers of men.” While the English pun fishers of men is clever and catchy, …

This week we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, which commemorates the occasion in which Jesus was taken to Jerusalem to be dedicated in the Temple according to the Law. This precedent originated with the tenth plague in Egypt in which God doomed all the firstborn and …

The Church annually celebrates Sunday of the Word of God in late January to reflect on the extraordinary gift of God’s word. The Bible or the Scriptures make up a central part of Christian worship because they uniquely reveal God to us through God’s own inspiration. While these writings are …

The Gospel According to John 2:1–11 (NABRE) features the wedding at Cana and an odd exchange between Jesus and his mother. In this exchange, Mary comes to Jesus with a problem, Jesus seems to be dismissive of her concern, and then ultimately he does what she asks with no further …

As we celebrate the baptism of Jesus by John we reflect on the word baptism, which comes from the Greek word βαπτίζω (baptizo) and means “dip” or “plunge.” Baptism as it’s usually mentioned in the Bible is a dipping or submerging of the person being baptized into water. John’s baptism …

Epiphany occurs as a part of the Church’s celebration of the Christmas season. During this solemnity, we contemplate the three magi coming to Jesus and, by extension, the manifestation of God in human form to the Gentiles. The concept of Epiphany, however, has a broader meaning, and there is perhaps …