Divine Mercy Sunday, sanctioned by Pope St. John Paul II and dedicated to the vision of God’s love as revealed to St. Faustina Kowalska, is celebrated by the Church on the first Sunday following Easter. The Greek word for mercy, ἔλεος (heleos), can also be translated as “pity” or “compassion.” …

Paul’s Letter to the Philippians 2:6-11 (NABRE) contains a well-known and powerful description of Jesus. In the opening of this passage, Paul describes Jesus as being in the form of God. What does that say about Jesus? The Greek word for form, μορφή (morphe), describes and refers to outward appearance. …

The Gospel According to John 8:1–11 (NABRE) highlights sin and consequence in the account of the woman taken in adultery. The Jewish leaders have found a sinful woman whom they are using as a trap for Jesus. He can either endorse carrying out the law and get in trouble with …

Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians 5:17–21 (NABRE) looks at the work of Christ as one of reconciliation. Due to the common Church contexts in which we hear this word and its association with the sacrament of Confession, it’s easy to begin to see this as a removing of sin …

What’s indicated by the letters YHWH in reference to God? In the book of Exodus 3:14 (NABRE), God tells Moses his name: “I am who I am.” God’s name in future Hebrew literature derives from this statement. The exact pronunciation and meaning of this name is uncertain, though it very …

The Gospel According to Luke 9:28–36 (NABRE) depicts Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain and his conversation with Moses and Elijah, who describe Jesus’ coming Passion, death, and Resurrection as his exodus. This description calls us to connect this act of Jesus with the Exodus of the Old Testament, though at …

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 …