Passion Sunday celebrates the entry into Holy Week as the Church prepares to commemorate the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus. We refer to this event a great deal during Holy Week, but how well do we understand what the word passion means? The word and concept enter English in a …

In the Gospel According to John 12:25 (NABRE), Jesus presents a paradox: “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.” This seems like a challenging and even contradictory proposition, though looking at the original Greek does help to …

The Gospel According to John 3:16 (NABRE) is possibly the most frequently quoted summation of God’s love for humanity: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” For good reason this …

In the Gospel According to John 2:13–22 (NABRE), Jesus chases from the Temple area those conducting commerce there. He then is confronted by the Jewish leaders and asked for a sign. As seems typical in the Fourth Gospel, Jesus’ response only seems to aggravate the religious leaders more because they miss the …

Transfiguration and transubstantiation are two words with the same prefix. Both describe religious mysteries that are difficult for us to understand. The Transfiguration of Jesus occurs on a mountain where Moses and Elijah also put in appearances. There are a couple of related words deriving from Latin that are especially …

In the book of Genesis 9:8–15 (NABRE), God makes a covenant with Noah that he never again will seek to destroy humanity and all other creatures by means of flood—perhaps not the most comforting of promises considering how many other options God has available. As a sign of this covenant, …

In the Gospel According to Mark 1:40–45 (NABRE), Jesus heals a leper. This instance is remarkable because it shows us how Jesus performs signs and miracles described in Scripture. Even the leper’s request of Jesus in the Gospel According to Mark 1:40 (NABRE) is remarkable. The role of priests traditionally …

In the first chapter of the Gospel According to Mark (NABRE), Jesus’ ministry is accompanied by healing many who are ill. While in a few special cases we’re given insight into the logistics and the “how” of these signs and miracles, in far more cases such as this, they’re treated …

A key teaching in the Gospel According to Mark 1:21–28 (NABRE) is that Jesus teaches with authority and the scribes don’t. The evangelist identifies this as the key differentiator in Jesus’ teaching. The Greek word ἐξουσία (exousia) is translated as authority in this passage. It also can mean “power.” This …

As we celebrate the Sunday of the Word of God, we reflect on the importance of God’s word in changing lives and the world. In the reading from the Gospel According to Mark 1:14–20 (NABRE), Jesus has begun his public ministry by proclaiming the “Gospel of God.” The idea of …