In yesterday’s post, I tried to show how St. Matthew and St. Luke used similar material but organized it differently and placed it in a different context. Generally speaking, these differences are related to the audience for whom the sacred author was writing.
Today’s Gospel reading illustrates that very clearly. If you look to St. Matthew’s Gospel, you will find that he...
If I were to ask you if you recognized the term "The Sermon on the Mount," I suspect that most of you would immediately say "yes!" Just about every movie about the life of Christ has included the scene in which Jesus preaches this famous sermon which begins with what we commonly call the "Eight Beatitudes."
Do you recognize the term "The Sermon on the Plain"?...
I know it might strike some as odd, but I find the reading of the Gospel for today’s feast a wonderful experience. Yes, one does have to struggle a bit with all the strange names. However, these opening verses to the Gospel of St. Matthew fill me with a sense of wonder as I contemplate the lengths to which God went to save you and me.
Of course, the reading should...
Our natural inclination is to hang on to the old, to avoid change, to stay with what is comfortable and routine. To be sure, there is nothing unusual about this. Almost all people would admit that change is difficult at best.
Currently the seven American OFM Franciscan Provinces are in discussions about reconfiguring our province boundaries and the possibility of reducing...
Wisdom and its counterpart Foolishness are featured in St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. However, in juxtaposing them in his writings to make a point, he is simply drawing from his knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures. The Wisdom Literature of the Hebrew Scriptures often pairs Dame Wisdom with Madame Folly and provides many valuable lessons through this rhetorical...