Unless your faith is firm you shall not be firm! (Isaiah 7:9c)
This quotation from the seventh chapter of Isaiah sounds rather ominous. It comes within the context of instructions given to Isaiah to go out and meet King Ahaz who was trembling for fear of the armies that were arrayed before him ready to attack.
Anyone familiar with the...
The Gospel selection for today can be very unsettling. It seems as if Jesus is predicting that people of faith will inevitably run into opposition from the members of their families. Rather than looking at it as a prediction of things to come, it is far more profitable to remember that the Gospels were written long after Jesus’ return to heaven. Much of what the Gospel...
The Gospel passage for today’s liturgy is St. Matthew’s abbreviated version of an incident about which St. Mark wrote more extensively. It involves an official whose daughter has died. While on his way to the house, Jesus is touched by a woman with a hemorrhage. If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured (Matthew 9:21b). This incident always gives me a chance...
The word “humble” comes from the Latin root “humus,” a word that means earth or soil. It reminds us of the fact that the Book of Genesis tells us in the second creation story, found in chapter two, that we were formed from the dust or soil of the earth. Then the LORD God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man...
Today the Church pauses to remember St. Thomas the Apostle. There is much by way of traditional lore about this apostle including the tradition that he traveled as far as India in his mission of preaching the Gospel. There are several different accounts of his death, but the most prevalent is that he was killed by four lance thrusts. The legends regarding his burial and the...