Fr. Lawrence discusses the parable of the Good Samaritan, one of the parables that is peculiar to St. Luke's Gospel.
Today's reading from the Book of Genesis skips over nine chapters and introduces us to the plight of Israel when a great famine gripped the land. Ten of Jacob's sons go to Egypt to procure food for Jacob's family. There they meet their brother Joseph whom they do not recognize. Joseph is eager to connect with his younger brother, Benjamin. (He and Benjamin were the sons of Rebekah, Jacob's...
Today's reading from the Book of Genesis tells us of how God changes Jacob's name to Israel, a name which means that he is one who has grappled with God and with people and has prevailed. His name becomes the name of his people as they too are "wrestling" with the mystery of God's attempts to form a covenantal bond with the human race.
Jacob's name, Israel, reveals to us how God has...
In today's passage from the Book of Genesis, Jacob strikes a bargain with God. All of us have done. "If" God grants the favor we are asking, "then" we will do such and such. Jacob is running from Esau whom he has robbed of Esau's birthright. He is being hunted. In a dream, God promises to stay with him as protection against whatever ill may be pursuing him. So Jacob promises that if God...
Fr. Lawrence speaks of the Gospel for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, the C Cycle of the Lectionary for Sunday Mass.