Salt is one of the most precious commodities in our natural world. Our own bodies could not function without it although too much of it is also problematic. (The same can be said of many such commodities.) Most of us think of the little cellar that sits on our tables at meal times when we think of salt. We use it to flavor our food or, more properly, to heighten the natural flavor of...
The Lectionary for Weekday Mass – Cycle I begins our continuous reading of both the Second Letter to the Corinthians and the Gospel of St. Matthew. Coincidentally, passages from both the readings focus our attention on what some would consider the negatives of human life. However, both St. Paul and St. Matthew are able to explain how Jesus has shifted our understanding to help us embrace...
Today is the Feast of the Sacred Heart, the patronal feast of my Franciscan Province. It also happens to be the anniversary of my ordination. Thirty-eight years ago today, through the imposition of hands by Bishop James Ryan, O.F.M., I was ordained to be one of the shepherds of which our readings speak.
As powerful as the shepherd imagery is in the first reading and in the Gospel...
If you have been following the story of Tobiah from the Book of Tobit this week, you will immediately realize the irony with which Raguel addresses him today: "Eat, drink, and be merry. . ." (Tobit 7:10b) Tobiah has just asked Raguel for his daughter's hand in marriage, a woman who has already lost seven husbands.
Similar words appear several times in the Scriptures. Isaiah 22:13 uses...