Andrew Greeley once wrote that some people are looking for the perfect community or church, a group of people free from all sin. “Sure, look for it. And if you find it, realize that the moment you join it, that community is no longer perfect.”
Jesus addresses himself in today’s Gospel text to a group of scribes and Pharisees. In yesterday’s text, these same men were...
The Hebrew word for “holy” literally means “other than,” or “set apart from.” Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, we hear God say: “Be holy as I, your God, am holy.” A newspaper columnist once wrote to the effect that if you let people do what they want, they end up imitating each other. This is particularly evident in fashion. The length of...
The Hebrew word for “holy” literally means “other than,” or “set apart from.” Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, we hear God say: “Be holy as I, your God, am holy.” A newspaper columnist once wrote to the effect that if you let people do what they want, they end up imitating each other. This is particularly evident in fashion. The length of...
When Eli finally understands that it is the Lord who was calling Samuel, he gives him good advice: “Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” While it is Eli that understands what is happening, it is Samuel who has been attentive enough to hear a voice calling for him.
We give so much value to talking, even, in a sense,...
Both of the readings for this Thursday in the First Week of Ordinary Time might leave us scratching our heads a bit as we tried to decipher the message of these Scripture passages.
As is often the case, the story of Hophni and Phineas shows us the culmination of the story without telling us what has prompted God’s punishment of the Israelites under their command. If we back up a...