The original meaning of Lent in the early Church and how Jesus' dialogue with the Samaritan woman at the well can help us add another dimension to our understanding and experience of the Lenten Season. In the early days of the Church, Lent was...
Religion is not supposed to be the opposite of spirituality. But sometimes religion becomes a cold routine, even a business. The Lord's cleansing of the Temple spells the end of business as usual. Our religion must be a matter of living faith, zeal and fidelity...
The Holy Spirit, aka Holy Ghost, is the third person of the Trinity but is generally the least known and appreciated. In calling him the Paraclete or Advocate. Jesus hints at what the Spirit does and why he is so important....
In John 14:6, Jesus says "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Is this not narrow and close-minded?...
Jesus is the Good Shepherd because he leads us to verdant pastures where the food is ample and of the best quality. He wants us to thrive, not survive, so that the world might be able to see where abundant life is to be...
The gospel story of the healing of the man born blind is notable for the method Jesus used to work this miracle - he made mud with spittle and clay and rubbed it on the man's eyes. This is a figure of the sacraments...
St. Gregory the Great's commentary on the Apostle Thomas and his struggle with doubt. It makes for especially good reading for the Octave of Easter or the Feast of St. Thomas, the Apostle, which since the fourth century has been commemorated on July 3,...
This selection on the cross comes from Hans Urs von Balthasar's book The Heart of the World. This beautiful mediation on the piercing of Christ's heart by the soldiers lance as recounted in John 19 is a poignant mediation for Lent or Holy Week...
Saint Asterius of Amasea, a bishop and Early Church Father, on the gospel parable of the Good Shepherd who leaves the 99 to go in search of the one lost sheep....
Irenaeus here comments on the famous line of John's Last Supper discourse in which Jesus tells us that he no longer calls us servants but friends. Friendship with God and service to him leads to immortality. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']O[/dropcaps]ur Lord, the Word of...