Leo the Great on the famous passage from Matthew 16 in which Jesus gives Cephas the new name of Peter, meaning rock, along with the keys to the kingdom of heaven. It is read each year on the Feast of the Chair of...
We so often condemn the Pharisees that we totally miss a sneaky way that we are often like them. The hard saying of Jesus "if you hand causes you to sin, cut it off" is a kind of shock therapy to wake us up...
You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, proclaims Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. This seems to indicate that there is an essential role for passion, excitement and fire in the Christian life....
The Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes challenge us all. When Jesus praises the poor in spirit and those hungry for righteousness, he is also condemning the self-satisfaction that leads to sloth, a deadly disease that's risen to epic proportions in the Western...
Saint Joseph always appears in Manger scenes during Advent and Easter time and even has a special Solemnity or Feast in his honor, St. Joseph's Day, March 19. This essay makes a case that St. Joseph teaches us some crucial things about the nature...
7 minute podcast segment in which Dr. Italy is interviewed about the dynamics of discipleship and the paradox of freedom and rest through discipline. The term discipleship has been heard a lot in the past few years. Many parishes are writing mission statements these days calling...
5 minute podcast on the Mount of Beatitudes on the Northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, traditional site of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and where he spent solitary hours in prayer....
This post examines the relationship between the transfiguration and the passion of Christ, between Mount Tabor and Calvary. It also asks the question of of whether God the Father ever abandoned Jesus on the Cross. Helpful reading either for the Feast of the...
The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew's gospel includes such tough such as love your enemies, turn the other cheek, and judge not. How are we to understand such things and put them into practice? The examples of Jesus & St. Thomas More...
12 minute podcast that describes the lifestyle of the Holy Family in Nazareth during the "hidden years" before Jesus launched his public ministry....