St. Bede the Venerable on the call of Matthew, Tax Collector turned disciple, apostle & evangelist. Matthew, originally called Levi, was, as a publican, excommunicated from the life of the synagogue and shunned in Jewish society....
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...
Here Leo the Great comments on the fourth, fifth and sixth of the Beatitudes, explaining why those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are blessed as well as the merciful and the pure of heart....
Leo's exegesis of these important verses of St. Matthew's Gospel is one of the most important patristic commentaries on the Beatitudes. Christ, the New Moses chooses to give his Sermon on a Mount to show that he is the new Moses, teaching the newRegarding...
When his enemies quiz him about what commandment is the greatest, Jesus reveals just how radical he really is. His answer goes to the very root of every single one of the 613 commandments found in the law of the Old Testament - the distinct...
In Matthew's gospel, Jesus makes the statement "my yoke is easy, my burden light." For many of us who follow him, this does not seem to square with our experience. This post discusses the reasons for this....
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...
Jesus says to deny self, pick up the cross and follow him. But he also says to love your neighbor as yourself. Is self-love always wrong?...
The parable of the foolish virgins who let the oil in their lamps run out recalls the recurring nightmare that so many experience, of being caught totally unprepared for a test or presentation. [dropcaps type='normal' font_size='70' color='' background_color='' border_color='']M[/dropcaps]any people don't have much of a problem...
Mercy, says Gregory of Zanianzen, is by no means the least of the beatitudes. It is what Christ has asked for rather than sacrifice; he asks us to show him mercy by showing mercy to the poor....