Demons. Satan. Beelzebub. Lucifer. The Devil. Known by various names, evil spirits are to be found in the Bible, both New and Old Testaments. Jesus casts them out and has authority over them. What do we now make...
There is a cost of discipleship -- Jesus sometimes calls us to leave behind professions, friends, even family. Does that mean that work and human relationships are at odds with growing in our relationship with God?...
The biblical term "mystery" refers to a long thread running through history, hidden under ordinary faces and events. It comes to a climax in an Angel's annunciation to a Virgin that puts together many biblical concepts -king, messiah, emmanuel, son of God - pondered on...
The Gospel of Luke presents Mary, mother of Jesus, as the model of faith, showing us what faith must include to be authentic and effective. And imitating Mary's virtue is key to an authentic Marian devotion....
The Feast of Christ the King reminds us that Jesus will judge the living and the dead. Matthew 25 hints that the pious, decent folk may be in for a surprise . . . sins of omission, failing to love, may figure more prominently...
A reflection about two passages from Scripture, Proverbs 31 and the parable of the talents from Matthew's Gospel, that demonstrate that faith entails the courage to take bold initiatives, to be creative, even entrepreneurial, to express our gratitude to God for all that He has...
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. For the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A. To LISTEN to...
How did the Pharisees, who were God's champions in the days of the Maccabees, become the villains who sought the death of God's son? They were deformed by an insidious spiritual disease that is the deadliest of the seven deadly or capital sins - pride....
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...
When the Pharisees and the Herodians brought up the issue of paying taxes to the Emperor, Jesus uttered the famous line "render to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's. So what does this say about the role of government in our...