Monthly Archives: February 2023

The Law and Prophets

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This coming Sunday is the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time in Lectionary Cycle A. The gospel reading is from the discourse popularly known as the Sermon on the Mount. In yesterday’s post we explored the meaning of biblical covenants as a way to frame the question: what does it mean to truly be God’s people? In today’s post we extend the idea of covenant, the arrival of the Messiah in the person of Jesus, and the controversial opening passage of the longer reading of the gospel: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.” (Mt 5:17-18) As we proceed we need to remember that these verses follow upon the earlier passage wherein Jesus is teaching the disciples about discipleship in the kingdom of heaven (5:1-2) – something that is here and yet not fully here. Continue reading →

Order and Purpose

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The first readings from daily Mass for the first two days of this week are taken from Genesis, Chapter 1 into the opening verses of Genesis 2.  It is a familiar story to all from children to grandparents and everyone in between. Some Christians take it literally that in seven 24-hour periods, God created the world. Most Christians take it as an account of God’s role as the Creator of “all thing visible and invisible” as the Creed says, or as Scripture proclaims: “All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be” (John 1:3). Continue reading →

Covenants

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This coming Sunday is the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time in Lectionary Cycle A. The gospel reading is from the discourse popularly known as the Sermon on the Mount. In yesterday’s post we tried to look at a “bigger picture” on this part of the Sermon addressed to the disciples about true fulfillment of the Law as part of attempting to answer what does it truly mean to be the people of God. In today’s post we explore that question with a refresher about the meaning of biblical covenants. Continue reading →

Cattle and Aviators

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I received an email from someone who was able to access my Sunday homily in which I described the events of an air raid during the Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 1944) when aviators returning in the pitch black, low on fuel, wondering how they could possibly find the fleet and safely land – were suddenly greeted with the “light of the world.”

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What we are reading

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This coming Sunday is the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time in Lectionary Cycle A. The gospel reading is from the discourse popularly known as the Sermon on the Mount which we began on the 4th Sunday. There are two options for the proclamation of the gospel. One is quite long (Mt 5:17-37) while the shorter version extracts key verses (Mt 5:20-22a, 27-28, 33-34a, 37). A typical outline of the longer version suggests five blocks of teaching as Jesus continues to address his disciples. The blocks are teachings about the Law, anger, adultery, divorce and oaths. Each block within the longer reading offers examples to illustrate the point. The shorter version offers a succinct comparison of the current Jewish teaching (You have heard it said…) with a more complete understanding of what God intended (but I say to you…) as offered by Jesus. It would be a good idea to pause from this post to read the whole of the gospel passage. Continue reading →

The Beacon

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By June 1944, the United States had been embroiled in a world war for some 2.5 years. From the earliest and darkest days of the war, the tide was beginning to turn. In the Pacific the might of the US Navy and Marine Corp had been assembled to capture and liberate the Marianas Islands of Guam, Tinian and Saipan – a vital and strategic step in the Pacific War.  The US 5th Fleet’s role was to guard the massive troop and supply ships mounting the amphibious landings. Meanwhile the Japanese Mobile Fleet was assembling its Plan Z/A-go for an all out naval engagement to cripple the invasion force and stem the tide of the war. Continue reading →

Temptation and Technology

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The playwright Oscar Wilde once wrote, “I can resist anything except temptation.” The humor of the remark is mixed with a sad recognition that we fail so often to resist the temptations that come our way each day and from every direction. Of course, there are temptations and then there are temptations writ large. What are people’s greatest temptations? Why? What are their “favorite” sins — indicated by frequency and repetition? Why do we so often find ourselves in the same position as St. Paul?  “What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate.” (Romans 7:15). During this Lenten season, each of us is called to name our temptations as part of a moral and ethical struggle in trying to live a holy and righteous life. Then once we name that temptation, we begin to unfold and inspect, to then start to answer what it is about this temptation that becomes especially alluring. Such are the first steps to healing. Continue reading →

Building Character

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Today is the Feast of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr. We know more about the devotion to Saint Blaise by Christians around the world than we know about the saint himself.  We do know he suffered affliction. Our first reading from Romans 5 talks about affliction: “knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope…” all fueled by the love of God poured into us by the Holy Spirit. Continue reading →

Patience a Virtue. Impatience a Sin?

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“Bless me Father, for I have sinned….” Among the most frequently confessed sins are anger, being judgmental, and impatience. “Patience is a virtue.” We’re all familiar with that expression. Patience is listed by St. Paul in Galatians 5:22-23 as among the fruit of the Spirit. So, there’s no disputing that the Christian ought to be patient. But is impatience a sin? W. H. Auden, the English-American poet, wrote “Perhaps there is only one cardinal sin: impatience. Because of impatience we were driven out of Paradise, because of impatience we cannot return.” Insightful about the human condition to be sure, but not sure that has standing in the world of moral theology. Continue reading →

Light of the World

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This coming Sunday is the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time. In yesterday’s post we considered the well known “salt of the earth” metaphor. Today we turn its parallel “light of the world” – You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” (Mt 5:14-16) Continue reading →