Author Archives: admin

In most dioceses, Ascension is now celebrated on the seventh Sunday of Easter.  Thus we celebrate Easter for forty-three days, and then backtrack a bit to celebrate the fortieth day, on which Jesus ascended into heaven.  Easter is about Jesus’ … Continue reading →

The Bible mentions some books that are apparently lost forever in mist of time. One of these is the Book of Gad, who, along with Nathan, served in David’s court.  We read in I Chron. 29:29-30: “Now the deeds of … Continue reading →

I have begun a new class on the prophets.  We are considering the relationship between the prophets, the priests, and the king. We are discussing a complex character, the prophet Samuel.  Samuel prophesied against a corrupt priesthood, the house of … Continue reading →

On Holy Thursday, the day on which Christ gave us his body to eat and his day to drink, Jesus, acting as High Priest on behalf of his people, offers himself as the sacrificial victim to take away the sins … Continue reading →

In the Gospel for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Jesus tells his disciples Philip and Andrew: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; … Continue reading →

In the first reading for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, taken from 2 Chronicles, the Lord charges King Cyrus of Babylon to re-build the Temple in Jerusalem: “Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the … Continue reading →

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Peter said to Jesus: “Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Peter “hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified. Then a cloud came, casting a shadow … Continue reading →

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus says: 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 … Continue reading →

A friend of mine, Sr. Marya Grathwohl,O.S.F.,  was asked to do a scripture reflection for her congregational chapter.  The text she had to work is the first reading for this past Sunday.  It is a a difficult one, from Num. … Continue reading →