Posts by Jerry DeMelo Jr.
Joshua and our Promised Land Crossing
Christian Journey analogy The LORD said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know I am with you, as I was with Moses. Now command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant to come to a halt in the Jordan when you reach…
Read MoreJust Do It!
Context, Context, Context “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother …” “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of…
Read MoreI Have Lost My Child
I have not experienced the death of any of my children. As a father, I never had occasion to ponder the possibility that at any particular moment, one of my children might be dead. Yet, I hear of such events daily. For every child reported in the news to have died, there is a grieving…
Read MoreSaint Paul and the “Common Ground”
Let’s have some fun—just this once. There is a lot going on in today’s first reading of Acts 17 as we ponder the interaction between St Paul and the Greek judges at the Areopagus. The foundation for the dialogue is framed in today’s Gospel. There, Jesus tells His disciples that He has much more to…
Read MoreWhy was Nicodemus Different?
It is impossible to reflect on the dialogue between Nicodemus and Jesus in today’s Gospel without thinking about Baptism. In fact, the importance of Baptism was St John’s purpose in memorializing the encounter. Jesus taught unequivocally about the necessity of water and spirit for Nicodemus to be born anothen (sometimes translated born from above or…
Read MoreLove Your Neighbor as Yourself
All Jews recite the Shema before their feet hit the floor every morning, with hands covering the eyes: “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one. Therefore, you shall love the LORD your God, with all your heart, all your being, and with all your strength.” In the reading today, Jesus affirms the great…
Read MoreChristian Dignity
“Christian, remember your dignity,” Pope St. Leo the Great wrote, contemplating that God emptied himself of His divine attributes to become truly man like us – yet remaining truly God, a Divine Person. Did Jesus lower Himself to become like us, or did He elevate us to become like Him? St. Leo saw it…
Read MoreThe Value and Dignity of Motherhood in a Christian Family
Today is my birthday. My family will remember the event with congratulatory remarks. The world, however, will focus on my mother. In fact, I have two mothers. My biological mother would remember the joy of my birth, the birth of her first born son. My spiritual mother remembers my adoption into her family, when I…
Read MoreThe Kingdom of God is entos hymon
By Mr Jerry DeMelo, Jr OP I grew up in Brazil, a Latin country where soccer was akin to a religion. Soccer is in my blood, and my childhood occurred at a time of unparalleled joy for Brazilians. Brazil’s first love was bearing fruit as the World Cup trophy was then lifted two times. It…
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