Posts by Tom Nash
Solidarity in Suffering
Many non-Catholic Christians disdain the crucifix because they think it distracts from our Lord’s victory over sin and death. They prefer the bare cross, which they think better reflects the victory of his subsequent resurrection, whereas a crucifix can seem to point to the apparent defeat of his death — or, worse, perhaps even indicate…
Read More“Not as Man Sees Does God See”
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us take encouragement from today’s First Reading, both for ourselves and those to whom we minister. The prophet and priest Samuel was a holy man, yet, the Lord told him he concluded too much from Eliab’s “outward appearance” in thinking he was God’s choice to serve as the king…
Read MoreBe Vigilant in Keeping Our Eyes Fixed on Heaven
Wherever we are in the world, we can identify—to one extent or another—with the challenge of Mattathias and his followers. While the U.S. government, for example, has not yet forced her citizens to directly commit idolatry by offering sacrifice to pagan gods, we living in the U.S. have faced lesser variations—some of us worse than…
Read MoreYou Can’t Give What You Don’t Have
In today’s Gospel Reading, we hear the parable of the Sower. “God’s word is the seed,” as Jesus teaches us in today’s Gospel (Luke 8:11), and yet his word will definitely bear more good fruit when it is planted on fertile ground, i.e., in someone who has first experienced God’s love. St. John affirms this…
Read MoreMartha and Mary
Today’s Gospel reading may seem counterintuitive. Martha is being a good hostess to Jesus, while Mary is not helping her out. Except that Mary has made the best choice in making sure to spend time with our Lord Jesus Christ. Martha has forgotten that if we are to serve God well, we must permit him…
Read MoreThe Peace that the World Cannot Give
Today’s Gospel includes one of my favorite Scripture verses: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid (John 14:27). Why We Live the Way We Do God’s peace to us here…
Read MoreSeek First God’s Kingdom and Riches
The Church is ramping up the call to holiness as we progress through the second full week of Lent. Indeed, today’s readings serve as a spiritual sobriety checkpoint, not only for the liturgical season but also our lives in general. If anyone doubts the prophetic nature of Jeremiah’s words, they need only look to what…
Read MoreThe Biblical Story of the Mass
If you’ve ever wondered why—at the Last Supper—Jesus offered his Body and Blood under the forms of bread and wine, today’s First Reading gives us insight: Jesus is a priest according to the order of Melchizedek. Who’s Melchizedek? He’s the ancient high priest who made an offering of bread and wine in the presence of…
Read MoreDo Not Presume Upon Your Salvation
As we advance toward the culmination of the liturgical year, we hear another Gospel reading in which Jesus conveys that we must render an account for our lives when we die. This message harmonizes with Catholic teaching that we are justified—and thus saved—by faith and good works. Protestant apologists counter with what they believe is…
Read MoreNo Resurrection? No Redemption
When Jesus says, “It is finished” (John 19:30), he speaks the truth in a qualified manner. The suffering aspect of Christ’s atoning sacrifice was completed through his Passion and death, and yet, to show the world he had definitively defeated sin, death, and the devil, Jesus needed to rise from the dead as he prophesied…
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