Posts by Tom Nash
God’s Generosity in Giving Us the “Wages” of Eternal Salvation
The parable in today’s Gospel can be viewed in more than one way. In one sense, those hired toward the end of the day can be the Gentiles, who are grafted into God’s people later in salvation history. In another sense, understood within the Church, the faithful cradle Catholics are those who have labored all…
Read More“There is Something Greater than Jonah Here”: So Let’s Act Like It—for Our Sake and that of the Whole World
Nineveh was the capital of the mighty Assyrian Empire, the Gentile political power of its day. So large was Nineveh that “it took three days to walk through it” (Jon. 3:3). Despite its exalted status in the ancient world, the Ninevites heeded God’s call to repent through his prophet Jonah. New Covenant Fulfillment In speaking…
Read MoreA Visible Church with Visible Leaders
In today’s First Reading, Scripture reaffirms that our Lord Jesus Christ established a visible Church, founded on the visible leadership of his apostles (Eph. 2:19-22); and that the apostles and their successors had—and have—God-given authority to watch over the flock, making sure they are not seduced by doctrinal error. Episkopoi The Greek term used in…
Read MoreSolidarity 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…
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