Hoping that sight could be restored to allow him to live a normal life, the blind man at the Jericho gate called out in prayer, “Son of David, have mercy on me!!” If he could get his sight back, he knew it would change things for him and he would…
According to the Catholic liturgical calendar, we are gradually coming to the end of the Ordinary Time of the Year. The readings focus our attention on the “end time stories” or “apocalypse.” There is sometimes, if not often, a misunderstanding of the meaning of symbols used in the readings. On…
The Ruthenian Rite was once an Orthodox rite, separated from Rome as part of the Great East-West Schism of 1054. How is it then, that Pope Francis in 2013 was able to name Fr Burnette as a bishop in that Eastern Ruthenian Rite? St Josaphat, a Peacemaker Archbishop In many…
The readings from today make me think of two things. The first is my mom saying, “You can’t take it with you anyway.” The second is the late Father Phil Tighe saying, “You should think about heaven every single day.” Okay, three things, that we were warned nearly 2,000 years…
If there is anything Jesus speaks of most often in the Gospels, it is the Kingdom of God. The phrase has become so familiar to most people, even to non-Christians, that it has lost some of its original power, especially for us who no longer relate to kings and kingdoms.…
Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome Today is the Feast of the Dedication of the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran in Rome, dedicated by Pope Sylvester I in 324 AD to Christ the Savior. It is the cathedral of the Roman bishop, the Pope, and thus…
Introduction We are gradually approaching the end of the year. For some, the reality of the end of another year has set in, giving rise to some frantic stock-taking for the year. Some are doubling the effort to catch up with the remaining plans for the year. Hence, we need…
In a science exam, students were asked to list the characteristics of a human being. Some of them thought it was a joke because they were expecting difficult questions, so they decided to answer the question with additional explanations. Only a few listed answers without explanations. When the results came…
At the time of Jesus, there were already rationalists who questioned or even completely denied life after death. This included the religious group of the Sadducees. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. For them death is a form of nihilism, the end of the road…
“I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails you may be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” A Curious Parable Today’s opening statement from the gospel is actually a continuation from yesterday’s gospel, which is for me the most curious of all Jesus’ parables. A…