Richard Leonard

In the early 1970s there was an edition of Readers Digest that told how a jet crashed in the Andes Mountains It was a good case study in moral reasoning The issue was that some of the survivors of that crash resorted to cannibalism to survive The question the author posed was Is it ever ethical

We know from several sources that the ancient Greeks had a tradition of giving a meal to those who were about to set out on a journey Before long the gift of the meal extended to other gifts necessary for travel clothes food and blankets In Greece this custom came to be called the ephodion In

I know very few people these days who work from 9 00am to 5 00pm The eight-hour day seems to be a thing of the past Where priests regularly encounter these new work patterns is when we see young people who are preparing for marriage in the Church Sometimes to arrange a meeting we have to resort t

Many centuries ago the Pope decided that all the Jews had to leave Rome Naturally there was an uproar from the Jewish community nbsp So the Pope made a deal nbsp He would have a religious debate with a member of the Jewish community nbsp If the Jews won they could stay nbsp If the Pope won

If we follow the time line closely in Mark s Gospel the event in Jesus lifewe hear about this Sunday rounds off an action-packed day Jesus has aserious run-in with his townsfolk his Mother and family he has taught fiveoutstanding parables explained the detail of one of them and then in theeve

As Christians in the world we cannot help but be influenced by the developments that happen around us Indeed we believe that many of these advances are gifts from God given to us to enjoy But not all developments in thinking and practices are for the better nbsp One alarming development is the