The Good Word

In the days when Christ Jesus was in the flesh he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death and he was heard because of his reverence Son though he was he learned obedience from what he suffered and when he was made perfect he bec

Father Jim Martin has kindly shared his homily for this Sunday with the readers of The Good Word Enjoy Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies it remains just a grain of wheat but if it dies it produces much fruit nbsp John 12 20-33 Now what does that mean exactly nbsp W

nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp The nbsp astounding salvific nbsp revelations to Mary about the identity of her Son deserve to be the subject of homilies on this Feast of the Annunciation nbsp What Gabriel makes known to Mary becomes the patrimony of the Gospel reader with these revelations he can unde

nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp This Gospel reading pleads that we be assured that we are loved by God He has given us eternal life by having his Son raised on the cross on our behalf nbsp Only love of us could move God to have his Son die for us nbsp How can we ever say ldquo God does not love me r

The second reading for the Fourth Sunday of Lent is from Ephesians 2 4-10 This passage is often used by both evangelicals and Catholics in apologetic contexts Ephesians 2 8-9 is cited by evangelical Christians to fortify a position that salvation is by faith alone and not by works Aha say Catho

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

How to get value from our past negative experiences and move on with insight and energy can be difficult and it rsquo s addressed by these readings nbsp Before the exile of Judah Israel culminating in the early sixth century B C E with return beginning around 530 or so it sounds as if the pro

The first reading provides the ten commandments still familiar to many who will hear the passage nbsp Unless the shorter Lectionary option is chosen please not it is evident at once how uneven is the attention or space given to the various commandments nbsp The ldquo firstborn rdquo gets t

In turning to the teachings of the Church Fathers on Matthew 15 22-28 I am drawing on the Catena Aurea of St Thomas Aquinas for Matthew who gathered portions of the Patristic writings on particular passages for each Gospel and which are now available online albeit in a rather old and stilted tra

I wanted to continue the post on Canadian Lenten Reflections by pointing out a few things which we gain from attention to source and redaction criticism in a study of this passage First the passage also appears in Mark 7 24-30 but not in the Gospel of Luke In the parallel passage in Mark the w