The Good Word

Christ the King Nov 23 2008 The Roman Emperor Constantine was baptized in 337 He put it off for years In the early Church Christians could only confess their sins once in their lives so Constantine remained a catechumen until he was nearing the end Despite what The Da Vinci Code says when h

Because I m tired of being made to feel like an idiot was the reason a woman friend of Tablet correspondent Clifford Longley gave for no longer attending Mass One hears variations on this sentiment with such regularity among thoughtful Catholics that the temptation is to coin a further beatitud

Jesus and his disciples return to Jerusalem after a night in Bethany Ascending a staircase about 3 stories high Jesus stepped onto the Temple platform the religious political economic psychological center of Israel and of Judaism a four-cornered area about the size of a soccer field with th

Every scrap of Scripture in today s liturgy contributes to making two points actually one blended assertion The Lamb is slain and God did not intervene to stop that scandalous deed And God s flock suffers at the hands of shepherds who abuse it and profit from that abuse and though God does

It is time to enter Jerusalem and its Temple area Jesus approaches Jerusalem from the east from the Jordan River area he must climb the Mount of Olives passing key towns of Bethany and Bethphage on its crown Once over the top of the Mountain Jesus can see Jerusalem before him this city is o

Mark gives us Jesus third passion resurrection prediction it seems reasonable to say that Mark had an eye on what he will soon report about the passion of Jesus as he gives us more detail about Jesus sufferings Again we note that here as in the earlier predictions Jesus asks his disciple

The Thessalonians had very little time with Paul Silvanus and Timothy before they were chased out of the city by a gang of ruffians as the NRSV translation has it in Acts 17 5 And yet in that short time they had turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God and to wait for his Son

As Catholics we have no problem with the time-bound nature of the Bible In fact we appreciate it believing that the scriptures deserve to be read within their context and also need careful interpretation And while the Christian Feminists may not choose to have today s first reading as the open

A fifth story Mark includes under the second passion resurrection prediction of Jesus has to do with little children finding access to Jesus Though no reason is given why people sought Jesus blessing it seems obvious to say that they trusted that through him the blessings of God would embrace

We have seen four stories that follow in a certain logic upon the first prediction of the passion resurrection conditions of discipleship the Transfiguration the mystery of Elijah who restores all things and the faith to call upon Jesus in prayer for healing We continued with the second