The Good Word

Roman Catholics can be spotted with eyes raised to heaven overheard to give thanks that we are not like certain others fundamentalists and such When I was once engaging in that self-congratulatory behavior I was helpfully challenged by John R Donahue S J familiar to readers of America who s

If you d like to read my earlier posts on this subject simply click on my name above The most substantial arguments against Pauline authorship are concerned with issues of increased institutionalization in the Church and questions regarding supposed differences in theology from Paul s genuin

This Sunday s gospel 30th OT continues Jesus teaching on prayer in the eighteenth chapter of Luke s gospel Jesus proposes another parable that invites us to reflect on the proper attitude and manner of prayer and on what is improper Jesus briefly describes two figures who enter the t

Many people who are committed to social justice may still overlook what has come to be called ecojustice They do not realize that living in harmony with the natural world is fundamental to living in harmony with other people It is very clear that most of the wars fought are over land and or contro

Morris West in his memoirs reminds us of the words he puts into the mouth of Giordano Bruno in his play The Heretic Ever since the Greeks we have been drunk with language We have made a cage of words And shoved our God inside as boys confine A cricket or a locust to make him sing A private s

Before digging in you may want to read my first post on this subject The language of the Pastoral Epistles is the most difficult argument to handle apart from the Greek original and I would argue the most boring of arguments in any language so I will deal with this only in general terms Schola

29th Sunday OT All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for refutation for correction and for training in righteousness advises the author of 2 Timothy setting a challenging agenda for all of us involved with God s word The first reading offers a mysterious and troubling scenar

Luke s gospel is often called the gospel of prayer for three reasons First Luke frequently portrays Jesus at prayer second he records the prayer Jesus taught his disciples i e the Our Father and third he devotes more space than the other evangelists to Jesus teaching about prayer an

The second reading for the upcoming Sunday is again from 2 Timothy Here are three verses from the reading Beloved Remember Jesus Christ raised from the dead a descendant of David such is my gospel for which I am suffering even to the point of chains like a criminal But the word of God is

The story of the ten lepers Luke 17 11-19 appears often in instructional material for children I certainly remember learning from this story the lesson of gratitude The moral of this story was that no matter how ungratefully others might respond to acts of kindness I should always express thank