The Good Word

Gen 18 1-10a Col 24-28 Luke 10 38-42 Mary spends time listening to Jesus because he opens up a whole world to her Paul calls it the mystery hidden from ages and generations past but now revealed to his holy ones Many people are totally closed off from this mystery it is a world they find t

Sixteenth Sunday of the Year C Luke 10 38-42 In 1999 I met an elderly Dominican at the Sainte Baume the holy cave in Provence the beautiful Cezanne region in the south of France where tradition has it that Mary Magdalene having labored for the evangelization of the region retired into solitu

This Sunday is the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time The Gospel reading from Luke recounts the story of Jesus s encounter with the sisters Mary and Martha Daniel Harrington writes that the narrative challenges us to balance practical action and contemplation In the history of biblical interp

A farmer a stockbroker and woman who was a lawyer were standing in line waiting for their chance at entrance into Heaven St Peter called the farmer first We have only one simple requirement for entrance here St Peter said You must spell God Easy enough said the farmer G-O-

Jesus parable of the Good Samaritan is challenging on many levels James DiGiacomo s entry July 11 effectively highlights the provocative quality of Jesus decision to make a despised Samaritan the hero of his story I want to focus here on how Jesus turns the lawyer s question–Who is m

Margaret Thatcher once claimed that the Parable of the Good Samaritan showed Jesus endorsement of the benefits of capitalism The then British Prime Minister argument ran that the hero of this famous story is the one who could afford to pay for the victim s care She surmised that the reason th

A Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion When we hear or read in the news of the day that a person went out of his or her way to help someone in need they are often called a good Samaritan This parable has become part of our language At first hearing the meanin

The Deuteronomy reading and the Psalm if the Ps 19 option is selected offers an opportunity to preach well about Torah both biblical and as observed by Jews today As Christians look from the outside the particulars of the law can seem burdensome pointless or worse as we may be tempted to

This Sunday is the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Daniel Harrington s reflections on the readings can be found here John R Donahue s column from 2001 is here And Dianne Bergant s column from 2004 is also available