The Good Word

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

First an old story that is worth repeating A man was in his dinghy on a lake when a large yacht rammed him and his dinghy sank As the man began to drown the crew of the yacht threw him a life jacket but the man yelled back I don t need help for God will soon save me Straight away anot

Once again this week America offers FREE access to The Word commentary This is the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time Diane Bergant writes that the readings for today offer us two conflicting images One is of abundance and rejoicing the other is of the cross and self-denial John R Donahue S

The apostle Thomas is best known for his stubborn refusal without further empirical evidence to believe in the resurrection of Jesus Perhaps because he is my patron saint I have always been dismayed–and admittedly defensive–about the moniker Doubting Thomas What follows is a playful midras

Jesus asked Peter three times Do you love me You know I do was Peter s repeated and heated response Paul at the end of his life wrote that all I want is to gain Christ and be found in him Whatever else Peter and Paul did for the glory of God and the salvation of souls–and their ac