St Augustine underlined the supreme value of a prayer which is brief and from the heart It is a prayer of desire as much as of word he likens this kind of prayer to a dart speedily released to God It is with this kind of prayer in mind that this Advent blog has been created It will begin on

The Jerusalem challenges to Jesus are finished Jesus now presents his own challenge again in the form of a question that will tax the authoritative teachers of the Law the scribes The foundation for the question is the conclusion drawn from the Jewish Scriptures that the Messiah is the Son of

First Sunday of Advent These days most people keep vigils because they are anxious We wait in hospital corridors for news of a sick relative A parent stays up with an infant who may be teething or has a high temperature We might even sit by the phone waiting to be reassured that a loved one is s

Jesus has successfully shown his wisdom to three challenges from the Sanhedrin the Pharisees and Herodians and the Sadducees he has answered each on his own turf Superior in his answers Jesus also reveals his wisdom and will do so again in his reply to the testing from the fourth gr

Tune in below to see James T Keane S J offer some introductory reflections on the Advent season Check back in the coming weeks as our editors offer more video commentary on Advent and Christmas right here on The Good Word Tim Reidy

As we have seen organizational tool of Mark consists of Jesus meeting his opponents one after the other and answers arguments specific to each of these opponents Jesus had cleansed the Temple a prophetic or messianic gesture only to be challenged by the Sanhedrin who asks by what authority