Independence Day Parades streaming down main street band concerts of patriotic music fireworks displays cookoutsall celebrating the birth of a nation with paeans of praise for freedom democracy and military might With the memory of Sept 11 still fresh the celebrations will be bittersweet Ho

Amos N Wilder one of the greats of 20th century biblical scholarship wrote that in the parables the reader meets Jesus the layman for whom human destiny is at stake in ordinary creaturely existence domestic economic social Early Christian Rhetoric The Language of the Gospel p 82 Here t

The Gospel today continues last week rsquo s theme of the cost of discipleship with the added motif of hospitality to the prophet first reading Following Jesus is a commitment to companionship and mission that can surpass the most precious things in life relations with loved ones and can bring

Six years ago I was privileged to be a delegate at the 34th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus which met in Rome The main work of the congregation was to revise the laws that direct Jesuit life as well as to respond to questions raised throughout the Jesuit provinces about our life and

The Lectionary returns to Ordinary Time under the guidance of Matthew From now until the 24th Sunday of the year Sept 15 the second reading consists of excerpts from major sections of Paul 8217 s Letter to the Romans This is rather ironic since Matthew 8217 s Gospel according to some scho

While last Sunday rsquo s readings stress the gifts of God that guide Christian life the readings today stress the need to reach out to others The passage from Exodus introduces the whole sojourn of the wandering people at Sinai where God announces that they are to remember God rsquo s saving dee