Thanksgiving every November is a time, not only to acknowledge so much we have to be grateful for, but also to remind ourselves of how ungrateful we have been. We can realize our ingratitude more clearly on those occasions when we are not thanked for our kindness and generosity towards others. Still more difficult to […]

The conditions that God enunciates for the wicked person to live (and not die) seem rather exacting: turn away from the sins committed, keep all God’s statutes, and do what is right and just. And whereas this is a demanding requirement, it’s important that we not miss the point. The promise of “living” when these […]

The ascetic practices enjoined upon us during this Lenten season can suggest that God takes pleasure in the discomfort and deprivation we experience thereby. Conversely, it could be thought that God resents our experiencing pleasure and freedom from suffering. This may, in turn, have us hesitant to pray for relief from suffering unless it is […]

Although Christ calls us out of sin, he initially meets us where we are—within our sinful state and not outside it. But as we hear in today’s gospel, this brought him into conflict with the Scribes and the Pharisees who condemned his eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners. Misguided humility and a fundamental […]

Like the well-intentioned resolutions we make at the beginning of each year, Lenten resolutions can sometimes be abandoned long before Easter—this is especially true of the more interior ones, like those Saint Bernard labels the fasting of the eyes, ears, and tongue. Still, establishing some special Lenten practice (or resolution) is not without spiritual benefit, […]

Since Saint John assures us that perfect love casts out fear, it is instructive that one of the first consequences of Eve and Adam’s disobedience is fear and the desire to hide from God. One presumes that prior to their disobedience, Eve and Adam did not fear God and lived in peaceful and trusting harmony […]

As Saint Paul reminded the Corinthians, if I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. We honor Saint Paul Miki and his companion martyrs not because they suffered so much in bearing witness to Christ, but that […]

Psychological and spiritual growth are integral to the manifestation of otherwise hidden inner potential and our becoming all that God created us to be. Unfortunately, our still unredeemed condition and our failure to become the unique persons God created us to be is like the lighted lamp placed under a bushel basket—referred to in today’s […]

On this annual Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children, the quote from Jeremiah (in our first reading) is especially relevant. For although legal protection of the unborn is crucial, it is only a stage in progress towards a true solution. Until, in the words of Jeremiah, God’s immutable law against the […]

Today’s gospel reports, rather matter-of-factly, that John the Baptist, upon hearing about his disciples leaving him to join Jesus, responds with the now famous statement: He must increase but I must decrease. Unfortunately, we don’t know if this was as effortless as it sounds, or whether it came at the conclusion of an inner struggle. […]