According to Jesus’ dictum, we can best discover just what our treasures are by examining where our heart is. And in this world where moth and decay constantly threaten any of our earthly treasures we have a convenient method for determining just where our heart is by becoming aware of the many things that upset […]

Although Christianity is often construed as a new religion quite distinct from Judaism, today’s gospel is a reminder that the Christian faith is actually not a new religion, but rather the culmination of a millennia-long process begun in Eden. After our First Parents’ act of disobedience (and in what is sometimes referred to as the […]

Today’s first-reading-account of the safe return of Tobiah with his wife Sarah, and the subsequent curing of Tobit’s blindness, overflows with great joy, celebration, gratitude, and consolation. As such it represents a foretaste of heaven, mirroring the joy and celebration that will be ours when we pass from this life into that Eternal Home prepared […]

Virtue and leading a holy life are not things that we are permitted to vacation from, every now and again. Unlike that unfortunate fig tree, there can be no off-season—never a time when we aren’t working at bearing the fruits of holiness. For the true disciple of Christ, the failure to continuously bear some fruit […]

Some of us are, by nature, “big picture” people, while some of us tend to focus on details and short-term issues. Saint Paul was, clearly, a “big picture” person and thus able to proceed to Jerusalem with equanimity of heart, even though the Holy Spirit had been warning [him] that imprisonment and hardship awaited [him]. […]

The selection of Saint Matthias to replace Judas reminds us that no one is indispensable for the ultimate carrying out of God’s saving plan—a little like David being selected to replace Saul when the latter proved unsuitable to the task. Nevertheless, although none of us indispensable, as John Henry Newman affirmed, God has assigned a […]

As we grow towards spiritual and psychological maturity we need to steer a middle course between a self-conscious preoccupation with what others think of us, on the one hand, and a total disregard and indifference to the opinions that others have of us, on the other. In the former we allow ourselves to be determined […]

Our readings present us with two of the primary reasons for seeking Christ. The first is represented by the crowds who seek Christ because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. Later, after the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus would tell them, bluntly, I say to you, you are looking for me […]

Like most monastic movements, the first Cistercians drew inspiration from the early Jerusalem Christian community where no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own but they had everything in common. To this end, they would sell all their possessions and lay the proceeds at the feet of the apostles. In our efforts […]

It was before their act of disobedience that God gave Eve and Adam dominion over all creation. Sadly, after their turning away from God, this dominion increasingly became domination, exploitation, and misuse of the land of their exile. This, perhaps, accounts for Jesus’ commissioning his disciples to preach the gospel not only to all peoples, […]