The prophet Jeremiah lived an estimated 650 BC to 580 BC, around six centuries before Jesus, and his main ministry was in the capital of Judah, in Jerusalem. In Jeremiah’s time, there was political intrigue, backstabbing, plotting, and overthrowing. When he is speaking in the first reading, a good king has been overthrown in…
Jesus, being the great story teller that he is, relies on a variety of images to convey the novelty of His message. He talks, for example, of builders. He talks of fisherman. He talks of fish, of farmers, and today we hear another story: The parable of the sower. Seeds For those of you who’ve…
Crack open the history books and you will find that virtually every culture in world history has been fascinated by the stars. Every culture has looked up into the night sky, gazing into the darkness, and studying the movements of the heavenly bodies. There’s something about stars, isn’t there? Perhaps it has happened to you,…
As the liturgical year draws to the end and we prepare ourselves for a new one, the Readings presented to us start to get a little uncomfortable. Both the First Reading and the Gospel we hear are considered apocalyptic writings, writings about the end of time—Apocalypse meaning unveiling, seeing things as they truly are. In…
Leprosy is a terrible disease. In the modern world we have it more or less under control, but in Biblical times leprosy was an extremely serious matter. Leprosy is a bacteria that infects the body and starts rotting away the extremities; it is very contagious, so much so that in Biblical times it was required…
The great author G.K. Chesterton said the following words: The world will never starve for want of wonders; but only for want of wonder. As Christians, we can sometimes fall into the danger of losing our wonder about the story of Christianity. We cease to marvel at the glory of a Father who goes to…
