REFLECTIONS TODAY The popular meaning of the name Jerusalem is “city of peace,” from the Hebrew shalom , “peace.” The city might be identified with “Salem” where Melchizedek once reigned (Gn 14:18). Pilgrims who went up the city to worship God in the temple would pray for the peace of...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Luke’s Gospel parable is quite similar to Matthew’s parable of the Talents (25:14-30). The “talents” in Matthew are replaced by mnae (rendered as “gold coins”) which are of smaller value. The nobleman who goes off to a distant country and returns later after obtaining...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today Jesus, the one sought by Zacchaeus, is really the first seeker. He is the Son of Man who “has come to seek and to save what was lost.” He takes the initiative. He calls Zacchaeus because he means to stay at his house; he “commands” to be invited. He is...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today On their journey to Jerusalem, Jesus and his company reach Jericho, an oasis town and a stopover before an uphill journey to the Holy City. Here Jesus cures a blind beggar who is not hindered by his physical handicap and by people’s rebuke in his determination...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today MARK 13:24-32 Jesus said to his disciples: “In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.” “And then they will...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today The parable of the Persistent Widow is unusually explicit in describing the judge: he neither fears God nor respects any human being. In effect, the man is not religious and is incapable of shame. This unscrupulous character, however, meets his match in a rare...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today Jesus groups together the people in the days of Noah and in the days of Lot as example of those who are debased and corrupted, enjoying what life has to offer, unmindful of the Creator and the righteousness he expects of them. They were eating and drinking,...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today The Hebrew Bible speaks of malkut ha-samayim (Kingdom of heaven) where “heaven” is used in place of “God” out of reverence for his name. The primary sense of the Hebrew malkut is dynamic—that is, “sovereignty” or “royal rule.” Therefore, “the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The purity laws of Leviticus 11-15 deal with boundaries. Anything that crosses the “body boundary” or opening renders a person unclean—like scaly, eruptive condition of the skin commonly referred to as “leprosy.” The Law excluded lepers from the community; they were to...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today Today’s feast refers to another “temple”—a basilica. More than a beautiful building, the feast points to the significance of the Lateran Basilica as the cathedral of Rome and the seat of the Pope. It is here that the Holy Father presides as shepherd and...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The Gospel has similarities with Matthew’s collection of Jesus’ teachings often referred to as Community Discourse (Mt 18). Scholars trace the similarity to a source common to Luke and Matthew, often called Quelle (Source). The first teaching has to do with the “child” as...
REFLECTIONS TODAY MARK 12:38-44 In the course of his teaching Jesus said to the crowds, “Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. They devour the houses of widows and, as a...
