Blog

If you’re like me, the first time you ever took the trouble to learn the Beatitudes it was a list you had to memorize in catechism class. For most people, that is all the Beatitudes has been: a list, and now likely a forgotten list. What many don’t realize is that the Beatitudes were at the very heart of the teaching of Jesus Christ, and that they are a not a memorization exercise but way of life to be lived.The world first heard the Beatitudes proclaimed overlooking the Sea of Galilee, in the S …

Large portions of those sacred books can, at times, seem like little more than a series of unpleasant encounters with the existing religious authorities—not most people’s idea of inspirational reading. To the casual student, Jesus almost seems to be deliberately antagonizing them, arranging times and circumstances for his miracles that were certain to provoke not just debate but opposition.In Luke’s Gospel, our Lord chooses the twelve apostles, then sets out immediately on a veritable crime wave …

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus says these strange words:“Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s foes will be those of his own household” (Matt. 10:34-35).Why would Jesus say this when he speaks constantly of peace and is constantly blessing people with peace? Isn’t he the one who said, “Blessed ar …

The parables Jesus told are filled with powerful secrets that reveal the mysteries of God’s kingdom.In this excerpt, Fr. Walshe takes a look at the Gospel reading from last weekend, the fourth Sunday in Lent...This passage about the man born blind is, like the passage about the Samaritan woman at the well, found only in the Gospel of St. John. It is also read in the Church especially during Lent, and it is particularly instructive for those preparing for baptism.As Jesus passed by he saw a man b …

The parables Jesus told aren’t just quaint stories. They’re filled with powerful secrets that reveal the mysteries of God’s kingdom.In this excerpt, Fr. Walshe takes a look at the Gospel reading from this past weekend, the third Sunday in Lent...One of the most remarkable conversions that Jesus brought about in his lifetime was the conversion of a Samaritan woman in John chapter 4. And through her, he prepared the way of conversion for many Samaritans. Man teaches through external words and sign …