A Royal Priesthood
24 Apr 2005
Contributed by Lukas
St. Peter tells us in our second reading that all of us--all the baptized--constitute a royal priest...
Redemptive Suffering
17 Apr 2005
Contributed by Lukas
We hear this week from the Apostle Peter, speaking to the Christian community about redemptive suffe...
On the Road
10 Apr 2005
Contributed by Lukas
The story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus is one of the best-loved in the Biblical tradit...
Falling in Love With God
03 Apr 2005
Contributed by Lukas
So many of us skeptical moderns--intellectual heirs of Descartes-- identify with doubting Thomas. We...
Lazarus, Come Out
13 Mar 2005
Contributed by Lukas
Our God hates death. Through the prophet Ezekiel, he said, "I will open your graves and have you ris...
The Man Born Blind
06 Mar 2005
Contributed by Lukas
Blindness is a great Biblical symbol of spiritual blindness, the darkening and distortion of our vis...
The Infinite Thirst
27 Feb 2005
Contributed by Lukas
We are made for God, and therefore our hearts are restless until they rest in him. This longing is s...
The Mystery of Light
20 Feb 2005
Contributed by Lukas
On his way to Jerusalem, where he will be crucified, Jesus is transfigured before three of his disci...
Getting Back to Basics In the Spiritual Life
13 Feb 2005
Contributed by Lukas
On this first Sunday of Lent, the Church asks us to get back to the spiritual basics. We are compell...
Light of the World, Salt of the Earth
06 Feb 2005
Contributed by Lukas
The purpose of the Church is essentially extraverted. It exists for the sake of sanctifying the worl...
The Beatitudes: A Spiritual Program
30 Jan 2005
Contributed by Lukas
In the great opening verses of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus lays out, in short order, his ethical ...
They Abandoned Everything
23 Jan 2005
Contributed by Lukas
Our Gospel passage for today, taken from the 4th chapter of Matthew's Gospel, recounts the story of ...
Called, Set Apart, Sent
16 Jan 2005
Contributed by Lukas
Cultural commentator Robert Bellah has characterized the typical American approach to religion as in...
The Baptism of the Lord
09 Jan 2005
Contributed by Lukas
John the Baptist, the last and greatest of the prophets, correctly discerns that Jesus is the Son of...
Magi Came From the East
02 Jan 2005
Contributed by Lukas
We see in the visit of the Magi to the Christ child the first hint of the internationalism of Christ...
The Word Became Flesh
26 Dec 2004
Contributed by Lukas
The words of Thomas Jefferson defined our nation; the words of Abraham Lincoln strengthened its reso...
The Virgin Shall Be With Child
19 Dec 2004
Contributed by Lukas
The fourth and final Isaian image for this Advent season is the most powerful and the most mysteriou...
The Blooming Desert
12 Dec 2004
Contributed by Lukas
We have another great image from the prophet Isaiah this weekend: the blooming desert. So many of th...
The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit
05 Dec 2004
Contributed by Lukas
In the eleventh chapter of the book of the prophet Isaiah, we find a description of the gifts of the...
Christ the Crucified King
21 Nov 2004
Contributed by Lukas
Our first reading for Mass this Sunday is taken from the opening chapter of Paul's letter to the Col...
Not One Stone Upon Another
14 Nov 2004
Contributed by Lukas
Our Gospel for this Sunday opens with Jesus' disciples admiring the splendor of the Temple, the most...
Celibacy: An Eschatological Sign
07 Nov 2004
Contributed by Lukas
There are celibates in the church because of what Jesus said in our Gospel for today. In the world t...
Zacchaeus, Hurry Down
31 Oct 2004
Contributed by Lukas
The story of Zacchaeus is an icon of the spiritual life. Even the worst of us have, deep down, a hun...
The Pharisee and the Publican
24 Oct 2004
Contributed by Lukas
The Irish writer Iris Murdoch said that human beings are naturally self-absorbed and that what we ne...
Will the Son of Man Find Faith on the Earth?
17 Oct 2004
Contributed by Lukas
Our Gospel for this week ends with one of the most haunting lines in the New Testament. Jesus says, ...
There is No Chaining the Word of God!
10 Oct 2004
Contributed by Lukas
This week we once more hear from Paul's second letter to Timothy. He writes to his young friend from...
No Cowardly Spirit
03 Oct 2004
Contributed by Lukas
We hear this week from St. Paul's second letter to Timothy. Paul, the old warrior, is passing on to ...
Amos's Challenge
26 Sep 2004
Contributed by Lukas
We hear from the prophet Amos in our first reading for this Sunday. Amos stands at the very beginnin...
See, Judge, and Act
19 Sep 2004
Contributed by Lukas
Our Gospel for this week contains one of Jesus' most surprising and comical parables, the story of t...
A God of Relentless Mercy
12 Sep 2004
Contributed by Lukas
The God of the Bible is infinitely demanding and infinitely merciful. Jesus said, "Be perfect as you...
Spiritual Shock Therapy
05 Sep 2004
Contributed by Lukas
The world of grasping, competition, violence, and egotism is the "real" world, right? And if I were ...
The Trouble With Honor
29 Aug 2004
Contributed by Lukas
Some people organize their lives around the love of money; others do so around the love of pleasure ...
Training in the Divine School
22 Aug 2004
Contributed by Lukas
In the years following the Second Vatican Council, we became very hesitant ever to invoke the catego...
Walking the Path of Faith
08 Aug 2004
Contributed by Lukas
Our second reading this week is from the 11th chapter of the letter to the Hebrews, and it concerns ...
The Wisdom of Qoheleth
01 Aug 2004
Contributed by Lukas
Our first reading for this Sunday is taken from the wonderful book of Ecclesiastes. This Biblical te...
The Ways of Prayer
25 Jul 2004
Contributed by Lukas
The Bible speaks often of prayer, that intimate communion and conversation with God. Our readings fo...
The One Thing Necessary
18 Jul 2004
Contributed by Lukas
Both our first reading and Gospel for this week speak of the importance of keeping our attention riv...
The Good Samaritan
11 Jul 2004
Contributed by Lukas
The story of the Good Samaritan is not merely a morality tale, an account of the kind of life we sho...
A Portrait of the Church
04 Jul 2004
Contributed by Lukas
Our Gospel reading for this Sunday is the account of Jesus' sending of the seventy-two disciples. In...
Elijah, You're Fired!
27 Jun 2004
Contributed by Lukas
In the stories of the prophets Elijah and Elisha we clearly see the great Biblical theme of vocation...
They Shall Look on Him Whom They Have Pierced
20 Jun 2004
Contributed by Lukas
The book of the prophet Zechariah provides a sort of interpretive key for the life and ministry of J...
Jesus Yesterday, Today, and Forever!
13 Jun 2004
Contributed by Lukas
Paul tells us that whenever we eat the body and drink the blood of the Lord, we proclaim his death u...
The Three-Personed God
06 Jun 2004
Contributed by Lukas
This weekend, we celebrate the Trinity, a mystery which stands at the very heart of the faith. The d...
Come, Holy Spirit
30 May 2004
Contributed by Lukas
The two great symbols of the descent of the Holy Spirit are wind and tongues of fire. Wind is powerf...
The Ascension of the Lord
23 May 2004
Contributed by Lukas
The feast of the Ascension is meant to awaken hope. In Jesus, risen from the dead and ascended to th...
Paul's Basic Message
16 May 2004
Contributed by Lukas
Last week we explored the central teaching of St. Paul: to live in Christ Jesus. This week, we draw ...
Being in Christ
09 May 2004
Contributed by Lukas
Last week we looked at the life and times of Paul, the person who, after Jesus himself, is the most ...
Paul the Apostle
02 May 2004
Contributed by Lukas
During the Easter season, we are reading from the book of the Acts of the Apostles. Though John, Phi...
Victory Day
11 Apr 2004
Contributed by Lukas
Easter is the dawn of a new creation. St. John tells us that Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early o...
The Lesson of the Prodigal Son
21 Mar 2004
Contributed by Lukas
Jesus' parable of the Prodigal Son is one of the most memorable, carefully crafted, and inspiring st...
The Adventure of Faith
07 Mar 2004
Contributed by Lukas
We have a God of adventure, a God who is always out ahead of us. Faith, in the Biblical sense of the...
Jesus is Tempted in the Desert
29 Feb 2004
Contributed by Lukas
Jesus is driven by the Spirit into the desert in order to be tempted by the devil. The three temptat...
Four Reasons to Love Your Enemies
22 Feb 2004
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most challenging and disconcerting of Jesus' commands is to love our enemies. In this ser...
Blessed Detachment
15 Feb 2004
Contributed by Lukas
Detachment is a key theme in the spiritual masters. It means that we must detach ourselves from all ...
The Strange Path of Love
01 Feb 2004
Contributed by Lukas
Our second reading for Mass this weekend is one of the most beautiful and oft-quoted in the Biblical...
The Lessons of Nehemiah
25 Jan 2004
Contributed by Lukas
Our first reading for this week is taken from the book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament. Nehemiah re...
The Great Wedding
18 Jan 2004
Contributed by Lukas
The prophet Isaiah expresses the conviction of ancient Israel that God wants to marry his people, wh...
More on Christ and the World Religions
11 Jan 2004
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, I spoke of the many "family resemblances" between Christianity and the other great religi...
The Great Reversal
28 Dec 2003
Contributed by Lukas
Jesus turns upside-down a world turned upside-down by sin--and thereby sets it right. This subversiv...
Three Advent Lessons
21 Dec 2003
Contributed by Lukas
The readings for the final Sunday of Advent present us with three essential lessons. First, in the B...
Gaudete!
14 Dec 2003
Contributed by Lukas
The third Sunday of Advent is traditionally called Gaudete Sunday, Rejoice! Sunday. God is a communi...
The Steadfast Love of God
07 Dec 2003
Contributed by Lukas
Everything in nature, culture, and the cosmos is passing away. Nothing here below finally lasts. Tho...
Feast of Christ the King
23 Nov 2003
Contributed by Lukas
The final Sunday of the Liturgical year is dedicated to Christ the King. One of the earliest forms o...
The End of the World
16 Nov 2003
Contributed by Lukas
In our rather apocalypic Gospel for today, Jesus is not so much predicting the end of the space-time...
Praying For All the Dead
09 Nov 2003
Contributed by Lukas
The Catholic Faith inculcates in us a deep sense of our connection to the dead. They are present to ...
Commemorating the Faithful Departed
02 Nov 2003
Contributed by Lukas
The Catholic Faith inculcates in us a deep sense of our connection to the dead. They are present to ...
A Ransom for the Many
19 Oct 2003
Contributed by Lukas
What does it mean to say that Jesus died for our sins? How precisely does his cross save us? The fir...
The Rich Young Man
12 Oct 2003
Contributed by Lukas
The Gospel story of the conversation between Jesus and the rich young man is one of John Paul II's f...
God's Grace and the Structures of the Church
28 Sep 2003
Contributed by Lukas
The structures of the Catholic religion are deeply rooted in the tradition and flow, ultimately, fro...
Unless You Change and Become Like a Little Child
21 Sep 2003
Contributed by Lukas
Children are like plants, rocks, and flowers in this sense: they don't know how to be something that...
He So loved the World
14 Sep 2003
Contributed by Lukas
Today's feast, the Triumph of the Cross, is one of those remarkable Christian paradoxes. To describe...
Meaning of the Miracles
07 Sep 2003
Contributed by Lukas
Our Gospel story today concerns a man who is deaf and dumb. He is symbolically evocative of an Israe...
The Heart of the Law
31 Aug 2003
Contributed by Lukas
Another homily from Fr. Robert Barron and Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
True God, True Man
24 Aug 2003
Contributed by Lukas
Another homily from Fr. Robert Barron and Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
Living Bread
10 Aug 2003
Contributed by Lukas
Another homily from Fr. Robert Barron and Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
Food that Will Never Perish
03 Aug 2003
Contributed by Lukas
Another homily from Fr. Robert Barron and Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
Food for the Journey
27 Jul 2003
Contributed by Lukas
Another homily from Fr. Robert Barron and Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
Sheep Without a Shepherd
20 Jul 2003
Contributed by Lukas
Another homily from Fr. Robert Barron and Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
Sent out Two by Two
13 Jul 2003
Contributed by Lukas
Another homily from Fr. Robert Barron and Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
Perseverance Produces Character
06 Jul 2003
Contributed by Lukas
Another homily from Fr. Robert Barron and Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
Who Do You Say that I Am?
29 Jun 2003
Contributed by Lukas
Another homily from Fr. Robert Barron and Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
The Ultimate Sacrifice
22 Jun 2003
Contributed by Lukas
Another homily from Fr. Robert Barron and Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
The Loving God
15 Jun 2003
Contributed by Lukas
Another homily from Fr. Robert Barron and Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
Rushing Wind
08 Jun 2003
Contributed by Lukas
Another homily from Fr. Robert Barron and Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
The True Vine
18 May 2003
Contributed by Lukas
Another homily from Fr. Robert Barron and Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
The Risen Jesus
04 May 2003
Contributed by Lukas
The risen Christ makes two basic moves: he shows his wounds and speaks a word of peace. In so doing,...
Peace Be With You
27 Apr 2003
Contributed by Lukas
The risen Jesus breaks through the locked doors of our fears and brings us the Shalom (the full flou...
He Has Risen
20 Apr 2003
Contributed by Lukas
Another homily from Fr. Robert Barron and Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
Surely This Man Was the Son of God!
13 Apr 2003
Contributed by Lukas
Another homily from Fr. Robert Barron and Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
The Hour has Come
06 Apr 2003
Contributed by Lukas
As we approach the Passion, the celebration of Jesus' death, we're called to a new life, a new glory...
The God of the Nations
30 Mar 2003
Contributed by Lukas
Though the Enlightenment taught us to privatize and interiorize our religion, the Bible has a robust...
Zeal for your House Consumes Me
23 Mar 2003
Contributed by Lukas
In cleansing the temple and announcing its destruction, Jesus shows that he himself is the new templ...
The Law of the Gift
16 Mar 2003
Contributed by Lukas
Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac is a foreshadowing of God the Father's will...
The Angels and the Wild Beasts
09 Mar 2003
Contributed by Lukas
Mark tells us that Jesus went into the desert and there was ministered to by angels while he lived a...
The Bridegroom
02 Mar 2003
Contributed by Lukas
Christ is the bridegroom and we the church are his bride. He wants to affect a union with us that is...
The Paralysis of Sin
23 Feb 2003
Contributed by Lukas
God wants nothing more than for us to be fully alive. Sin cramps us, paralyzes us, prevents us from ...
Seeking the Lost
16 Feb 2003
Contributed by Lukas
Jesus seeks out even the unclean and the despised. Whenever we wander from God's love, we become def...
Presenting Our Gifts
02 Feb 2003
Contributed by Lukas
Eight days after his birth, Mary presents Jesus in the temple. Our lives take on meaning and purpose...
The Reluctant Prophet
26 Jan 2003
Contributed by Lukas
Jonah hears God's invitation and refuses to cooperate. But God's providence is universal and his dem...