Matthew 13 is a collection of Jesus rsquo parables about the kingdom of God the central theme of his preaching and other activities The third and final part of this discourse contains two short parables about buried treasure and an especially valuable pearl and one longer parable with an allego

People in biblical times appreciated a good meal Even when food was scarce providing a meal for others was a sign of one rsquo s generosity and hospitality The sacrifices that people offered in Old Testament times at the Jerusalem temple were essentially meals with God and God rsquo s people Whe

Today rsquo s selection from Matthew 13 continues Jesus rsquo Parables Discourse It contains two short parables mdash about a mustard seed and yeast mdash and a long parable with an allegorical interpretation mdash about the wheat and the weeds All three parables explicitly propose to tell us wha

Jesus was a masterful and effective storyteller He talked about nature and everyday life used short stories as vehicles for teaching about God rsquo s kingdom and got his listeners to think about it Today we begin a series of three Sunday readings from Jesus rsquo Parables Discourse in Matthew 1

This year the feast of the great apostles Peter and Paul supersedes the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time The readings for the Masses during the day and the vigil stress the complementarity between the two apostles The passage from Acts 12 shows how much Peter and others suffered for their fidelity t

Never in history has so much information been accessible one need simply turn on a computer and connect to the Web Yet information is not the same as wisdom Information demands a context or intellectual framework it requires interpretation and calls out for practical action or implementation Th

As New Testament Christians we hope for right relationship with God eternal life with God and the full coming of God rsquo s kingdom The ground of our hope is Jesus especially as the risen one Nevertheless in our everyday lives we sometimes may lose hope perhaps not about ultimate realities bu

Do you trust God Do you believe that God really loves and cares for you These are central questions in the spiritual life of any Christian They do not mean that we can expect to escape all suffering win the lottery several times and become rich and famous of course The issue is more whether we

Today we rejoin the Sunday cycle of Ordinary Time only to encounter the verses that form the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount To appreciate this conclusion it may be helpful first to look back at the sermon as a whole With the Beatitudes Jesus sketches the values and attitudes needed to ent

In the biblical tradition meals were important occasions rich in symbolism It was customary to ratify agreements or covenants at meals and the sacrifices offered in the temple often involved meals The figure of Wisdom invites those in search of wisdom to her banquet Jews in Jesus rsquo time pic