Years ago as a teenager I used to listen to the music of Larry Norman perhaps the first of the Jesus rockers Norman now deceased has been the source of much controversy in the Christian rock world including an unflattering portrait in a recent documentary film One thing that could not be sai

A few years ago a reading group to which I belong took on the task of reading The City of God by St Augustine Every Friday we would meet to discuss the twenty pages we had set for ourselves that week the next week we would move on to the next twenty pages By the time the academic year was windi

I consider myself a rather conservative scholar on matters of interpretation though honestly I do not think labels such as conservative or liberal ought to be applied to interpretation of the Scriptures The real issue in interpreting the Scriptures the major dividing line is whether one

The second reading for the Twentieth Sunday in ordinary time continues with Ephesians chapter 5 15-20 and the exhortation for holy living The NAB translates the first phrase in v 15 as watch carefully how you live which the NRSV translates be careful then how you live I like the translation

The Gospel reading for the Thursday of the Nineteenth Week of Ordinary Time Matthew 18 21-19 1 comes at the end of what is generally considered to be the fourth discourse in Matthew the Church or Ecclesial discourse The parable that is told is found only in Matthew rsquo s Gospel and is told by

I must admit that I do not know much about St Clare whose Memorial we celebrate today though I had the distinct joy of spending a January day wandering with my wife and youngest son through Assissi in 2008 and learning something about St Francis and St Clare I have only the knowledge I gained

Some passages seem to need so much commentary to enter into their complex recesses to pull out hidden guidance while others seem to hide their wisdom in plain view shimmering on the surface Let s try this one as a test case All bitterness fury anger shouting and revilingmust be removed from

I always remember the Feast of the Transfiguration for my oldest child was born on August 6 1988 August 6 the date on which we celebrate the Transfiguration became the date that my life was changed I became a parent In many ways of course there is no comparison between my experience which

Have I been transformed Have you been transformed In both 2 Corinthians 5 17 so if anyone is in Christ there is a new creation everything old has passed away see everything has become new and Galatians 6 15 for neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything but a new creation is e

The letter to the Ephesians devotes much of its content to establishing the unity of both Jew and Greek in the body of Christ the dividing wall has been torn down between us familial identity we are all children of God adopted through Christ into this one family and the new heavenly citizensh