Deep Calls to Deep Word on the Street – “I Want to See” available next week…
Greetings, family & friends. My second book, “I Want to See,” will be available early next week at 23rd Publications website. Here’s how they describe it. Pretty darn good… How can we find joy, hope, and peace in ourselves and in the world? It’s a question we all ask, and in seeking the answer, theologian […]
25th Sunday Ordinary Time – Context!
I’m paying more and more attention to the context within which the Sunday gospel appears to see how it either answers something that went before or sets up what’s coming or both. Let’s look at chapter 19… 19:13-15 Jesus blessed the little children whom the disciples spoke harshly to: “Let the […]
25th Sunday Ordinary Time – Envy today; Context tomorrow…
Well, actually, this line [Are you envious because I am generous?] represents a pretty good attempt at translating. Really. The Greek actually says, however, “Or is your eye evil because I am good?” What’s this about the evil eye? Let’s see how Matthew uses ophthalmos, “eye” together with porneros, “evil.” Let’s begin with the ending of the Lord’s Prayer […]
25th Sunday Ordinary Time – “grumble, grumble, grumble…”
OK, we’ve established that the owner of the vineyard was unfair. What’s the most basic response to that? Grumble, carp, gripe, groan, fuss, whine, complain, quibble, and [fill in the blank]. I could add gossip & resent. Yeah, I’ll do that. Now, let’s take a step back to look at that word in Greek, “to […]
25th Sunday Ordinary Time – The Unfair Vineyard Owner…
OK, let’s all take a moment. Gather up your courage. Now, let’s reenter Sunday’s gospel. When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, “Call the labourers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.” When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them […]
24th Sunday Ordinary Time – Breaking the Code…
In my 2 recent posts, I talked a lot about my experience of riches and emptiness. I’d like to share what I understand about my motives. “What is it to be a Jesuit? It is to know that one is a sinner, yet called to be a companion of Jesus as Ignatius was…” [Decree 2, […]
24th Sunday Ordinary Time – On Forgiving the Rich…
There are those who have more than me. For the longest time, I have envied them, put them down, and hated them – when ya come down to it. For example… Tim Manion has such an incredible voice, poetic soul, and finesse with his guitar. I still envy him and hate him and always have. […]
24th Sunday Ordinary Time – On Forgiving the Poor and Rich
Last Sunday’s gospel set the scene – another comes to me to ask forgiveness. How many times? Well, we heard the answer. Here’s a thought: Do we in mainstream America need to forgive the poor for needing so much? Which would be a better response than simply resenting the poor. Just sayin’. This is indeed […]
24th Sunday Ordinary Time – Forgiveness & Resentments…
I’m learning so much these days. And, as you probably know, learning is humiliating… I’m learning about forgiving/letting go of resentments. Ouch. So, what the heck is ‘resentment’? It comes from Latin re-sentire into Old and Middle French into English – “to re-feel or feel again.” The Oxford English Dictionary gives its first definition as: Sense of grievance; […]
24th Sunday Ordinary Time – Forgiving vs. Setting Boundaries…
First off… It seems right to add a bit of finesse to Jesus’ injunction of forgiving “seventy-seven times.” And it seems most applicable in the area of verbal, physical, and sexual abuse. Which raises the question: “Does forgiveness mean letting an abuser have total and on-going access to me, especially if he/she keeps apologizing and […]
Deep Calls to Deep 