The Dispatch
The First Sunday of Lent: Deluges and Deserts, Sin and Salvation
On the Readings for Sunday, February 18, 2018, the First Sunday of Lent […]
Exodus
The Dispatch
The Beatitudes: The new Law given by the new Moses
Readings: • Zeph. 2:3; 3:12-13 • Psa. 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10 • 1 Cor. 1:26-31 • Matt. 5:1-12a During this Sunday’s Gospel reading we hear the Beatitudes, among the most well-known and oft-quoted sayings of Jesus. […]
The Dispatch
The Lamb of God and the Salvation of the World
Readings: • Is 49:3, 5-6 • Ps 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10 • 1 Cor 1:1-3 • Jn 1:29-34 Taken as a whole, this Sunday’s readings can, I think, be summarized in a single sentence: […]
The Dispatch
The prayer that we breathe
Readings: • Ex 17:8-13 • Ps 121:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 • 2 Tm 3:14-4:2 • Lk 18:1-8 How long can any of us live without air? A few minutes at best? How long can we […]
The Dispatch
Apocalypse How?
Readings: • Acts 13:14, 43-52 • Ps 100:1-2, 3, 5 • Rev 7:9, 14b-17 • Jn 10:27-30 Pop quiz: which book of the Bible describes black helicopters, high-tech warfare involving Russia and China, and computer […]
Essay
Lessons for Lent from the conversion of the Prodigal Son
It is vital to grasp the twofold context in which St. Luke situates his account of the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The first is the immediate context, which shows that the parable, preceded by […]
The Dispatch
The Divine Name and the Mystery of God
Readings: • Ex 3:1-8a, 13-15 • Ps 103: 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 11 • 1 Cor 10:1-6, 10-12 • Lk 13:1-9 When asked why they climb, professional mountaineers often give varied but interconnected reasons. They […]
The Dispatch
The Road of Gathering, Exodus, and Salvation
Readings: • Jer 31:7-9 • Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6 • Heb 5:1-6 • Mk 10:46-52 “In the beginning,” states Lumen Gentium, the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, “God made human nature one […]
The Dispatch
Exodus, Lent, and becoming a true nation
Ten years ago, I began a most extraordinary Lent by walking up the Aventine Hill to the Basilica of Santa Sabina on the first day of the Roman station church pilgrimage – an eight-week journey […]
The Dispatch
Exodus and the Paschal Journey of Lent
“God spoke further to Moses: ‘Go and gather the elders of the Israelites, and tell them, The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me and […]