The Guinness World Record for the oldest known grapevine that still bears fruit is in Maribor, a town in Slovenia. It is more than 400 years old, and the bottles of wine made from its grapes are not sold but presented to VIPs by the government of Slovenia every year. Jesus uses the image of the grapevine this Sunday (Jn 15:1-8): “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser … every branch that does not bear fruit he prunes that it may bear more fruit … as the branch cannot bear fruit … unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.” The Maribor vine has lasted as ..read more

“I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd” (Jn 10:16). This Sunday is traditionally called “Good Shepherd Sunday,” a time when we reflect on the call of our ordained leaders to be shepherds. One of the hallmarks of Pope Francis’ papacy has been his insistence that the ordained shepherds need to be so in touch with those they serve that they should “smell like the sheep.” But recently Pope Francis has been criticized by some of those very shepherds because he authorized a blessing for same ..read more

Today we hear one of the appearance stories from Luke’s Gospel. It starts when two disciples arrive where the apostles and other followers of Jesus are gathered. On hearing that the Lord has appeared to Peter, not to be outdone, the two disciples recount how Jesus has just appeared to them too, while they walked toward the town of Emmaus. Into this exciting newscast Jesus suddenly appears. Though filled with joy, those gathered were “amazed,” that is, not really willing to believe their eyes. Jesus responds in two ways. First he “proves” he’s not a ghost by showing them his wounded hands and f ..read more

Witnesses — we meet them again this week. In Mark’s Gospel, the mourning companions of Jesus would not believe Mary Magdalene “when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her” (Mk 16:10). Today’s Gospel is the well-known episode where the apostle Thomas, unwilling to believe the witness of the others that Jesus was alive, demands the outrageous “proof” of being able to put his hand into the wound in Jesus’ side. It is difficult to hold on to faith. We always do want proof. Even though Jesus grants Thomas’ wish, he also admonishes him: “Blessed are those who have not seen and have be ..read more

It’s pretty normal for any believer to have a crisis of faith, or maybe several, over a lifetime. One of mine happened when I was 22, taking a New Testament Scripture class. That’s when I heard that we really have almost no actual words of Jesus. What we have instead are remembrances, words of others, recollections first recounted in gatherings and, only after a while, written down in collections that eventually became Gospels. It was a moment of grace when I finally “got it,” that God is truly an incarnate God, embedded in the world God first created and then, through Jesus, deeply embedded i ..read more

Each Holy Week, we hear two accounts of the Passion of the Lord. On Good Friday, we hear the Passion account from the Gospel of John. On Palm Sunday, we hear the Passion account from the year’s lectionary cycle, this year the Gospel of Mark. We all know the spiritual “Were You There (When They Crucified My Lord).” Mark is the “Were you there?” Gospel. It’s scene after scene about the people who were there: the chief priests and scribes; the woman who anoints Jesus’ head with perfumed oil; the disciples, including some special ones like Peter and Judas; Pilate and Barabbas; soldiers; Simon of C ..read more

“I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But it was for this purpose I came to this hour.” Recently I heard a science guru remark that humans are the only species that will die for a cause. This quote from our Cycle B Gospel (John 12:20-33) shows Jesus understanding his purpose and facing the consequences rather than praying to be saved. John’s Gospel, written around the year 100, is the fruit of years of reflection about questions like “Why did Jesus have to die?” This Scripture is their answer: These early Christians had come to understand that only throug ..read more

In our Cycle B, today’s Gospel is John 3:14-21. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. … the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light … for everyone who does wicked things hates the light … but whoever lives the truth comes to the light… .” Elementary school children already have experienced the difference between good and evil, between the darkness and the light described in this Scripture. In Scripture as a whole, it is clear that God abhors evil, judges it and condemns it. During Lent we see Jesus battling against evil, first in his desert experience ..read more

Because there are special ceremonies for those preparing for Easter sacraments on the third, fourth and fifth Sundays of Lent, the readings from Lectionary Cycle A may be used instead of the readings from this liturgical year, Cycle B. This reflection flows from the Hebrew Scripture reading of Cycle B. It is the account of the Ten Commandments. Two of those commandments are about coveting your neighbor’s possessions or wife or “anything else that belongs to him.” Covetousness is also one of the “capital sins,” or roots in us from which sin flows — remember them? (The others are pride, lust, a ..read more

The Wizard of Oz, and the classic movie loved throughout the world, is called “The American Fairy Tale.” It’s a quest story. The quest is completed after Dorothy, Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion defeat evil (the witch of the West) and are rewarded by the Wizard of an ideal city, Oz. Before they go into the audience with the wizard to receive their rewards, each of these pilgrims is “polished.” They get cleaned up and dressed up, and the lion has his mane curled. Human life is also a quest, isn’t it? We try to find our purpose, always looking for something that seems missing, or mo ..read more