When we think of a prophet, we may think of someone who can foresee and foretell the future. We also may consider them to be heralds of peace and prosperity or doom and gloom. Prophets are sometimes viewed as spectacular figures, known for eye-popping signs that provide extraordinary passageways into ordinary life and into the future.…

The Gospel story of Jesus’ encounter with the woman of Samaria in John’s gospel has always been one of my favorites (Jn 4:5-42). Each time I hear it, another wondrous slice of wisdom seems to emerge. As the story goes, Jesus and his disciples are traveling through Samaria, and just around lunch time, they come to a well, which is just outside of the town named Sychar.…

After years of hearing the popular parable of what is known as The Prodigal Son, currently, two particular lines strike me the most:

        “… the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country.”

                “ While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him…”

Distance is a peculiar phenomenon, especially nowadays when technology has allowed us to, so to speak, ‘bridge the distance’ between places and people. …

       

In the pair of Lenten readings we hear today, we find the themes of ownership, stewardship (care), and the sometimes unfortunate ways that we as humans deal with these issues.  In Gn 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a, we hear part of the great story of Joseph, who is looked upon with envy and loathing by his brothers because he appeared to be the favored child of their father Israel (Jacob). …

“More tortuous than all else is the human heart, beyond remedy; who can understand it?”
– Jeremiah

Can we fail to have a ‘self?’ The Danish Philosopher, Kierkegaard, wrote about an existentialism that described an anxious self that will not accept the idea that being a self is based upon a fundamental gift from God.  …