1000 hours (10:00 a.m.): I am traveling with a military convoy, making pastoral visits to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment. First stop is their Forward Operating Base (FOB) in a central Iraq town. I set up for Mass in a corner of the busy area where the Marines eat, recreate, and do triage for the wounded. More »

"The parable challenges the attitude and behavior of the listeners. The question is addressed to them: are you jealous because I am good for your neighbors? This question challenges them to allow such a God into their life." —Jan Lambrecht, SJ, "Out of the Treasure: The Parables in the Gospel of Matthew" More »

Imagine a young father coming home from work. As he walks up the driveway, his three-year-old son spots him through the front window of their home. More »

The gospel of the resurrection of Lazarus . . . concerns the last "sign" fulfilled by Jesus, after which the chief priests convened the Sanhedrin and deliberated killing him, and decided to kill the same Lazarus who was living proof of the divinity of Christ, the Lord of life and death. More »

Moses was frightened and daunted by the task God set out for him: to return to Egypt as an old man, to confront the authorities, and to lead the Hebrew people to a promised land. He questioned God about this choice, desperately trying to find a way to elude the mission. More »

One day I was taking a leisurely stroll through the religious poetry in the back of the Liturgy of the Hours when a phrase from George Herbert’s "Love" jumped out at me. The poem is an old favorite of mine, and you would have thought it didn’t bear any more surprises for me. But that’s the way it is with a classic. This time through, I finally noticed "quick-ey’d Love." More »

Everybody loves St. Anthony of Padua, yet few of us know all that much about his life. We know that he is the patron saint to call on when we need help finding our lost keys. More »

A beautiful Hebrew phrase appears at important times in the Old Testament: Hineni, Here I am! When God calls Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham answers, "Hineni, Here I am!" (Genesis 22:1, NRSV). I am ready to do whatever you say. Moses hears a voice calling from the burning bush: "Moses, Moses," and he answers immediately: "Hineni, Here I am!" (Exodus 3:4). Isaiah receives his prophetic calling in a vision in which God says: "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?" Isaiah cries out: "Hineni! Send me!" (Isaiah 6:8). More »