Article for Easter

  We hear the same reading today from the Acts of the Apostles that we heard on Sunday, except with an additional detail. Joseph, called Barnabas, sold a piece of his property and gave the proceeds to the Apostles. This act of generosity can be encouraging for us as well. Churches often ask a great…

  We continue to hear the story of the Apostles in Acts. They were stuck in a hard situation that they didn’t deserve. When I was growing up, I loved to watch the Red Green Show, a comedy show produced out of Canada. One segment showed a few characters playing hockey on a street. (You…

Forward: I don’t know about you, but I am often caught off guard by the Easter Season. I walk through Lent with resolutions, and then when Easter comes, I fall right back into my old habits. Easter is indeed a time of celebration. It also is a time to keep at what you have been…

  Peter and John replied to the leaders, elders, and scribes: “It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.” The boldness of Peter and James comes out most powerfully in their encounter. For them, their faith in Jesus Christ was not something confined to one day a week,…

  In the work of seminary formation (in which I am engaged), we are trying to help prepare these men for the priesthood by transforming their minds and hearts. The work involves the cooperation with God’s grace and the hard work and efforts of many religious and lay men and women who contribute to the…

  The reading from Acts of the Apostles is perhaps one of my favorite readings in the New Testament. It’s common that we will find ourselves in a position where what is being asked of us, we simply do not have or cannot provide. Peter and John are being approached by the crippled man who…

  Peter and the beloved disciple had visited the empty tomb and saw the burial cloths there. They left in amazement, but Mary Magdalene alone remained there in a sort of vigil. Her weeping communicates the state of her distress, but it also expresses to us the degree of her love. Mary Magdalene alone waited—patiently…

  A young man came to me seeking direction in his life. I asked, “Have you prayed about it?” The man responded with what I detected was a hint of frustration, “Yes—I prayed about it, but God didn’t say anything!” Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb to look for the body…