The long and short of the Lord’s Prayer The Lord’s Prayer in Luke is situated differently as compared to Matthew. In Matthew, Jesus teaches the ‘Our Father’ to the crowds at the Sermon of the Mount (chapters 5-7). In Luke, the ‘Our Father’ does not even appear in the Sermon on the Plain, which some commentaries view as Luke’s counterpart to the Sermon on the Mount. Rather, Jesus teaches the ‘Our Father’ to His disciples after they asked, “Lord,…
Martha of Bethany The story of Martha and Mary from Luke 10:38-42 – what was that all about? Many commentaries say that Martha was too busy with domestic affairs and therefore failed to choose ‘the better part,’ which is, to keep still and listen to Jesus. That is true, but this Gospel passage is more than just being a Martha or a Mary. ‘Martha was burdened with much serving (v40)’ implies that Martha was doing a lot to serve…
A Neighbor to my Enemy In Luke 10:25-37, a scholar of the law tested Jesus and said, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25) Jesus answered, “What is written in the law?” The scribe said, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Dt 6:5, Lv 19:18) Jesus told him that he answered correctly, but…
The Mission of the Seventy Is it 70 or 72? Bible translations differ on the actual number of disciples sent out by Christ. The NAB and Douay-Rheims states 72, while the RSV states 70. What’s important is not whether 72 or 70 is the exact number, but what it represents. In the Book of Numbers, Moses assembled 70 elders, as instructed by God, to share the burden of the Israelites (Numbers 11:16-17). It could be seen that Jesus chose the…
I will follow Jesus The Gospel passage from Luke 9:51-62 marks the beginning of the journey of Jesus and His disciples to Jerusalem. Luke sets the tone of this journey by stating the firm determination of Christ to fulfill His mission in Jerusalem; i.e., His Passion, Death and Resurrection. There were four incidents in this Gospel narrative: the refusal of the Samaritans to welcome Jesus and His group of disciples and three incidents of would-be disciples. These four incidents contain…
The Body and Blood of Jesus Christ The Eucharist has always been celebrated by the Church since Jesus instituted it at the Last Supper. There are some things that never changed: the matter of bread and wine, the form of the celebration has always included the sharing of the word and the memorial of the Last Supper, and the firm conviction of true believers that the Eucharist is truly the Body and Blood of Christ. Many Christians do not believe…
The Holy Trinity and the supernatural virtues The 3 supernatural virtues of faith, hope and love relate directly to God, and they dispose the Christian to live in a right relationship with the Holy Trinity. The source, the motive and the object of the 3 supernatural virtues is the Holy Trinity. By God’s grace, they are infused in the souls of the faithful to make them capable of living as God’s children and of meriting eternal life. (see CCC 1812-1813)…
Come Holy Spirit Many Christians do not realize it, but FAITH begins with Holy Spirit. St. Paul wrote to the early Church in Corinth: “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Cor 12:3) St. Irenaeus, who was bishop of Lyons in 130-202 AD, taught that “it is impossible to see God’s Son without the Spirit, and no one can approach the Father without the Son, for the knowledge of the Father is the Son,…
Jesus Christ Ascended into Heaven When the earthly mission of Christ was fulfilled, He ascended into heaven to return to His Father. Is heaven a place where God lives? According to the Catechism of the Church, heaven is not just one kind of thing. What is Heaven? Heaven is the perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity – a communion of life and love with the Trinity, the Virgin Mary, the angels and the saints. Heaven is the ultimate goal…
The Peace that Christ gives What is peace? Many people think of peace as the absence of problems or conflict. That is true, and in many cases problems or conflict can either be external or internal, or even both. External conflict like wars or civil disturbance affect a lot of people; they deprive communities, cities and countries of peace. In other cases, problems arise when disagreements between persons escalate into anger or hurtful behavior. On the other hand, illness, uncertainty…