J. R. R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” is suffused with Catholic imagery. The elves, in particular, function as visible signs in the great epic of a forgotten, once sanctified cosmos. Thus, it’s not accidental that the elves offer to the
Jesus provokes. In the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel, our Lord teaches, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day” (Jn 6:54). For us Catholics, this claim may have lost
Elijah is hungry. Walking a day in the desert, he settles under a broom tree. This fragrant shrub, native to the Middle East, blossomed with beautifully scented white flowers. But Elijah doesn’t notice. Tired from the journey, he falls asleep, giving up
The crowd doesn’t get it. Hours after Jesus had provided bread from heaven, they murmur to him, “‘What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?'” (Jn 6:30). The crowd now gathered around Jesus echoes the grumbling of
In lectionary cycle B, the Church turns from Mark’s Gospel for five weeks to contemplate the Bread of Life discourse in the Gospel of John. John 6 is important to Catholics, who see in Jesus’ words a foretaste of the Eucharistic banquet
There’s a temptation for us fallen creatures to reduce the Church to a space of political gamesmanship. Vatican-watchers pay attention to the appointment of bishops, hypothesizing what this means for the pope’s political vision of the Church. Individual clergy may wonder to
God elects Christians. I don’t mean that individual Christians are placed on some celestial ballot. Rather, every Christian is part of the elect, those who have been graciously chosen by God for salvation. But whom does God elect? And what does God
It’s never easy to hear truth from those we know well. A husband or wife may experience bitterness of heart when their spouse tells them that they’re not carrying their weight around the home. They’re too quick to look at their smartphone
Death is chaotic. The once vital body shuts down. Breathing becomes labored. As blood ceases to flow, the process of decomposition begins. In dying, our bodies become nothing. All that remains is bones. When God created the world, God fought against this
The Gospel of Luke doesn’t begin with Jesus. It begins with the birth of John the Baptist, an event nearly as stunning, almost as impossible as the Incarnation of Jesus Christ himself. Elizabeth and Zechariah are righteous and barren (Lk 1:6-7). Like