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Why did God choose bread and wine? From a historical perspective, it isn’t difficult to find a reason. Both foods were common within Jewish and Roman cultures, and they were both present at the celebration of the Passover, which was what Jesus and the disciples were celebrating at the Last Supper. However, in a homily,… Read more
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As Christians it can be easy to identify peace as a goal and something to pray for. It is easy to open to the beatitudes and read “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9). It is easy to hear the Priest at Mass quote Jesus saying, “Peace… Read more
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Fishing probably had a larger impact on me than I often like to give it credit for. A franciscan these days can’t often bond with another franciscan over fishing because it carries the connotation of a cruel sport that injures God’s creatures. For that (pious) reason, I often went long stretches without fishing through high… Read more
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An explanation for reflecting on Greek words… Read more
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J.D. Salinger, perhaps best known for his book The Catcher in the Rye, wrote a lesser known work titled Franny and Zooey in which the main character (Franny) reads The Way of a Pilgrim and is dealing with the corresponding spiritual aftermath. It leads the reader wondering, “What is so special about this book The… Read more
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A few years ago, I attended a cousin’s wedding in which the chosen Gospel passage was the well-known Beatitudes. After the priest finished proclaiming the Gospel, my only thought was “will he preach on the word ‘makarioi’?” That is the Greek word which begins each line of the beatitudes and most often gets translated “blessed”… Read more
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One evening at a Catholic Young Adult gathering in Harrisburg, a lecture series produced by the Augustine Institute was presented to the group. During that video series led by Dr. Tim Gray, it was mentioned that the famous commandment “follow me” from Jesus to Peter, and also the phrase “get behind me, Satan” were the… Read more
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For the past few years, I have been quite obsessed with the phrase “joys and sorrows”. Anytime I see those two words together I make a note of it, whether in a book, on a billboard, or in an everyday conversation. Perhaps that is why I was moved by this word katanyxis after reading the… Read more
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I can recall learning about this word for the first time during my senior year of college. The word struck me so much that I promised myself to use it as a title if I ever wrote a book. When I submitted my autobiographical essay during my application process with the Franciscans, I used this… Read more
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One day during my New Testament course in undergrad, the professor began class by writing the word “ύπομονή” on the chalkboard. I remember him telling the class that this was the most important word in the New Testament. I knew so little Greek at the time that my guess was the most important word must… Read more
A Christian's discernment of kinship and agape
Kevin's Corner 