Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchChoosing to Keep the Commandments
Episode 159
Our first reading for this weekend is taken from a book that we don’t consult that frequently in the course of the liturgical year—namely, the book of Sirach. It is presented as a series of sayings o…
Published on 5 years, 10 months ago
Love as a Panacea
Episode 158
I would like to concentrate on the marvelous passage from chapter 58 of the prophet Isaiah, which is our first reading for this weekend. This final section of Isaiah was written, the scholars tell us…
Published on 5 years, 10 months ago
The Lord Returns to His Temple
Episode 157
There is a tendency, I’m afraid, to flatten out and sentimentalize the meaning of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. We see it as just a charming tale of a little child being entrusted to th…
Published on 5 years, 11 months ago
In the Land of Zebulon and Naphtali
Episode 156
Our first reading from the prophet Isaiah and our Gospel are tightly linked, for St. Matthew, in articulating the meaning of Jesus, cites (as is his wont) an Old Testament text—namely, our reading fr…
Published on 5 years, 11 months ago
Knowing Who We Are
Episode 1
The entirety of this Sunday’s second reading might be seen as so much boilerplate, throwaway lines that a writer used at the commencement of his letter, something like a formal salutation. But in poi…
Published on 5 years, 11 months ago
It Is Too Little for You to Be My Servant
Episode 155
I want to focus this week on the extraordinary passage from the book of the prophet Isaiah, for it reveals a central dynamic of all of biblical revelation, and indeed of the spirituality of every Chr…
Published on 5 years, 11 months ago
Vitae Spiritualis Ianua
Episode 110
The first sacrament one can receive in the Church, Baptism, defines our relationship with Christ. In it, we are reborn as part of his Mystical Body and gifted with the grace of God’s love. Baptism la…
Published on 5 years, 11 months ago
The Light of the Nations
Episode 154
Today’s readings for Epiphany speak of a light that shines on Israel, the chosen people, but that is meant for the whole world, a light that is a beacon summoning all the nations. And that Light is J…
Published on 6 years ago
Herod and Joseph
Episode 1
The point of our Gospel for Holy Family Sunday is to make us see a contrast between Herod, the perfect type of the anti-family man, and Joseph, the selfless protector of Mary and Jesus. Herod’s whole…
Published on 6 years ago
Dream Big
Episode 153
The Bible turns upside-down the way we think about the God-human relationship. In almost every other religion or philosophy, God or the gods are the powerful forces who have to be supplicated, begged…
Published on 6 years ago