Peter denied Jesus, but he is not held back by this mistake. After his encounter and reconciliation with Jesus on the seashore, Peter lives with bold faith. Tucker Redding, SJ, reflects on our own need to live like we’ve been forgiven. Based on the readings for...
This is the eleventh installment of A Deacon’s Diary. In the tenth installment, Steve wondered if God made him eccentric. I. The checkerboard squares of the stone floor were cold. And uncomfortable as they pressed into my ribs. It was Good Friday and after...
I spent my early childhood in Vietnam, and one of the things I remember quite vividly is the frequent blackouts. Imagine a huge chunk of the metropolis going dark, succumbing to the night. The darkness seemed to have power over us. It literally stopped everything in...
In the story of “doubting Thomas,” Jesus shows compassion and mercy on him by showing Thomas his wounds. Matthew Zurcher, SJ, reflects on the vastness of God’s mercy on Divine Mercy Sunday. Based on the readings for Sunday, April 24, 2022. Christ is...
On a hot summer afternoon, a brother Jesuit and I heaved one last bag full of clothes into the back of our minivan to make our annual donation to the local Goodwill. As I drove the minivan loaded with bags and boxes full of clothes, shoes, suitcases, and household...
In the special 8 days following Easter, known as the Octave, we get one gospel reading after another about the resurrection. It’s easy to grow accustomed to these readings if you’ve heard them year after year, but they really are quite varied, incredible, and...
Lent is easier than Easter. The struggle of life, a gnawing sense of our own inadequacy, the patience of everyday life–these Lenten themes are not a stretch for the mind. Incompleteness and wandering in the wilderness are the very taste of the ordinary. Easter,...
The Resurrection doesn’t erase our pain and confusion, but it does give us new hope. Christopher Smith, SJ, reflects on Easter Sunday and the Resurrection. Based on the readings for Easter Sunday, April 17, 2022. There’s an old southern saying: “For every cross...
Podcast Episode: In the Fourth Week of the Spiritual Exercises, we focus on the risen Christ. He has passed through the suffering of the cross and entered into his glory. Desiring that others share his joy, he goes about consoling all who were deeply shaken by his...
“But man does not drive to be free for himself and content with himself.”1 According to Jürgen Multmann in The Crucified God, Psalm 18, verse 36 is not often understood. He says it should read,“You show me that you are great by your humiliation of yourself” because,...
