St. Matthew tells us that on the day of the Resurrection, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary arrived very early in the morning to visit the Lord’s tomb. There, they encountered an angel who had descended from heaven to roll away the enormous stone sealing the tomb. The angel sat upon the stone and announced the incredible news of the Lord’s Resurrection.
In the Passion and Death of the Lord on the Cross, we grasp the significance of the two realities most intrinsic to humanity and God: for humanity, that reality is sin; for God, it is His merciful love.
St. John begins his lengthy account of the Lord’s Last Supper with these words: “Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that His hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved His own in the world and He loved them to the end.” There, the Lord performed several acts that demonstrate the utter extent to which He loved His disciples.
St. Matthew tells us that the Lord entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey. This was one of the many things foretold by the prophets. Centuries in advance, God had already prepared the manner of His Son's entry into His Passion and Death in Jerusalem.
Belief in the resurrection of the dead evolved over time among the people of Israel. Some eighteen centuries before the time of the Lord, Abraham could never have imagined such a reality. In his day, the most one could hope for—so as not to vanish completely after death—was to live on, in some form, through one's descendants.
The Gospel tells us that the Samaritan woman came to Jacob’s well at midday. In the scorching heat of the Samarian sun, the well was typically deserted, yet she chose this hour precisely because she was a social outcast. Her life was the subject of town gossip, and she walked in the heat to avoid the cold stares of her neighbors.
The Lord, well-aware of her isolation, did not arrive at that well by chance; He was there by design.
After more than two years of traveling together, the Lord shared a revelation that shattered the disciples' expectations. He spoke plainly of the looming shadow: his impending suffering and execution in Jerusalem. For the disciples, who viewed their journey as an exciting, dream-like adventure, this news was devastating.
In this Sunday’s Gospel, we encounter part of the Sermon on the Mount—the Lord’s most profound teaching. Here, the Lord addresses three specific commandments regarding murder, adultery, and swearing.
Today’s Gospel continues the Sermon on the Mount, following immediately after the Beatitudes. In this passage, the Lord uses two powerful images to describe His followers: salt and light.
The Beatitudes describe a variety of human conditions: poverty of spirit, mourning, meekness, hunger for justice, mercy, purity of heart, peacemaking, and persecution. Despite their different outward forms, these states share a common essence—they all emerge from a place of profound hardship and affliction.
Prior to the fall, Adam and Eve existed in a state of grace far removed from the brokenness of modern humanity. Their hearts were equipped to always do good
The Christmas liturgical season is like the Church opening a family album of the Lord’s early years. This Sunday, the Church invites us to look closer at this family album, focusing on the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
Announcing the arrival of one greater than himself, St. John the Baptist declared, “Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
The feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin was approved as a local feast in the 15th century. It only became a feast of the universal Church in the 18th century.