Matthew 23:1-12 Dear Friends, Jesus was very clear on his teachings about morality. In fact, he had few statements about moral laws, little to say about sexuality and the moral norms most preached from our pulpits today. The gospel passage challenging us today is about his fundamental insight, integrity. For Jesus, integrity was connecting the very long distance between the mouth, the head and the heart. Integrity unites the word, action and the lived experience. It is living out of the heart. Jesus’ conflict with the leaders was the exaggeration of appearances to t...

Matthew 22:34-40 Dear Friends This is the third time that the Jewish leaders are trying to insnare Jesus in a fatal ambush. It is also the third of four times that Jesus uses their deceit and lies to offer a clear insight into the gospel message. Today’s response from Jesus is as close as we are going to get to a concise summary of the gospel. love of God and love of neighbor.We need to grow into the challenge of Jesus to love our neighbor. Amid the frequent conflicts, the many hurts we experience and the downright hostility we encounter with our fellow human beings...

The Environmental Crisis: Fundamentally A Spiritual Crisis
The environmental crisis is rooted in one major flaw. It centers its energy on humankind to the neglect of God. It directs us to see nature as a source of profit and convenience and not an invitation into the wonder of Go...

Matthew 22:15-21 Dear Friends Today’s Gospel has Jesus undergoing four conflicts with different groups. Each separate group tries to entrap Jesus in way that endangers his life. He turns each disagreement into a teaching opportunity. Today’s message is not about the separation of church and state. It is a clear mandate to put God at the center in all things. By saying, “then repay to Caesar what belong to Ceasar and to God what belongs to God.” (Mt 22:21) Jesus sets a clear standard for all to follow. All are to obey the civil power within the context of paying to G...

Laudato Si´: Pope Francis’ Call to ConversionIntroduction
I am going to offer a series of blogs on Laudato Si´, the transforming encyclical of Pope Francis on our environmental crisis. This document was written more than a decade ago. It continues to grow in importance and relevance by...