Do you consider yourself a competitive person?  Or maybe I should ask, in what area are you most competitive?  We’re all competitive, aren’t we?  Maybe you’re competitive in getting the best grades in your class or the biggest paycheck at work.  Maybe you compete to make the best pancakes in your family or tell the funniest joke.  We humans are naturally competitive.  After all, that’s what helps us survive in this very competitive world.

In our culture, we often base our identity and self-worth on whether or not we are the […]

“Who do you say that I am?”  This is an important question that we hear Jesus ask his disciples in today’s gospel.  It’s an important question that he asks each of us so let’s see how the encounter continues.  Peter answers correctly, “You are the Christ.”  Since this is the correct answer, we might wonder why Jesus immediately instructs the disciples not to tell anyone about him.  Why would he do that?  We all know that it’s because they had the wrong notion of who the Christ – the Messiah […]

Do you know what the word “Alleluia” means?  We just sang it with great joy as we prepared to hear the gospel proclaimed.  In fact, we sing it every Sunday except during the Season of Lent.  It’s a Hebrew word and it means “Praise God!”  It is joyous cry of praise of God that dates back to Old Testament times.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the man in today’s gospel passage went around singing “Alleluia!”  Can you imagine how the man in today’s Gospel account must have felt?  All his […]

We’ve all learned about the importance of washing our hands over these past few years, haven’t we?  But, it’s not a matter of religious belief but one of several important measures we all practice to combat the common flu, the coronavirus, RSV and whatever new illness is popping up.   I’m sure Jesus would encourage us to wash our hands regularly, but it won’t necessarily get us closer to God; religion does that.

So, what is religion? As I’m sure you all know, the word “religion” simply speaks of our relationship with […]

“You have the words of eternal life.”  That’s quite a powerful admission that we hear St. Peter make in today’s gospel.  In the midst of his bumblings and failures, he also sometimes got it right.  The same man who was left almost speechless on Mount Tabor when he and two other disciples were privileged to get a glimpse of Jesus in all his heavenly glory, the same man who denied knowing Jesus when Jesus was in a trial for his life – not once but three times – that same […]