John the Baptist holds an important place in our Advent preparations.  For most of us, the most common instruction that we hear from John at this time is that simple “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.” 

Two weeks before Thanksgiving each year (on Wednesday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time), our daily liturgy offers the story of the ten lepers whom Jesus cures.

Can a day go by when we are not driven to wonder, “Why did God let this happen?” 

Jesus lived in a patriarchal society.  A woman depended upon a man to protect her rights—a father, a husband, a son.  A widow could be in a particularly vulnerable position. 

Psalm 113 rests a question that gives it focus.  The Psalmist asks: “Who is like the Lord, our God?” This question drives the lesson of the prayer and it draws our attention in several directions that engage our spirit.

As we celebrate Founder’s Week at St. John’s each year, we have a Convocation at which we honor men and women who embrace the Vincentian charism as individuals and as members of organizations. 

In the St. Thomas More Church on the campus of St. John’s University, a collection of beautiful stained-glass windows surrounds the place of worship. 

Jesus highlights the constricted road and the narrow gate that those who follow him should pursue. 

I have written about the characters in the Parable of the Good Samaritan whom we might call “the passersby.” week, we celebrated the Sacred Heart of Jesus followed by the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  It seems appropriate to link these two celebrations. 

When we read one of the most powerful of parables in the Gospel of Luke, the Good Samaritan, we could highlight five characters within the story itself.