The father is the central character in Jesus’ parable, not the prodigal son or his faithful brother.

We humans have built-in defense mechanisms to psychologically distance ourselves from threats to our safety. Some of these kick in when we hear that others have suffered.

Moses had the blessed experience of knowing that, as he was tending his flock, he stood on sacred ground. We should all be so lucky to have such awareness.

Jesus, as our advocate, says to God, just give this poor soul one more chance. Yes, there have been mistakes, but some good may come out of him or her yet. 

Lent reminds us that people can and do change. Like the fig tree in the gospel story, we, with a little work, can be changed and made fruitful.

There’s a moment in the movie Stand by Me when the young hero, Gordie, is bestowed a gift from nature. He and his pals are on an adventure of the type that young boys are drawn to—following railroad tracks out of town and into the wilderness.

It was no surprise who won the award of excellence. Year after year for nearly 15 consecutive, he was top in his field. With a new panel of judges every year no one suspected favoritism. In fact, no one doubted his work was the best. The question was how did he keep so consistently good?

Those of us who live in the big city miss a whole lot when it comes to the beauty of nature that is all around us. On my first time being out in the country, on a boat in the middle of a calm lake late at night, I remember looking up. I had never seen so many stars before in my life.

Saint Paul talks about being aware of who you are imitating. When I ask parents to list some of their biggest challenges they often mention the effects of peer pressure.

Some cousins from Ireland came for a visit recently and all the clan gathered for a feast. Before the first bite was taken, we stopped to pray: O God, we remember our grandparents and great-grandparents who, at such a tender age and in such dread circumstance, left their beloved families behind and braved a terrible voyage to an unknown land.