1 Mc 4:36-37, 52-59 / Lk 19:45-48

Today we get a happy ending to the dreadful story we’ve been hearing all week, starting with the Greeks’ brutal imposition of their culture upon the Jews, the revolt that followed, and finally the…

1 Maccabees 2:15-29 / Lk 19:41-44

The Maccabees’ saga continues in today’s reading with Mattathias and his family being offered the ultimate deal with the devil: A small sacrifice to the pagan gods in exchange for vast riches and the title,…

2 Mac 7:1, 20-31 / Lk 19:11-28

Fear is one of the greatest adversaries that any of us will ever face. It steals our peace and our joy, it closes down many roads, and throws up many walls. Some form of…

2 Mac 6:18-31 / Lk 19:1-10

Out of every tragedy and every evil, God eventually brings a greater good, though sometimes that good remains hidden and invisible for a long time. Often, in the midst of suffering, it’s difficult to understand…

1 Mc 1:10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-63 / Lk 18:35-43

We have the beginnings of a great tragedy in today’s reading from the book of Maccabees. The Greeks had decided to impose their own language and culture on the various parts of their…

Dn 12:1-3 / Heb 10:11-14, 18 / Mk 13:24-32

There was a mother mouse who was scurrying across the kitchen floor with her brood of six little mice in tow.  All of a sudden she came eyeball-to-eyeball with a very large…

Wis 13:1-9 / Lk 17:26-37

A friend of mine lost his wife’s diamond ring while bringing in the evening cocktails. The two of them searched high and low, swept the floors, and crawled about on their hands and knees, but all to…

Wis 7:22-8:1 / Lk 17:20-25

In every age there has been an ample chorus of voices proclaiming the imminent arrival of the end of the world.  The volume only gets louder at the end of a century, to say nothing of…

Wisdom 6:1-11 / Lk 17:11-19

Today’s Old Testament reading is a stern warning to those in positions of authority that they will be held accountable for the power the Lord has put in their hands. But before we relax too much…

Wis 2:23-3:9 / Lk 17:7-10

There are some passages in the scriptures that people really don’t like, and the end of today’s gospel is one of them. For those of us who work hard to do the right thing, and to…