Moses was frightened and daunted by the task God set out for him: to return to Egypt as an old man, to confront the authorities, and to lead the Hebrew people to a promised land. He questioned God about this choice, desperately trying to find a way to elude the mission. More »

One day I was taking a leisurely stroll through the religious poetry in the back of the Liturgy of the Hours when a phrase from George Herbert’s "Love" jumped out at me. The poem is an old favorite of mine, and you would have thought it didn’t bear any more surprises for me. But that’s the way it is with a classic. This time through, I finally noticed "quick-ey’d Love." More »

Everybody loves St. Anthony of Padua, yet few of us know all that much about his life. We know that he is the patron saint to call on when we need help finding our lost keys. More »

A beautiful Hebrew phrase appears at important times in the Old Testament: Hineni, Here I am! When God calls Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham answers, "Hineni, Here I am!" (Genesis 22:1, NRSV). I am ready to do whatever you say. Moses hears a voice calling from the burning bush: "Moses, Moses," and he answers immediately: "Hineni, Here I am!" (Exodus 3:4). Isaiah receives his prophetic calling in a vision in which God says: "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?" Isaiah cries out: "Hineni! Send me!" (Isaiah 6:8). More »

In Jesus’ Journey to the Cross: A Love unto Death, you will follow Jesus from his entrance into Jerusalem, through his last meal with his apostles, his struggle in Gethsemane, his arrest and trial, to his crucifixion and, finally, his resurrection from the dead. More »

In the opening words of his first encyclical, God Is Love, Pope Benedict XVI quotes words from the First Letter of John, which he says are a kind of summary of the Christian life: "We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us" (4:16). Coming to believe in God’s love, says the pope, describes the fundamental decision of our life. More »

Let us thank God for the opportunity he has given us today to come here to pray together. We have come here especially to pray for peace, joy and love. We are reminded that Jesus came to bring the good news to the poor. He told us what that good news is when he said: "My peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you." He came not to give the peace of the world which is only that we don’t bother each other. He came to give the peace of heart which comes from loving—from doing good to others. More »

When the Son of God entered the world, he didn’t simply appear one day in a blaze of glory, bringing immediate salvation. In God’s perfect plan, his Son was "born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons" (Galatians 4:4-5). More »