The King's Corner

Today we celebrate the visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." And Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.

To keep the law is a great oblation, and he who observes the commandments sacrifices a peace offering. In works of charity one offers fine flour, and when he gives alms he presents his sacrifice of praise. To refrain from evil pleases the LORD, and to avoid injustice is an atonement. Appear not before the LORD empty-handed, for all that you offer is in fulfillment of the precepts.  The just one's offering enriches the altar and rises as a sweet odor before the Most High. The just one's sacrifice is most pleasing, nor will it ever be forgotten. In a generous spirit pay homage to the LORD, be not sparing of freewill gifts. With each contribution show a cheerful countenance, and pay your tithes in a spirit of joy. Give to the Most High as he has given to you, generously, according to your means. For the LORD is one who always repays, and he will give back to you sevenfold. But offer no bribes, these he does not accept! Trust not in sacrifice of the fruits of extortion. For he is a

Today is Memorial Day one of the two official United States holidays recognizing the commitment of members of America's military services.  Memorial Day honors those who lost their lives while defending their country.  And, many have lost their lives or survived but with physical and mental disabilities. Today we should sing: My country 'tis This wee sweet land of liberty Of thee I sing Land where my fathers died Land of the pilgrim's pride From every mountainside Let freedom ring My native country, thee Land of the noble free Thy name I love I love thy rocks and rills Thy woods and templed hills My heart will rapture fills like that above Let music swell the breeze And ring from all the trees Sweet freedom's song Let mortal tongues awake Let all that breathe partake Let rocks their silence break The sound prolong Our Father God to Thee Author of liberty To Thee I sing My country 'tis of Thee Sweet land of liberty For all eternity Let freedom ring Let freedom ring M

Today is Memorial Day, and I think of the song “God Bless America.” Here is some history:  (begin) In the fall of 1938, as fascism and war threatened Europe, Irving Berlin decided to write a peace song. He recalled an unpublished version of a song that he had set aside in a trunk, took it out and shaped it into a second national anthem, "God Bless America."  In 1938, with the rise of Adolf Hitler, Berlin, who was Jewish and had arrived in the U.S. from Russia at the age of five, felt it was time to revive it as a "peace song", and it was introduced on an Armistice Day broadcast in 1938, sung by Kate Smith on her radio show. This song has become the performer's calling card. Berlin had made some minor changes; by this time, "to the right" might have been considered a call to the political right, so he substituted "through the night" instead. 

After Adam had eaten of the tree, the LORD God called to him and asked him, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself.” Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked? You have eaten, then, from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!” The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.” The LORD God then asked the woman, “Why did you do such a thing?” The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.” Then the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, you shall be banned from all the animals and from all the wild creatures; On your belly shall you crawl, and dirt shall you eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.” The man called his wife Eve, because she became the mother of all the living. (Gen

On this Feast of Pentecost, Father Richard Rohr reminds us that the Holy Spirit is as near to us as our own breath:    (begin) Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:21–22).   God has been trying through all of history to give away God. Jesus shows us that the gift is free and totally available, as available as our breath. It seems that God has a hard time giving away God, however, because most of us aren’t interested. We’re interested in other things: money and power and success and good looks and politics. It takes a long time to get around to the one thing we were created for. 

Today is Pentecost Sunday.  The Sequence sung at every Mass today is our splendid way of describing the Holy Spirit that guides the Church and every one of us each and every day - provided we listen. So, let's listen. Come, Holy Spirit, come! And from your celestial home     Shed a ray of light divine! Come, Father of the poor! Come, source of all our store!     Come, within our bosoms shine. You, of comforters the best; You, the soul’s most welcome guest;     Sweet refreshment here below; In our labor, rest most sweet; Grateful coolness in the heat;     Solace in the midst of woe. O most blessed Light divine, Shine within these hearts of yours,     And our inmost being fill! Where you are not, we have naught, Nothing good in deed or thought,     Nothing free from taint of ill. Heal our wounds, our strength renew; On our dryness pour your dew;     Wash the stains of guilt away: Bend the stubborn heart and will; Melt the frozen, warm the chill;     Guide the steps that go astray. On

Dear David, Word on Fire receives countless messages from our supporters each month asking us to pray for family members and friends who have fallen away from the Church. As we enter into the month of May, in which we place a special emphasis on the Church’s relationship with Mary, I want to challenge you to participate in a unique prayer challenge. This month, I’m asking you to join us in praying 10,000 Rosaries for the intention that those who have fallen away from their faith may return to the Church with a renewed understanding of God’s love and mercy. Evangelization must be grounded in prayer. The Rosary is a powerful contemplative practice that quiets the mind and draws us into the depths of our faith. United around this common intention, we can pray specifically for the people we know who have left the Church, and also ask for the strength and wisdom we need to be effective evangelizers in our families, workplaces, and communities.

Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved, the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper and had said, "Master, who is the one who will betray you?" When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about him?" Jesus said to him, "What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours?   You follow me."  So the word spread among the brothers that that disciple would not die. But Jesus had not told him that he would not die, just "What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours?"

What follows was a very timely reflection for the Memorial of Saint Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church written by Cristobal Spielmann, a Joseph A. O’Hare Fellow at America.  The Memorial was on May 2. (begin) So, the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me. But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. (John 10:24-26) (begin) How can you make someone believe? If you are like me and have been educated in or teach STEM (STEM is an acronym that stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics) this is an eternally frustrating question to answer. From firsthand experience, it is doubtful anyone has the answer. Whether we’re talking about climate change disinformationists or alarmists, anti-vaxxers, Young Earth creationists or general anti-science cranks, just h

Wishing to determine the truth about why Paul was being accused by the Jews, the commander freed him and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to convene. Then he brought Paul down and made him stand before them. Paul was aware that some were Sadducees and some Pharisees, so he called out before the Sanhedrin, "My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees; I am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead." When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the group became divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection or angels or spirits, while the Pharisees acknowledge all three.  A great uproar occurred, and some scribes belonging to the Pharisee party stood up and sharply argued, "We find nothing wrong with this man. Suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?" The dispute was so serious that the commander, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, ordered his troops to go down and r

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying: “Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one. When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely.  I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the Evil One. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.” (John 17:11-19) This is the rest of Jesus’ “high priestly prayer” begun

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, just as you gave him authority over all people, so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him. Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ. I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began. "I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you gave me is from you, because the words you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours, and ever

The disciples said to Jesus, "Now you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech. Now we realize that you know everything and that you do not need to have anyone question you. Because of this we believe that you came from God."  Jesus answered them, "Do you believe now? Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone. But I am not alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world." (John 16:29-33) Has he?  Has he “conquered” Christians and especially Catholics?  More likely Jesus has been captured by many Christians, and he has been wrapped in burial clothes similar to those of Nicodemus.  He is unwrapped when we feel the occasion suits his exposure and our needs.  For example, there is the danger to us – and Christ – of our viewing him on Sundays and not duri

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, just as you gave him authority over all people, so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him. Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.  I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began. “I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you gave me is from you, because the words you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. I pray for them.  I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours, and everything o

When it comes to the Raven in the Bible, there are many other instances where the raven is used as a symbol of Strength, Resilience, and Survival . In Genesis 8:7 God sends a pair of ravens to feed Elijah after he has been fasting for 40 days and nights in the wilderness. In the Old Testament of the Bible, a Dove is a symbol of Reconciliation, Forgiveness and Peace . In the book of Genesis, after the flood, a dove returned to Noah holding an olive leaf. To hear the cooing of a mourning dove can be understood as a call to seek and find inner peace. Congratulations to David Laird and Richard Fish!  Both are being ordained as Permanent Deacons later today.  May they always fly high and far with the doves and ravens.  The Holy Spirit will be their wings. Deacon David Pierce

Jesus said to his disciples: "Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete. "I have told you this in figures of speech . The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures but I will tell you clearly about the Father. On that day you will ask in my name, and I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you. For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have come to believe that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father." (John 16:23-28) What is a figure of speech?  This a key question because using figures of speech, Jesus spoke to his disciples.  A word or phrase used in a non-literal sense for rhetorical or vivid effect is a figure of speech. There are these types: simile, metaphor, hyperbole, and oxymoron.

Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world.  So, you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. On that day you will not question me about anything. Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.” (John 16:20-23) “Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.”   Some of us – no many of us – would insist this Jesus promise is very seldom kept.  Many prayers are never answered.  

Complete enlightenment is what eventually happens for us when we abandon our ego (sorry for the small type in this comic strip Non Sequitur stairway).  Note what is at the bottom of the stairway. "Amazing how hard they have to work to be like us," is what the dog says to the cat.   They tell us humans: "Listen more and talk less."  They tell us: "Be present and open our minds." Many of us wouldn't make the second landing. Like the game "Chutes and Ladders" if we made the third landing, many of us would not "Reject preconceptions," and down we would go back to the beginning.  

Here’s an article/commentary I found that was published on April 16 in the Cape Cod Times.  It’s just as relevant today before we close out the Easter season.  It was entitled: “In this holy season we are asked us be our best selves.” It was written by Lawrence Brown, a columnist for the Times.  (begin) We are living through a moment when the world’s great monotheism celebrate their high holy days. I had lunch with a dear friend, and we talked about it. Saralee had to pause during our conversation to check her phone. Her husband suffers from Alzheimer’s, which is another way to say both of them suffer from Alzheimer’s, and the Geek Squad had kindly installed a camera system in her home. Even when outside the house, she can look in and make sure her husband was still all right. Under these conditions, 'all right' must be understood as a relative term. We got to talking about Passover, which celebrates the ancient time when the Angel of Death passed over the doors of the Hebrews

R. Your right hand saves me, O Lord. I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart, for you have heard the words of my mouth; in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise; I will worship at your holy temple, and give thanks to your name. R. Your right hand saves me, O Lord. Because of your kindness and your truth, you have made great above all things your name and your promise. When I called, you answered me; you built up strength within me. R. Your right hand saves me, O Lord. Your right hand saves me. The LORD will complete what he has done for me; your kindness, O LORD, endures forever; forsake not the work of your hands. R. Your right hand saves me, O Lord. (Psalm 138:1-8)

We set sail from Troas, making a straight run for Samothrace, and on the next day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, a leading city in that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We spent some time in that city. On the sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river where we thought there would be a place of prayer.  We sat and spoke with the women who had gathered there. One of them, a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God, listened, and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying. After she and her household had been baptized, she offered us an invitation, "If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my home," and she prevailed on us. (Acts 16:11-15) Lydia must have been an influential woman.  She was a dealer in purple cloth and had her own household.  She had resources.  Paul and his fellow travelers spoke to Lydia and the women who had gathered there along the rive

Beloved: Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the Spirit. (1 Peter 3:15-18) Today’s second reading highlights a key aspect of our faith, to which many people cannot subscribe.  A common response is: “It’s just too damn hard.”  Are we willing “to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil.”  

What follows is a topic that always has intrigued me – Limbo.  Once upon a time I thought the Catholic Church believed it existed.  Yes, it did, and it caused tremendous pain for parents losing unbaptized babies.  Hell for them.  Insane nonsense!  Now Thomas Reese has written this article: The Catholic Church can never admit that something it taught for centuries was dumb. Pope Benedict “closed” Limbo and no one complained; what if Pope Francis had done so? (April 11, 2023 Religion News Service) (begin) Many conservative Catholics are upset with Pope Francis, who they complain is changing church doctrine, but they hardly blinked when Pope Benedict XVI got rid of Limbo, a Catholic doctrine that had been taught for centuries. Careful readers will note that rather than closing Limbo, as reported by the media, what the International Theological Commission did under Benedict in 2007 was downgrade Limbo from church doctrine to a hypothesis or theory. It no longer must be presented as church

Jesus said to his disciples: "This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another." (John 15:12-17) So true! “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.” We have many examples of this when service men and women sacrifice their lives to rescue a wounded friend – a wounded warrior.  The irony is that this “laying down of one’s life” occurs during war or armed conflicts when we break the commandment “to love one another.” Th

Jesus said to his disciples: "As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love. "I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete." (John 15:9-11) Very short Gospel reading, but the message is clear: we are loved.  There are provisions, however.  We must keep the commandments.  As a reminder: (1) I am the Lord your God: you shall not have strange Gods before me; (2) You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain: (3) Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day; (4) Honor your father and your mother; (5) You shall not kill; (6) You shall not commit adultery; (7) You shall not steal; (8) You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor; (9) You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife; and (10)  You shall not covet your neighbors’ goods. I suspect all of us (with very few exceptions) don’t mer

Some who had come down from Judea were instructing the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice, you cannot be saved." Because there arose no little dissension and debate by Paul and Barnabas with them, it was decided that Paul, Barnabas, and some of the others should go up to Jerusalem to the Apostles and presbyters about this question. They were sent on their journey by the Church, and passed through Phoenicia and Samaria telling of the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brethren. When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the Church, as well as by the Apostles and the presbyters, and they reported what God had done with them. But some from the party of the Pharisees who had become believers stood up and said, "It is necessary to circumcise them and direct them to observe the Mosaic law." The Apostles and the presbyters met together to see about this matter. (Acts 15:1-6) I guess they did!  I susp

Jesus said to his disciples: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, 'I am going away and I will come back to you.' If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe. I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over me, but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me." (John 14:27-31)  When our hearts are not troubled or afraid, we have peace.  Most of us don’t have that peace because we are troubled and afraid, more often than not.  For example, fear can grip us when we consider our death that eventually will come.   Scholar and writer William Barclay made this point: “If we really grasped the truth of the Christian

Jesus said to his disciples: ""Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him."" Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him, ""Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?"" Jesus answered and said to him, ""Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me.  ""I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name-- he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you."" (John 14:21-26) It's best to set-aside religious and political dogma and focus on what’s most important: loving Jesus and the Father.  Keeping th

"The Three Little Pigs" is a fable about three pigs who built their houses of different materials. A Big Bad Wolf blew down the first two pigs' houses made of straw and sticks respectively, but could not destroy the third pig's house made of bricks.  Houses made of brick and more formidable stone withstand storms with high winds and driving rain.   We must be like the third little pig who made a wise choice so as not to let the bad wolf enter to dine on the pork within.  When we are living stones, we provide the same bulwark against those seeking to devour us.  Remember, we must be sober and vigilant. Our opponent the devil prowls around like a roaring lion [or growling wolf] looking for [someone] to devour.  This fable introduces us to the second reading from Peter.  Beloved: Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God, and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood

On the following sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and with violent abuse contradicted what Paul said. Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first, but since you reject it and condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, I have made you a light to the Gentiles, that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth." The Gentiles were delighted when they heard this and glorified the word of the Lord. All who were destined for eternal life came to believe, and the word of the Lord continued to spread through the whole region. The Jews, however, incited the women of prominence who were worshipers and the leading men of the city, stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their territory. So they shook the du

Jesus said to his disciples: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way."  Thomas said to him, "Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:1-6) “In my Father's house there are many dwelling places,” and “…I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?”   It sounds as if Jesus is the manager of a B&B.  Therefore, it’s likely when we arrive at his B&B, owned by the Father, many of us will have complaints.  The room is too small.  The bed is uncomfortable.

When Jesus had washed the disciples' feet, he said to them: "Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it. I am not speaking of all of you. I know those whom I have chosen. But so that the Scripture might be fulfilled, The one who ate my food has raised his heel against me.  From now on I am telling you before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe that I AM. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me." (John 13:16-20) I and all deacons in the Diocese of Fall River (perhaps priests as well) received a publication with an accompanying letter from the Catholic Action For Faith and Family.  The booklet called “Deny Holy Communion” was written by Cardinal Raymond Burke.  It is outrageously non-pastoral but expected because Cardinal Burke has been and continues t

Jesus said to Thomas, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him." Philip said to him, "Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us."  Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may

The feast of the Dedication was taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter. And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." Jesus answered them, "I told you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father's name testify to me. But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father's hand. The Father and I are one." (John 10:22-30) The feast of the Dedication was taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter. And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon.  So, what is this feast?  It is the “Festival of Lights” or Hanukkah being an ei

Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father.” (John 10:11-18) Wolves really do get a bad rap.  Perhaps our fascination with werewolves has contributed to this bad reputation.  Th