As Jesus stood before Pilate, the Roman official was trying to reach a decision on what to do with this Jewish preacher and possible insurrectionist. Pilate asked him, “What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my servants would be
Christianity is built on an awareness that humans can be cruel and self-serving. Indeed, we often act in such a manner. Simply operating by justice, humans would probably be wiped out if we always got what we deserve. The insight of Christianity is that God transcends the demands of justice and operates by the law
I’ve probably gotten far afield from the issue of immigration, from where I began this reflection. However, the point I am trying to make is that immigration is tied up with the self-identity of a people, especially when immigration is at a level sufficient to make the host community feel uncomfortable, confused and frustrated. This
The basic question is how do you maintain a functional sense of self-rooted in your culture, when that culture is undergoing dramatic change? One approach is to try and freeze the culture and restrict outside forces that might increase the level of change in the culture. In general, this is the approach taken in Yap,
The more difficult pressure to address is that of different ethnic communities trying to live together while still preserving their unique identity. My wife is the youngest of four children born to her parents, who were well into middle age when she came along. Her dad was born in Palau a little over a
Recently Trump commented that health care was an incredibly complex issue. I was dismayed at his surprise over the complexity of health care. Back when I was first out of college I took a course in medical economics. Even back then it was an incredibly complex issue. Medical economics has only grown more complex over
How can you tell if someone is Catholic…a Christian? Jesus encourages us to be a city set on a mountain for all to see, a light for all to see. We are not to hide our faith. By our actions we glorify our heavenly Father, according to Jesus (Matthew 5:13-16). So what are these actions
Imagine that you and your neighbors lived along a beautiful little river that provided clean, sweet, fresh water to all of you. This river provided you with drinking water, bath water, and water to irrigate your gardens. You could even go fishing in the river. It was a beautiful river and you would often sit
At the parish where I help as a deacon I was assisting at the recent Easter Vigil as five catechumens came into full communion with the Church. I noticed that as part of the rite the catechumens were asked if they believe and accept the doctrines and teachings of the Catholic Church. As I listened,
How does this situation challenge you? Do you lose hope? Do you forget about the Gospel and focus your attention on your religious faction or your political leanings? Do you turn your back on those not yet born? Do you turn your back on the suffering refugee? Do you reject the Gospel because those