Jesus said, “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than… Continue reading Of Mice and Men

They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, Jesus began to ask them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they remained silent. They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest. Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be… Continue reading War and Peace

Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” They said in reply, “John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets.” And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said… Continue reading On the Way or In the Way

And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said… Continue reading Cries from the Heart

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed hands. For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. . . So… Continue reading Lip Service

Many of Jesus’ disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” . . . As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered… Continue reading Reclaiming Our Sense of Duty

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, “Blessed are you… Continue reading Going Home

Jesus answered, “I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the… Continue reading Few in Number

“When they found him across the sea, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you get here?’ Jesus answered them and said, ‘Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but… Continue reading The Best Kind of Bread

When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Phillip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. Phillip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food… Continue reading There Is Enough