The Calling of Saint Matthew is a masterpiece by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, depicting the moment at which Jesus Christ inspires Matthew to follow him. It was completed in 1599–1600 for the Contarelli Chapel in the church of the French congregation, San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome, where it remains today. It hangs alongside two other paintings of Matthew by Caravaggio, The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew (painted…
There are two passages in the Gospel in which the disciples of Jesus shouted at Him, “Lord / Master, do You Not Care?” Can you recall where these passages are? And what were Jesus’ responses? Mark 5:35-40 With the coming of evening that same day, he said to them, “Let us cross over to…
These were the gardens of betrayal, but also the gardens of redemption and resurrection “they went to a place which was called Gethsemane” (Mk 14:32), “across the Kidron valley, where there was a garden”(John 18:1) “In the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb where no one…
Throughout Jesus’ journey during the Holy Week into Jerusalem, Jesus interacted with his disciplines who were naysayers because they could not or would not go the extra mile with the Lord for his cause. Recall that the term “extra mile” was itself a literary gem from the Messiah Himself: If anyone forces you to go…
Not uncommonly, it is not the right answer that creates clarity but the correct question that is being asked Why do you persecute me? (Damascus) What are you looking for? (Bethany, by the River Jordan) Who do you say I am? Who do men say that the Son of man is? (Caesarea Philippi) Do you love…
Not long afterwards, Lewis read Chesterton’s The Everlasting Man (1925) and was surprised to find the whole Christian outline of history making sense. An even stronger blow at his efforts to keep God at bay came, when he wrote in Surprised by Joy, Early in 1926 the hardest boiled of all the atheists I ever knew…
Whereas the angel “came” to Mary (Lk 1:28) , he merely appears to Joseph in a dream – admittedly a dream that is real and reveals what is real. Once again, this shows us an essential quality of the figure of Saint Joseph: his capacity to perceive the divine and his ability to discern. Only…
Jesus spoke to the crowds: ‘What description can I find for this generation? It is like children shouting to each other as they sit in the market place: “We played the pipes for you, and you wouldn’t dance; we sang dirges, and you wouldn’t be mourners.” ‘For John came, neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He is…
The late Dean Brackley, S.J., challenges us in this quote: “I invite you to discover your vocation in downward mobility. It’s a scary request… The world is obsessed with wealth and security and upward mobility and prestige. But let us teach solidarity, walking with the victims, serving and loving. I offer this for you to…