Among the parables of Our Lord, few reveal the Heart of God more vividly than the Parable of the Great Supper.

"Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in himself."

The words of Bl. Josepha Hendrina Stenmanns shine like a lamp in the sanctuary of our hearts: “Make a tabernacle in your heart where the Holy Triune God constantly dwells.”

Fr. Scott Haynes From a distance the fig tree looked alive. Its leaves were full and green. Anyone walking toward it would expect fruit. But when Christ came near, He found nothing. That is one of the most frightening images in the Gospel. A soul can look healthy outwardly while inwardly becoming empty. One can still attend Mass, say prayers, speak about religion, and appear respectable, yet secretly lose the life of grace within. The Gospel says the tree withered “from the r

Fr. Scott Haynes “Be you also as living stones built up, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5) Saint Peter calls us “living stones,” not dead stones scattered upon the ground, but stones joined together in Christ, chosen for a temple that breathes with prayer, sacrifice, and love. A single stone alone seems small and unnoticed, yet placed in the hands of the Divine Builder it becomes part of s

God gives us gifts. But do we open them and make good use of them?

Learn about the Jews who became Christian in the first century who lived in Pella.

Fr. Scott Haynes A Meditation for the Sunday after the Ascension World Communications Sunday During the English Reformation, a priest of the Church of England, Edmund Campion, reached great importance in the Anglican Church. When he took the Oath of Supremacy in 1564, he rejected his Catholic faith, the role of Supreme Pontiff to govern the Church, and embraced the Church of England headed by Queen Elizabeth I. For twelve years, he was away from communion with the Catholic Ch

Fr. Scott A. Haynes There are moments in the Gospel that seem almost quiet enough to escape our notice, and yet within them lies a depth capable of drawing the mind into wonder for an entire lifetime. We see the Child Jesus sitting among the teachers in the Temple, listening attentively and asking questions. We watch Him walking the dusty roads of Galilee, speaking to fishermen, children, widows, and sinners with words at once simple and inexhaustibly profound. We see Him pau

Fr. Scott Haynes A Meditation on the Sermon on the Mount On the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says: “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt lose its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing any more but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men”(Matthew 5:13). This is not a gentle image. Christ does not call His disciples the decoration of the earth, the approval of the earth, or the echo of the earth. He calls them “the salt of the earth.” Salt pre

Fr. Scott Haynes What does it mean that man is made in the image of God? Every human being eventually encounters the same mysterious experience: nothing in this world completely satisfies the heart. Even in moments of joy, something within us still longs for more. We hunger for a love that cannot die, for truth without error, for beauty untouched by time. The Christian tradition teaches that this longing is not an accident. It is the echo of eternity within the soul, for man

"For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass."

Fr. Scott Haynes Throughout the pages of Sacred Scripture, we encounter men and women who did not rush blindly into conflict, nor trust in strength of arms alone, but first bowed their heads before God. Before the clash of swords, there was the silence of prayer. Before victory, there was surrender. These figures reveal a profound truth that runs like a golden thread through salvation history: the true battlefield is first within the soul, and triumph begins not with human st

Fr. Scott Haynes The Daniel Fast is a form of prayerful fasting inspired by the prophet Daniel, especially by two passages in the Book of Daniel. It is not merely a diet, nor is it simply a health program dressed in religious language. At its heart, the Daniel Fast is a way of saying to God: “Lord, I want my hunger to become prayer. I want my body, my mind, and my desires to be turned toward You.” The first inspiration comes from Daniel’s youth in Babylon. He and his compani

Bear in mind that “the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God” (Jas 1:20).

Fr. Scott Haynes An Exhortation on 1 Peter 2:16 Charles-François Poerson (1653-1725), “Saint Peter Preaching in Jerusalem” Saint Peter gives us a warning that is as searching as it is simple: “As free, and not as making liberty a cloak for malice, but as the servants of God.”¹ He does not deny that Christians are free. On the contrary, he insists upon it. We are no longer slaves of sin, no longer chained to the old life, and no longer bound to the tyranny of every passion, re

Fr. Scott Haynes Meditation on John 16:16–22 "A little while and you will see me no longer; and again a little while and you will see me." (John 16:16) Fr. Scott Haynes Meditation on John 16:16–22 "A little while and you will see me no longer; and again a little while and you will see me." (John 16:16) In these mysterious words spoken at the Last Supper, Christ prepared His disciples for the Passion and Resurrection. He hinted at the impending sorrow that would befall them, y

Sometimes God allows His work to be tested precisely so that its divine strength may be revealed.

See how the order of the Mass is linked to the encounter the disciples on the road to Emmaus have with the Risen Christ.

Fr. Scott Haynes “For if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought. But if it be of God, you cannot overthrow it, lest perhaps you be found even to fight against God” (Acts 5:38–39). There is something solemn and piercing in the words of Gamaliel. He is not yet speaking with the burning faith of the Apostles, yet God uses even his caution to utter a truth of lasting power. Human schemes rise quickly and fall quickly. They make noise for a time, gather admire