Fr. Scott A. Haynes A Meditation on Luke 14:1-11 “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” (Luke 14:3) This is the question Jesus asks of the lawyers and Pharisees, and the answer would seem to be self-evident. But the lawyers and Pharisees hold their tongues and remain silent; they, in effect, refuse to answer Jesus. They know that mercy on the Sabbath is never illegal, but they choke on their own pride which will not allow them to admit it. Their desire is “to go around

Saint Augustine found another beautiful mystery in Paul's words. When he heard of the “breadth, and length, and height, and depth,” he saw the shape of the Cross.

Twenty-five years ago today, on September 11, 2001, an ordinary Tuesday morning suddenly became a day of unimaginable suffering. Men and women went to work. Travelers boarded airplanes. Firefighters reported to their stations. Police officers began their shifts. Families said goodbye without knowing that, for thousands of them, those ordinary words would be their last words on earth. Today the words of the Psalm seem to carry a particular weight: “My soul longeth and faintet

Fr. Scott Haynes A Meditation on Luke 7:11–16 Luke 7:11–16 is one of the most tender scenes in the Gospel, but the Fathers also saw in it a profound revelation of who Christ is. It is simultaneously a historical miracle, a revelation of His divine power over death, a sign of the future resurrection, and an image of the way Christ restores souls that have been spiritually deadened by sin. Luke 7:11–16 “And it came to pass afterwards, that he went into a city that is called Nai

The life of Saint Augustine offers one of the clearest examples of what Saint Paul means when he warns that we reap according to what we sow.

The lilies represent those who have humility in their hearts, those who try to conquer pride with humility.

Fr. Scott A. Haynes A Scriptural Reflection on the Healing of the Ten Lepers The Gospel of Luke presents us with a powerful and humbling story of gratitude, or rather, the lack thereof, in the account of the healing of the ten lepers (Luke 17:11-19). As Jesus makes His way toward Jerusalem, He enters a village where He is met by ten lepers, who stand at a distance and cry out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” (Luke 17:13). These men, isolated by their affliction, are fully

After healing ten lepers, the Lord sends them to the priests. So, we who need Christ's healing show our hearts to the priest in Confession.

St. Augustine explains the lesson of the Good Samaritan and how Jesus ministers to us by the Sacraments.

A meditation for the 11th Sunday after Pentecost.

We commemorate the Transfiguration of Christ annually on August 6. Learn the important meaning of the Church's teaching.

There is a journey we all have to make, a pilgrimage we are all called to undertake, and that is the journey from pride to humility.

We live in the glow of baptism and the radiance of the Eucharist, yet the shadow of sin hovers near.

Fr. Scott Haynes A Meditation on Romans 8:12-17 and Luke 16:1–9 Brethren: We are debtors, not to the flesh, that we should live according to the flesh, for if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the flesh, you will live. For whoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Now you have not received a spirit of bondage so as to be again in fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons, by vi

Fr. Scott Haynes A Meditation on Romans 6:19-23 7th Sunday after Pentecost Saint Paul tells us in today’s Epistle: “As you have yielded your members to serve uncleanness and iniquity, unto iniquity; so now yield your members to serve justice, unto sanctification.” (Romans 6:19) That may sound a little severe at first, but Saint Paul is really describing something very familiar. Every day, we use our bodies, our minds, and our desires in one direction or another. We can give o

Fr. Scott A. Haynes In the Gospels there are two accounts of Christ multiplying loaves and fishes: the feeding of the 5,000 and the feeding of the 4,000. Why two accounts? What is the difference between them? The obvious answer: 1,000. All joking aside, there is a salient difference—location. As they say in real estate, what matters is, location, location, location. The feeding of the 5,000 took place near Bethsaida, close to the Sea of Galilee. In contrast, the feeding of th

Fr. Scott Haynes St. Cyprian of Carthage, writing on the sin of envy, gives us a sentence that seems to have been written for every age in which grace is resented: “It is a persistent evil to persecute a man who belongs to the grace of God. It is a calamity without remedy to hate the happy.”¹ He is not speaking merely of irritation, rivalry, or wounded pride. He is uncovering a deep spiritual disorder: the heart that suffers because another soul belongs to God, the heart that

Learn the Biblical wisdom of avoiding gossip, slander, and backbiting. St. Monica explains.

Fr. Scott Haynes Among the most mysterious images in the Book of Revelation is the vision of the two witnesses: "These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks, that stand before the Lord of the earth." (Revelation 11:4) At first glance, the imagery appears obscure. Yet St. John expects his readers to recognize it immediately. He is drawing upon the vision of the prophet Zechariah, where two olive trees continually supply oil to a golden lampstand. The Old Testament p

Fr. Scott Haynes A Scriptural Study 4 kings 24:8-17 Psalm 78 Matthew 7:21-29 As we listen to these passages from the Fourth Book of Kings, Psalm 78, and the Gospel according to St. Matthew, the Lord places before us two houses: Jerusalem, fallen into ruin, and the house built firmly upon rock. In the first reading, Jerusalem falls. The Temple of the Lord is plundered. The gold vessels made by Solomon are broken and carried away. The king, his mother, the nobles, the soldier