On the Threshold

Sunday, January 8, 2017 Feast of the Epiphany By Glen Argan So, what about those three “wise men” whose journey to Bethlehem we follow this Sunday in the feast of the manifestation of the Saviour to the Gentiles? First, who says there were three of them? Not St. Matthew’s account; it mentions only three gifts – gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Sunday, January 1, 2017 Mary, the Mother of God By Glen Argan When I form an image of Blessed Virgin Mary at the Nativity, I always need to stop and remember that this is a teenage girl. Too much religious art leaves the impression that she is older, sometimes much older. Age here is important. Too often we assume teenagers

Gospel for December 24, 2016 Christmas Eve By Glen Argan The story of the birth of Jesus as told in Luke’s Gospel (2.1-20) is perhaps the most beloved story in the entire Bible. Even in our secularized world, how can we celebrate Christmas without listening once again to this evocative story of our Saviour’s birth? “O little town of Bethlehem

Gospel for December 18, 2016 Fourth Sunday in Advent By Glen Argan The drawing near of Christmas echoes in the Gospel for the fourth Sunday in Advent – the account of St. Joseph’s decision to take Mary as his wife despite her “disgraceful” condition as pregnant and unmarried. It takes an angel appearing in a dream and a carefully massaged

Gospel for December 4, 2016 Second Sunday of Advent By Glen Argan The sacrament of Reconciliation is one of God’s marvellous gifts. The biblical references which we use to “prove” Christ instituted the sacrament don’t point towards anything like the form of private Confession the Church has made available for several centuries now. Yet, when my life starts running askew,

Readings for Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016 First Sunday of Advent By Glen Argan Christians sometimes boast of being countercultural, of going against the flow of a culture that is morally askew, that values things more than people, that casts many people to the sidelines. Advent is our chance to put our actions where our mouths are. The celebration of the

Gospel for Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016 Feast of Christ the King By Glen Argan Too often our minds are buzzing with thoughts about everything except the present moment. We are a distracted people, perhaps even more now than at any time in history. We ponder the past and hope for the future, but when do we live in the present

Gospel for Sunday, Nov. 13, 2016 The 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time By Glen Argan Last month, I was in Washington, D.C., for a few days. It was my fourth or fifth trip there for a meeting of some Catholic editors. My first time in Washington, I made a point of seeing as many of the city’s great monuments as

Gospel for Sunday, Nov. 6, 2016 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time By Glen Argan I dislike this Gospel of the sneering Sadducees with their conjured-up yarn of the woman widowed seven times over (Luke 20.27-38). These wealthy dudes feign sympathy for the poor widow who ends up in “heaven” married to the seven brothers. Some paradise! We think of the

Gospel for Sunday, Oct. 30, 2016 By Glen Argan Jesus’ visit to the house of Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector in Jericho, is perhaps the most challenging story in the New Testament (Luke 19.1-10). “Toll collector” is the more accurate term for Zacchaeus’ occupation. No doubt backed up by a gang of thugs, Zacchaeus would extort a toll from those