By Glen Argan Perhaps it is coincidence that St. Luke chose to relate the story of Mary and Martha immediately following the parable of the good Samaritan. But I don’t think so. Rather, Luke wants us to know that holy actions find their origin in holy meditation. The parable is a story of action, of a Samaritan traveller serving as
Read moreBy Glen Argan The parable of the good Samaritan is so familiar that it may lose its impact through our having heard it many times. Yet, it is a story on which we should never fail to meditate because it brings us face-to-face with our deepest identity. Confronted by suffering and injustice, do we talk, or do we act? A
Read moreBy Glen Argan Empowered by Jesus, 70 disciples – that is, all of us – head out in pairs into “the midst of wolves” to prepare the way for Jesus and to proclaim, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” They return later, giddy with the success of their mission: “Lord, in your name even the demons submit
Read moreBy Glen Argan (Originally published in The Catholic Register) Since the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, Quebec governments have been bent on driving religion out of their culture. Ironically, this campaign has coexisted with the broader campaign to preserve Quebec’s uniqueness in an English-speaking North America. I say “ironically” because it was the Catholic Church which for centuries provided one
Read moreBy Glen Argan For Elisha, turning back was no longer an option. A wealthy man who received a call from the prophet Elijah, Elisha slaughtered his twelve yoke of oxen, boiled the flesh and fed the people. He closed the door on his past and became Elijah’s servant. His possessions and his material security were gone forever. So, where are
Read moreBy Glen Argan The choice of the Gospel for Sunday’s celebration of Corpus Christi – the Feast of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ – is slightly perplexing. Here we celebrate Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist, and the Gospel provided is that of the multiplication of the loaves and fish. Look more closely, however, and you will see
Read moreBy Glen Argan (Originally published in The Catholic Register, June 16, 2019) In our liturgy, Catholics confess that we have “greatly sinned, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do.” Sin takes more than one form, and often what we fail to do makes as much space for
Read moreBy Glen Argan Trinity Sunday is an invitation to get our understanding of God right. This may seem like an abstract, intellectual exercise, but it is not. It has enormous ramifications for our lives and for our world. The 20th century theologian Karl Rahner once wrote that although most Christians profess a belief in the Trinity, they are in fact
Read moreBy Glen Argan It is not human to desire suffering. We recoil from any experience of suffering, whether it be physical, emotional or spiritual. Yet our redemption is founded on Christ’s suffering and death. Sunday’s Gospel tells of “the disciples” cowering behind locked doors on Easter Sunday out of fear of “the Jews.” Jesus enters their midst to show the
Read more(Originally published in The Catholic Register, Toronto) By Glen Argan The overwhelming election victory of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party has heightened fears among members of the nation’s minority religions, including Christians. Yet Christians in the Western world might well learn some lessons, both positive and negative, from Modi’s politics of Hindu nationalism. Modi is one of
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