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The Reality of Death By Fr. Daniel Shaba   Why do we use alternative words for death when expressing that someone has died? I have noticed that many people use terms such as: passed away, departed from with world, and phrases alike. Why do we shy away from saying that this person died? I’m not sure I necessarily have an answer to these questions, but one this is certain, these questions reveal a lot about the human person. We do not like to talk about death, we try avoiding funerals, we will use excuses to not go to the graveside service [...]

Easter By Fr. Andrew Younan John 20:1-18 I want to follow Mary Magdalene through this and what was going on. I want to think about how she progressed from the sadness that she had at the very beginning of the gospel to the joy that she had at the end. The reason I'm doing this is because I'm sad and we're sad and there's a lot to be sad about, and I want to see how she dealt with her sadness and how Christ interacted with her in this sad moment. First, I want to point out she was not in [...]

Palm Sunday By Fr. David Stephen   “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” -Matthew 21:9 These are the words that the people cried out as Christ was journeying towards the temple in the Holy City, for the yearly celebration of Passover. This was the reminder and celebration of the Israelites being freed from the slavery of the Egyptians. As Jesus was entering into the city atop a donkey, he was greeted by the same people who were so grateful and happy for his coming, yet these same people are the ones who just a few [...]

Jesus the Good Shepherd By Fr. Peter Patros If there is one image of Jesus that warms the heart of many, it would have to be the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. William Barclay argues that “there is no better loved picture of Jesus than the Good Shepherd.” Watching this carry, lead, and protect these helpless sheep is a metaphor we could carry with us for days on end. We have reached the Sixth Sunday of the Great Fast. The Gospel for this Sunday reads from the tenth chapter of John where Jesus takes on this great role as [...]

Rivers of Living Water By Fr. Daniel Shaba        The picture I used for this article might be confusing to some. If any Jew during the first century looked at this picture, they would immediately know that it is the Pool of Siloam. During the Jewish feast of Tabernacles, the priests would go to the Pool of Siloam and draw water from there to take to the temple as a sacrifice. This sacrifice was to be seen as a prayer for rain so that their crops received a sufficient amount of rain in order to survive by means of [...]

By Fr. Ray Sarkees   قراءة من إنجيل الأحد الخامس من الصوم الكبير (إنجيل يوحنا)  37وفي آخِرِ يَومٍ مِنَ العيد، وهُو أَعظَمُ أَيَّامِه، وقَفَ يسوع ورفَعَ صَوتَه قال:((إِن عَطِشَ أَحَدٌ فليُقبِلْ إِلَيَّ 38ومَن آمنَ بي فَلْيَشَربْ كما ورَدَ في الكِتاب:ستَجْري مِن جَوفِه أَنهارٌ مِنَ الماءِ الحَيّ)). 39وأَرادَ بِقَولِه الرُّوحَ الَّذي سيَنالُه المؤمِنونَ بِه، فلَم يكُنْ هُناكَ بَعدُ مِن رُوح، لأَنَّ يسوعَ لم يَكُنْ قد مُجِّد. 40فقالَ أُناسٌ مِنَ الجَمعِ وقَد سَمِعوا ذلك الكَلام:((هذا هو النَّبِيُّ حَقاً!)) 41وقالَ غيرُهُم:((هذا هو المَسيح!)) ولكِنَّ آخرَينَ قالوا:((أَفتُرى مِنَ الجَليلِ يَأتي المَسيح؟ 42أَلَم يَقُلِ الكِتابُ إِنَّ المَسيحَ هُوَ مِن نَسلِ داود وإِنَّهُ يأتي مِن بَيتَ لَحْمَ، القَريةِ [...]

Apostolic Journey of His Holiness Pope Francis to Iraq

Water and Spirit By Fr. Ankido Sipo      The Bible, being the Words of God, is fascinating for many reasons, among which is the fact that God, in speaking to us through Scripture, uses human things to speak with us so that we may understand. This is in order to draw our minds from earthly things to heavenly things, by using earthly things to tilt our heads upward. In the case of this week’s Gospel reading (John 7), we see one of the essential elements of the earth being used as a means to draw us into the life of God. [...]