Mary M. McGlone

Scripture for Life: Every 12 years, liturgical and civic calendars coincide to give us these readings in the weeks before a presidential election. These Scriptures encourage us to consider church and state.

Scripture for Life: When Jesus talked about the king who prepared the wedding feast, he was depicting how God longs to share divine joy with humanity. But the king in Jesus’ story quickly became a tragic character.

Scripture for Life: Jesus was warning his critics that time was short for them to come around to collaborate with what God was offering through him. Pope Francis is giving the world a similarly urgent message today.

Scripture for Life: No matter how individualist our culture, it is still a culture, a way of organizing our common life. We both inherit and construct our society.

Scripture for Life: Today's Gospel might be the most un-American of all Jesus' parables. This story of equal pay for vastly unequal work just doesn't sit right. How to evaluate the economic justice of this tale?

Scripture for Life: Today's Liturgy of the Word invites us to enter into the dynamics of the kingdom of heaven. Gratitude is the emotion that introduces us to this realm. 

Scripture for Life: Prophets denounce sin because they themselves are offended and they are painfully aware that silence equals complicity.

Scripture for Life: This liturgy reminds us that Christianity demands lots of practice. Humbly accepting that we won't ever do it perfectly, we slowly learn to balance humility and evangelical audacity.

Scripture for Life: Matthew's story illustrates the kind of faith Jesus sought. Additionally, the story depicts Jesus adjusting his plan because a woman led him to see something differently.

Scripture for Life: It takes faith to put our whole heart into praying, "Lord, let us see your kindness." It takes audacious trust to let go of our expectations and dare to accept the salvation God offers.

Scripture for Life: In the moment of crisis, Jesus allowed himself to be called forth by the needs of others. That action revealed him as the image of God, the Son who emptied himself (Philippians 2:7).

Scripture for Life: God may not appear to us in a dream, but contemporary experience gives us a vivid reminder that the life we have received is God's gift of the opportunity to fulfill our potential, to do and become what we most desire.

Scripture for Life: The God of Israel exercises divine power through forgiving offenses. It's an amazing statement that reminds us that the power of forgiveness breaks the chain of cause and effect.

Scripture for Life: Whether or not we see it, God's grace is at work in our world. Jesus elaborates on this in the parable of the sower, telling us not to worry about what seems to be wasted, but to concentrate on the seed in good ground.

Scripture for Life: Life in the Spirit produces the kind of meekness that says, "I have much to learn," and when taken rightly and lightly, that's a supremely hopeful statement.

Scripture for Life: We are called to the kind of prophetic dedication that will lead people to know Christ's love because they have met us. Jesus said exactly that when he said, "Whoever receives you, receives me."

Scripture for Life: Jesus didn't worry about those who could — and did — take his life. Nobody and no threat could shake his integrity. His self-possession and consecration to mission were grounded in his relationship with his Father. 

Scripture for Life: Those who wish to be nourished by Christ's body and blood are called into communion with his lifestyle. Participation in his body and blood demands offering our lives as he did.

Scripture for Life: The God we know through Christianity exists as a community of overflowing love. The love we have and the love we crave are God's lure, drawing us to know and be like God, loving from the inside out.

Scripture for Life: Because Christianity is not ultimately a philosophy, a collection of dogmas, or a system of worship, we will not comprehend the good news except through becoming part of making it happen.