Going to the margins

Pope Francis has emphasized our need to "go to the margins". Our mission of evangelization should start with those in most need. We see this in Philip's interaction with the Ethiopian eunuch in today's first reading (Acts 8:26-40). In evangelizing the Ethiopian, Philip makes the outsider a part of the community.

The Gospel of St. Mark recorded webinar

Recently I enjoyed giving a webinar on the Gospel of St. Mark for the Archdiocese of Vancouver. If you are interested, you can find a link to the recorded talk below. The webinar explains some of the general characteristics of the Gospel, analyzes a few important texts (e.g. Jesus' encounter with the Syrophoenician woman in Mk 7:24-30), and discusses how the message of Mark can inspire our life of discipleship.



Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR2CClls5Zc



Moving from sadness to joy

How do we experience the joy of the Resurrection when we feel sad and hopeless? The story of the road to Emmaus in today's Gospel (Luke 24) shows us that when we reach out to those in need with an act of kindness we are awakened to the presence of the Risen Lord in our midst.