
Lent with the Saints: Queen Esther
The tale of Queen Esther has all the elements of a great story. We can imagine her, the beautiful bride of a pagan king, ruler of Persia, reigning in a lavish Middle Eastern court.
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The tale of Queen Esther has all the elements of a great story. We can imagine her, the beautiful bride of a pagan king, ruler of Persia, reigning in a lavish Middle Eastern court.

To change a small thing makes some people feel insecure about many things and even sends warning signals down deep into the caverns where their fear of death lurks.

Most of us know the story of Jonah and the whale. But today’s readings give us the rest of the story.

Why do we want to make God such a powerful force that works (as we like to imagine) by intervening and controlling situations and making things turn out comfortably for his favorites?

An old joke defines a farmer as someone “outstanding in his field.” St. Isidore the Farmer not only stood out for his work in tilling the soil but was also a deeply prayerful man.

Compassion is more than behavior. It is the way that things are done, the fundamental current through which action flows toward self and others.

The first days of Lent feature scriptural selections that emphasize the lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

Jesus was cared for after he was exhausted by what he went through in the forty days in the desert.

We can’t help but look at Noah through the lens of our modern sense of what’s acceptable behavior.

Special status is an illusion in which we take refuge when things are going well.