THE ABRAHAM J. HESCHEL CENTER FOR CATHOLIC-JEWISH RELATIONS THE JOHN PAUL II CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF LUBLIN

Today's Gospel directs our eyes to the Holy Family: Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, who went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover. Passover was one of the three great pilgrimage feasts (along with the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles), and was celebrated to commemorate the liberation… Read more… »

The word Hanukkah means 'dedication' and celebrates one of the greatest miracles in the Jewish history. The festival reminds of a time over 2,000 years ago, when the Jews fought against the Greeks in order to practice their religion in a free way again. The Greeks had banned all Jewish… Read more… »

The Gospel of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year C, is the evangelist Luke's account of Mary's visit to Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-45). It carries deep theological and existential content. Why does Mary set out to visit Elizabeth? This is what the context of the passage informs us. It is… Read more… »

On the 3rd Sunday of Advent in the Gospel according to Luke (3, 10-18), John the Baptist provides profound insights into Jewish social ethics, particularly regarding economic justice and sharing. When the crowd asked him, "What should we do?" John responds with practical teachings that emphasize the core Jewish… Read more… »

Luke presents today the beginning of the Baptist’s public ministry against the backdrop of universal history and at the same time against the backdrop of a triple calendar. The calendar of the Roman emperors; we hear here about Tiberius, who ruled from 14 to 37 CE. The calendar of… Read more… »

The sad thing is that what will be already had been and is now. We have seen in the past and see today multiple “nations in disarray.” We see today the roaring of the sea and the waves in the hurricanes, typhoons, and floods coming with increasing frequency and… Read more… »

In this Sunday’s Gospel reading we encounter a very rich image, one that occurs in all the synoptics, of the budding fig tree.“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.” – Mk… Read more… »

In today's Gospel, Jesus contrasts the attitudes of the scribes and the poor widow. The scribes, known in the literature as scribes or doctors of the Law, were mostly Pharisees. Representing the intellectual and spiritual elite, they were engaged in the study and explication of religious questions. They were… Read more… »

In today’s Gospel both of the commandments that Jesus quotes are straight from the Torah. The first, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might” comes from Deuteronomy chapter 6 and the second “You shall love… Read more… »

Kaddish is a short, special prayer in Aramaic that has one very single and specific point: the sanctification of God. But while the words of the prayer are very focused on this single theme, the prayer is put to many different liturgical uses. In fact there are five different… Read more… »

The Gospel of the Feast of All Saints leads us to a mountain where Jesus, beginning his sermon, delivers eight beatitudes. This text is certainly one of the most famous parts of his teaching. Here Jesus lists eight groups, whose members are called blessed, happy - these are the… Read more… »

Sukkot, Z'man Simchateinu, the "Season of our Rejoicing", is one of the three pilgrimage festivals we are grateful to observe. All three festivals are connected with the agricultural seasons of the year.  As it is mentioned in the Torah [Deuteronomy 16, 16]: "Three times a year shall all thy… Read more… »

Humility should begin with the great people: the understanding of humility in the New Testament and in the Jewish sources.We see that humility is a concept that occupies a prominent place in the New Testament. In the Gospel of Mark (10, 43-45), Jesus tells his disciples: "Whoever wants to… Read more… »

Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar – Day of Atonement is the peak of the period of repentance. Forty days which include the month of Elul and the ten days of Awe, starting with Rosh Hashanah (New Year) and ending up with Yom Kippur.In the Torah,… Read more… »

In today's Gospel, Mark recounts an event that occurred during Jesus' journey to Jerusalem, already within the borders of Judea. He presents two scenes of dialogue with Jesus: an unnamed wealthy man who comes to Jesus with a question about eternal life and a conversation between Jesus and his… Read more… »

This week’s Gospel raises a very sensitive topic, one that is also very controversial today, as it also was in Jesus’ time. The law of Moses clearly permits divorce, as outlined in Deuteronomy 24: 1-4. We’ll look at this passage more carefully in a moment – but broadly, the… Read more… »

Rosh Hashanah [which literally means Head of the Year] is the Jewish New Year. We learn from the Mishanh and the Babylonian Talmud that the world was created on the last five days of the month of Elul. Adam and Eve were created on the sixth day of creation,… Read more… »

Today's reading from Mark's Gospel contains a brief narrative of the apostle John's dialogue with Jesus and a series of instructive statements given by Jesus. When we listen to the word, at first, these two parts seem unrelated. Today's liturgical readings give us the key to grasp the message… Read more… »

Today's passage from Mark 9:32-37 tells of disciples who considered themselves special. The disciples consider themselves special: (1) Jesus called them directly. (2) Jesus teaches them privately. (3) Jesus is with them almost constantly.But instead of being thankful for their privilege, they seek to extend it.  What makes this… Read more… »

Elul is the name of the last month of the Jewish year, prior to the Jewish New Year - Rosh HaShanah. The month of Elul is known as the month of mercy and forgiveness as we spiritually prepare for the High Holidays season. Traditionally it is a time for personal… Read more… »

When Israelites lost their independence after the invasion of Babylonians in 586 BC, a period in which the Jews virtually did not have their own independent state began. It lasted for twenty-six centuries except for the relatively short time of the rule of the Hasmonean dynasty. At the time… Read more… »

The reading of the Gospel of Mark on September 8th – (chapter 7 verse 31-37), tells us about Jesus who is travelling in the northern part of the Holy Land and healing people: "Moving on from there Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee…They placed them at his feet,… Read more… »

The scene in today's Gospel deals with a vital topic: Jesus' attitude towards unclean things, commonly considered unclean in Jesus' time.Here are Jesus' disciples eating a meal with unwashed hands. The Pharisees, who are also Jesus' guests, get offended: how can they do such a thing... It is not… Read more… »

The appellation “son of man” appears repeatedly in the Gospels, clearly referring to its use in broader Jewish tradition, where it had three distinctive meanings. First, in Jeremiah (49:18, 33, 50:40, 43) “son of man” or “son of Adam” equals “man” in general – all men. The same means… Read more… »