Recent content by John Carberry

Holiness, by John Carberry Holiness means set apart for God. It is derived from the term whole, dealing with the complete person’s body and soul. When we consider something as holy, we set it apart from earthly things. We give it greater respect. We exult it, or raise it up high above other...

Happiness, by John Carberry

Covenants, by John Carberry

Euthanasia, by John Carberry Euthanasia, mercy killing, and physician-assisted suicide are all terms for what is increasingly becoming not only common, but legal. Before his death in 2011, Dr. Jack Kevorkian was known for his support of physician-assisted suicide in the United States. The U. S...

Lent and Easter We begin Lent on Ash Wednesday, where we are sprinkled with ashes to remind us that we should always be humble before God, because we were made by God from the clay of the soil (Gn 2:7), and when we die, our bodies will deteriorate back into the earth (Gn 3:19). However, our...

Shadows of Matrimony, by John Carberry The root of marriage goes all the way back to the creation of humankind. God culminated his creation with the creation of humankind. He now looked on his completed creation and saw it to be very good (Gn 1:31, Ps 104:31), whereas before he created...

Shadows of Holy Orders, by John Carberry After 400 years of slavery in Egypt, the Israelites had grown beyond a mere family to a large community (Gn 15:13, Ex 12:40). Israel would become a sign of the later gathering of all nations.1 Many of the Israelites still believed and followed God, but...

Shadows of Anointing of the Sick, by John Carberry One of the most direct discussions in Sacred Scripture of the nature of suffering comes from the Book of Job. The just man, Job, loses his possessions, his family and finally his health. As his friends attempt to analyze the causes of his...

Shadows of Penance, by John Carberry Sin was widespread in Old Testament times.1 It entered the world with the fall of Adam and Eve when they disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden (Gn 3:11, Rom 5:12, Wis 2:24).2 The Israelites were prone to evil (Ex 32:22). Sin is an offense against God and...

Shadows of Holy Eucharist, by John Carberry There are many passages in the Old Testament that point to the Eucharist. The act of transforming bread and wine into the Body and Blood of our Lord fulfills many sacrifices and rituals of the Old Testament. Abel brings the best firstling of his flock...

Shadows of Confirmation, by John Carberry “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s...

Shadows of Baptism, by John Carberry Many of the events of the Old Testament that involved water foreshadowed the Sacrament of Baptism. Noah builds the ark that saves the one just family from death. The rest of the sinful world is destroyed by the flood of forty days (Gn 7:17, 1 Pt 3:20, Wis...

Shadows of the Sacraments, by John Carberry Plato compares images and shadows to reality in The Allegory of the Cave.1 In this fictitious story, captives are held in a cave with their legs and necks constantly fastened so that they cannot move about and can only look forward in one direction...

The Talk, by John Carberry Most father son relationships encounter that uneasy period where the master decides to instruct the apprentice on that embarrassing topic of sex. Neither person looks forward to the time and the place when the opportunity presents itself. The son becomes embarrassed...

Truth, Goodness, Justice and Love, by John Carberry God created us to know him, love him and serve him in this world so that we can be with him forever in the next.1 It has always been difficult to know a being that is infinitely superior to us. Sometimes we try to describe such a being or we...