The Dispatch
The King is the Context
Readings: • Jer 17:5-8 • Psa 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6 • 1 Cor 15:12, 16-20 • Lk 6:17, 20-26 “Context,” I have read, “is king.” While such a saying should itself be read and […]
Articles by Carl E. Olson
The Dispatch
We are called to be fishers of men
Readings: Is 6:1-2a, 3-8 Ps 138:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 7-8 1 Cor 15:1-11 or 15:3-8 Lk 5:1-11 God initiates. Man responds. Jesus calls. Man answers. Such is the dynamic relationship at the heart of salvation history […]
Books
New book provides encyclopedic and ecumenical treatment of deification
The Oxford Handbook of Deification, states the publisher, “provides the first treatment of deification that is truly encyclopedic in scope.” With three co-editors, forty-six contributors, and forty-four chapters, the 738-page-long volume is an impressive and thorough […]
The Dispatch
Our eyes have seen your salvation: On the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
Readings: Mal 3:1-4 Psa 24:7, 8, 9, 10 Heb 2:14-18 Lk 2:22-40 The Gospel of Luke contains many details and stories about the infancy of Jesus not found elsewhere. Today’s Gospel reading is one such […]
The Dispatch
Having returned from exile, we hear the Word—and are united to the Word
Readings: Neh 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10 Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 15 1 Cor 12:12-30 or 12:12-14, 27 Lk 1:1-4; 4:14-21 The Church has four marks: it is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. These marks, states the […]
The Dispatch
At Cana the veil of the ordinary was broken
Readings: • Is 62:1-5 • Ps 96:1-2, 2-3, 7-8, 9-10 • 1 Cor 12:4-11 • Jn 2:1-11 Saint John’s account of the wedding in Cana is unique to his Gospel; it is also the first […]
The Dispatch
“Why did Jesus insist on being baptized?”
Readings: • Is 42:1-4, 6-7 or Is 40:1-5, 9-11 • Ps 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10 or Ps 104:1b-2, 3-4, 24-25, 27-28, 29-30 • Acts 10:34-38 or Or Ti 2:11-14; 3:4-7 • Lk 3:15-16, 21-22 If […]
The Dispatch
Epiphany and Mary’s mysterious, maternal role in salvation history
Readings: • Isa 60:1-6 • Psa 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13 • Eph 3:2-3A, 5-6 • Mt 2:1-12 Pope Paul VI, in the Apostolic Exhortation, “Marialis Cultus” (Feb. 1974), emphasized that the “Christmas season is a […]
The Dispatch
A “biological vessel” used by God? Or the Mother of God, chosen by God?
Readings: Nm 6:22-27 Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8 Gal 4:4-7 Lk 2:16-21 “If anyone believes that holy Mary is not the mother of God (Theotokos), he has no share in the divine inheritance”, wrote the […]
The Dispatch
The Holy Family and the call to faithful obedience
Readings: • Sir 3:2-6, 12-14 • Psa 128:1-2, 3, 4-5. • Col 3:12-21 or 3:12-17, or 1 Jn 3:1-2, 21-24 • Lk 2:41-52 What is a “family”? A few decades ago, most Americans would have […]