The Dispatch

The prayer that we breathe

October 15, 2022 Carl E. Olson 6

Readings: • Ex 17:8-13 • Ps 121:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 • 2 Tm 3:14-4:2 • Lk 18:1-8 How long can any of us live without air? A few minutes at best? How long can we […]

The Dispatch

Parables, Puzzlement, and Prudence

September 16, 2022 Carl E. Olson 8

Readings: • Am 8:4-7 • Ps 113:1-2, 4-6, 7-8 • 1 Tm 2:1-8 • Lk 16:1-13 How difficult is the parable of the dishonest steward, heard in today’s Gospel reading? “Of all of Jesus’ parables,” […]

The Dispatch

Jesus was not a pop psychologist

September 2, 2022 Carl E. Olson 10

Readings: • Wis 9:13-18b • Ps 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14-17 • Phmn 9-10, 12-17 • Lk 14:25-33 I once read a column by a young Catholic who expressed frustration with the saying, “Love the sinner, […]

The Dispatch

Humility, Wisdom, and Moral Realism

August 26, 2022 Carl E. Olson 14

Readings: • Sir. 3:17-18, 20, 28-29 • Psa. 68:4-5, 6-7, 10-11 • Heb. 12:18-19, 22-24a • Lk. 14:1, 7-14 “Humility,” the Evangelical theologian James Houston once wrote, “is moral realism.” That simple definition stuck with […]

The Dispatch

The Heart and the Good Samaritan

July 9, 2022 Carl E. Olson 15

Readings: • Deut 30:10-14 • Ps 69:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36, 37 • Col 1:15-20 • Lk 10:25-37 “The heart,” wrote St. John Chrysostom, “is the most noble of all the members of our body.” […]

The Dispatch

The King is the Context

February 11, 2022 Carl E. Olson 11

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 […]