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Yesterday, November 30, was the Feast of St. Andrew, Jesus’s first apostle. Why did Jesus call on Andrew to become his first disciple? Matthew’s Gospel gives us a hint....

How can we express thanks for an inexpressible gift? If someone brings a turkey to Thanksgiving dinner, we easily find words to describe the gift and convey our gratitude:...

The great temptation of the modern world is to live as if God did not exist—etsi Deus non daretur, in the oft-repeated Latin phrase. Henri de Lubac was convinced...

The Christian faith is bathed in blood. There is no sugarcoating this. Holy Week takes us up to Golgotha. And on Golgotha is a bloody sacrifice—a human sacrifice, no...

When I try to explain to people why we need to recover patristic interpretation, the biggest obstacle I face is the desire of my interlocutors to establish the one,...

Jesus labeling money “Mammon” is most curious, seeing as the Aramaic term māmōnā means “faithful,” “reliable,” “true,” “genuine,” “you can take that to the bank.” Jesus’s point in Luke...

In the Parable of the Unjust Judge (Luke 18:1–8), a poor widow seeks justice. Day after day she goes to the judge, who “feared not God, neither regarded man,”...

The sea is a terrifying place. Way down, at the bottom, is where the seven-headed dragon Leviathan lurks. When the winds begin to blow and the waves start pounding,...

Were you there when they crucified my Lord? The lyrics of Mahalia Jackson’s famous gospel blues song echoed through many churches during Holy Week. We sing it as a...

Lent reminds us that food counts in our lives. We are hardly spiritual giants: Abstaining from our favorite foods; cutting out meat on Wednesdays and Fridays; skipping entire meals,...

It is meet and right that Lent should start with Matthew 4. Its first sentence sums up not just Lent but the entire Christian life. “Then was Jesus led...

The Pharisees defend the sabbath, while Jesus puts an end to it—or so we often think. Mark 3 seems to fit this picture: The Pharisees watch in judgment as, on...

The days are short, the shadows long. I can hardly wait for the light of Christmas to arrive. The darkness of our lives awakens deep within us the longing...

Humans are like donkeys. The Bible’s word for “donkey” is, literally, “burden-bearer” (hypo-zugion). Like donkeys, you and I are “burden-bearers.” Our burdens are numerous. Some seem random: a freak...

Bear the standard for religious orthodoxy with First Things. Make your contribution to our 2023 spring campaign today at firstthings.com/donate. At the Anglican Communion’s 1968 Lambeth Conference, delegates debated the question of...