September 8, 2013 - The gospel reading for today seems decidedly odd: "You must hate your family, in order to be my disciple". But this must be placed in context of the times, where it was customary for clans to stick together while shunning or even disliking other families. So Jesus' words were meant in the spirit of embracing our neighbors, instead of only our close family. Do we love a few to the exclusion of all others?

Preacher: Fr. Nathan Castle, OP, Pastor/Director of the Catholic Community at Stanford