The meaning of Easter is more than springtime and dyed eggs. The significance of Easter is that not only sin but death has been conquered by the risen Christ who foretold his own resurrection from the dead before he gave his life for us on Good Friday.

In this podcast from the Sonrise Morning Show, host Anna Mitchell begins by observing that virtually half the Gospel of Luke is taken up by Jesus and disciples journey from Galilee to Jerusalem. Holy Land Pilgrimage host and theologian Marcellino D'Ambrosio (Dr. Italy) describes what this journey would have been like for the Lord and his followers and what Jerusalem would have been like in the days before the Passover. He goes on to explain the distinctive location of the Last Supper high in the Essene Quarter of Jerusalem and the strenuous downhill walk of Jesus and the Twelve from the Cenacle to the Kidron valley, and then up to the Garden of Gethsemane a third the way up the slopes of the Mount of Olives. Jesus capture is described as well as "the sacred Pit," the maximum security cell in Caiaphas' palace complex where Jesus most probably spent the last night of his earthly life.

The adulterous woman to whom Jesus said "neither do I condemn you" was the recipient of the free gift of a grace that was costly, not cheap. She was called to leave behind the sin of adultery. And the pardon of the adulteress cost Jesus his life. For the 5th Sunday of Lent, cycle C.

The parable of the Prodigal or wasteful Son is more about the loving Father. God is not a raging tyrant who must be appeased through the suffering of his Son. Rather it's the extravagant love of Jesus, son of the extravagant Father, that makes atonement for our sins - the sacrifice of a spotless Passover Lamb. For the 4th Sunday of Lent, cycle C.

This Sunday reading examines the relationship between the transfiguration and the passion of Christ, between Mount Tabor and Calvary. It examines the question of whether God ever abandoned Jesus and makes for helpful reading either for the Feast of the Transfiguration on August 6 or during Lent and Holy Week. For the 2nd Sunday of Lent, cycle C.

7 minute podcast segment in which Dr. Italy is interviewed about the dynamics of discipleship and the paradox of freedom and rest through discipline.

The term discipleship has been heard a lot in the past few years.  Many parishes are writing mission statements these days calling their church a community of missionary disciples.

Saint Joseph always appears in Manger scenes during Advent and Christmas time and even has a special Solemnity or Feast in his honor, St. Joseph's Day, March 19.  But he is so often neglected that St. John Paul II decided to write a special teaching about his role as foster-father of Jesus.  This essay makes a case that St. Joseph teaches us some crucial things about the nature of faith that we can't afford to forget.

The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew's gospel includes such tough commands as love your enemies, turn the other cheek, and judge not. How are we to understand such things and put them into practice? The examples of Jesus & St. Thomas More provide us with insight here.

No sooner does Jesus praise Peter's confession at Caesarea Philippi and dub him "the Rock" than he rebukes him as the devil or Satan. Peter had confessed Jesus to be the Messiah. But his idea of what it meant to be the Christ left no room for suffering, sacrifice or the way of the cross as the cost of discipleship.

The Beatitudes appear in the gospels of Matthew and Luke as part of the Sermon on the Mount. But what actually is the nature of true happiness? Must we be miserable in this world to be happy in the next? Faith and hope bring the lasting joy that is the essence of true blessedness. For the 6th Sunday in Ordinary time, Cycle C.