Jesus

God called Abraham to form a people uniquely for His own (Genesis 12). Their purpose was to prepare the world for the coming of the Messiah. If God was to come dwell in the world, He would come to a specific place, with a culture and a people who were part of it. God chose to do this in and through the Jewish nation as told in the Old Testament.

Yours is a most astute question, for not only is Jerusalem the great capital of ancient Judea and also the place where the mystical events of our salvation occurred, but it is also the scene of the birth of the Church on Pentecost. With all that going for it, one would naturally surmise that that city, so rich in the tradition of the Church and so vital to its origins, would be the very center of our religion.

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for He makes His sun rise on the bad and good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust." Matthew 5:43-5

The origin of Easter is not rooted in paganism, contrary to popular belief.

"Part of the reason why people talk about Easter being pagan is because the word Easter is taken from the name of an Anglo-Saxon fertility goddess, whose name is Eostre," said Benedictine Father Bede Price, rector of the Oratory of Sts. Gregory and Augustine in West County.

In his book, "Temporum Ratione," St. Bede says that April is known as Eostur-monath and is named for a goddess that the Anglo-Saxons honored in the Spring.

One of the basic teachings of the Catholic faith is that Christ stands at the center.

But John Gresham believes that Catholics sometimes forget that understanding. That's one of the reasons why he wrote "Jesus 101: God and Man" (Liguori Publications; $15.99). It is the latest volume in Liguori's 101 series of books on the faith.

Many people had come out to hear Jesus preach, and most of them were happy just to be near him. But there were Pharisees and scribes who also had come to listen, and they did not like what Jesus was doing.

They said, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."