Bill Kassel's Blog

Occasional reflections on things that come into my mind — plus links to episodes of my radio show / podcast, “Free Expression”

Faith & Religion

Book Talk in the Afternoon

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MY RECENT INTERVIEW
ON AVE MARIA RADIO

Kresta in the PM LogoA couple of weeks ago I was interviewed on “Kresta in the Afternoon” by my old Ave Maria Radio colleague, Al Kresta. Here’s an audio track of that discussion…

 

It was fun being on the air again, something I don’t get to do very often these days. And — even better — it was great to introduce my new novel, MY BROTHER’S KEEPER, to listeners of the more than 300 stations that carry “Kresta in the Afternoon,” AMR’s flagship daily talk show.

Give it a listen, and get back to me with your thoughts.

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The Virtues of St. Joseph

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JESUS’ FOSTER FATHER AS
A TIMELESS ROLE MODEL

Reni's St. JosephOur extended family was enlarged last week when my wife’s niece, Jessica, gave birth to a baby girl.

This occasion brought to our in-box the requisite photo of grandparents, Chris and Joe, framing their daughter reclining in hospital bed with little Emily Anne in her arms.

Jessie bore the classic new-mother expression that blends joy with exhaustion (it was a long labor). Chris’ and Joe’s faces were all pride.

I was particularly struck by the image of Joe, who is considerably older than Chris and struggling with severe health complications. The family prayer during those months of Jessie’s pregnancy had been that Joe might live to see his grandchild.

Praise God, he made it.

Joe’s birthday is March 19, which on the liturgical calendar is the feast day of St. Joseph, for whom he was named. His patron saint also receives recognition on May 1, the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, which was established in 1955 by Pope Pius XII to provide a Christian alternative to the May Day labor celebrations promoted worldwide by the Soviet Union and the Communist Internationale.

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My Brother’s Keeper

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A NOVEL ABOUT JESUS’ RELATIVES
AS YOU’VE NEVER SEEN THEM

MBK Cover“What if your brother was the most controversial figure in the history of the world and your job was to protect him?

“That’s the challenge faced by the Rabbi James of Jerusalem — whom the Bible identifies as ‘the brother of the Lord’ — in MY BROTHER’S KEEPER, an inspired retelling of the Christian story by author Bill Kassel.

“What can James do to fulfill a deathbed promise to his father, Joseph, and save Jesus, the Nazarene prophet who is stirring debate and contention among the Jewish religious leadership and the Roman occupiers?”

Sound provocative?

I hope so, because this is the lead copy on promotional materials for my new novel that is finally — finally — out.

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Why was Jesus Crucified?

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CHRIST MAY HAVE DIED FOR OUR SINS
BUT THERE WERE WORLDLY REASONS TOO

Despite its status as the holiest day on the Christian calendar, Easter has never had an impact on American life that comes close to the annual, all-pervasive social and economic supernova of Christmas.  This is probably explainable by Easter’s limited potential for commercialization.  Chocolate bunnies and died eggs can’t match the buying and gift-giving frenzy of Yuletide. Even shopping for that new spring outfit — to the extent people still dress up for Easter in our over-casual age — barely nudges the gross domestic product.

Easter just remains so stubbornly…religious.  It’s also kind of demanding.  Grasping the joy, or even the concept, of resurrection takes faith.  What does it mean that Jesus rose again?  For that matter, why did he have to die in the first place?

Now, there’s a question even believers often ask.  To reply that Christ died for our sins is to express a theological insight arrived at after the fact (and one which folks who have trouble making the leap to a Christian point of view can find a little off-putting; “I didn’t ask him to die for my sins,” they’ll say).

But let’s go back 2,000-or-so years.  What were the conditions at the time which prompted Jesus’ execution? Or to frame the question another way:  Why would anybody want to kill someone who went around preaching love and offering a lot of uplifting homilies?  And healing the sick to boot!  What’s not to like about all that?

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