Claim OwnershipA Psychologist looks at Scripture
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© 2026 A Psychologist looks at Scripture
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In this 8-10 minute podcast, I as a psychologist and a priest use my training and skills to examine the Gospels. I will present alternative interpretations and insights into the meaning of Scripture for men and women in the 21st century.
I can be reached at peter.dohertyomi@gmail.com.
128 Episodes
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Send a text Jesus reveals he's the Messiah only three times in the Gospels (here, to a Samaritan woman; and twice at his trial). He sees her wounds but also her resilience and faith. Despite pain, she's tied to her community. I wonder if these qualities made her a good candidate for Jesus to share his true identity with her. Unlike the sceptical Pharisees, she grasps who Jesus is—and leads her village to him. In John 4:40–42, the Samaritans invite him to stay two days. Many villagers be...
Send a text The Transfiguration stands out from accounts of Jesus' healings and teachings. There's a group of miracles that feel different—perhaps even puzzling—but they're deeply spiritual. Consider Jesus walking on water and inviting Peter to join him (Matthew 14:22-33); calming the storm amid the disciples' pleas (Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25); turning water into wine at a wedding (John 2:1-11); finding a coin in a fish's mouth for the temple tax (Matthew 17:24-27); or...
Send a text In today’s podcast we focus on Matthew’s account of Jesus completing 40 days in the desert. It is not clear whether Matthew is drawing a connection between Jesus’ time in the desert and the Israelites wandering around in the desert for 40 years. What is noteworthy is that we have Jesus being tempted by the devil. The temptations give us insight into the heart and mission of Jesus. The first one is the devil suggesting that Jesus turn the stones into b...
Send a text As we develop our faith life our view of the law will change from following the letter of the law to the spirit of the law. Jesus was often critical of the Pharisees who lived by the letter of the law and chose not to recognize the purpose of the law. In Matthew 23:23, Jesus accused them of meticulously paying tithes on tiny herbs like mint, anise and cummin but ignoring "weightier matters" like justice, mercy, and faith, showing their focus on literal compliance over the La...
Send a text In today’s Gospel Jesus describes living our faith in three metaphors that would be easily understood by the first listeners. Also, I suspect the choice of the metaphors may have additional meaning too. The first metaphor that Jesus uses is comparing the impact of faith on others to the impact of salt on seasoning our food. The use of salt today has changed radically. We still need salt to prevent such diseases as hyponatremia and impacting insulin absorption for...
Send a text In the podcast today we are introduced to a segment of the teachings of Jesus known as the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes gives us insight into the mind of Jesus. There is some debate about what Jesus actually meant but let’s look more closely. The Beatitudes are also found in Luke’s Gospel with some differences. For example, the first Beatitude is “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. Complete our 1 Minute Survey
Send a text This Gospel describes the early beginnings of Jesus ministry. The death of John the Baptist seems to be the trigger for Jesus, and he begins by inviting people to join him in his mission. There are two points I want to draw your attention to. In most cases one would expect the disciples to ask Jesus, but we have it the other way around. Jesus is asking them. It is noteworthy that Jesus is asking them so early in his ministry. Most of the discip...
Send a text The lesson for us is not to get alarmed if we have periods of doubt or question aspects of our faith. As pointed out, these are signs of an adult faith. I invite you to see doubts as an invitation to explore, to be curious, to question and be motivated to resolve the doubt. The sad part is that so many people just hold the tension and do little or nothing with their doubts. Some people are worried that their faith is weak and are reluctant to do anything or...
Send a text Today’s edition focuses on the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. This is only recorded direct episode of Jesus interacting with John the Baptist. To give you some context, John was inviting people to the Jordan River for a spiritual cleansing. This spiritual cleansing has been referred to as Baptism. John the Baptist was not the first to use this model of using water to wash away sin. There are many examples in Scripture of special rituals used to...
Send a text This Gospel speaks about the days after the birth of Jesus. What should have been a joyous event has a very dark layer behind it. In this account we have the Magi coming to acknowledge the birth of a king. On this note I encourage my listeners to check out the editions of this podcast published on December 29, 2024, and December 30, 2023, where I speak about the Wisemen and the role they played. The wisemen were looking for the infant who would be king of t...
Send a text In today’s Gospel we hear of another dream that Joesph had. If you are joining us for the first time, I urge you to listen to last weeks podcast edition where I speak about the dreams that Joseph had. I also recommend that you listen to the December 17th edition published in 2023 where I speak about Joseph’s mission. Today I want to speak about the dream that Joseph has. In the dream Joseph is warned to flee to Egypt as the king was plotting to kill ...
Send a text In this podcast today I will be focusing on the dreams that Joseph had. We don’t have much else on St. Joseph. We don’t hear much about him after the birth of Jesus. He is mentioned in the story of the finding in the temple when Jesus was 12 years old but that is it. We learn that Joseph was a dreamer. There are four dreams recorded, outlining what Joseph experienced. In Matthew 1:16, 18-20, an angel appears in the dream instructing Joseph to ...
Send a text John was the Hearld of the Messiah. His role was simple, increase the awareness of the people of the coming Messiah. In the Gospel of John 3:30, John the Baptist says, "He must increase, but I must decrease," referring to Jesus Christ. This expresses John's understanding that his own role and influence were meant to diminish as Jesus' ministry and prominence grew. John’s statement reflects humility and the acknowledgment that Jesus must be exalted above all else. ...
Send a text I focus on information from the Scriptures and try to figure out what likely was the back story. I will attempt to explain more in detail as we unpack the life of John the Baptist. I am very careful in using tradition and historical context to gain insight into biblical times. Often tradition may have a political agenda and may not always be factual. For example, Christian tradition holds that Herodias, fearing John might come back to life if body and head ...
Send a text I recognize that staying alert can be exhausting at times and there may be times when taking a break would be appropriate. I highly recommend developing skills to reflect on our lives when we might not have been as alert as we needed to be. Retreats, Devotions such as the Daily Examination of conscience, a prayerful reflection developed by St. Ignatius of Loyola may be helpful. Other examples are spiritual direction, contemplative prayer, Lectio Divina which is ...
Send a text This Gospel describes some of the last moments of the life of Jesus on Earth. The Gospel seems more appropriate for Lent and Easter. Jesus says very little. He is dying on the cross, he is dismissed by the leaders who are responsible for his death. The most interesting conversation is between the two condemned men who are being crucified with Jesus. We do not know what their crimes were. In those days it did not take much to be condemned to deat...
Send a text Jesus warns us that we will be betrayed not just by anyone but by people who are close to us, family members. Experiencing betrayal is unfortunately more common than we would like. Being betrayed by those who are close to us is especially hurtful. Betrayal undermines our ability to trust. Have you ever experienced betrayal? Betrayal is a prevalent theme in the Gospels. From the moment Jesus was born there was betrayal. I direct you to Matthew 2:...
Send a text Todays Gospel is quite different from most others. In this Gospel we have Jesus aggressively driving the money changes and sellers out of the temple. At first glance it is quite different from Jesus’ usual way. There are no immediate teachings, healings or witty dialogue. It is clear that Jesus is passionate about his faith, and he is not willing to compromise. Professor David Landry of the University of St. Thomas and many other biblical schola...
Send a text There are three stories in the Gospels where Jesus raises someone from the dead. We have the story of Lazarus being raised (John 11:38-44), Jarius’ 12-year-old daughter being raised as recorded in (Mark 5:21-43, Luke 8:40 and Matthew 9:18-26) and now in today’s Gospel we hear about Jesus raising the son of a widow in a town called Nain. What is interesting in this Gospel is how few facts we have about the story. In the two previous resurrection stories we have na...
Send a text So, we overhear the prayers of two very different men. One man, the Pharisees has done a lot and includes what he has done in a list expecting I guess to impress God. He was doing okay until he compared himself to the tax collector. The second man, the Tax collector has said little but admits to his wrongdoing and is truly sorry. It must have come as a shock to the first listeners to this parable. There are several points to this story. Appearan...
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