Blog of the Archdiocese of Washington
Early in my priesthood I began to feel a bit embarrassed that there were certain things I did not know more thoroughly and had not committed to memory. Among these things were the Seven Deadly Sins, and the Seven Gift of the Holy Spirit. Priests are like doctors. Imagine going to a doctor who was …
Continue reading “The Seven Deadly Sins: Memorize and Understand Them”
Do you know what the Seven Deadly Sins are? It is a great value to know and begin to understand these deep drives of sin in us. The more we can know and distinguish them the more we can grow in self knowledge. We can begin to understand better how we “tick.” Further, being able …
The Gospel for Friday of this week (27th Week of the Year) features the puzzling parable about the cast-out demon who returns with seven others. What is most puzzling, is that finding the house (soul) “swept and clean” brings further trouble. One would think that a house that is swept and clean would be a good thing! For …
The Gospel for the Third Sunday of Lent in the Extraordinary Form features the puzzling parable about the cast-out demon who returns with seven other demons. What is most puzzling is that finding the house (soul) “swept and clean” brings further trouble. One would think a house that is swept and clean is a good thing. How can …
One of the more underreported sins is greed. Too easily do we conclude that greed is always about “that other person over there,” who appears to have a little more than I do. Yes, that rich guy over there, the one who earns a dollar more per hour than I do; he is greedy, but I’m …
Continue reading “Greed: A Brief Meditation on One of the More Underreported Sins”
For many people the Sacrament of Confession is experienced in a rather perfunctory way. Upon preparing to go to confession many are content to look at some matters pertaining to external behavior: “I got angry with my children….I had lustful thoughts…. I was distracted in prayer, or I didn’t pray as much as I should…. I …
Continue reading “From Perfunctory Penitence to Compelling Confession In Four Easy Steps”
In Friday’s post, we reflected on some of the historical problems related to catechesis and how they have negatively impacted us in the aftermath of the cultural revolution that swept through beginning in the late 1960s. Even prior to that time, some of the strategies and pedagogical philosophies common were problematic in that they tended …
Continue reading “A Response to Past Problems in Catechesis”
In Bible Study in my Parish we have been reading through Genesis. This past evening we read of Lot and the horrifying results of his decision to pitch his tent toward Sodom. We also see in his life a significant spiritual problem: sloth, one of the seven deadly sins. Sloth is a sorrow, sadness, or …