Blog of the Archdiocese of Washington
In an increasingly materialistic and secular world, a deadly math has set up. It is deadly because it has rejected the spiritual math of God and of spiritual goods. What is meant by “spiritual math”? It is a math that recalls that spiritual goods, in themselves, do not admit of division and subtraction, but only …
What we fear controls us. Consider the following story. Trichloroethane, an aerosol propellant that was used in the spray cans of many household cleaners, is toxic when inhaled in large concentrations. Back in the 1980s, teenagers discovered that they could get high by spraying the cleaner into bags and breathing in the fumes. A label on the can clearly …
Continue reading “What We Fear Controls Us – A Meditation on the”Eighth Deadly Sin””
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 first reading this Sunday reminds us that our speech discloses our character: When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear; so do one’s faults when one speaks. The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had; so too does one’s speech disclose the bent of one’s mind. Praise no one before he …
Continue reading “Bite Your Tongue! A Homily for the 8th Sunday of the Year”
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”
The readings for this Feast of Christ the King evoke three images of Christ as King. All of them are to some extent paradoxical because they emphasize things we don’t usually associate with kings. They also tell us that we have already met King Jesus even if we don’t realize it. Let’s look at these three …
Continue reading “Not Your Average King – A Homily for the Feast of Christ the King”
In recent years, homosexuality has frequently been in the news. An increasingly nationwide effort to make homosexual acts something to celebrate has gained great ground and sowed serious confusion even among those who describe themselves as Christian and Catholic. Hence, it is necessary once again to instruct on this matter and to reassert what Scripture …
Continue reading “Homosexual Acts Cannot be Approved or Celebrated by the Church – Here’s Why”