Blog of the Archdiocese of Washington
I have blogged before on Purgatory. For example here: Purgatory – Biblical and Reasonable. I have also provided a PDF document on the Biblical roots of the teaching here: PDF Document on Purgatory . On this Feast of All Souls I want to reflect on Purgatory as the necessary result of a promise. Many people …
Continue reading “99 & 1/2 Won’t Do – A Meditation on Purgatory”
Catholics have often endured the charge that we are an unbiblical Church. Strange accusation, really, for the Church that collected the Scriptures, determined the canon of Scripture and preached it for 1,500 years before there ever was a Protestant denomination. The fact is we are quite biblical and often in ways that are stunningly powerful. …
Continue reading “The Scripture in Stone and Wood and Stained Glass – A Church Revealed”
The Lord Jesus give a penetrating analysis of the state of the sinner and some very sobering advice to we would-be saints in today’s Gospel. Let’s look at the Gospel in two stages: The Analysis of the Sinner and the Advice to the Saints. I. ANALYSIS OF THE SINNER – The Lord Jesus describes a …
Catholics are often unaware just how Biblical the Sacred Liturgy is. The design of our traditional churches, the use of candles, incense, golden vessels, the postures of standing and kneeling, the altar, the singing of hymns, priests wearing albs and so forth are all depicted in the Scriptures. Some of these details were features of …
Continue reading “The Biblical and Heavenly Roots of the Sacred Liturgy”
Is heaven on your spiritual radar? The question may seem strange, but the truth is that heaven is not a big part of people’s spiritual life today. It has been remarked that there are very few sermons on hell any more but it is also true that there are very few sermons on heaven! Until …
Continue reading “When Was the Last Time You Meditated on Heaven? That Long?! Try This.”
At one level “human respect” seems a good thing. After all we ought to respect, honor and appreciate one another. What then is meant by the “sin of human respect?” At its core, the sin of human respect is that sin wherein we fear man more than God; where we more concerned with what people …
Continue reading “Risk It! A Meditation on the Sin of Human Respect and the Holy Fear of the Lord”
Last week in the blog I penned what was intended as a humorous post based on a video which asked: Is the Church a Cruise Ship or a Battleship? The video rather humorously depicts how many people want their parish to be like a cruise ship: comfortable, pleasant, with a popular captain and crew, fundamentally existing …
Continue reading “In Defense of the Use of Military Imagery in the Church”
One of the strong traditions of Scripture is of the great reversal that will one day come for many. I have often been sobered by it when I consider how blessed I have been in this life. I have also been consoled by it when I struggle to understand why some people in this world …
Continue reading “Many Who are Last, Will Be First: Pondering the Great Reversal.”