Blog of the Archdiocese of Washington
Hope is one of those words (like love) that has to be rescued from a world that has overused and misused it for so long that its original meaning is almost lost. Hope has come to mean something amounting to a vague wish for something or a substitute for the word “maybe.” For example a …
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”
One of the things that I have discovered that very few people are neutral on is the image of Christ seated in Judgment on the apse wall of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC. (See photo at right). People either love it or hate it. Those who hate …
Continue reading “Awesome or Awful? Studying the”Christ in Majesty”Mosaic at the National Basilica”
This blog contains something of my personal story. If you want to skip the “personal story segment” and shorten your reading, jump down to (What is Nihilism?) What a Year! Those of us who are a little on the older side lived through and remember the dramatic culture changing year of 1968. What an awful year …
The well known story of the Lazarus and the Rich Man was read at Mass yesterday morning. At one level the story seems plain enough: to neglect the poor is a damnable sin. But there are other important teachings contained in this Gospel, teachings about death, judgment, heaven and hell. They are hidden in the details …
Continue reading “Learning the Lessons of Lazarus and the Rich Man”
Almost no one in the Church would claim today that we have done a good job of handing on the faith to our children. Depending on how we reckon it we have lost two or three generations to an ignorance and inability to articulate the faith. Even the most basic teachings are unknown to the young. …
Continue reading “Critical Keys for Catholic Catechesis: Discipline and Content”
I want to propose to you that God’s love really IS unconditional. However it should be stated from the onset that there are some problems presented by the assertion that God’s love is unconditional. For while there are plenty of texts from Scripture that teach that God’s love and grace are unmerited, there is no …
I recently heard an interview with Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum two authors of a book published this past August entitled Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens our Future. In the book they claim most Americans are scientifically illiterate. They try to explore why many Americans are skeptical of what the authors term “good science” and …
Continue reading “Are You”Scientifically Illiterate!?”Someone Thinks You Are.”