Blog of the Archdiocese of Washington
In more dioceses than not, the Feast of the Ascension is celebrated this weekend. The liturgist in me regrets the move, but here we are any way. So let’s ascend with the Lord, three days late! This marvelous feast is not merely about something that took place two thousand years ago. For though Christ our …
In the early hours of the first Easter Sunday, the news began to circulate that Jesus was alive and had been seen. These reports were at first disbelieved or at least doubted by the Apostles. They dismissed various reports from both women and men. But suddenly that evening there was a change, a declaration by the Apostles that …
Continue reading “When Did the Resurrection Go from Rumor to an Official Declaration of the Church?”
Today’s post is a follow-up to yesterday’s blog. When we encounter the resurrection accounts in the New Testament, we face a challenge in putting all the pieces together in such a way that the sequence of events flows in logical order. This is due to the fact that no one Gospel presents all or even …
Continue reading “The Resurrection Appearances "Chronologically" Arranged”
The Passion, which we read in today’s liturgy, is too long to comment on in detail. I’ll examine just a portion of it in today’s blog. The usual villains, such as the temple leaders, Judas, and the recruited crowd shouting “Crucify him!” are fairly obvious. They openly display their sinfulness and are unambiguously wicked. But there …
Continue reading “See What the End Shall Be – A Palm Sunday Reflection”
In preparation for today’s Feast of the Annunciation I picked up Jesus of Nazareth, Vol. 3 (The Infancy Narratives) by Pope Emeritus Benedict. I was very moved by a very brief reflection that he made on Mary as the Angel Gabriel left her. His remarks consider her faith in a very touching manner. I must say …
Continue reading “A Woman Wrapped in Silence – A Meditation for the Feast of the Annunciation”
The first reading today contains the Ten Commandments and thereby communicates a brief but sweeping summary of the Christian and biblical moral vision. Too often, there is a tendency to reduce the Christian moral vision merely to a set of rules. And it is a sad fact that many resent the the Church for her “rules” …
Continue reading “A Picture of the Transformed Human Person – A Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Lent”
Some forty years ago, the Venerable Bishop Fulton J. Sheen admonished the priests of his day with these words: We become real priests when we empty ourselves, and no longer seek our [own] identity, and where we are lifted up to the cross, not going “down to people.” Too many of us today feel we …
The mysteries of Christmas are many. Among them is the mystery of the music heard that night. The angels shouted the great declaration, “Glory to God in the Highest,” and creation takes it up as a song. But why this music? Is it merely window dressing, or does it disclose a mystery to us? Is it merely …
Continue reading “I Hear Music in the Air! – A Homily for Christmas”