Blog of the Archdiocese of Washington
The following verses are reminders that the Lord is a healer and deliverer. While it is true that there are sufferings in this world, it also remains true that God delivers his people from destruction and only permits sufferings and evils that something greater may come from them. The verses below are presented in the …
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”
At my Question and Answer Column at the Sunday Visitor I was recently asked the following question. I hope you might find the answer informative and encouraging. Fight on, soldiers of the Cross. The phase “Non serviam” has been associated with Satan and his response to God when being cast from heaven in a war. …
Continue reading “On the Victory that is Already But Not Yet. A Encouragement to the Weary.”
In Sunday’s Gospel the Lord firmly sets before us the need for the cross, not as an end in itself, but as the way to glory. Let’s consider the Gospel in three stages. I. The Pattern that is Announced – The text says, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and …
Continue reading “Trademarks of the True Messiah – A Homily for the 22nd Sunday of the Year”
There is an old spiritual that says, “My God is so high you can’t get over Him. He’s so low you can’t get under Him. He’s so wide you can’t get around Him. You must come in, by and through the Lamb.” It’s not a bad way of saying that God is “other.” He is …
Continue reading “One and One and One are One. A Homily for Trinity Sunday”
In more dioceses than not, the Feast of the Ascension is celebrated this Sunday. The liturgist in me regrets the move from Thursday, but here we are any way. 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 …
Continue reading “Love Lifted Me: A Homily for the Ascension of the Lord”
We do well to ponder the whys and wherefores of the Passion of Our Lord. St. Thomas Aquinas presents the premise that God does nothing in an arbitrary way, but rather as Lord of History sets forth everything in fitting ways and at appropriate places and times. Every detail has something to teach us. Let’s …
The Passion, which we read in the liturgy for Palm Sunday, is too long to comment on in detail, so we will only examine a portion of it here. It may be of some value to examine the problems associated with the more moderate range of personalities involved. The usual villains (the Temple leaders, Judas, …
Continue reading “See What the End Shall Be – A Homily for Palm Sunday”