Blog of the Archdiocese of Washington
In the Gospel we read on Palm Sunday, Jesus says a rather extraordinary thing as He is on His way to the cross. He addresses it to the women who have gathered to lament Him: Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children, for indeed, the days are …
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose birthday we commemorate this weekend, is best known as a civil rights leader who worked to end racial injustice. But Dr. King had other things to say as he preached each Sunday, first in his own assembly and later as he moved about. Among his recorded sermons is one …
Continue reading “A Reflection on a Sermon of Dr. Martin Luther King Refuting Atheistic Materialism”
In the coming year it looks as if there will be very aggressive attempts in both courts and legislatures to advance physician-assisted suicide (or as its proponents prefer to call it, the “right to die”). The recent legalization of physician-assisted suicide in California was a sad harbinger of what is being attempted in other states …
Continue reading “New Year’s Resolve: Stand Against Physician-Assisted Suicide”
Please consider the following reflection more of a pastoral meditation than a formal exegesis. I do not seek here to compare every use of the phrase in the Scriptures but rather to ponder how we seem to have lost the connection of personal sacrifice to liturgy and worship. Scripture clearly connects them. Let’s look at …
Continue reading “What Is Meant by the “Sacrifice of Praise” in Scripture?”
Pride is a sin that is so pervasive, and that runs so deep within us, we often don’t even sense it is there. Not only is it is a sinful drive in itself, it also plays a role in every other sin we commit. It is the sin we most share with Satan and all …
Continue reading “Pondering Pride, the Most Perilous of All Sins”
Some of God’s gifts come in strange and terrifying packages. The book of Job says, The earth, though out of it comes forth bread, is in fiery upheaval underneath (Job 28:2). It is a fact that we live just above a fiery cauldron separated from us by a thin membrane of earthly crust rife with …
Continue reading “Earth, Air, Fire, and Water: Great and Yet Terrifying Blessings”
As a priest I am called to preach and teach, and as such I must look to Jesus Christ as my model. In this I refer to the real Jesus of Scripture. Too many people today have refashioned Jesus into a sort of “harmless hippie,” an affable affirmer, a pleasant sort of fellow who healed …
One of the greatest gifts given to the human person is the capacity to speak. It is also one of our greatest weaknesses. The Book of James says, We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what he says is perfect, able to keep his whole body in check. When …