Blog of the Archdiocese of Washington
There is a story of King Jehoshaphat and the victory of Israel against the Moabites, Ammonites and Meunites (2 Chronicles 20). It is a story that speaks of the power of praise to defeat a numberless army. Simply singing a hymn of praise can cast out demons, avert war, and send evil threats limping away. …
Continue reading “The Conquering Power of Praise – A Meditation on a Text From Second Chronicles”
In life we face many difficulties; they challenge us and our faith. Deep struggle can lead us to question God, His love, or even His existence. The readings today speak to us of these sorts of difficulties and prophetically interpret them for us. Let’s take a look at these readings in three stages. I. The …
Continue reading “When Troubles Rise – A Homily for the 5th Sunday of the Year”
In Sunday’s Gospel Jesus models four aspects of powerful and effective preaching. In using the word “preaching” we ought to be careful not to limit it to what takes place in a church. All Catholic parents should learn from Jesus’ example here for they have the church of their home in which to preach; they …
Continue reading “A Portrait of Jesus the Preacher – A Homily for the 4th Sunday of the Year”
In a pandemic, and after a summer of violence, a contentious election and now more violence, a reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah is striking by the fact that the ancient diagnosis of Israel applies to our times as well. By the following I don’t intend a commentary on the events of the …
Continue reading “A Deeper Look from Scripture at What Afflicts Us”
Yesterday, January 6th (the official day of Epiphany) was quite and epiphany of its own,. Currently in our country we are dramatically and almost evenly divided. The huge crowd that gathered yesterday was largely peaceful and came to express concerns about the conducting of the last election. Fine; and probably worth further investigation. But the …
Continue reading “A Reflection on the Virtue of Patriotism in a Time of National DIstress”
I began our New Years Eve adoration at 11:00 AM with the observation that we begin this prayer in one year, and end in another. New Years Eve features the mysterious passage from one year to another. In a way I suppose it is no more mysterious than the passage from Tuesday to Wednesday …
Continue reading “Does anybody really know what time it is? A meditation on the mystery of time.”
There is an old saying, “Stop telling God how big your storm is and start telling the storm how big your God is.” In other words, we often need to shift our focus, building up our trust and confidence. Because we are so wired for fear, we tend to overestimate the power and shrewdness of …
Continue reading “A Word of Encouragement from Elisha the Prophet For a Difficult Week to Come”
In daily Mass we have been reading from second chapter of the Letter to the Galatians. In it, St. Paul recounts his personal history and describes his authority. St. Paul’s story is interesting for three reasons: It shows that St. Paul did not ascend to the office of apostle (bishop) overly quickly but rather was …