Blog of the Archdiocese of Washington
As this Easter Season is nearing a close, we do well to ponder the picture of the early Church described in the Acts of the Apostles. The kind of persecution and suffering they endured in those days should serve to remind us of the sacrifices we are often unwilling to make. Yet these early descriptions …
In the first reading for Wednesday of the 7th Week of Easter, St. Paul warns of perhaps the most damaging and wrenching evil that the Church must face: dissension from within. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock. And from your own group, …
Continue reading “Pondering St. Paul’s Lament of Savage Wolves”
The commercial below demonstrates, in a limited way, the chaos caused by becoming “unplugged” from a mere computer. In it, a new employee unwittingly unplugs a main computer, causing everything to go haywire around the globe. Imagine how much worse things are when we unplug from God. Actually, things wouldn’t be worse, they just wouldn’t …
Continue reading “An “App”ocalypse, as Seen in a Commercial”
In the Office of Readings during the sixth week of Easter, we celebrate the Word becoming flesh. We read from the First Letter of John, which emphasizes the Incarnation of Jesus and demands that we experience the Word becoming Flesh in a practical way in our own lives. Fundamentally, the Incarnation, the Second Person of …
One of the more perplexing claims of the growing number of agnostics and atheists among us is that there is no evidence of an intelligent creator of the universe. Clearly, the created universe manifests intelligibility and order from the farthest reaches of outer space down to our small planet and further down into the “inner …
Continue reading “Of Mice and Men – Pondering the Strange Loss of Faith in an Age of Science”
Today’s Feast of St. Mark (also known as John Mark) reminds us that the Gospel occurs within the human setting and condition. Mark was at the center of the tension between Paul and Barnabas; their differences were so severe that it led to a parting of ways. Yet St. Mark, despite his less-than-stellar beginning in …
Continue reading “What the Story of St. Mark Teaches Us About Reconciliation”
In Wednesday’s reading, the Acts of the Apostles sets forth an event that amounts to a tale of one Church in two cities or regions. It illustrates well a couple of points: that the Church is always in need of reform and that our lives are not merely about us and what we want. Let’s …
Continue reading “Your Life is Not About You, As Illustrated in a Biblical Story”
After Christ rose from the dead, He appeared to His disciples at certain places and times, but did not seem to stay with them continuously. On the first Easter Sunday, He appeared six times in rather rapid succession: first to Mary Magdalene, then to the women at the tomb, third as the women left the …