Blog of the Archdiocese of Washington
One of the more troublesome and damaging human traits is our susceptibility to deception. Scripture speaks often of this problem and we do well to examine some of those texts and consider what they teach us. Perhaps it is good to look first to the Latin and Greek roots of the word deceive. Latin: The …
Continue reading “Biblical Teaching on the Problem of Deception”
I open our New Year’s Eve late night Mass (11:15 PM) with the observation that we begin Mass in one year and end in the next. New Year’s Eve highlights the mysterious passage between years. In a way I suppose it is no more mysterious than the passage from Thursday to Friday or from 10:00 …
Continue reading “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? A Meditation on the Mystery of Time”
In his Summa Theologica, St. Thomas Aquinas discusses the virtue of religion within his treatise on justice. This surprises some, who expect it to be treated under the theological virtue of faith. But Thomas clearly states that religion is not a theological virtue. Theological virtues have God Himself for their object, whereas religion has as …
In modern times, we tend to link our notions of happiness and inner well-being to external circumstances and happenstance. And so we think that happiness will be found when the things of this world are arranged in the way we like. If we can just get enough money and creature comforts, we think we’ll be …
Continue reading “Five Steps to Better Mental Health – A Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent”
It is one of the stranger dialogs that occurs in the Gospel, and it is hard not to rejoice in Jesus’ aplomb. We read it last week in daily Mass. In it, some Pharisees, likely disingenuous, approach Jesus, warning Him to leave immediately: Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you. Probably …
Continue reading “A Word of Encouragement in One of Jesus’ Stranger Sayings”
In yesterday’s post, we considered the sins of the priests (and they were numerous enough). Today we examine the sins of the people that the Lord sets forth in the Book of Malachi. Here, too, please understand that not everyone is guilty of all of these things. However, they are common human sins and sinful …
Continue reading “The Sins of God’s People As Stated in the Prophet Malachi”
In today’s gospel, the Lord Jesus speaks of crosses and crowns. The apostles have only crowns in mind, but the Lord Jesus knows the price of that crown. And so He must teach them and us that crowns—the things that we value most—come only through the Cross. It may help to remember the context of …
Continue reading “No Cross, No Crown: A Homily for the 29th Sunday of the Year”
The first reading at Mass today (Thursday of the 26th week of the year) from Nehemiah 8 is a wonderful meditation on the glory and wonder of the Word of God; it deserves our attention. The background of the text is that Israel had been conquered by the Babylonians (in 587 B.C.) and the survivors …