Blog of the Archdiocese of Washington
We live in a secular age. Religious utterances by government officials are greeted with surprise or even indignation by some. While the primary role of civil leaders is not a religious one, insisting that never express religious sentiment is a form of extremism rooted in exaggerated conception of the idea of the separation of Church …
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”
The first reading for Sunday Mass speaks to us of the call of Samuel. In examining it, we can see what it is that makes a great prophet. Put more theologically, we can see the ways in which God’s graces form a great prophet. Samuel was surely one of the most significant prophets of the …
Continue reading “A Picture of a Prophet – A Homily for the Second Sunday of the Year”
There is a passage read at yesterday’s Mass (Thursday of the Second Week of Advent) that is complex, to say the least. A footnote in the Ignatius Study Bible calls a phrase in it, “nearly indecipherable.” So, let’s wade into the text and see what we find. For the record, the brief passage is, as …
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”
Words can change meaning over time—sometimes dramatically. For example, “manufactured” originally meant “handmade” (manu (hand) + facere (make)). The word “decimate” used to mean “to reduce by a tenth” (decem = ten); now people usually use it mean “to wipe out completely.” The list of examples could go on and on. Yes, words do change …
Continue reading “The Not-so-Nice Origins and Meanings of the Word “Nice””
In yesterday’s post we examined the danger of marginalizing God and how the Lord warns that such a thing is a civilization killer. In today’s post we ponder a more sociological examination of how cultures and civilizations go through cycles. Over time, many civilizations and cultures have risen and then fallen. We who live in …
Continue reading “How Civilizations Rise and Fall in Eight Stages”
In the Gospel this Sunday, the Lord gives four important principles for a disciple. He also teaches on the concept of being worthy of Him. We tend think of being worthy as acting in a way that meets a certain standard, but the Greek word for “worthy” involves more than merely external behavior, important though …
Continue reading “Four Disciplines of Worthy Disciples – A Homily for the 13th Sunday of the Year”