A Homily for Easter As you may know, the Church teaches that Jesus’ death on the Cross means that the souls He has redeemed can at last enter paradise. From the time of Adam’s fall until Good Friday, the gates of heaven were closed to the soul of every
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A Homily for Good Friday ”Nay!” answered the child; “but these are the wounds of Love.” –Oscar Wilde, The Selfish Giant— When I was in the seventh grade, my father noticed the peach fuzz sprouting on my upper lip and called me into the bathroom. After handing me a razor,
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During the time I studied at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, we seminarians would be bussed every Palm Sunday to the Cathedral in center city Philadelphia. There we took part in the beautiful liturgy and, of course, we heard the chanting of the Passion. The chant, both measured and solemn, usually
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A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles. –Luke 6:43-44– What’s worse than finding a worm in
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“Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves payment. Do not move about from one house to another.” –Luke 10:7– Here’s a story you may have heard before. It is a variant of a tale originally told by Aesop—that
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Before I formed you in the womb I knew you –Isaiah 1:5– Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it. –Edmund Burke– In January 2004, American Orthodox rabbi, author, and radio talk show host Daniel Lapin published a letter purporting to have been written by Adolf Hitler from
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A Homily for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception And coming to her, he [i.e. the angel] said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” –Luke 1:28– Ladies and gentlemen, last night, I drank tomato juice from this very glass. How would you feel if I were
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“I will lead the blind on a way they do not know; by paths they do not know I will guide them. I will turn darkness into light before them, and make crooked ways straight. These are my promises: I made them, I will not forsake them.” –Isaiah 42:16– Who
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What is inspiration?[1] We usually think of inspiration in reference to artistic genius, and there is certainly something to this. Yale University’s library houses a wonderful collection of original and rare manuscripts, including musical scores written by some of the world’s greatest composers. A musician friend who viewed the
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Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at
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