Monthly Archives: October 2024

The Transitus of St. Francis

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In Western Christianity, the Transitus (translation from Ecclesiastical Latin: crossing or passing over) refers to “the time of passage through death to life”. The Christian theologian German Martinez writes that: “The idea of death in the Latin transitus … represents a unique Christian terminology linked to the paschal mystery. It consecrates the passage of the dying to eternal life. Offering the sacrifice of his or her personal life, the believer shares in the paschal transitus of Christ himself. Continue reading →

God’s Creative Intent

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This coming Sunday is the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Thus, Jesus moves the dialogue to a deeper question and asks about what God intended in the creation:  “But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female. 7 For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother (and be joined to his wife), 8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” Continue reading →

Spiraling

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We are in the middle of an extended conversation between Job and three friends. The basic message his friends deliver is (1) God does not make mistakes, (2) God punishes sinners, (3) you are being punished, (4) admit your sin, ask forgiveness, and be restored. Job has been defending himself in that he knows not his sin but his friends essentially say he is in denial and prideful. Slowly Job is spiraling downward. The great expressions of faith in the beginning chapters are gone. Continue reading →

Guardian Angels

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Today is the Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels. You can find the readings for the memorial celebration here. I thought it would be interesting, instructional and fun to use Catholic.Chat to see what the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) provides about guardian angels. The CCC emphasized their role as protectors and guides for individuals. According to the teachings found in the Catechism, guardian angels are personal, spiritual beings assigned by God to watch over and assist each person throughout their life. Continue reading →

Questions and Response

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This coming Sunday is the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time. As noted in the preceding section, the question is none too genuine. Both Jesus and the Pharisees – and anyone listening in on the dialogue – know that Dt 24:1, part of the Torah (Law), is the basis for the practice of divorce: “When a man, after marrying a woman and having relations with her, is later displeased with her because he finds in her something indecent, and therefore he writes out a bill of divorce and hands it to her, thus dismissing her from his house.” As ever, the Pharisees’ question has little to do with marriage or divorce, but concerns teaching authority (and their desire to trap Jesus so that they will be able to bring charges against him). Continue reading →

Lessons from Suffering

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In the first reading, Job was nearly crushed by the pain of suffering. He tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell to the ground when he heard that his children had died (Job 1:20). He then cries out in despair:

“Job opened his mouth and cursed his day. Job spoke out and said: Perish the day on which I was born, the night when they said, “The child is a boy!” (Job 3:1-3) Continue reading →

The Meaning of Divorce

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This coming Sunday is the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time. It is clear that it is lawful for a man to divorce his wife. However, the law as written did raise an important question: “What constitutes ‘something indecent?” There were different answers to that question. R.T. France (The Gospel of Mark, 378-88) has a paragraph full of quotes about the marriage: Continue reading →