About Friar Musings

Franciscan friar and Catholic priest at St. Francis of Assisi in Triangle, VA

Everyday Pentecost

Posted on June 5, 2022 by Friar Musings

If we are attentive to Scripture we should be able to recall the Apostles’ reaction to their witnesses to the Resurrection: let’s see….. went back to the Upper Room and hid, .. hmm…. they went fishing in their old haunts of Galilee … what else? … then went back to the Upper Room … then went out to witness the Ascension … and went back to the Upper Room. At first glance it seems as though there is a lot of lollygagging going on. I mean what happened to “ Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you”? Not a whole lot of going, disciple making, baptizing or teaching going on. What’s up with that?

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The Reformations Series – what’s next

Posted on June 4, 2022 by Friar Musings

What is the old advice about eating an elephant? One bite at a time. So far I have been able to keep up and ahead of things on this Saturday morning feature “The Reformations.” The elephant bit back in terms of parochial responsibilities, some other projects that need attention, and some need to gather notes and such for what lays ahead.

What lays ahead? There will be more on the Swiss Reformation focused on Zwingli and the movement in Zurich, the rise of the Anabaptist movement, its persecution by Zwingli, and its movement into the Low Countries and beyond. Other reformations that need more detailed attention include: England, France and the rise of Calvinism, John Calvin in Geneva, and the spread of Calvinism throughout Europe. Two other topics that need attention are the Catholic Counter Reformation as well as the religious-political wars and resulting treaties.

Now you know one of my summer projects. So….. this will be the last of the Reformation posts for a while. I hope you’ve enjoyed it so far.

The Reformation in Switzerland

Posted on June 4, 2022 by Friar Musings

The Swiss Milieu. The Reformation is Switzerland progressed in a different way from Germany. Where Germany had no central monarch or government, Switzerland already had a republic in essential operation via the Old Swiss Confederacy. Their governance was an odd rotating administration of the common lands which was alternately a cause of tension and a source of “we need to figure this out.” Continue reading →

St. Charles Lwanga and the Ugandan Martyrs

Posted on June 3, 2022 by Friar Musings

Today the Church Universal celebrates the feast of St. Charles Lwanga and the Ugandan martyrs. Likely you do not know much about him and the 21 people that were martyred along with him. Today’s celebration of St. Charles Lwanga and Ugandan martyrs is a major feast and holiday in East Africa. And a reminder to us that this truly is a church universal – katholica.

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Pentecost Sunday – post 5

Posted on June 3, 2022 by Friar Musings

If the gospel for Pentecost Sunday sounds recent and familiar, it should. These same readings were used just a few weeks ago on the 2nd Sunday of Easter. I am providing a link to the previously posted items as we go through the week. Here is the final post in our series: The Ninth Beatitude.

Pentecost Sunday – post 4

Posted on June 2, 2022 by Friar Musings

Deja-vu all over again. Or so it seems in our gospel for Pentecost Sunday. These same readings were used just a few weeks ago on the 2nd Sunday of Easter. I am providing a link to the previously posted items as we go through the week. Here is the next post in our series: Trust.

Oneness in Charity

Posted on June 1, 2022 by Friar Musings

“…so that they may be one just as we are one...” (John 17:11). The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) para. 811 holds that the four marks of the Church are: one, holy, catholic and apostolic – each inseparably connected to one another. I would certainly encourage you to read the paragraph and the following sections, but in the interim here is the condensed version as regards “one.” Continue reading →

Pentecost Sunday – post 3

Posted on June 1, 2022 by Friar Musings

How we think of her

Posted on May 31, 2022 by Friar Musings

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Visitation when the Blessed Virgin Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth. It is but one piece of the mosaic of this woman. Today’s gospel passage, the Magnificat is a mosaic of Old Testament quotations and allusions interpreting the coming of Jesus. As a whole the canticle sees these actions of God as part of a longstanding process of overthrowing proud human expectations and exalting the lowly. It is part of the mosaic we have built over the millennia that speaks of how we consider Mary in the role of salvation history – a mosaic that richly, perhaps extravagantly, places Mary above us, on a pedestal, beyond our reach. We think of her as the Queen of Heaven, robed in the royal drapings of the Queen Mother – and so she is. We think of her as the Pieta at the foot of the cross, the Mother of Sorrows – and so she is. Think of all the titles and honorifics that we bestow upon her. Continue reading →

Pentecost Sunday – post 2