The first reading today is again from the Book of Tobit, as are all the first readings from this 9th Week of Ordinary Time. Tobit has fallen on hard times. His property has been confiscated, he has been blinded by bird droppings and is now four years blind, his wife has been put to work, his mood is sour and melancholy, and his wife questions what has become of his righteousness and charity. Continue reading
The first reading today is again from the Book of Tobit, as are all the first readings from this 9th Week of Ordinary Time. In yesterday’s reading, we meet Tobit, a righteous and pious Jew living in the diaspora of the Assyrian conquest of Israel. We learn that he interrupts a festival meal of Pentecost in order to carry out an act of righteousness and mercy – to bury one of his countrymen and fellow exiles who has been murdered and the body left in the marketplace. His neighbors caution and ridicule him, telling him to play it safe, but is reminded of the warning of the prophet Amos against the unrighteous of Bethel: “All your festivals shall be turned into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation.” And so he does the righteous and charitable thing. Continue reading
Today marks the 79th anniversary of the June 6th “D-Day” landings in Normandy during World War II. It marked a turning Point in World War II as it provided the Allies with a foothold in Western Europe and set the stage for the subsequent liberation of France and the defeat of Nazi Germany. The Normandy landing resulted in significant casualties on both sides, with thousands of soldiers losing their lives. It remains a powerful symbol of the bravery and sacrifice of the soldiers who fought and gave their lives for the cause of freedom and the defeat of tyranny. The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, situated on the shores of Omaha Beach, serves as a poignant reminder of the cost of war and the importance of preserving peace. Continue reading
In Oklahoma on Monday, the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board approved what would be the nation’s first religious charter school. The online school, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, is to be run by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa, with religious teachings embedded in the curriculum. Within minutes of the vote, Americans United for Separation of Church and State announced that it was preparing legal action to fight the decision. The ruling in this case is limited to the Board’s overview of online, virtual schools and is not a broader decision affecting all public schools in Oklahoma. The school’s patron saint is St. Isidore, patron saint of the internet.
Continue readingThe first reading today is from the Book of Tobit, a book considered Deutero-Canonical – meaning Catholic and Greek Orthodox recognize it as part of the canon of Sacred Scripture (as they have since the 4th century), but not so the Reform and Protestant denominations. Continue reading
An interesting article from Scientific America passed through my inbox this morning. The topic was “fertility rates” in the United States during the pandemic years. There was one strain of thought that, couples having more “together time,” would lead to an increase in the monthly number of babies being born. An effect not unlike the imagined effect of major extended electrical power outages. By the way, it was imagined, there has not been a power outage + 9 months baby boom. But the “safer-at-home” period was a lot longer than an overnight power outage. Continue reading
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Visitation when the Blessed Virgin Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth immediately after the events of the Annunciation when the Angel Gabriel proclaimed the conception of the Christ Child by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Lucan narrative in Chapter 1 is about as rich a text as one could ask for. It is rich in OT echoes with strains of 1 Samuel woven into the thread of the story. It foreshadows Luke’s emphasis of the Holy Spirit so profoundly described in his second book, Acts of the Apostles. Continue reading
Merriam Websters “Word of the Day” this day is “enthralled” – “to hold the attention of someone by being very exciting, interesting, or beautiful,” or in other words, “to charm.” It is often used in its past participle form, as in “I was enthralled by the beauty of the landscape.” While one hopes that you are enthralled by the contents of this blog, you might be less enthralled by the word’s etymology. Continue reading
Last week I posted a reflection on one of the readings that was generated by OpenAI, a popular AI tool available on the internet. Thanks those who commented that it lacked my “style” and “nuance.” It’s fun to see what it produces, but today’s NY Times had a cautionary tale. Adam Pasick wrote: Continue reading
The first reading for today comes from the Book of Sirach (also known as the Wisdom of Ben Sira and as Ecclesiasticus, or more literally, “Church Book.”) The author, a sage who lived in Jerusalem, was thoroughly imbued with love for the wisdom tradition, and also for the law, priesthood, Temple, and divine worship. As a wise and experienced observer of life he addressed himself to his contemporaries with the motive of helping them to maintain religious faith and integrity through study of the books sacred to the Jewish tradition. Written in Hebrew in the early years of the second century B.C., it holds up the wisdom of the life, scriptures and traditions of Israel as a more sure reflection of the desire of God for his people as opposed to the surrounding Hellenistic culture. Continue reading
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