Category Archives: Musings

Temptation and Technology

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The playwright Oscar Wilde once wrote, “I can resist anything except temptation.” The humor of the remark is mixed with a sad recognition that we fail so often to resist the temptations that come our way each day and from every direction. Of course, there are temptations and then there are temptations writ large. What are people’s greatest temptations? Why? What are their “favorite” sins — indicated by frequency and repetition? Why do we so often find ourselves in the same position as St. Paul?  “What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate.” (Romans 7:15). During this Lenten season, each of us is called to name our temptations as part of a moral and ethical struggle in trying to live a holy and righteous life. Then once we name that temptation, we begin to unfold and inspect, to then start to answer what it is about this temptation that becomes especially alluring. Such are the first steps to healing. Continue reading →

Building Character

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Today is the Feast of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr. We know more about the devotion to Saint Blaise by Christians around the world than we know about the saint himself.  We do know he suffered affliction. Our first reading from Romans 5 talks about affliction: “knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope…” all fueled by the love of God poured into us by the Holy Spirit. Continue reading →

Patience a Virtue. Impatience a Sin?

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“Bless me Father, for I have sinned….” Among the most frequently confessed sins are anger, being judgmental, and impatience. “Patience is a virtue.” We’re all familiar with that expression. Patience is listed by St. Paul in Galatians 5:22-23 as among the fruit of the Spirit. So, there’s no disputing that the Christian ought to be patient. But is impatience a sin? W. H. Auden, the English-American poet, wrote “Perhaps there is only one cardinal sin: impatience. Because of impatience we were driven out of Paradise, because of impatience we cannot return.” Insightful about the human condition to be sure, but not sure that has standing in the world of moral theology. Continue reading →

Perseverance

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Today’s first reading is taken from Hebrews 12 beginning with verse 4. This long passage of exhortation that follows needs to be understood in the context of yesterday’s reading which included vv.1-2: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us 2 while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God.  Continue reading →

In case you were wondering…

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From a scan of today’s news:

  • Manatee Country Florida has reported a pond containing nearly 400 goldline snakehead fish, an invasive species able to air breath for a period of time, transport itself over dry land, and aggressively hunt frogs.
  • A green comet is making a pass-by earth (no worries – 26 million mile away). Actually it is a return fly-by having last visited during the Neanderthal period. It is about a mile across with it “tail” extending several million miles. The green comes from the carbon cloud surrounding the nucleus of the comet.
  • Just detected days ago, Asteroid “2023BU” will pass within 2,200 miles of earth before passing on. It is about the size of a truck and was discovered by Gennadiy Borisov, an amateur astronomer from Crimea. In case you’d like to watch the fly-by. the Virtual Telescope Project broadcast the event on its website and YouTube channel.
  • At the local Publix store in Stafford VA, organic, free-ranging, etc. eggs were less expensive than most commercial eggs.
  • Lastly, at the center of things, scientists believe the the molten core of the earth seems to be ready to shift speed and/or perhaps relative rotational direction. This may sound like a setup for a world-wrecking, blockbuster movie. But fret not: Precisely nothing apocalyptic will result from this planetary spin cycle, which may have been happening for eons.

A House Divided

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In today’s gospel Jesus proclaims, “...if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.” (Mark 3:25). The gospel says it I believe it, my experience reveals it to be true, it makes sense – and ultimately such divided houses do indeed fall. But it is my experience that sometimes it takes a long time to collapse and in the interim, living in the house is an increasingly difficult and unpleasant time. Continue reading →

Shepherd and Kings

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Children’s Mass | Ezekiel 34:11-16 and Luke 15:1-7

This coming Sunday is Word of God Sunday when the Catholic Church celebrates the great gift of the Bible. We celebrate the stories from the Old Testament like the one this morning from the Prophet Ezekiel as well as our Gospel from St. Luke. But more importantly we celebrate that all these stories are one unified story that all lead to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Continue reading →

Anchor of the Soul

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The first reading is taken from Hebrews chapter 6:10 and following, but the larger context for the writer’s thought begins at Hebrews 5:11 where a metaphor is employed, one familiar then and now: that of milk and solid food, little children and adults. The basic problem is that those hearing this word are receiving it as children, when they should be teachers. The problem is that the hearers are refusing to grow up in their understanding of Christianity. They are stuck at the level of the ABCs and worse, they need someone to again teach them the ABCs of the faith. Continue reading →

Makes me wonder….

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In Matthew 10 we can read: “Jesus said to his Apostles: “As you go, make this proclamation:
‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”  I think when lots of people hear that their first thought is … well, sometimes I have no idea of their first thought. Makes me wonder….

The challenge of those few lines brings one to the intersection of responsibility and desire.As a Christian, do you think it is your responsibility to proclaim the Kingdom of heaven at hand? Do you think, “well… that is the job of the priest or the religious sister or brother.” Pretty sure that command is for the baptized. We are all called, be it by word or deed, to be part of the infusion of excitement and energy about the Faith into the lives of people. Continue reading →