Fish or cut bait is a common English language colloquial expression, dating back to the 19th-century United States. Its origins are not exactly clear and over time the meaning has changed. Most often these days its meaning is clear enough: get to the important task at hand, or get out of the way and at least do something supportive. More generally it can be an admonishment to stop procrastinating. Continue reading
The first reading today often focused on the miraculous: “For the LORD, the God of Israel, says, ‘The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the LORD sends rain upon the earth.’” – and that is miraculous, the work of God. Sometimes the miraculous plays out before our eyes. Continue reading
In 2018 Pope Francis decreed that the ancient devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of Mother of the Church, be inserted into the Roman Calendar. The liturgical celebration, B. Mariæ Virginis, Ecclesiæ Matris, is celebrated annually as a Memorial on the day after Pentecost. In the decree, it was noted that the Pope’s decision took account of the tradition surrounding the devotion to Mary as Mother of the Church. The Pope also noted his desire to promote this devotion in order to “encourage the growth of the maternal sense of the Church in the pastors, religious and faithful, as well as a growth of genuine Marian piety”. Importantly, this feast specifically commemorates Mary’s motherhood of the Church rather than her motherhood of God, a feast celebrated on January 1. Continue reading
“…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
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
“In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” – such are the closing words of today’s gospel. Now I have the odd problem, but if people asked me if I had troubles, my response would be “No.” I recognize that such fortune has been a gift from God. And yet…it makes me wonder if I have ever really been tested – and if I was, would I have courage. Would I really believe Jesus has conquered the world? Continue reading
Today our nation celebrates Memorial Day. Lots of people confuse it or conflate it with Veteran’s Day. It is the latter which honors all the men and women who have served our nation in the military. It is the former that remembers and honors all those who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is a difference of which I receive weekly reminders as I am honored to serve veteran families during the internment of their loved ones at Quantico National Cemetery. Continue reading
Today there is an optional memorial for St. Augustin of Centerbury. I think it good that we know a little more about our ancestors in the Faith – especially the missionary one. It seems especially appropriate here in the Easter Season when so many of our Gospels are Jesus preparing the disciples for mission and the first readings are about the Church in its early missions. It seem to also speak to the Church in our time. Continue reading
For those that know me well, you know I am not given to consume beer (or alcohol in general). But there are times when I will imbibe and order a beer at a restaurant. I generally go with the well know lite beers. I might explore something more local at the recommendation of a friend, but I am not a fan of IPA beers. And now the scourge of IPA beer is affecting religious life here in the United States.
“This month, St. Joseph’s Abbey, located an hour west of Boston in the town of Spencer, announced it was closing America’s only Trappist-run brewery. Spencer Brewery has been unprofitable because its complex and dry Belgian-style beers have been unable to compete with the sweet, hoppy India pale ales, or I.P.A.s, that have raged through the U.S. beer market in the last decade like Mongol horsemen sacking their way through Asia.”
You can read more about this at American Magazine.
Several years ago, while serving as pastor of a large, active downtown parish I was on the sidewalk in front of church, after Mass, when I was approached by someone. They wanted to ask a question – one of those questions that is more accusation than question, a civil conversation disguising an angry person. They wanted to know why the priest who had celebrated the Mass “just raised the Sacred Body of Jesus with just one hand… It was so disrespectful.” Continue reading
