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
There is an old expression: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. That did not apply in the German Reformation. The enemy (Rome) was Luther’s best friend. Rome was their own worst enemy.
When Leo X announced the renewal of indulgences in order to finance St. Peter’s Basilica, there were a plethora of voices from Emperor Maxillian to his own Roman Curia who warned the pope that the idea was feeding accelerant into a smoldering fire of revolution among the German social classes. His own Papal Nuncio to Germany reported to Pope Leo that the Germans were only waiting for “some fool” to open his mouth against Rome. Some fool did: John Tetzel attempted to peddle indulgences in Saxony where the Elector of Saxony had already forbidden their sale. In the eyes of the German princes, nobles, knights and Burghers, Rome had infringed upon Saxony’s territorial rights. And Rosa Parks would not give up her seat on the bus. This infringement of rights was not the initiating act, it was the hinge, the tipping point. Continue reading
There are times I think I could be very content in perusing the internet and sharing content that I think is faith-giving or interesting or whimsical or just worth musing about. Given my life as a Franciscan friar and Catholic priest I am called to (and content with) another life that tends to occupy the day and early evening. That leaves the wee hours before dawn for catching up on personal emails, letters, and perusing the internet.
While I am known to be fascinated by details – especially in the area of etymology – I am more fascinated by the currents of history (hence my series on the Reformations) and things which speak to a meta narrative about meaning. This morning I finally had the chance – well, to be honest, I finally took the time…there is this whole Stanley Cup thing…. – anyway, I finally took the time to watch another video from the good people at The Bible Project. They are such excellent story tellers. In a little under 6 minutes they were able to tell the whole of Salvation History through the lenses of God’s blessings and the curse. Enjoy.
If you are so moved, please consider supporting this amazing ministry.
This summer two of my Franciscan brothers are visiting the great cathedrals of baseball, the major league stadiums, in a modern day version of the friars moving among the people. They will be attending games in their habits and meeting the world where the world meets. Along the way they are giving talks, celebrating Mass and witnessing to an evangelical life. Learn more and find out if they are coming to a city near you! And explore the connection between Baseball and Catholicism.
The Franciscan Bernardino of Siena, OFM, (sometimes Bernardine) was an Italian priest, missionary, and a Catholic saint. He is most noted for his preaching and evangelizing the people of Italy during the 15th century, sometimes being called “the Apostle of Italy” for his efforts to revive the country’s Catholic faith. His great oratorical skills and persuasiveness are the reason he is the patron saint of advertisers and advertising. Today is his feast day.
St. Bernardino’s popular preaching and missions had their own banner, the letters “IHS” on the background of a blazing sun. The IHS Christogram is often interpreted as meaning Iesus Hominum Salvator (“Jesus, Savior of men” in Latin) and is associated with the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. Continue reading
One of my friends, a mentor of pastoral ministry, was a fully progressive liberal. She married a wonderful man who was as conservative as she was liberal. They reminded me of the famous political couple Mary Matalin and James Carville. My friend and her husband were both widowed, so it was a later-in-life marriage. I think that is worth noting as they entered their loving marriage with their views well cemented into the fabric of the way they thought and responded. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 6th Sunday of Easter in lectionary Year C. In yesterday’s post we considered the first of two promises: Jesus (and the Father) come through the Word. Today, let’s consider the second response to the question posed in v.21: through the Paraclete
Perhaps it best not to translate the Greek word paraclete because there are too many possibilities. While the literal meaning of the related verb (parakaleo) means “to call to one’s side,” usually asking the other for help, the noun took on a legal meaning as “helper in court”. Thus we have translations like “counselor,” “advocate,” or “one who speaks for another” as well as the too general translation of “helper”. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 6th Sunday of Easter in lectionary Year C. In yesterday’s post(s), we considered the context for our gospel reading (John 14:23-29) Verse 23 begins with, “Jesus answered and said to him.” Jesus is answering the question raised in v. 22 by Judas (not Iscariot): “Lord, how is it that you will reveal (emphanizo) yourself to us, and not to the world?” This question comes because Jesus has just said that he would love and reveal himself to those who have and keep his commandments — those who love him (v. 21: Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”). Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 6th Sunday of Easter in lectionary Year C. In a post earlier today, I provided a summary of the context of the coming Sunday’s gospel and promised more detail for those who want to dig in a little deeper into the first section of the Farewell Discourse: Jesus’ departure and return (13:31–14:31) Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 6th Sunday of Easter in lectionary Year C. On the 2nd and 3rd Sundays after Easter, the gospel was taken from the end of the Gospel of John – all post-Resurrection scenes. And then we jumped back to John 10 for Good Shepherd Sunday (4th Sunday after Easter), a scene that occurs well before Jesus’ final week in Jerusalem. Last week and this Sunday coming, we are in the middle of Jesus’ farewell discourse from John 13-17, a scene immediately following the Last Supper. We have but a few verses which are an integral part of a much larger passage. Accordingly, the Discourse can be outlined in a number of ways, though three main parts are fairly clear: Continue reading
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