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Articles
Saint Mark and the Resurrection
At Easter Sunday Mass, you heard the closing verses of Saint Mark’s Gospel, or almost so. I say “almost” because our lectionary omits the final verse. That is unfortunate, for those few words are...
Articles
Luke’s Passion and Compassion
Last year on Palm Sunday we heard the passion from Saint Mark’s Gospel, and next year it will be from Saint Matthew. Each is different in detail from the other, and that holds for...
Articles
Seventh Sunday and Forgiving What Seems Unforgiveable
I’ve been hearing confessions now for over fifty years, and I have noticed that there is one sin that comes up more than any other; it’s connected to today’s Gospel, about loving your enemy,...
Articles
The Cleansing Power of Baptism
A biblical text can become so familiar that we simply bypass statements that would ordinarily puzzle us. I’m thinking of an aspect of the Gospel you have just now heard, viz., John’s baptizing at...
Articles
Epiphany: Three Approaches to Christ
In the events surrounding the birth of Jesus, three groups are called to our attention: the shepherds, the Magi and the court of King Herod. Each had its peculiar reaction to the birth of...
Articles
Fourth Sunday and the Spirit of Advent
The figures of Advent we have met in the liturgy are the prophet Isaiah, John the Baptist and now, on the fourth Sunday, Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin. Saint Matthew’s account is brief, almost...
Articles
Newman and His Fierce, Unchanging Religion
I will not shrink from uttering my firm conviction, that it would be a gain to this country, were it vastly more superstitious, more bigoted, more gloomy, more fierce in its religion, than at...
Articles
G.K. Chesterton as Catholic Apologist
G.K. Chesterton is known as the most often quoted of any writer . . . and the least often read. It’s easy to see why that is so; merely consider these clever statements:
A...
