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On The Sad End of Solomon Msgr. Charles Pope • February 11, 2018 • Solomon, by Pietro PeruginoThe readings at daily Mass last week focused on the kingship of Solomon. Perhaps the high point of his life when he was given the opportunity to ask anything whatsoever from God and chose not gold or glory but wisdom. On Wednesday we read about the visit of the Queen of Sheba, complete with a description of Solomon’s court and kingdom in all its glory.His early years presented a portrait of a man deeply rooted in God, but later in his life...

On February 6 the Pontifical Academy of Sciences run by the controversial Argentinean Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo re-tweeted from its Twitter account “Casina Pio IV” a New York Times article entitled: “No Children Because of Climate Change? Some People Are Considering it.” The re-tweet produced strong reactions. Paweł Chojecki, an US-style Protestant preacher in Lublin, Poland, commented underneath, “Today the Vatican is promoting a diabolical depopulation teaching! This is not a church of Christ.”

February 12, 2018 Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Jas 1:1-11 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,to the twelve tribes in the dispersion, greetings. Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters,when you encounter various trials,for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.And let perseverance be perfect,so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.But if any of you lacks wisdom,he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly,and he will be given it.But he should ask in faith, not doubting,for the one...

Losing our Leprosy – A Homily for the 6th Sunday of the Year Msgr. Charles Pope • February 10, 2018 • In the Gospel this Sunday, we see the healing of a leper (this means you and me). In Scripture, leprosy describes more than just a physical affliction; it is a metaphor for sin as well. Obviously leprosy itself is not sin, but its effects are similar. Like leprosy, sin disfigures us; it deteriorates us; it distances us (lepers had to live apart from the community) and it brings death if left unchecked.The following passage can be seen as...

February 11, 2018 Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Lv 13:1-2, 44-46 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,"If someone has on his skin a scab or pustule or blotchwhich appears to be the sore of leprosy,he shall be brought to Aaron, the priest,or to one of the priests among his descendants.If the man is leprous and unclean,the priest shall declare him uncleanby reason of the sore on his head. "The one who bears the sore of leprosyshall keep his garments rent and his head bare,and shall muffle his beard;he shall cry out, 'Unclean, unclean!'As long as the...

Nearly half a century after Mao Tse-Tung banned religion in China, the country is home to an estimated 72 percent of the world’s religiously unaffiliated people. Yet if Christianity continues to grow at its current rate there, in a few years there will be more Christians in China than in any other country in the world. By claiming just a sliver of China’s population of 700 million religiously unaffiliated people, religious groups can drastically change their size and influence. As Christian religions lose ground across much of the Western world, China is one of the few countries where Christianity is...

A curious sin Question: I recently was reading an older Catholic book, and it spoke of curiosity as a sin. I thought curiosity was usually a good thing because it is the basis of learning. Is curiosity always a sin? — Bernard Johnson, Brooklyn, New York Answer: In modern times the English word “curiosity” is often used simply to refer to our desire to know. Of itself, the desire to know can be a good and necessary thing. It is the basis of all exploration, science and much knowledge. However, in previous generations the word “curiosity” almost always referred...

Some parents are speaking out after a popular first grade teacher was fired after she posted pictures of her same-sex wedding on social media. Jocelyn Morffi taught first grade at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic School in Miami for seven years. Last weekend, she married her girlfriend and posted pictures of the ceremony to Facebook. On Thursday, Morffi was fired. In a letter to parents, Principal Carlota Morales called it a “difficult and necessary” decision. Nearly a dozen parents who had children in Morffi’s class came to the school to protest her firing. The parents called her a “great teacher”...

February 10, 2018 Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin Reading 1 1 Kgs 12:26-32; 13:33-34 Jeroboam thought to himself:"The kingdom will return to David's house.If now this people go up to offer sacrificesin the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem,the hearts of this people will return to their master,Rehoboam, king of Judah,and they will kill me."After taking counsel, the king made two calves of goldand said to the people:"You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough.Here is your God, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt."And he put one in Bethel, the other in Dan.This...

The Paradoxical Source of Trust in the Lord Msgr. Charles Pope • February 8, 2018 • One of the Five Hard Truths that will set us free is this one: “You are not in control.” This unnerves us, even terrifies us at times. We like to be in control, but control is an illusion; things you think you control are resting on things you cannot control such as the next beat of your heart or even the continued existence of the cosmos! No, we are not in control.Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into...

February 9, 2018 Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 kgs 11:29-32; 12:19 Jeroboam left Jerusalem,and the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road.The two were alone in the area,and the prophet was wearing a new cloak.Ahijah took off his new cloak,tore it into twelve pieces, and said to Jeroboam: “Take ten pieces for yourself;the LORD, the God of Israel, says:‘I will tear away the kingdom from Solomon’s graspand will give you ten of the tribes.One tribe shall remain to him for the sake of David my servant,and of Jerusalem,the city I have...

Father Bernardo Cervellera, the editor-in-chief of AsiaNews, has answerd Vatican Bishop Marcello Sanchez Sorondo who, its seems without being drunk, believes that the Communist Chinese regime is the best implementer of the Churches’ social doctrine. Cervellera accuses Sanchez of making “a laughing stock of the Church”. He writes, “Someone should tell Bishop Sanchez that since February 1 all underground Catholic Churches have been closed by the regime and at least 6 million Catholics have no meeting places. Further, local Communist authorities prohibit "minors under the age of 18" from entering churches, even official ones. Cervellera quotes a priest, "China has...

On the Importance of Little Things Msgr. Charles Pope • February 7, 2018 • I have found that one of my favorite quotes from St. Augustine is not all that well known. Here it is in Latin, followed by my own translation:Quod minimum, minimum est, Sed in minimo fidelem esse, magnum est.What is a little thing, is (just) a little thing, But to be faithful in a little thing, is a great thing.(De Doctrina Christiana, IV,35)I first saw this quote on the frontispiece of a book by Adrian Fortescue. Fortescue applied it to the intricate details of celebrating the...

February 8, 2018 Thursday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 Kgs 11:4-13 When Solomon was old his wives had turned his heart to strange gods,and his heart was not entirely with the LORD, his God,as the heart of his father David had been.By adoring Astarte, the goddess of the Sidonians,and Milcom, the idol of the Ammonites,Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD;he did not follow him unreservedly as his father David had done.Solomon then built a high place to Chemosh, the idol of Moab,and to Molech, the idol of the Ammonites,on the hill...

The Lament of God: You Forgot Msgr. Charles Pope • February 6, 2018 • The following tale is from the Hasidic tradition:Yechiel was playing hide and seek with another child. He hid himself for some time, but his playmate did not look for him. Little Yechiel ran to Rabbi Baruch and said amid tears, “He did not look for me!” The Rabbi said, “That is also God’s complaint, that we seek Him not.”Indeed, one of the most frequent laments of God is that we forget Him. So often He said, שָׁכַח (shakach): You forgot! Here are just a few...

February 7, 2018 Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 Kgs 10:1-10 The queen of Sheba, having heard of Solomon's fame,came to test him with subtle questions.She arrived in Jerusalem with a very numerous retinue,and with camels bearing spices,a large amount of gold, and precious stones.She came to Solomon and questioned him on every subjectin which she was interested.King Solomon explained everything she asked about,and there remained nothing hidden from himthat he could not explain to her. When the queen of Sheba witnessed Solomon's great wisdom,the palace he had built, the food at his table,the...

Recently back from his very first trip to China, Archbishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo is waxing ecstatic. “Those who best realize the social doctrine of the Church at this time are the Chinese.” So Sorondo gushed to the Italian newspaper, La Stampa, on Friday. “They seek the common good, subordinating all things to the general good.” Sorondo serves as the Chancellor of the both the Pontifical Academy of Science and the Pontifical Academy of Social Science. "... Of course, no interview with Archbishop Sorondo is complete without a little America-bashing. He said: “The economy [in China] does not dominate politics, as...

The chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences praised the 'extraordinary' Communist state “Right now, those who are best implementing the social doctrine of the Church are the Chinese,” a senior Vatican official has said. Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, praised the Communist state as “extraordinary”, saying: “You do not have shantytowns, you do not have drugs, young people do not take drugs”. Instead, there is a “positive national conscience”. The bishop told the Spanish-language edition of Vatican Insider that in China “the economy does not dominate politics, as happens in the...

Has Jesus Saved You from This Present Evil Age? Msgr. Charles Pope • February 5, 2018 • Jesus Christ came to save us from our sins; that is certainly true. St. Paul said, The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost (1 Tim 1:15).St. Paul mentioned another truth, however, one we too often forget. It came during a benediction to the people Galatia:We wish you the favor and peace of God our Father and of the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself...

February 6, 2018 Memorial of Saint Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs Reading 1 1 Kgs 8:22-23, 27-30 Solomon stood before the altar of the LORDin the presence of the whole community of Israel,and stretching forth his hands toward heaven,he said, “LORD, God of Israel,there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below;you keep your covenant of mercy with your servantswho are faithful to you with their whole heart. “Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth?If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you,how much less this temple which I have built! Look...