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On the Sin of Rash Judgment, as Seen in a Commercial Msgr. Charles Pope • March 16, 2018 • One of the most commonly committed—yet least often confessed—sins, is that of rash judgment. The commercial below humorously depicts the sin and how wrong we can sometimes be.In reality, the sin is not often humorous and can lead us to some very dark places. On account of rash judgments, we may harbor grudges, resentments, fears, and unjust anger. We may allow it to foster pride, feeling ourselves superior to others. We may even seek revenge based on misinformation or as...

March 17, 2018 Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent Reading 1 Jer 11:18-20 I knew their plot because the LORD informed me;at that time you, O LORD, showed me their doings. Yet I, like a trusting lamb led to slaughter,had not realized that they were hatching plots against me:"Let us destroy the tree in its vigor;let us cut him off from the land of the living,so that his name will be spoken no more." But, you, O LORD of hosts, O just Judge,searcher of mind and heart,Let me witness the vengeance you take on them,for to you I...

A Different Look at the Cross Msgr. Charles Pope • March 15, 2018 • When I was young and throughout my seminary years, I usually contemplated the crucifix and Jesus’ suffering on the Cross somberly. It was my sin that had put Him there, that had made Him suffer. The Cross was something that compelled a silent reverence in me, and suggested that I meditate deeply on what Jesus had to endure. I would often think of John, Mary, and the other women beneath the Cross, mournfully beholding Jesus’ slow, painful death.These were heavy and somber notes, but deeply...

While Vatican compromises with the government, crosses and statues are removed by forceYINING, China (ChurchMilitant.com) - As the Vatican is negotiating with China's Communist government, the same government has removed crosses and statues from Catholic parishes. Reports say that two Catholic churches in China have recently had their crosses, statues and domes removed at the command of governmental authorities. In Henan Province, authorities removed numerous crosses from the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on March 9. They removed a total of 10 crosses from three structures: the cathedral itself, a gate tower and a smaller old church. After...

March 16, 2018 Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent Reading 1 Wis 2:1a, 12-22 The wicked said among themselves, thinking not aright:"Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us;he sets himself against our doings,Reproaches us for transgressions of the lawand charges us with violations of our training.He professes to have knowledge of Godand styles himself a child of the LORD.To us he is the censure of our thoughts; merely to see him is a hardship for us,Because his life is not like that of others,and different are his ways.He judges us debased;he holds aloof...

Four Proofs Advanced by Jesus to Show His Divinity Msgr. Charles Pope • March 14, 2018 • In the Gospel for Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent (John 5:31-47), Jesus sets forth a case for his divinity and presents evidence to his Jewish listeners of his divine status. He does not just come out of Galilee calling himself God. He demonstrates his power and calls other witnesses to testify. More of this case he presents in a moment. But ponder first just some of the ways Jesus describes himself to the crowd including claims of his divinity:Jesus teaches...

March 15, 2018 Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent Reading 1 Ex 32:7-14 The LORD said to Moses,"Go down at once to your peoplewhom you brought out of the land of Egypt,for they have become depraved.They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them,making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it,sacrificing to it and crying out,'This is your God, O Israel,who brought you out of the land of Egypt!'The LORD said to Moses,"I see how stiff-necked this people is.Let me alone, then,that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them.Then I...

Out of Pride and into Humility Msgr. Charles Pope • March 13, 2018 • In yesterday’s post, we considered the twelve steps of pride set forth by St. Bernard of Clairvaux. In escalating ways, the twelve steps draw us to an increasingly mountainous and enslaving pride.St. Bernard also enumerates the twelve steps to deeper humility and it is these that we consider today. As with yesterday’s post, the list by St. Bernard is shown in red, while my meager commentary is shown in plain, black text. To read St. Bernard’s reflections, consider purchasing the book Steps of Humility and...

March 14, 2018 Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent Reading 1 Is 49:8-15 Thus says the LORD:In a time of favor I answer you,on the day of salvation I help you;and I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people,To restore the landand allot the desolate heritages,Saying to the prisoners: Come out!To those in darkness: Show yourselves!Along the ways they shall find pasture,on every bare height shall their pastures be.They shall not hunger or thirst,nor shall the scorching wind or the sun strike them;For he who pities them leads themand guides them beside springs...

The Twelve Steps of Pride Msgr. Charles Pope • March 12, 2018 • If you think the idea of “Twelve Steps” is new, go back and see how the Greeks put it, or in this case how the medieval Latins put it. St. Bernard of Clairvaux identified twelve steps up the mountain of pride in his 12th century work The Steps of Humility and Pride.In today’s post, we focus on the twelve steps of pride, and tomorrow we’ll tackle the twelve steps of humility. The list below is from St. Bernard, but the commentary is mine.Notices how the twelve...

March 13, 2018 Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent Reading 1 Ez 47:1-9, 12 The angel brought me, Ezekiel,back to the entrance of the temple of the LORD,and I saw water flowing outfrom beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east,for the façade of the temple was toward the east;the water flowed down from the right side of the temple,south of the altar.He led me outside by the north gate,and around to the outer gate facing the east,where I saw water trickling from the right side.Then when he had walked off to the eastwith a measuring cord...

Some Thoughts on Sin, Contrition and Repentance from C.S. Lewis Msgr. Charles Pope • March 11, 2018 • C.S. Lewis is revered for his solid insight and for his ability to look beyond the ordinary understanding of things. Although he was not a Catholic, I would like to present several of his thoughts on sin, contrition, and repentance as part of our Lenten consideration of these matters. The quotes below are all drawn from a collection of passages from Lewis’ writings entitled The Business of Heaven. The page numbers in my citations refer to that book. On contrition and...

Testimony on the parable of the lamp by a young catechist

March 12, 2018 Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent Reading 1 Is 65:17-21 Thus says the LORD:Lo, I am about to create new heavensand a new earth;The things of the past shall not be rememberedor come to mind.Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happinessin what I create;For I create Jerusalem to be a joyand its people to be a delight;I will rejoice in Jerusalemand exult in my people.No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there,or the sound of crying;No longer shall there be in itan infant who lives but a few days,or an old man...

The Enduring Love of God – A Homily for the 4th Sunday of Lent Msgr. Charles Pope • March 10, 2018 • The readings from Sunday Mass speak to us of our desperate condition and how God’s abiding love has not only set us free but has lifted us higher as well. God was not content to restore us to some earthly garden, paradise though it was. No, He so loved the world that He sent His Son, who opened Heaven itself for us and has given us a new, transformed, and eternal life.Let’s look at some of the...

March 11, 2018 Fourth Sunday of Lent Reading 1 2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23 In those days, all the princes of Judah, the priests, and the people added infidelity to infidelity, practicing all the abominations of the nations and polluting the LORD’s temple which he had consecrated in Jerusalem. Early and often did the LORD, the God of their fathers, send his messengers to them, for he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place.But they mocked the messengers of God, despised his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets, until the anger of the LORD against his people was...

Priestly people In priesthood, God utilizes all a priest’s gifts and struggles, but docility to the Holy Spirit isn’t a given Msgr. Charles Pope Question: When a priest is hearing confessions, does the Holy Spirit always enlighten him so that he gives his penitents accurate and insightful guidance? — Peter Tate, Long Beach, California Answer: The word “always” in your question implies an enlightenment that is too absolute. Certainly, the Holy Spirit assists priests in all their duties, including confession; but priests are not robotically connected such that they are mere oracles. The priest, in the celebration of the...

Few events in the Philippines have been more anticipated than Pope Francis’s 2015 visit to the home of the world’s third-largest Catholic population. Six million people attended a parade on the final day of the pope’s trip, a meeting he decided to make following one of the strongest cyclones ever recorded. During mass with survivors of Typhoon Haiyan, Pope Francis declared, “I have come to tell you that Jesus is Lord. And he never lets us down.” Stirred by his homily, many were overcome with tears. Pain is not an anomaly for Filipinos. Suffering punctuates centuries of Philippine colonial and...

March 10, 2018 Saturday of the Third Week of Lent Reading 1 Hos 6:1-6 "Come, let us return to the LORD,it is he who has rent, but he will heal us;he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds.He will revive us after two days;on the third day he will raise us up,to live in his presence.Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD;as certain as the dawn is his coming,and his judgment shines forth like the light of day!He will come to us like the rain,like spring rain that waters the earth." What can I...

Speaking in Rome on International Women’s Day, former president of Ireland Mary McAleese railed against the Catholic Church for its views on gay marriage and abortion, calling on the Church to eradicate the “toxic virus of misogyny.” A Church that is “homophobic and anti-abortion is not the Church of the future,” McAleese told participants in the conference, which was organized by the Catholic protest group Voices of Faith and hosted at the world headquarters of the Jesuit order in Rome.