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Archdiocese of Washington The Ten Commandments Are a Picture of the Transformed Human Person – A Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Lent Msgr. Charles Pope • March 3, 2018 • The first reading this Sunday (Year B) contains the Ten Commandments and thereby communicates a brief but sweeping summary of the Christian and biblical moral vision. Too often, there is a tendency to reduce the Christian moral vision to a set of rules. It is sad that many people today resent the Church for her “rules” because of this reductionist notion. Every group or activity has rules. If you...

A Less Well-Known but Essential Role of the Priest Msgr. Charles Pope • March 1, 2018 • Great Day of His Wrath, John Martin (c. 1851)There are many roles that come to mind when one thinks of a parish priest or pastor: he is to celebrate the Liturgy, to preach, to teach, and to care for the people’s pastoral needs. In the reading for Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent, Jeremiah refers to a role many of us would not think of. As he reflects on his prophetic role, Jeremiah says to the Lord,Remember that I stood before...

The Seven Deadly Sins: Lust Msgr. Charles Pope • February 28, 2018 • The word “lust” is most often used to refer to excessive or disordered sexual desire. However, because it is rooted in the Latin word luxuria (which refers to extravagant, excessive, or even riotous behavior), we sometimes hear it used in other ways. For example, someone may be said to have a “lust for power.” In the realm of moral and spiritual theology, though, we have come to restrict the word to sexual matters. This is especially because we have specific words to describe such excesses gluttony...

Amir draws a parallel with the story of Esther and the right that the Bible gives to Israel to employ a preemptive strike, which is what Israel will do if necessary. In Syria, Su-57s and other planes continue to bombard the people of Ghouta on the premise that there are rebels in the area. The recent report to the UN that North Korea has been involved in sending chemical weapons and the means to manufacture them to Syria is discussed. This report is not yet public but has been seen by the members of the Security Council and some of...

The Seven Deadly Sins: Anger Msgr. Charles Pope • February 27, 2018 • The deadly sin of anger is defined as the inordinate and uncontrolled feeling of hatred and wrath. Unlike righteous anger, the capital sin of anger is understood as the deep drive to cling to hateful feelings for others. This kind of anger often seeks revenge.The consideration of anger as an experience, passion, or feeling requires some distinctions, however. Not all anger is sinful nor necessarily a deadly sin. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus manifests quite a lot of anger and issues many denunciations, often accompanied by the...

Newly-declassified documents of the foreign intelligence arm (PGU) of the Bulgarian Communist regime reveal an early 1970s plan to set the headquarters of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople on fire, reports Daily Sabah, referring to Bulgarian media. “Operation Cross” was scrapped at the last minute, although various media reports have not indicated why. A book is set to be released on the matter later in the month, including previously-archived documents. The newly-revealed documents show that the People’s Republic of Bulgaria, which existed from 1946 to 1990, was conspiring to cause tension and crisis between Turkey and Greece, two of the...

The Seven Deadly Sins: Envy Msgr. Charles Pope • February 26, 2018 • There is a picture of envy in First Book if Samuel: Upon David’s return from slaying Goliath, the women sing a song praising him. Saul should rejoice with all Israel but instead he is resentful and envies David: Saul was very angry and resentful of the song, for he thought, “They give David ten thousands, but only thousands to me. All that remains for him is the kingship.” And from that day on, Saul looked upon David with a glaring eye. Saul discussed his intention of...

The Seven Deadly Sins: Sloth Msgr. Charles Pope • February 25, 2018 • One of the more misunderstood of the cardinal sins is sloth. Most see it merely as laziness, but there is more to it than that. Let’s take a moment and consider some aspects of this cardinal sin.The Greek word we translate as sloth is ἀκηδία akedia (a = absence + kedos = care), meaning indifference or negligence. St. Thomas Aquinas speaks of sloth as sorrow for spiritual good. By it, we shun spiritual good as too toilsome (cf Summa Theologica II-II 35,2).Some modern commentators describe sloth...

From Trials to Transfiguration – A Homily for the Second Sunday of Lent Msgr. Charles Pope • February 24, 2018 • What is it that gives hope, peace, and serene joy to the Christian life? Briefly, it is the vision of glory, a glimpse into the Promised Land of Heaven, which the Lord can and does give to His people. Today’s Gospel shows forth a kind of process through which the Lord lays the foundations of hope, peace, and joy. The Paradoxical Prelude – The text says, Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high...

Question: "What is the meaning of the Parable of the Wedding Feast?" Answer: Jesus told the Parable of the Wedding Feast in Matthew 22:1-14. This parable is similar in some ways to the Parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14:15-24), but the occasion is different, and it has some important distinctions. To better understand the context of this story, it is important to know some basic facts about weddings in Jesus’ day. In Jewish society, the parents of the betrothed generally drew up the marriage contract. The bride and groom would meet, perhaps for the first time, when this contract...

The seal was found ten feet from where the same archaeological team had already found another one belonging to King HezekiahAn archaeological discovery near Jerusalem’s Temple Mount may be proof of the life of the biblical prophet Isaiah, according to the Biblical Archaeology Review. A broken 8th-century BCE clay seal impression – known as a “bulla”– seems to contain an inscription that reads “Belonging to Isaiah,” and a partial spelling of the word “prophet” next to it. As read in the article published by The Algemeiner, Dr. Eilat Mazar, a Hebrew University archeologist whose team discovered the seal in an...

Unity with Orthodox? Msgr. Charles Pope Question: What is it that separates the Catholic Church from our Orthodox counterparts? What led to these divisions? — Name withheld via email Answer: The separation between the Orthodox Churches of the East and Western Churches united to Rome is a complex issue rooted in culture, language and politics as much as theology or authority. The modern tendency to fix the Great Schism on one event or year is misleading. The first cause of the division was the gradual estrangement of East and West. The East and West increasingly grouped themselves around different centers...

The Seven Deadly Sins: Greed Msgr. Charles Pope • February 22, 2018 • One of the more underreported sins is greed. It is easy to conclude that greed is something manifested by “that other person,” who has more than I do. Yes, that rich guy over there, the one who earns a dollar more per hour than I do; he’s greedy, but I’m not.Honestly, does any one of us ever come to a point in our life when we say, “I earn more than enough money. I’ll just give the rest away”? Not on your life!Almost never would such...

The Seven Deadly Sins: Pride Msgr. Charles Pope • February 21, 2018 • Pride is a sin that is so pervasive, runs so deep within us, that we often don’t even sense it is there. Not only is it a sinful drive in itself, it also plays a role in every other sin we commit. Pride is the sin we most share with Satan and the fallen angels. Satan refused to serve God or to submit to His plan; these are strong tendencies in every human person as well. Satan planned his strategy well as he tempted Eve. You...

An Overview of the Seven Deadly Sins Msgr. Charles Pope • February 20, 2018 • The Seven Deadly Sins, Hieronymus BoschDo you know what the Seven Deadly Sins are? It is valuable to name and begin to understand these deep drives of sin within us because the more we do so the more we can grow in self-knowledge. Further, it helps us to “know their moves” and gain mastery over them. As they stir deep within us we can recognize evidence of this and begin to take greater authority over them.Too many Christians know little about twisted nature of...

Billy Graham has often said, “Whether the story of Christ is told in a huge stadium, across the desk of a powerful leader, or shared with a golfing companion, it satisfies a common hunger. All over the world, whenever I meet people face-to-face, I am made aware of this personal need among the famous and successful, as well as the lonely and obscure.” Every U.S. President since World War II has met with Billy Graham. Both Johnson and Nixon, the two who probably sought him the most, offered him high positions in government — which he quickly and politely refused....

Before There Was an Everywhere, I AM Msgr. Charles Pope • February 19, 2018 • The Baltimore Catechism asked the question Where is God? The answer given was God is everywhere. While this is certainly true, it is even more true that God is beyond the concept of “where.” Everywhere is too limiting to contain God, for He transcends His creation and cannot be contained even by the “everywhere” of it.C.S. Lewis had an interesting analogy:Looking for God by exploring space is a bit like reading or seeing all Shakespeare’s plays in the hope that you will find Shakespeare...

Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so that I do not forget You. You know how easily I abandon You. Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak and I need Your strength, that I may not fall so often. Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life, and without You, I am without fervor. Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light, and without You, I am in darkness. Stay with me, Lord, to show me Your will. Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear Your voice and follow You....

On Presidents’ Day We Should Remember That Washington and Lincoln Often Called us to Prayer Msgr. Charles Pope • February 18, 2018 • We live in a secular age. Religious utterances by government officials are greeted with surprise or even indignation by some. While the primary role of civil leaders is not a religious one, insisting that never express religious sentiment is a form of extremism rooted in exaggerated conception of the idea of the separation of Church and State. In fact, “separation of Church and State” appears nowhere in the United States Constitution.On Presidents’ Day we do well...

Wood and Water Work Wonders! A Homily for the First Sunday of Lent Msgr. Charles Pope • February 17, 2018 • On the first Sunday of Lent the readings have a baptismal theme. This makes sense, for it is common that on this day the catechumens report to the Bishop for the Rite of Election, who officially recognizes them as the elect of God in these final weeks before their baptism.In today’s readings there are actually many themes; they seem to form the spokes of a wagon wheel, with baptism being the central hub from which they emanate. Arching...