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A Model of Manhood – A Reflection on a Text from St. Paul to Timothy Msgr. Charles Pope • April 24, 2016 • This post is based on a talk I gave to a group of men in Scranton, PA. I preached out of a text from St. Paul to Timothy, whom St. Paul considered a son in the faith:But as for you, O man of God … Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the...

The Legacy of Love – A Homily for the 5th Week of Easter Msgr. Charles Pope • April 24, 2016 • The title of this sermon uses the word legacy, which refers to something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor.Perhaps the most accessible image of this is money. If I receive 100 million dollars from a dying relative, I can use those funds to start living differently. My bills, which now seem overwhelming, can be paid with just the interest earned from my newfound wealth. I can start enjoying things I thought I could never afford...

Celebrating Pentecost Prior to 1970, the Church observed the feast for more than 8 days, marked liturgical calendar by it Msgr. Charles Pope 4/20/2016 Question: Shouldn’t we be celebrating Pentecost for more than one day? Given the amount of time we celebrate Christmas and Easter, it seems appropriate that Pentecost be given at least a short season.— Dianne Spotts, via email Answer: Before 1970, the Church emphasized Pentecost in two ways. The first was the celebration of an “octave.” An Octave is a stretch of eight days that included and followed the actual feast of Pentecost Sunday. It is one...

The U.K.'s Standard reports on the now burgeoning trans-speciesism movement, composed of people who feel they are actually dogs, cats, penguins, etc, who will most certainly be pushing for full legal rights in the near future. The slippery slope is more like a cliff whose edge goes straight into chaotic darkness.  The Bible was 100% correct to predict that the last days would be characterized be lawlessness (Matthew 24:12, Revelation 9:21, 2 Thessalonians 2:7, 2 Thessalonians 2:3, Daniel 8:23, Matthew 13:41).  Complete governmental control of all amoral aspects of life (education, taxes, guns, farming, monetary policy, etc) and virtually no...

Wise Men, Flattering, May Deceive Us --; A Meditation on an Aria from Judas Maccabeus Msgr. Charles Pope • April 21, 2016 • Judas Maccabeus was Handel’s most famous oratorio during his lifetime, more popular than the Messiah. There are many wonderful moments in it, especially its bold and brave choruses. Written in 1746, it covers the biblical events of 170–160 B.C., when Judea was ruled by the Seleucids and the people were compelled to worship Zeus. Some resisted; others obeyed. The priest Mattathias went to the hills and gathered others who were willing to fight for their faith....

Our leaders cannot comprehend what is going on, either when a whole Western civilization loses its faith and moral standards or when Islam reawakens to the implications of its own faith and its vision of world conquest. James V. Schall, S.J. Egyptian Christians held captive by Islamic State militants are marched by armed men along a beach said to be near Tripoli, Libya, in this still image from an undated video made available on social media Feb. 15,2015. (CNS photo/Reuters) I. Political realism, long associated with Augustine, constrains us to consider what Machiavelli later recommended to us—namely, to look at...

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! A Meditation on the Stunning Glory of Being Gathered to Christ on the Last Day Msgr. Charles Pope • April 20, 2016 • During Eastertide we continue to read from the Book of Revelation and meditate on Jesus as the Lord of history and the Victor over sin and death. As Revelation moves to its conclusion, it points forward to the Parousia (the magnificent second coming of the Lord). We do well to allow our imaginations to be engaged in contemplating the glory that awaits those who are faithful, to meditate on the joy and...

Five Remedies for Sorrow from St. Thomas Aquinas Msgr. Charles Pope • April 19, 2016 • Some of you who follow me on Facebook know that I just lost a beloved pet, Daniel, our rectory cat. Losing a pet is not to be equated with losing a spouse, sibling, or friend, but it remains a painful loss. Part of the reason for this, I am convinced, is that we cannot communicate with animals as we do with one another. We cannot know what they are experiencing “inside” and so cannot reassure them or be reassured by them that they...

How Envy is Different from Jealously and Is a Diabolical Sin Msgr. Charles Pope • April 18, 2016 • A short while back, we read from First Samuel at daily Mass and encountered an envious Saul. 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...

All Together Now: What the Catechism Has to Say on Assessing Moral Acts Msgr. Charles Pope • April 18, 2016 • The Catechism of the Catholic Church states the following regarding moral acts:The object, the intention, and the circumstances make up the “sources,” or constitutive elements, of the morality of human acts (CCC # 1750).Note, therefore, that in assessing a particular moral act we must look not only to what is done, but also to the circumstances under which it is done, and to the intention of the one doing it.For example, to steal is wrong. However, one’s culpability...

What Did Jesus Call Me? A Homily for the 4th Sunday of Easter Msgr. Charles Pope • April 16, 2016 • The Lord says, “My sheep hear my voice…” That’s right, He called you a sheep. Now come on, get a little indignant with me here! The Lord is comparing us, not to the swift eagle, the beautiful gazelle, the swift horse, the powerful bear, the mighty lion, or the clever dog. No, He looks at us as says we’re like sheep. Hmm … While reality may hurt, the truth can also liberate. For the fact is that although...

Incorruptibles? Q. Can you explain about the incorruptibles? I know that some saints are given that designation, but is it part of the process of canonization? What does it mean spiritually if a body is incorrupt? Was St. John XXIII found to be incorrupt?Name withheld by request, via e-mail A. The normal process of decay for the human body, especially before embalming was common, was for the remains of a cadaver to be largely skeletonized within just a few years after death. In certain rare cases, however, the usual process of decay seems arrested and the bodies are preserved largely...

Sometimes restrictions serve to bring out our creativity in startling and memorable ways There was a time in the early years of motion pictures when a kiss was the ultimate expression of love. Anything beyond a brush of the lips was left to the imagination, and love scenes were actually more potent because of it.In the 1930s a strict code dictated to directors and writers the lines of demarcation between what was permissible, not only for lovemaking, but also for vulgarity and other delicate themes. Though marked in part by what was considered backward in the era [i.e., miscegenation – ed],...

There Has Been No Loss of Wonders, Only a Loss of Wonder - A Brief Summons to Awe Msgr. Charles Pope • April 14, 2016 • A big problem today is that of rampant boredom. One would think, with all the diversions available to us, we would be one of the least bored generations in history. There are various forms of entertainment available to us quite literally at our fingertips: television, radio, the Internet, Netflix, video games, and more.Yet it still seems that we moderns are often bored. The reason for this, I think, is that we are overstimulated.The...

A video tribute to the revival of the Church in Russia after a century of bloody persecution.

In a twist that would have been unthinkable five decades ago, a man in Russia could go to jail for blogging that God does not exist.Ironically, Viktor Krasnov’s day in court was to be Tuesday, which was the 55th anniversary of the historic space flight of Cosmonaut Yuri Gargarin. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev later said in a speech that Gargarin found no evidence of God while orbiting Earth.Much has changed since 1961, but the change that concerns religious freedom advocates was prompted by a protest the feminist punk rock band known as Pussy Riot staged in a Russian Orthodox church four years ago. The group went...

Priest and Victim Are One and the Same – A Meditation on Offering Our Lives to God as Members of a Royal Priesthood Msgr. Charles Pope • April 13, 2016 • A key aspect of the priesthood, set forth by Jesus in the New Covenant, is that priest and victim are one and the same. Prior to this, the priests of the Old Covenant sacrificed animals: lambs, bulls, goats, turtle doves, etc. But in the priesthood of Jesus Christ, the priesthood of the New Covenant, the priest offers himself as victim.Regarding Jesus and His priesthood, Scripture says,For it is...

The picture is the iconic image of a Vietnamese girl, naked, burned by napalm as she runs down a road.The girl is Kim Phuc, and her life could have ended in that moment. It didn’t. She has taken an extraordinary journey and has not let that searing moment in her life define her: Despite the fear that no one would want her, Kim is now married and has two sons. She says her conversion from the Cao Dai religion to Christianity at the age of 19 changed everything.“And when I read in John 14:6, where Jesus say, ‘I am the...

Pondering the Great Reversal Announced in Scripture Msgr. Charles Pope • April 12, 2016 • One of the strong traditions of Scripture is of the great reversal that will one day come for many. I have often been sobered by it when I consider how blessed I have been in this life. I have also been consoled by it when I struggle to understand why some people in this world seem to suffer so much more that I do, or others do.Life seems a very uneven proposition if we only look at this side of the equation. Only God...

The Passion of Anger and the “Miserable Truce” of the Modern Age Msgr. Charles Pope • April 11, 2016 • Here in the Western world, we live in a culture that tends to treat anger as taboo. A common tactic to unsettle an opponent today is to accuse him or her of being angry. It is amazing how easily humiliated and/or defensive an adversary can become in response to such an accusation. Yes, it is remarkable how quickly the one accused of anger can feel the need to resort to denials such as these: I am not angry! (Note...