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Fr. Don Miller, OFM Image: Sir Thomas More | Hans Holbein the YoungerSaint Thomas More Saint of the Day for June 22 (February 7, 1478 – July 6, 1535 )  Saint Thomas More’s Story His belief that no lay ruler has jurisdiction over the Church of Christ cost Thomas More his life.Beheaded on Tower Hill, London, on July 6, 1535, More steadfastly refused to approve King Henry VIII’s divorce and remarriage and establishment of the Church of England.Described as “a man for all seasons,” More was a literary scholar, eminent lawyer, gentleman, father of four children, and chancellor of...

...it has emerged that Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the former Catholic archbishop of Westminster who died last week, intervened in the last Conclave to ensure his friend was elected Pope Francis.In the days before the 2013 vote, Murphy-O’Connor co-hosted a reception at the British embassy in Rome to lobby support for Cardinal Bergoglio, the then progressive archbishop of Buenos Aires.According to a new book, Murphy-O’Connor invited cardinals from the Commonwealth but deliberately left off the invitation list two powerful but conservative clerics -- Cardinal Ouellet from Canada, who had been a frontrunner, and Cardinal Pell from Australia.The plan, which succeeded, was...

Saint Aloysius Gonzaga Fr. Don Miller, OFM Image: The Vocation of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga | Guercino Saint Aloysius Gonzaga Saint of the Day for June 21 (March 9, 1568 – June 21, 1591)  Saint Aloysius Gonzaga’s Story The Lord can make saints anywhere, even amid the brutality and license of Renaissance life. Florence was the “mother of piety” for Aloysius Gonzaga despite his exposure to a “society of fraud, dagger, poison, and lust.” As a son of a princely family, he grew up in royal courts and army camps. His father wanted Aloysius to be a military hero.At age 7...

Labor Day Reflection: We need each other to survive Msgr. Charles Pope • September 3, 2017 • Labor Day makes me mindful of our interconnectedness; we need one another in order to survive. Consider how we are each called to contribute as well as how we benefit from the labor of others. Even that simple can of corn you pull from the grocery store shelf has thousands of people standing behind it: from those who stock the shelves to the truckers who transport the product to the store; from the regional warehouse workers to the rail operators who supply...

Trademarks of the True Messiah – A Homily for the 22nd Sunday of the Year Msgr. Charles Pope • September 2, 2017 • In Sunday’s Gospel the Lord firmly sets before us the need for the cross, not as an end in itself, but as the way to glory. Let’s consider the Gospel in three stages.I. The Pattern that is Announced – The text says, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.The...

Mass Gestures? Q: I’ve read where outstretching our hands (like the priest at the altar) when responding in the Mass and when praying the Our Father are not acceptable acts. Are we to raise our hands at either of these times? Tricia, via emailMonsignor Charles E. Pope A: While the gestures of the priest at Mass are rather clearly prescribed throughout the liturgy, prescribed gestures for the faithful are minimal. There is an occasional directive to strike the breast at the Confiteor, or to bow at one point in the Creed. But there is no mention of particular gestures for...

The writings of fourth-century Italian bishop Fortunatianus of Aquileia were thought to have been lostThe earliest known Latin commentary on the Gospels was published in English this week, after a university researcher traced a manuscript’s content back to St Jerome’s writings in the fourth century. The biblical commentary, by Italian bishop Fortunatianus of Aquileia, was widely thought to have been lost or destroyed, but scholars knew of its existence from St Jerome’s Lives of Famous Men in the fourth century. The 160-page document, dating back to 800 AD, was known to the academic world since Dr Lukas Dorfbauer, a researcher...

A Lament on the Shrinking of Summer Msgr. Charles Pope • August 31, 2017 • It’s the end of August; not so long ago this was still a lazy time to enjoy the last few days of summer. It used to be that Labor Day marked the unofficial end of summer — not so any more.The erosion of summer is driven mainly by the start of school. I have watched with sadness as the school year seems to begin earlier and earlier and earlier. In the Washington, D.C. area, some schools have been open for more than a week...

In a new book, Pope Francis reveals that he consulted a Jewish psychoanalyst once a week for six months when he was 42 years old and that it “helped me a lot at a moment in my life…when I needed to clarify things.” He disclosed this very personal detail of his life for the first time in a book-length interview with a French intellectual, Dominique Wolton, that will be published on Sept. 6, the day the pope travels to Colombia.

Two Tragic Sins Seen in One Gospel Passage Msgr. Charles Pope • August 30, 2017 • The tragic Gospel passage about the death of St. John Baptist (which we read in daily Mass on Tuesday) is a study in two common sins that afflict most of us. While the results of these sinful tendencies may not always be this dire, the damage wrought is often significant. Let’s take a look at each in turn. The sin of human respect – This is a sin wherein we fear human beings and their opinions of us more than we fear God...

Is Anger Always a Sin? Msgr. Charles Pope • August 29, 2017 • In the Gospel for Wednesday of the 21st week of the year, we see Jesus make some pretty angry denunciations of the religious leaders of His day. In fact, throughout the Gospels Jesus manifests quite a lot of anger and issues many denunciations, often accompanied by the phrase, “Woe to you!” In this way, He spoke in much the same way as did all the prophets before Him.We live in a culture that tends to be shocked by anger; it is almost reflexively rejected as counterproductive...

Recovering the Gospel from the Notion of Merely “Happy” or “Good” News Msgr. Charles Pope • August 28, 2017 • Luke gives a summation of the preaching of St. John the Baptist with a rather surprising and funny conclusion.Then John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore, produce fruit worthy of repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for...

Scientists have uncovered lost ancient writings on parchment in Egypt, including ones jotted down in rare languages, that could give them a window into the past. The Times reported that researchers used imaging technology to illuminate words that were written onto parchment before the ink was washed and wiped away and new text written over it. The hidden text included words written in Caucasian Albanian, a language that had previously only been found on some stone inscriptions. Three medical texts written in ancient Greek were also brought to light, including some written by Hippocrates, the groundbreaking ancient Greek physician for...

If the grand altars, with all their gold and statues and size, are at their core outward signs of inward devotion, what does it say about plain altars that more resemble a table than a temple? For most of the Catholic Church’s 2,000-year history, it has been known for its magnificent churches. In the popular psyche, the stereotypical Catholic church has high, arched ceilings, statues of saints, massive crucifixes, incense that seems to pour from the walls, and gilded, beautiful, and (sometimes) obnoxious altars.There is perhaps no better example of this than St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, the Vatican itself,...

On Titles and Truth Msgr. Charles Pope • August 27, 2017 • Most Catholics have heard the critique from non-Catholics that it is wrong to call priests “Father.” It is a rather tired old charge, which basically goes as follows: Jesus says, “Call no man on earth your father.” But Catholics call their priests “Father.” Therefore, the Catholic Church is wrong to espouse this and is likely wrong in many other things as well. The problem stems from a rather absolute and literal reading of Jesus’ words. At daily Mass on Saturday, we read this passage:As for you, do...

The earliest Latin commentary on the Gospels, lost for more than 1,500 years, has been rediscovered and made available in English for the first time. The extraordinary find, a work written by a bishop in northern Italy, Fortunatianus of Aquileia, dates back to the middle of the fourth century. The biblical text of the manuscript is of particular significance, as it predates the standard Latin version known as the Vulgate. and provides new evidence about the earliest form of the Gospels in Latin. Despite references to this commentary in other ancient works, no copy was known to survive until Dr...

Of Peter and the Papacy – A Homily for the 21st Sunday of the Year Msgr. Charles Pope • August 26, 2017 • Christ Giving the Keys to St. Peter, Perugino, Sistine ChapelThe Gospel today sets forth the biblical basis for the Office of Peter, the Office of the Papacy, for Peter’s successors are the Popes. The word “pope” is simply an English version (via Anglo-Saxon and Germanic tongues) of the word “papa.” The Pope is affectionately called “Papa” in Italian and Spanish as an affectionate indication that he is the father of the family, the Church.Let’s look at...

Will to listen Only open and tender hearts will be blessed with the knowledge of the mysteries of the KingdomMsgr. Charles Pope August 20, 2017 Question: As I understand it, Jesus came as the Savior for all. Yet Jesus spoke in parables, and when asked why, he says that knowledge of the mysteries of heaven has not been granted to everyone (Mt 13:10-17). I am puzzled, as it seems as if Jesus is speaking in code and purposely excluding many, especially those in most need of his mercy. Would you please help me understand? — Robert McBride, Cheswick, Pennsylvania Answer:...

Some Advice from Mother Church, as Pictured in the Book of Ruth Msgr. Charles Pope • August 24, 2017 • Given our brief sampling of the Book of Ruth in daily Mass, perhaps a reflection is in order.The detailed background to the text is too lengthy to go into here, but a few points will help. The story features three main characters: Boaz, Ruth, and Naomi. Boaz is clearly a picture (or “type”) of Christ. He was born and lives in Bethlehem; he ultimately acts as Ruth’s “kinsman-redeemer” by rescuing her from poverty and paying the price so as...

One of the advantages of the present media-driven furor to remove or demolish monuments to the Confederacy is that it is forcing numerous Americans, myself included, to dig deep into the history of the Civil War. And what a strange, convoluted period of history it is! The primary sources are plentiful, rich and deep which makes for endlessly fascinating reading. If the aim of the iconoclasts was to push this period of history even further from the national consciousness, or gloss over it with cherry-picked anecdotes allowing for knee-jerk verdicts, they have failed miserably. For my own part, I have...