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Wading in these troubled waters is what saves you…
Today’s feast of the Baptism of the Lord provides a moment to reflect not only on the Lord’s baptism, but also on our own. For in an extended sense, when Christ is baptized, so are we, for we are members of His body. As Christ enters the water, He makes holy the water that will baptize us. He enters the water and we follow. And in these waters He acquires gifts to give us, as we shall see below. Why was Jesus baptized? It has been asked in every generation why Christ sought baptism. The baptism of John surely pointed to sin, of which Christ had none. The question has been well answered by the Father and many others. In effect, Christ descended into those waters; He troubled those waters, stirring them up to make them holy for our sakes. And by this descent, which points to the P...
The faith of Christ’s followers is slight. St. John shows the courage our baptism should give us…..
By Tom Hoopes, January 7, 2021 This Sunday, the Baptism of the Lord (Year B), begins a whole new chapter in humanity, one we too often forget — especially in times of turmoil like our own. In Sunday’s readings, God turns the prevailing power structure upside down, putting us at the top. Every era of human history see greatness in its own way; and usually it is tied to that era’s worst sin. In ancient cultures, the warriors were considered godlike. To conquer meant to gain honor and war prizes, especially female slaves. In the industrial revolution, wealth was the king. The world spoke in awe of “corporate titans” and thrilled to “rags to riches” stories. People sacrificed their families, communities and children (sometimes directly) to the new economic paradigm. In our culture, techno...
What St. John Paul II was to Catholicism, Tommy Lasorda was to baseball…..
ROME – My personal bucket list became one item shorter on Thursday, when legendary Dodgers manager and lifelong Catholic Tommy Lasorda died at the age of 93. He suffered a heart attack at his home in Fullerton, California, and was transported to a nearby hospital where he passed away. For decades I’ve promised myself that someday I’d interview Lasorda about the intersection between Catholicism and baseball, but, as CCR famously taught us, “someday never comes.” Alas, now I’ll never have the chance – though it is some consolation knowing that Lasorda went to his rest just two months after watching his beloved Dodgers win their first World Series since he was the manager. My fascination with Lasorda wasn’t just that he was a practicing Catholic who, throughout his career, would arrange for a...
At Sunday Angelus, Pope Francis invokes ‘the Immaculate Virgin, Patroness of the United States’ to intercede after Capitol violence …
In the midday Marian prayer broadcast live from the library of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, Pope Francis invoked the intercession of the Immaculate Conception, who was proclaimed patroness of the United States in 1846. VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis prayed Sunday for the United States, asking the Immaculate Virgin Mary to help foster a “culture of encounter” after the recent violence at the U.S. Capitol Building. “I extend an affectionate greeting to the people of the United States of America, shaken by the recent siege of Congress. I pray for those who lost their lives, five lost in those dramatic moments,” Pope Francis said after his Angelus address Jan. 10. “I reaffirm that violence is always self-destructive. Nothing is gained with violence and so much is lost. I urge the authority of ...
Bishops React to Chaos at the Capitol…
“We fervently pray for peace and for God’s protection over our country, our lawmakers, and all those in harm’s way this terrible day.” Editor’s Note: This article will be updated as further statements are released. Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila (Denver): “Let us pray for our country that peace and civility may reign in this time of transition! Jesus is the way to true peace, a peace no one can take away. Let us be his instruments of peace!” Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone (San Francisco): “To attack the U.S. Capitol to express your fear that democracy has been denied is wrong, and also counterproductive. Doubts about free and fair elections cannot be redressed by violence against democratic institutions. “To the deaths from a pandemic, and destruction wreaked on people’s livelihoods...
How this solitary priest brought Our Lord to the empty streets of his Welsh village…
In the summer of 2020, a solitary priest carried a monstrance containing the Sacred Host through deserted village streets in a remote part of Wales. It was a Corpus Christi procession like none other. The priest who carried the Body of Christ to his parishioners during 2020’s feast of Corpus Christi was Father Matt Roche-Saunders, who was ordained less than two years ago. The Register spoke to him Dec. 29, 2020, about why he decided to take the Eucharist to the empty streets amid the COVID-19 lockdown. “I was so sad that for Corpus Christi there would be no Eucharistic procession and no gathering for the Mass. But I felt prompted by the Lord to make use of a Welsh legal concession that allowed people to meet in their gardens. I decided to offer families the opportunity to...
New video shows Catholic priest getting sucker-punched at NYC subway station…
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The joy of festivity is not the same as the despair of partying…
This is an excerpt from the longer article “Festivity is not Partying” from the “Festivity” issue of Sword&Spade magazine. You can download the full spread of this article for free here. — Catholicism possesses a unique ability to bring things together that otherwise seem opposed. Two of those things are festivity and faith, as Hilaire Belloc famously put it in verse: Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine,There’s always laughter and good red wine.At least I’ve always found it so.Benedicamus Domino! What might seem odd to some, especially in post-Puritan America, is the apparent mix of a party (“laughter and good red wine”) and praising God (Benedicamus Domino is Latin, meaning “Let us bless the Lord.”) Some might even find it offensive to mix the two, because they have witne...
What I wish I’d known when I started graduate school: Tips for writing and for combating impostor syndrome…
As we begin a new year, students and budding intellectuals may be drawn to make resolutions so as to make the most of their time. As a new course of studies begins at universities, I recall the beginning of my own graduate studies. When I arrived as a graduate student at the University of Notre Dame, I became afflicted with a severe case of “impostor syndrome.” I was convinced that at any moment a professor or student would reveal my academic weaknesses, and the Grad Director would summarily expel me from the program. Years later, when I mentioned my case of impostor syndrome in front of aspiring intellectuals, ears perked up, and hands were raised. They asked, “What can I do if I suffer from impostor syndrome?” I suggested to the students that they focus on changing the facts about what t...
Good News in a time of bad news: Catholic Bible-in-a-Year podcast tops the charts…
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 8, 2021 / 05:02 pm MT (CNA).- A Catholic podcast featuring a priest reading and analyzing the Bible has been at the top of the Apple Podcast charts since Jan. 2, ahead of secular podcasts produced by such organizations as The New York Times, NBC News, and NPR. “The Bible in a Year (With Fr. Mike Schmitz),” produced by Ascension Catholic Faith Formation, part of Ascension Press, features episodes containing two to three scriptural readings, a reflection on those readings by Fr. Mike Schmitz, and a prayer. Each episode is about 15 to 25 minutes long, and a new episode is set to be released each day of 2021. Instead of reading the Bible from cover to cover, the podcast follows “The Great Adventure Bible Timeline,” which was developed by Jeff Cavins. Schmitz, a p...
Catholics need to wake up, shake off the spirit of the age, and heed this prophetic warning from Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen…..
Locked, as he was, in the post war struggle with communism, Fulton Sheen’s prophecies about the end time are somewhat dated, but his underlying vision is strong and sobering. In his Communism and the Conscience of the West he discusses the Antichrist: The Antichrist will not be so called; otherwise he would have no followers. He will not wear red tights, nor vomit sulphur, nor carry a trident nor wave an arrowed tail as Mephistopheles in Faust. This masquerade has helped the Devil convince men that he does not exist. When no man recognizes him, the more power he exercises. We must always remember that Satan comes as an angel of light. What he presents is always eminently reasonable. He offers the seemingly sensible way, the soft way, the way of compromise and ease. If he showed ...
Alex Trebek and Jeopardy! have given Catholics a great potpourri of popery over the years…
Throughout its 34-year run, the revived Jeopardy! just couldn’t shake its fascination with all things Catholic. As watchers of the popular TV game show mourn the Nov. 8 passing of its genial longtime host Alex Trebek to pancreatic cancer, we decided to look back on four decades of Catholic answers and questions. The show had a unique format, originally suggested by Julann Wright, the wife of talk-show host and producer Merv Griffin. It made its debut in 1964 and experienced several revivals and runs before becoming an evening hit with Trebek as the avuncular host. Instead of being a quiz show where people are asked trivia questions, contestants are given the answers and have to reply in the form of a question. For example, a $1,000 answer (Show No. 4621, Monday, Oct. 11, 2004) ...
