Scripture

Sept. 15 marked the 100th anniversary of the publication of Pope Benedict XV’s encyclical Spiritus Paraclitus(The [Holy] Spirit, the Comforter). The Holy Father released the document to celebrate the 1,500th anniversary of the death of St. Jerome, who first translated the Bible into... Read more

The ancient Jews had in their possession the Ark of the Covenant. It was a box of acacia wood, three cubits by two cubits (a cubit was the distance from a man’s elbow to the tip of his middle finger, or about 18 inches). In the Ark were the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, the staff of... Read more

Anger is a feeling, and in itself it is not sinful. It is even possible that anger can spur us on to do something heroic and stand up for those who are being persecuted. However, it is much easier to let anger consume us, and then our words no longer reflect our Christian faith. St.... Read more

In this “Age of Discouragement” (to coin a phrase) the study of economics can be depressing. It’s commonly called “The dismal science.” As the old joke has it, “Economists have predicted ten of the last five recessions.” Capitalists and communists fight each other. Some companies... Read more

When I was a teenager in the 1970s Jesus was presented in less than flattering terms, at least from my standpoint as a young man at that time. The paintings and statues of that day presented Jesus as a rather thin, willow-wisp of a man, a sort of friendly hippie who went about blessing poor... Read more

When Renca Dunn talks about having the Bible in her own language for the first time, she emphasizes the adjectives. In English, she has no problem understanding the people, places, and things of Scripture. But in her own language, the nouns vibrate with life and emotion. “The clapping... Read more

In daily Mass this week we are reading from the Book of Proverbs, in which a common theme is the contrast between the wise man and the fool. Let’s examine a few passages from the Proverbs. They go a long way toward explaining the ultimate destiny of the wise and the destruction... Read more

An amphiboly is when the same statement can have two different meanings depending on the emphasis and grouping of the words. For example, at a recent county fair, I saw signs forbidding parking by “Temporary Police Order.” It made me wonder if I had to take seriously an order given by the... Read more

In the pastoral guide of St. Gregory the Great, the opening line reads: “A spiritual guide should be silent when discretion requires and speak when words are of service.” This is not easy. Indeed, self-mastery in speech is among the rarer gifts and usually comes later in life! Some of... Read more

In his epistles, St. Paul employs a simple yet profound metaphor to describe Christ’s divinity. For in Him dwells the whole fullness of the deity bodily (Colossians 2:9).For in Him all the fullness was pleased to dwell (Colossians 1:19). Hence, the Church’s... Read more