Tagged: Pope Francis

Book Review / Books and Reading

Pope Francis and the Joy of the Gospel by Edward Sri

This past December our pastor gave each member of the parish staff a copy of Pope Francis and the Joy of the Gospel: Rediscovering the Heart of a Disciple by Edward Sri. He asked us to read it because his focus for the parish in 2018 is on our baptismal call to share the Good News. Sri’s book fits this focus because it’s is a distillation and explanation of The Joy of the Gospel, an apostolic exhortation published by Pope Francis in 2013. A pope writes an apostolic exhortation in order to...

The Bishop of Digne in his garden

Books and Reading / Chapter-a-Day Read-Along

Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along: The Bishop

Welcome to week two of the Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along. We’re now seven chapters into the book, and the story so far has been dominated by one man: the Bishop of Digne. Dominated is probably too strong a word for someone with his humility and charity, but he certainly makes an impression, and for all the right reasons. To my mind, the Bishop of Digne is one of the most memorable saintly characters in all of literature. But he almost wasn’t. Get Rid of That Bishop In the mid 1800’s,...

Book Review / Books and Reading

Pope Francis Pursued: Pilgrimage by Mark Shriver

The subtitle of Mark Shriver’s book Pilgrimage is My Search for the Real Pope Francis. The implication is that there is some confusion, disagreement, or misunderstanding about who Pope Francis is. It’s almost as if Pope Francis is too good to be true. Or perhaps there’s a suspicion that the public persona of Pope Francis is a mask that conceals his real agenda. As Shriver himself writes in the prologue, I kept warning myself not to believe unconditionally in a guy who, I kept reminding myself, headed a...

Lord of the World

Book Review / Books and Reading

Classics Club Book #3: Lord of the World by Robert Hugh Benson

The two Cities of Augustine lay for him to choose. The one was that of a world self-originated, self-organised, and self-sufficient, interpreted by such men as Marx and Hervé, socialists, materialists, and, in the end, hedonists, summed up at last in Felsenburgh. The other lay displayed in the sight he saw before him, telling of a Creator and of a creation, of a Divine purpose, a redemption, and a world transcendent and eternal from which all sprang and to which all moved. Before Fahrenheit 451, before Nineteen Eighty-four,...

Pope Paul VI

Homily

No More War, War Never Again! – Homily for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

This weekend is Catechetical Sunday, the day we recognize and commission those who assist parents in the important task of handing on the faith. While the primary duty of handing on the faith belongs to parents, it’s such a monumental task that it’s good to have some assistance. That’s why Catholic schools and religious education programs exist. It takes an entire community working together in Christ to build the Kingdom of God. And in the work of catechesis, there are three teaching strategies that are particularly helpful: asking...

Pope Francis Washing Feet

Homily

Sacrifice and Service: Homily for Holy Thursday

What if, at communion, after receiving the Body and Blood, after consuming the consecrated bread and wine, we were handed a consecrated towel? What if we came forward with arms held out, and the priest or deacon or eucharistic minister said, “The Body of Christ,” and handed us the host, and then, “The Blood of Christ,” and handed us the cup, and then “The Service of Christ,” and gently placed a white towel in our hands? And what if we took that towel walked out of this building...

Grandmother and Granddaughter

Homily

Eli, John and Andrew – Homily for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

In the first reading we hear that “Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD.” Now that doesn’t mean you get to sleep here in church during the homily! But we do have something in common with Samuel: at one point, we, too, were not familiar with the Lord. Samuel is called three times, but he does not recognize who is it is. It is the priest Eli who helps him understand that it is the Lord who is calling. In the gospel, too, Andrew and an...

Homeless in Rome

Homily

Fear, Trust, and the Worthy Wife: Homily for the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

The first reading and the gospel can be summarized like this: “Do not be afraid to use what has been entrusted to you.” In both readings something precious is entrusted to someone, and in both readings fear plays an important role. The master entrusts his possessions to his three servants. And the husband entrusts his heart to his wife. The third servant is afraid of the master. And the worthy wife has the Fear of the Lord. To entrust is to put something precious into another’s care. The...

torch

Family

The Church Is a Torch Not a Lighthouse: Metaphors from the Synod

Some powerful images for the Church are emerging from the Extraordinary Synod on the Family this week, according to Catholic News Service: …one bishop Oct. 7 told the assembly that the light the church brings to its members is not fixed like a lighthouse on the shore but is a torch that accompanies the pilgrimage of those seeking to live the truth Speaking about the challenge of transmitting church teaching on sexuality and married life to modern men and women, the bishop reportedly said the torch of faith...

Pope Francis

Theology

“…someone with whom to weave and to share the story of life…” – Homily by Pope Francis on the Eve of the Synod on the Family

Here is the text of Pope Francis’ homily from the prayer vigil on the eve of the Extraordinary Synod on the Family that begins on Monday: Dear families, good evening! The evening falls on our assembly. It is the hour in which one willingly returns home to the same meal, in the thick of affections, of the good that has been done and received, of the encounters which warm the heart and make it grow, good wine which anticipates in the days of man the feast without end....

Syrian Refugee

Homily

Boxed and Labeled: Homily for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A

This summer Brenda and I did a lot of cleaning and reorganizing around the house. Our two older boys have moved out, we’ve done a shuffle of the girls’ bedrooms, and we’re trying to get rid of all the unnecessary stuff that we’ve accumulated over the years. One thing that helps us to organize is to put things into boxes and label them. It makes it easier to remember where you’ve put things. We’ve got boxes with the boys’ names on them, we’ve got boxes labeled “Christmas,” and...