By Fr. Jerry Pokorsky
Showing most recent 186 items by this author.
Outwitting Death
A requiem Mass affirms the sorrow of death and is an occasion to overcome the ambivalence of life and death.
Honest Tenacity; Tenacious Honesty
The man cured of his blindness could escape from the clutches of the Pharisees with a few teeny-weeny white lies. Instead, he refuses to budge, doubles down on the truth, and bears the consequences.
The Failure of the Persuasion Strategy
Young priests usually overestimate the power of their persuasive abilities. They soon discover that some people protest their homilies when the remarks touch upon the hot-button topics of the day
Do We Have Sufficient Evidence to Make an Act of Faith?
The Apostles’ Creed is “inclusive” – universal -- and excludes heretical content (including that of prominent prelates in our day). Regardless of personal belief, its realism spans the history of mankind, from creation to redemption and salvation.
The Methods of the Red Supremacist
Turn those stones into bread, he demands of Jesus. The Devil hates nature, God’s handiwork. But the miracles of Jesus do not violate nature.
A Very Short Course in the Catholic Faith
Our eternal destiny is no longer of the world because, after the fall, it is under the rule of the demonic Prince of the World.
The Parable of Heart Ablation
Although Baptism washes away the stain of Original Sin, the effects continue, just as genetic predispositions continue.
The Light of the World and Ritual Mutilation
Too often the narcissism of the priest smothers generosity and eclipses the light of Christ…. Mass versus populum (facing the people) is lawful and far more common today but requires the effort to avoid the absurdity of clerical celebrity narcissism
The Mystery of Sleep
Children in their simplicity are particularly susceptible to religious and mystical experiences as they sleep.
The Sanhedrin Intelligence Agency
"Fishermen, tax collectors, and several other no-names. Almost all of them are those awful Galileans. Rough, ill-educated -- hardly revolutionary timber."
Clerical Gossip
"They say he preaches something like, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.” Nice thought, that."
Holy Curiosity and Our Heavenly Double
The Magi's philosophy was deficient, but their curious inclination and honesty expanded their spiritual horizons.
Mary Sees Her Son in Us
Innocence can be lost, but we cannot destroy it because it is of God. So Divine Innocence rises again to attract us to Him, or to condemn us for refusing His gifts of grace and healing.
A Sentimental Christmas Homily
The denial of the existence of God does not only violate healthy human sensibilities. Dodging the abundant evidence is unreasonable and exhausting, even amidst the turmoil of every life.
The Lord of History
Even high-ranking Church officials suggest, with breath-taking arrogance, that modern anthropological studies will change historical Church teaching.
Hope amidst Hopelessness
During the Macedonian Greek occupation, many upper-class elite Jews, anxious to get along, covered up the marks of their circumcision and joined the Gentiles for fellowship and job opportunities. Many Catholics also cover up the marks of their Baptisms and join an anti-Catholic culture.
Man Found Dead in Graveyard
It is fair to speculate that John the Baptist even refuses the "prophet" label. It waits until Jesus confers it on him.
Confession and the Art of Boiler Maintenance
Saint Thomas teaches that the Sacrament raises imperfect contrition – fear of punishment – to perfect contrition and provides a clear and serene conscience.
War Dispatches from the Incredible Shrinking Man and the Good Thief
Death is inevitable. But is death a dead end?
The Art of Killing a Conscience
If you plan to kill your conscience, do NOT read Psalm 51. Ever.
The Iron Triangle of Revelation
Theological studies that expand our understanding of doctrines are helpful. But theological judgments require our faithful assent only when the Church recognizes them as doctrines rooted in Tradition and Sacred Scriptures.
A Pharisee’s Examination of Conscience
The number of hostile encounters in the Gospels suggests the failures of the Pharisees pose a more deadly threat to the teachings of Jesus than the Herodians and Romans.
God, I thank thee that I am not like devout Catholics
“But woe to you, devout Catholics, hypocrites!"
How the Threat of Damnation Protects the Doctrine of Natural Law
The “fundamental option” hypothesis undermines the Church’s traditional teaching on the loss and restoration of sanctifying grace.
Gratitude and Apocalyptic Shock Treatment
God has made it relatively easy for a thoughtful Catholic to obtain forgiveness with the certainty that Penance provides. But penitents are often (usually?) oblivious to the gravity of the favors granted.
Reason without the Search for Faith is Insanity
The Old Testament explains what happens when we lose faith. Every sin is unreasonable.
The Mystery of Punishment and Suffering
Some suffering is innocent, the mysterious result of Original Sin. God allows suffering to test us; we cannot rule out demonic activity with innocent suffering.
Politics from the Pulpit
The lack of clerical restraint in maintaining the distinction separating religious principles from political prudential judgments advances the false sense that “everything is politics.”
Mary: Terrible as an Army, Arrayed for Battle
The holiness of Mary provides a stark argument in favor of the truth of traditional Judaism. Indeed, Mary illustrates how Jewish belief complements the Catholic understanding of the Old Testament.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Who are we to judge? We are Catholics who believe in the Catholic faith as it has been given and received for some 2000 years. Judge, we must.
The Hubris of a Tax-Code System of Morality
The authoritative decrees of a papal document could not substitute for a healthy Catholic conscience formed in a Catholic culture, nor could it heal consciences deformed by moral expedience.
Dabbling with the Devil
Follow your dreams and self-identify as you will.” Alas, some dreams are nightmares.
A Little Catechism to Fortify Our Faith in Troubled Times
The Magisterium cannot be disassociated from Scripture and Tradition. There can be development of doctrine and deeper understanding of doctrine but not contradictions of doctrine.
Going the Wrong Way with Studied Ambiguity
The cardinal said it was time for a fundamental revision of church teaching, and suggested the way Pope Francis had spoken about homosexuality in the past could lead to a change in doctrine.
Editing the Declaration of Independence
The dogma of the founding fathers that God "created all men equal" is a recipe for perpetual turmoil. The disdain for inequality fuels endless attempts to achieve equality: a fool’s errand.
Déjà vu All Over Again
At a minimum, we need not treat the crude paradigm shift opinions of the Pontifical Academy of Life with respect.
Sodom Sunday
Just as the prophets of Baal had no realization of the horror of their self-mutilation, our Godless culture is unaware of its madness.
Losers and Generosity
Imagine that. Imitate an unbeliever.
How the Papal Pelosi Scandal Affects Priests
When the Archbishop of San Francisco put Nancy Pelosi on notice, he lifted the spirits of hard-working priests in the confessional… The papal Pelosi scandal provokes priests to question their ministry. Why bother hearing Confessions?
A Tribute to Pro-life Determination
There never was a Constitutional right to abortion. The false flag of the presumed right took the lives of at least 63 million unborn babies over the last 49 years. A disproportionate number of the killings were of Blacks and Hispanics – by racist design.
The Eucharist and Other Enemies of the State
When the philosopher Descartes declared, “I think therefore I am,” he concluded that our awareness of our existence – perhaps existence itself -- depends upon our capacity to think. He had it backward.
The Little Shop of Horrors
Where do we discover the building blocks of dependable self-knowledge and identity? What is the seed of every authentic human community?
The Divine Symphony
In recent years, we have seen authorities at the highest levels of the Church proposing changes to Catholic doctrine that would pit the Holy Spirit against the Father and the Son.
Tossing us the keys to His Kingdom
During the Ascension, Jesus tosses us the keys to His Kingdom. Drive safely.
Archbishop Cordileone & Speaker Pelosi in Perspective
A courageous celibate provides doctrinal air cover for Catholic troops on the ground. Clergy who fail to use their celibacy for the fearless proclamation of the Gospel become selfish comfortable bachelors.
Non-Conformists
The Gospel provides the pithiest of organizational mission statements: “Go forth and baptize all nations.”
Peter’s Tumultuous Vocation and Ours
During the Passion, Peter’s crash-and-burn is complete: his cowardly threefold denial; his bitter sorrow; indeed, his self-loathing.
A Stylist Manual for Confessors
Confession is a somewhat peculiar arrangement: Human instruments – all sinners in their own way also in need of forgiveness – hearing, judging, and forgiving the sins of their brethren
The Cure for Our Fears, Real and Imagined
The Cross helps us confront our fears; the Resurrection and the promise of eternal life help us overcome them.
The problem of sin, suffering, and death
We will never exhaust the terrible mystery of human freedom, sin, suffering, and death. During Holy Week, it is sufficient for us to ponder our sins and realize that we desperately need a Savior.
Opposition Research
We all feel the need for allies to protect our reputations from abuse and distortion… After returning to his family, the Prodigal Son needed such an ally.
The Act of Contrition and Personal Health
Schedule a Confession with your annual medical exam. There are usually several doctors and priests to choose from. Choose competence and doctrinal orthodoxy. Or schedule your annual physical with your Lenten Confession.
Surveillance Spirituality
Our excessive responses, sarcastic quips, and uncharitable remarks have dangerous ripple effects.
The Opium of the People
“We are going to establish policies, procedures, and programs to ensure that [fill in the blank] never happens again.” The promise is unrealistic – with a subliminal denial of Original Sin -- and dangerously expensive.
The Scandal of Church Abuse
Not all cultures and behaviors have equal dignity. Some of our differences are rooted in sin. Some cultural patterns are degrading. Need evidence? Turn on the television.
The Silent Compliant Majority
The national debt rarely attracts the attention for the injustice that it is. Yet it remains the outward sign of the devastating bureaucratic top-down American economic and cultural restructuring.
Heretics
Among the heresies of the body are Hollywood obsessions, horrible mutilations of our sexuality, and the destruction of unborn babies.
Expect a Miracle!
When we make our requests for miracles, we must be careful not to expect Jesus to dance to our tune
Jesus is Not an Alien
Parents, ask your kids if they have learned anything practical about human nature the next time they report they’ve watched one of Hollywood’s horror pictures.
A Mother’s Love
Tiny tots instinctively run to mom for help, and brave men usually do the same when traumatized. It’s only natural.
Life Stinks. Merry Christmas!
You are on the verge of an honest and humble confession of sin. You ruined the gifts God gave you, and Jesus will help you start anew. He came into the world to save you from your sins. He also created you for a purpose.
Destined For Destruction
The historical defiance of the Jews despite the destruction of the Temple points to a poignant and enduring reality. Some temples are immune to destruction because human hands do not build them.
The Magisterium of the Martyrs
Priests generally live in a comfort-zone bubble, surrounded by friendly parishioners. Most parishioners, in contrast, enter daily into the lion’s den of a hostile secular workplace. So the very least a priest can do is support the faithful with orthodox teachings.
Christ, the Great King
Herod the Great is the very model of a modern tyrant. He spent a lot of taxpayer money, generally abused his subjects, and left a historical legacy uniquely his own. His example inspires us to pray: “God, save us from great leaders.” But Jesus is also a great King -- the King of kings.
The Widow’s Almsgiving Budget
The sort generosity displayed by the widow— generosity that exceeds the requirements of justice— is far more common among the poor and in concentration camps
A Little Catechism on Politics and So-Called Catholic Pro-Abortion Politicians
There should be no objection to public opposition to the pro-abortion views of politicians such as President Biden, House Speaker Pelosi, and Virginia Gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe.
The Electronic Jesus
Our fixation on an easily accessible electronic Jesus – and lust for the religious consolations – threatens to undermine authentic liturgical sensibilities.
White Knuckles
The papal pilots had a steady hand, keeping the Church on course. But in recent years, the Church has entered into the white-knuckle phase of extreme turbulence.
Cashing in on the Devil?
We view diabolical special effects with horrified fascination. But mortal sin should terrify us more than any demon or any suffering in this life.
Follow the Science
The term "embryo" denotes its change of location, but the entity is the same: a human baby.
Natural Law to the Rescue
But the details of public policy involve the prudential judgments of the laity in the political arena. Church authorities overreach the limits of their competence when they endorse views that exclude reasonable alternatives.
“You’re Only Human”
Our humanity – and all of God’s good creation – offends the Devil’s pride. The Devil delights when we despoil our body or hold it in contempt.
How DARE you?
Or maybe we're not much different from the ancient Israelites or the fat and happy disciples looking for endless entitlements from the Lord.
Sacramental Hunger
he compassionate objective of eliminating starvation becomes the “politics of hunger” through crass self-interest, greed, and power politics.
Freaks
During a brief period in the 1980s -- with the onslaught of AIDS – a rollback of the sexual revolution seemed possible. But it failed to materialize.
How to Conquer the World
That all politics is local is generally true, at least during an election year. But the works of mercy that conquer the world are always personal
Agent Provocateurs for the Unborn
In the coming months, many Catholics and non-Catholics alike will be refusing vaccines on prophetic moral grounds. Is there a better way of expressing horrified disapproval of the immorality of human vivisection and using aborted remains for medical research and development?
Faith is Personal, not Ideological
Secular religions also use prayers that summarize their ideologies. But the slogans are manipulative with a fearful symmetry.
Undermining the New Communist Menace
What should a priest say to his people today as they head into the gale-force winds of cultural upheaval, a new cold civil war?
The Book of Normal
After bestowing all the dignity on us throughout the entire Bible, why would the Father send Jesus into the world to ruin it all by commanding us to do things that violate our happiness? But such is the view of woke culture, which condemns Christianity as a hate group. Why? Because we refuse to call evil good.
Little Italian Grandmothers
In our culture, it doesn’t take much to be a celebrity – or at least a narcissist. But it takes a whole lot more effort (with grace) to be like our little devoutly Catholic Italian -- or Polish or Irish or Filipino -- grandmothers.
What Segregation, White Guilt, and Black Power Can Teach Catholics
Racism came under new management. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan called it: “The soft bigotry of low expectations.”
Jesus is Not a Dictator
Without the brutal communism of the 20th century (and the emergent leftist tyranny in our country today), perhaps we would not as readily appreciate the absolute need for the Ascension of Jesus and the descent of the Holy Spirit.
The Ten Commandments and Systemic Clericalism
Bishops often distance themselves from aggressive Catholic lay endeavors (such as pro-life groups), effectively undermining the rightful role of the laity in the political arena. The general impression is that chanceries, not the laity, orchestrate Catholic political action.
Don’t try to put Jesus on Valium
The moral integrity of Christian character reconciles our internal disposition to outward words and appearances. Keep this in mind the next time a Catholic holds up his rosary and claims he’s a devout Catholic.
In Gratitude for Joe Biden
Biden’s insistent claim that he is a devout Catholic forces an unavoidable choice. We either: stand with the Church and her sacraments and reject Biden’s iconic culture-of-death policies, or we join those who celebrate Biden’s flouting of Church teaching.
Defining Racism
A vicious racial slur is racist. Attacking police because they are white (or black) is racist... Suggesting that racism is everywhere, like the air we breathe, is racist
Happy warriors
Many of you have been fighting the good fight for years... So some of you may think you have a special right to a paralyzing and devastating discouragement. No, you don’t.
No Sympathy for the Devil
Can there be anything more maddening for an evil spirit than Transubstantiation?
The Church’s Policies on Families
We need care, compassion, and understanding— Gospel teaching and the sacraments. We need the hard work that comes with imitating the virtues of the Holy Family. But let’s not try to redefine reality.
Virtual Indulgences?
Witnessing the celebration of a Mass on the internet is not real participation. The live-streamed Eucharist is a mere electronic image. There is no “Real Presence” in the pixels on the screen, so the devotion cannot be the same.
Spiritual Strategic Planning
"I firmly resolve, with the help of thy grace, to recalibrate my vision, set appropriate goals, gather and analyze information, and formulate and implement a strategy..."
The Continuing Scandal of the McCarrick Doctrine
While Joe Biden and other pro-abortion Catholics continue to risk their salvation by presenting themselves for Communion, the prospect of a more extensive scandal affecting the unity of Catholic moral teaching remains.With Joe Biden as the prospective president, the American bishops have an opportunity to nullify the McCarrick Doctrine.
The Communist-Diabolical Conspiracy
The Devil’s purpose is to replace the sacramental life and parish life with new structures of centralized power, with Church teachings presented as mere policy statements, responsive to the winds of cultural change.
No Exit
Death, than which nothing is more certain. Judgment, than which nothing is more strict. Heaven, than which nothing is more delightful. Hell, than which nothing is more terrible.
The End is Near—Maybe
It’s not “the economy, stupid.” It’s our culture, and our sloth.
Priest Parables
So an unprecedented dilemma confronts many priests who can no longer ignore the Pope’s frequent and clearly erroneous comments during his casual conversations.
Maintaining Christian Charity in Times of Upheaval
Without sentimentality, we must not forget the fundamental human dignity of our enemies, even as we reject their evil actions.
Who Lost the Culture?
Our cultural decline may have begun as far back as 75 years ago, in the skies over Hiroshima when the Americans dropped history's first atomic bomb on that city.
Avoiding political labels
As the old joke has it, do not allow 95% of lawyers (or doctors, politicians, or clergymen) to give the rest a bad name.
Reckless transparency
What began as episcopal mendacity and patterns of cover-up, has led to a transparency that we should more accurately describe as “systemic detraction.”
Remedies for Discouragement
If you find yourself discouraged by the attack on truth, goodness, and beauty, be a cancel-culture subversive.
Models of Political Meddling by Clerics
From an orthodox Catholic point of view, intrinsically evil actions are mortal sins. So it’s fair game for a priest to play the part of John the Baptist and identify the proponents— including Catholic politicians who promote these evils— for the brood of vipers they are.
Catholic nudism, the USCCB, and bid to ‘eradicate’ evil
So here’s a good rule of thumb: When activists want to “eradicate” a problem, they’re likely up to no good.
Faith seeking understanding
Try as we might, we cannot improve by adding to, or subtracting from, the precepts of the Ten Commandments. “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple….”
Is Catholicism an ideology?
Many think Catholicism imposes an ideal system on the life of the faithful. According to this ideological view, for Church teaching to remain relevant, it must continually evolve to keep up with human progress.
The dangers of proliferating Communion services
The response by many bishops to encourage brief Communion services instead of Masses in response to the Covid-19 pandemic may accelerate liturgical practices that have long-term deleterious doctrinal implications on the nature of the priesthood and the Mass
The dangers of live-streaming Masses
The growing recourse to live-streaming Masses may, at first, appear as a reasonable interim means to keep parishioners connected to their pastor and the daily celebration of the Mass. But there are distinct dangers.
When the lights go on again
Did the external structure of the Faith collapse because too many people abused or obstructed God’s grace?
Pondering the Pandemic
Sorry, Governor. Regrets, Your Honor. The celebration of the Mass is non-negotiable and none of your business.
How Mary crushes the head of Satan
The Magnificat, recited every evening in the Divine Office, continues to crush the head of the Devil.
Seven lessons in forgiveness
Our capacity to forgive depends upon the totality of Christian virtue, and forgiving enemies is the crown jewel of martyrdom.
Conscience counterfeits
Ubiquitous sexual-harassment and child-protection programs, presuming to replace the authority of the Ten Commandments, are indicative of a culture that has lost its moral compass.
Abortion and preaching to the choir
The faith of the Catholic Church anticipated the results of modern medical research. A new human life begins at conception. Today, only the ignorant or superstitious (and those opposed to the medical science on ideological grounds) question this fundamental medical fact.
Adjectives
Perhaps the most corrosive effects of evolutionary theory occurs when lawyers misapply them to modern jurisprudence.
Hope and the Cycle of Life
All hopes are fleeting, except for our hope for salvation.
An Advent Meditation
"The priesthood is like Shane. You ride into town. You see a lot of bad. You do a little good, and you ride off into the sunset."
The Age of Cynicism
If the Devil had a capacity for love, he would love cynics. Dismas saw the soldiers laughing and ridiculing human misery. “And they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by, watching; but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, ‘He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!’ The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him vinegar, and saying, ‘If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!’” (Luke 23:35-38)
Self-Esteem
It’s hard to “like ourselves” in a morally healthy way without the guidance of a few basics of the Catholic faith.
Clerical secrets
From a Gospel perspective, there is little incentive to enter into a “holier than thou” contest.
Are Marian devotions excessive?
We all have an abiding desire for maternal affection. The history books of the American Civil War are replete with touching accounts of dying soldiers in agony calling upon their mothers like little boys. Even the toughest among us grasp for the love of a mother at the hour of death. Prayers...
The Artificial Santa
Jesus teaches, “You cannot serve both God and mammon.” We all know it’s easy to make a god out of money. Ebenezer Scrooge repels us, and we’re attracted to Santa Claus. But a counterfeit Santa Claus, despite a reputation for generosity, may be even more dangerous than...
Guardians of the natural law
As the classic Christmas hymn has it, with the birth of Jesus, God and sinners are reconciled. Jesus Christ is true God and true man: one Person, two natures. The mystery of the Incarnation provides us with the metaphysics of our reconciliation with God; the words and deeds of Jesus give the...
Healing an angry culture
News item: Less than 24 hours after yet another mass shooting in America…authorities said they were still seeking a motive. It seems the 19-year-old shooter gave us one. “Why are you doing this?” a witness heard someone shout. The response: “Because I’m really...
Tinkering with the Faith
Jesus teaches us, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62) Our life decisions in response to His call are irrevocable. Elijah’s disciple, Elisha, burned the bridge to his past— his plowshare, the implement of his livelihood— to guarantee that...
Rediscovering generosity
Children love to take things apart to figure out how they work. Before the advent of hi-tech cars, the average young man could work on an automobile, changing the fan belt or rebuilding the carburetor. Today, we just put gas in the tank, press the ignition button, and schedule routine servicing....
Dialogue with an Atheist
A famous atheist, British professor Richard Dawkins, holds that atheists are generally smarter than Christians. Atheists might be more humble than Christians, too. Dawkins, the world’s most famous atheist, supported a bus ad campaign with the relatively humble slogan, “There’s...
Courage at the Cross
We all have secret dreads. Soldiers may be brave in battle but dread the sight of a doctor’s syringe or a black snake in the basement. Courage is an elusive virtue and not particularly reliable. Depending on circumstances, we may be heroic in courage or cowering in fear. Let’s...
Self-serving Sorrow
Mothers spend a lot of time teaching their babies the meaning of "hot." “The stove is hot, don’t touch!” Soon the baby is running around pointing at items, announcing to the world that they’re "hot." At first, he has no direct experience of the meaning of "hot.” In time, the baby learns the wages...
The promise of the Catholic vision
Humans desire happiness. So it is normal to seek a place or state of things in which everything is perfect. But what can we realistically expect? Let’s consider two utopias: the Catholic vision or “Catholic utopia” and the secular vision, the Godless utopia. In Catholic...
Transfiguration and confidence
Self-confidence, properly understood, is spiritually healthy. With an honest and well-formed conscience, we should all strive for an unshakable faith and confidence, without arrogance, that is rooted in Jesus. A letter to the editor in Catholic World Report many years ago gave a wrenching...
The Bishops and their Confessions
Confession is good for the soul. A good Confession identifies every mortal sin (nature and number) to the best of one’s ability. The priest usually does not need to hear the details, unless certain circumstances are necessary for purposes of clarification. A penitent should provide...
Anatomy of the healing process
Healing—more than repentance—is on the mind of bishops everywhere. Reporting the recent laicization of former Cardinal McCarrick, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, the present of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued a statement: “No bishop, no matter how influential, is above the...
Appealing to the better angels of pastors
Years ago, a priest friend of mine was assigned as a parochial vicar to a very liberal dissident parish. A parishioner threatened to reduce his contributions in response to his orthodox preaching. The priest pointed to the air conditioning unit and said, “Before the electrical bill is paid,...
Ending rule by the ‘McCarrick Doctrine’
It cannot be denied that a large number of Catholic bishops and their vicars lied, covered up, and abused their positions and faith. The sexual abuse and exploitation of children and young people were not only the result of the dereliction of duty of bishops in governing but in several cases...
Chastity: Cornerstone of holiness and happiness
Chastity is a way of life. Guidelines, codes of conduct, policies, and procedures governing interpersonal behavior may be useful in communicating acceptable workplace boundaries and defining legally abusive behavior. But the virtue of chastity cannot be reduced to a collection of rules and...
It could have been a wonderful life
On Christmas Eve 2008, in upstate New York, George Bailey contemplates suicide. Cynical jeers about him reach the underworld, where Mephistopheles Mouch, Fallen Angel 2nd Class, is assigned to George. George has been an unusually valuable asset. Hell has big plans for him. So if he is able to...
Clericalism and the Summer of Shame
Clericalism is said to be the main sin that has given rise to the sex-abuse crisis in the Church today. The official statements blaming clericalism rather than the “dirty little secret” of a gay network have often been met with cynicism. A recent joke making the internet rounds goes:...
Unwritten rules and the Great Compromise
The encounter of the rich young man with Jesus reveals the contrast and connection between written and unwritten rules. The rich young man had observed all of the Commandments since his youth. But Jesus calls him to a higher state of generosity by going beyond the Law of Moses. It is helpful for...
The crisis: Déjà vu all over again
[This is an abridged version of a letter I wrote to ecclesiastical authorities after the Boston Globe revelations in 2002. I received no response. I think the letter—after sixteen years—remains painfully relevant today after the McCarrick debacle.] The “priest crisis”...
Ministers, not masters, of life
As we ponder the mystery of the Blessed Trinity, we come to realize it is one of the most practical revelations in the Catholic arsenal because it provides the underpinnings of our relationship to God and the life God gives us. We come to realize why and how we are ministers of life, not the...
A few weak men
To a large extent, the men of the inner circle of Jesus were weak. During His Passion, Jesus is betrayed, abandoned, and denied by his apostles. Only one of them returns to the foot of the Cross. In selecting the apostles, Jesus did not choose those whom the world considers the best and brightest....
Just Call Me Jerry
With the Ascension of Christ to heaven—the departure of his identifiable physical presence—and with the descent of the Holy Spirit, Jesus becomes accessible to us only by faith. Through faith, we come to know Jesus in the Word of God. Through faith, we encounter Jesus in the...
A ‘personal relationship with Jesus Christ’
It’s easy to impose our own prejudices in evaluating our relationship with God. When we are asked if we truly have a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ,” the expression suggests an emotional, warm, intimate feeling of the encounter. Of course, as Catholics, we may easily...
Mary, not Misogyny
It’s fair to observe that women tend to be more religious than men. A typical weekday Mass almost always has a disproportionate number of women in attendance. Prayer and religious devotion seem to be much easier for the ladies than for the gents. (So much for the “male-dominated”...
The Magisterium of the Sacred Liturgy
Many people equate faith with superstition. For many, accepting Church teaching is like believing magic, or in flying saucers or voodoo. But in so doing, they neglect the crucial role that reason plays in our faith. So they invent an alternative narrative using their own dogmas on the meaning of...
Practical Atheism
We often hear people say they no longer believe in God because there are so much evil and suffering in the world. They may add that they find the deeds of Jesus inspiring, but He spoils it all by saying that “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will...
Leper Colonies
In the Gospel that we read on Sunday, leprosy is clearly a metaphor for sin. When a leper approaches Jesus for healing, the approach is a metaphor for seeking Jesus for his forgiveness in Confession. When we go off the rails one way or the other, we all want to be restored to our normal humanity....
Authority and Jesus
“And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.” (Mk 1:22) The teaching authority of Jesus is unique. Authority is conferred in various ways. Authority comes with appointment and position, with learning and credentials,...
Born That Way
We might imagine Ebenezer Scrooge settling down after the spooking he received over Christmas. He’s benign, no longer is indifferent to injustice. He continues to be frugal, but he’s no longer greedy. He has become a man of justice but does not go beyond the basic demands of justice....
Expecting Perfection
It’s a charming to consider that Jesus, like any son, carried the physical characteristics of his mother as well as some of her —and Joseph’s—mannerisms. The Incarnation is so wonderfully human, encouraging us to approach Him without fear. As we consider the beauty of the...
Anticipation
Advent is a time of anticipation, looking forward to the birth of Jesus on Christmas. Of course the anticipation is a liturgical fiction. Jesus was born into the world over 2,000 years ago. Are we playing childish games by entering into such a fictional season of anticipation? No! On the contrary,...
Death, where is thy sting?
Fall is a time of great beauty and many folks travel to the mountains and through the valleys to see the magnificent changing colors of the foliage. But let’s not overlook the obvious. Nature is going dormant, even dying, and this cycle of nature itself is foreshadowing our own deaths. The...
Funerals and divine worship
It is common nowadays to identify a leader as good and kind and humble simply because he is merely following the crowds. It is the same with priests and bishops. Clergy can be very adroit at keeping the customers satisfied, absorbing a good deal of praise and affection without being truly faithful...
The Power and Poverty of Words
In his confrontations with the Pharisees, Jesus repeatedly unmasks their hypocrisy—from their personal external observances, designed to be noticed, to their relentless critical evaluations of others. It is easy to pay lip service to God’s commands, but the measure of true obedience is...
God doesn’t need our advice
There is no servile veneration of Peter in the Gospels. Certainly, he’s first among the apostles. But he also suffers the harshest of the Lord’s rebukes. The rebuke takes place not long after Peter witnesses to the divinity of Christ and Christ responds by identifying him as the first...
Skeletons in Our Closets
It is fair to suggest that in time, most people have occasion to look back at their lives with regret for behavior that may rise to the level of an embarrassing “skeleton in the closet.” Robert Penn Warren, author of All the King’s Men, exploits the primordial fear of...
Agonizing Moral Restraint
Dialog includes bombast, and it tends to grab attention. Historically our politicians and generals certainly have put the “bomb” in “bombastic.” In response to North Korean nuclear threats to our country, President Trump warned, “North Korea best not make any more...
Living on Borrowed Time
In our day there are many medical “miracles.” As we grow older, we experience medical issues that are now routinely and successfully treated whereas they could have taken our lives a century ago. So we are cured and live to see another day—or many more years. But in fact, with...
Keeping the Faith
We live in troubled times: times that can challenge our faith. It is wearisome (but necessary because good Christians face reality) to be reminded of the renewal of the persecution of Christians in the Middle East, terrorism, uprisings, wars and rumors of wars and so on. In recent years even the...
The Reason for Human Reason
There is no contradiction between faith and reason, faith and science. Both share the same Author. Without contradiction, faith grasps truths that are beyond the reach of science. There can be no earthly scientific proof of the Resurrection of Jesus, for example, just as there can be no...
Freak Shows
It seems age brings an increase in flashbacks to childhood. My most recent childhood memory was that of the annual county fair during the hot and humid days of August, just before the beginning of the new school year. It was a favorite time: walking through the barns, checking out the champion...
I Don’t Want to Die
We’ve heard it countless times: “The safety of our [fill in the blanks] is our highest priority.” So various safety programs are put into place, with policies, procedures, and protocols—mostly burdening everyone except the perpetrators. A fire drill, in contrast, is a...
Theologians
Those of us in the business know that the egos of some theologians—from the ancient Gnostics to the professional dissidents of our time—tower over Catholic doctrine. So it was refreshing to hear a very prominent theologian remark years ago, “The Church teaches doctrine, not...
Prayer and Puppies
In preparation for the Olympics held in Greece in 2004, thousands of possibly dangerous stray dogs were poisoned. But the stray dog problem continues to this day. A few years ago during a religious pilgrimage to Greece, our tour bus was confronted with a pack of wild canines emerging from the...
Fear of Holiness
Fear is a useful emotion. Under the control of reason, it is good to recoil in fear from a rattlesnake posed to strike. Other fears are more subtle. It’s easy to think of holiness as inaccessible and even indicting, and therefore intimidating when we encounter a person perceived to be...
Guardians of Common Sense
The teachings of Christ provide benchmarks to measure “normal” human behavior. It helps if we don’t kill each other, remain faithful in marriage, don’t lie and cheat, and so on. Common sense stuff. Christians of course do not have a monopoly on common sense. But the rapid...
‘How am I doin’?’
Years ago the popular mayor of New York, Ed Koch, was known to greet his constituents on the street with a question: “How am I doin’?” As political shticks go, it was a good one; the voters received the question with amusement, but Koch accepted their responses with an edge of...
Inauguration Day thoughts: Shining City on a Hill
Without God we labor in vain; so saith the Psalmist. Most of us, I suspect, easily forget the everyday need for the gifts of the Holy Spirit. So it is helpful to add the phrase, “with God’s grace” to our daily imperatives to remind ourselves that we can do nothing without Him. On...
An Undelivered Christmas Homily
In a J.F. Powers short story written shortly after the Second Vatican Council, a priest is asked, “Father, how can we make sanctity as attractive as sex to the common man?” It’s a provocative question and worthy of a thoughtful answer—perhaps not from the pulpit. After all,...
Rather Than Global Warming, Worry about Wormwood
Several years ago an article appeared in the Washington Post, of all places, on the history of contraception. The writer reported that wormwood—a kind of herbal derivative—was used as a contraceptive by the ancients. (The story came to mind after reading George Sim Johnston’s...
Fidel Castro, RIP?
God has given us an Advent meditation with the death of Fidel Castro, President of Cuba, politician, revolutionary, mass murderer. Here are examples of responses by world leaders: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a statement hailed Castro as a “remarkable leader” and a...
Rackets
During my pop-philosophy years as a youngster, I happened to catch the “Longshoreman philosopher” Eric Hoffer on “60 Minutes.” Fascinated by his street wisdom I eventually got around to reading his book The True Believer where he wrote: “Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business,...
Little Italian Grandmothers
One of the most memorable homilies I’ve heard was given by a New York City priest when I was in the seminary. He introduced his homily with a droll comment about “little Italian grandmothers” and their big families. The details escape me. But his quip drew twitters of chuckles...
Jewish Humor
Jewish humor is prevalent in our culture, or at least at one time it was. Many of the great comedians are Jewish: Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Groucho Marx, Jerry Lewis—the list seems endless. Humor, of course, is possible because the contrast of human behavior—whether sinful or just...
Immigration and the Family
In the Book of Genesis, when God created man in his image and ordered man and woman to “be fruitful and multiply,” He implicitly established the family as the foundational social unit. Communities, cities, and nations subsequently have been built upon that basic structure and share in...
Summer Cookouts and Party Politics
Here we go again. As we enter the season for the national political conventions in preparation for the November vote we will once again witness how our politicians-– in large part reflecting the views of the populace-– view the abortion or pro-life “issue.” (Incidentally referring to the question...
No Ninnies
Do you know what a 'ninny' is? I'm not sure myself. But I get the idea that if you called a red-blooded American boy a "ninny" in a schoolyard in the 1930s you could end up with a bloody nose. World War II was not a war for ninnies. After the landings in Normandy, the...
Obama and the Bomb: Hiroshima Revisited
It’s hard to accept President Obama’s motives at face value. I'm inclined to think of his upcoming visit on May 27 to Hiroshima as pure political posturing, and not as endeavors toward true reconciliation. If he is playing his signature radical “community organizing” game...
Subjective Conscience and Moral Certainty
As a parish priest, I hear thousands of confessions. It’s my job. The privilege of my office as confessor brings me great joy and for that I give God thanks. But I think the Holy Father’s recent document on love and marriage, Amoris Laetitia (AL), may well place ordinary...
The Joy of Dread
There are many words now forbidden in polite society. “Adultery” comes to mind. It’s either an unmentionable or has been replaced with the phrase “divorced and remarried.” “Promiscuity” and “lewd and lascivious conduct” have been...
Hollywood Extras
“Christ is risen! Alleluia! You there! You in the back row yawning. Yeah, I’m talking to you. You’re not listening to my homily are you? Can’t you just pretend to listen? Or at least cover your mouth when you yawn? You’re not...
Praying with the Church
When I read the works of scholars who suggest, “The early Church placed on the lips of Jesus…” my inner alarm bells go off. The implication is clear. The early Church placed its own words on the lips of Jesus to proclaim a message that is either generally in line with the...
Instant Gratification
The consumer society has given us new phrases that lack subtlety. When you’re filling up at a gas station, it is presumed you’d be attracted to a “Big Gulp” beverage, going beyond the usual soda bottle size and providing a gallon or so of flavored sugar water (perfect for...
The Popes, the Pill, and Climate Change
Politics can be unpleasant. And Church politics, for most thoughtful believers, can be the most unpleasant of all political logrolling. To be “political” suggests a kind of relativism, pandering to this or that group for support, a pandering that is incompatible with the objective...
The Dysfunctional Stages of the Interior Life
The PBS American Experience series is fascinating. From Teddy Roosevelt to Vietnam and beyond, the producers report events from various points of view with an admirable attention to historical facts. One such production, “The Summer of Love,” is the story of hippies converging on the...
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