One among the many irrefutable proofs of the resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ that even serious non-Christians are forced to contend with is the testimony of Flavius Josephus, first-century Jewish historian and eyewitness to the remarkable fulfilment of Our Savior’s prophesies regarding the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Bp. Eusebius praises Josephus for…
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 Gospel: Mark 16:1-7 O God, who on this day, through Thine only-begotten Son, hast conquered death, and thrown open to us the gate of everlasting life, give effect by Thine aid to our desires, which Thou dost anticipate and inspire. – From the Collect for Easter Sunday The long wait is…
I remember my utter shock and disbelief when our diocese closed all the churches. It seemed like an impossibility (and still does) that there would be no sacraments available to the laity. How does this make sense? In the time of global pandemic and such fear and uncertainty, the sacraments are what we seem to…
I begin by recounting a magnificently horrible tale from the Church’s past: the exploits of the iniquitous Pope Stephen VI. It speaks to corruption, power, and the extent one is willing to go to “undertake” macabre vengeance. Briefly, the notorious Stephen VI, soon after his election in 896 A.D., had the rotting corpse of his…
Publisher’s note: I’ve maintained a consistent public editorial line over the past month that the most prudent course of action in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic is to follow the recommendations on social distancing, even to the point of being supportive of a temporary suspension of public Masses. I have argued in favor of the…
I have developed an affection for a verse in Psalm 16: Propter verba labiorum tuorum ego custodivi vias duras, “On account of the words of Thy lips, I have kept the arduous paths” (Ps. 16:4). King David, to whom these words are attributed, knew what it was like to keep to arduous paths. At the…
“It’s very difficult for us to recapture people’s motivations for carrying out this practice[.] … Perhaps it was out of … a sense that the good the sacrifice could bring the family or community as a whole outweighed the life of the child.” —Dr. Josephine Quinn, on Carthaginian ritual infant sacrifice “The reasons and need…
Zech. 13:6 And they shall say to him: What are these wounds in the midst of thy hands? And he shall say: With these I was wounded in the house of them that loved me. (Douay-Rheims) [et dicetur ei quid sunt plagae istae in medio manuum tuarum et dicet his plagatus sum in domo eorum…
Epistle: Philippians 2:5-11 Gospel: Matthew 26:36-75; 27:1-66 Almighty and everlasting God, by whose ordinance our Savior took flesh and suffered crucifixion to give mankind a pattern of humility, grant us this boon, that, with the lesson of His endurance before us, we may be found worthy to have fellowship in His resurrection. – From the…
I’m 42 years old. Mine is the last generation to have grown up in the old world. The world before the internet, and cell phones, and everything on demand. I think of it as “The Slow Time,” because everything then felt so much less urgent. Speed limits were lower. We did more walking. We sat…
Sunday was my thirteenth day in coronavirus quarantine. I must confess that although I have done some liturgical sewing and have spent more time than usual exercising, cooking, and praying, most of this precious downtime has slipped by without anything of note transpiring. But Sunday was different. My church — a small Melkite parish —…
