This past Saturday, I went to the Arlington Diocese’s second annual Men’s Conference. It was great, and one of my favorite priests, Fr. Arne Panula, spoke on the subject of “Building Your Prayer Life.” He gave an incredible example on the power of prayer from Scripture. On the night of Holy Thursday, Jesus is physically… Continue reading The Power of Prayer and the Agony in the Garden
Tag: liturgical year
St. Patrick’s Confession
This is a perfect reflection for both St. Patrick’s Day and for Lent, particularly if you’re someone who’s grown up in a religious household without ever having a strong faith of your own. It’s the beginning of St. Patrick’s Confessio, his autobiography: 1. I, Patrick, a sinner, a most simple countryman, the least of all… Continue reading St. Patrick’s Confession
What’s Good for the Goose…
The NAB is a decent Bible translation, but it’s much too much a product of its times (the 1970s) and gives too much weight to “progressive” theological movements. I’ve complained about this before, but was amused by it on Sunday. One of the pet peeves of feminist Biblical criticism is the fact that in Greek,… Continue reading What’s Good for the Goose…
John MacArthur on Lent, Easter, and Christmas
John MacArthur has given a lot of pretty great Christian sermons, and he really does edify the Body of Christ at times. But when it comes to Catholicism, he’s embarrassingly ignorant, and gets a lot of even basic things wrong. I wish this was a minor thing, but it’s got pretty far-reaching implications. For example, he’s… Continue reading John MacArthur on Lent, Easter, and Christmas
The Glory of the Lord, and the Strange Gifts of the Magi
It’s two days after Latin-Rite Catholics celebrated Epiphany Sunday, and two days before Eastern-Rite Catholics celebrate Epiphany (they celebrate it on the Twelfth Day of Christmas, while we move the feast to Sunday), so it seems fitting to have a post celebrating it right here in the middle. The Epiphany celebrates the Magi’s arrival, coming… Continue reading The Glory of the Lord, and the Strange Gifts of the Magi
Happy New Year!
I don’t normally do Saturday posts, but the readings for today are fantastic (as I mentioned in my last post, it’s a Holy Day, but attending Mass is optional – despite my own advice in yesterday’s post, I missed this morning). Anyways, the first reading is from Number 6:22-27, and it contains the traditional Judeo-Christian… Continue reading Happy New Year!
Emmanuel, God With Us
In honor of Christmas, I wanted to share something I read recently that I’ve been really enriched by. It relates to a comment Bill asked the other day, This week we hear in the readings the old testament prophesy about the one to come being called Emmanuel. Then we hear the angel tell Joseph to name… Continue reading Emmanuel, God With Us
Merry Christmas!
Today’s the last day of Advent. Tomorrow is Christmas. There’s so much to be thankful for, but nothing moreso than the fact that God the Son became Man so that we might be saved, and might come to share in the Divine nature. Here’s Bishop Olmsted explaining Who is the center of his life. Let… Continue reading Merry Christmas!
The Nativity for the Modern World
This is a cute video that still inadvertently answers why Christ was born 2010 years ago, instead of this year: (h/t American Papist)
The Immaculate Conception
Today is the Feast on which we celebrate Mary’s conception without stain of original sin. In my post on the subject from last year, I answered three common points of confusion: Does this mean that Mary had no free will? This doesn’t mean that Mary was without free will. On the contrary, we think that… Continue reading The Immaculate Conception