David the Shepherd Warrior Died in His Bed

  After King David slew Goliath (1 Samuel 17), he did not get killed in his next battle (1 Samuel 18:14).   Can any of us football fans ever forget the thrill of February 3, 2008?  Goliath fell, hit by a rock from a little sling.   We Redskins fans should not, therefore, expect two [...]

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Take Up Your Cross

      Since Archbishop Wuerl wrote to us priests and asked us to make his points about Church teaching on abortion in our homilies this morning, I never got to give the homily I had prepared for today.  So here it is—a “web exclusive.”     You duped me, O LORD, and I let [...]

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Pray that Hurricaine Gustav will Turn out to Sea

        PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF PROMPT SUCCOR, Patroness of Louisiana           Our Lady of Prompt Succor, ever Virgin Mother of Jesus Christ our Lord and God, you are most powerful against the enemy of our salvation. The divine promise of a Redeemer was announced right after the sin of [...]

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Archbishop Wuerl’s Points

        Here are the points which Archbishop Wuerl asked all of us priests to make in our homilies at Holy Mass today. 1.  The Pope together with the bishops speak for the faith of the Catholic Church.  “For a Catholic, there are sure answers to life’s great questions.  Jesus offers them.  His [...]

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People are Giddy

      http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/435468.aspx http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/29/AR2008082901777.html Lisa Schiffren: “Talk about a role model for our daughters: Annie Oakley in the halls of power! With a newborn . . . and a son serving in Iraq. I am giddy!” Me, too.

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Not Above My Pay Grade

        In the U.S. Congress, the Speaker of the House must have a higher salary than a junior Senator.  The Speaker undertook to catechize the country ( http://www.catholicexchange.com/2008/08/26/113593/ ) on a question which the democratic nominee asked for more money before he would give an answer (http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20080818/pl_politico/12602 ).   Archbishop Wuerl has [...]

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Spiritual Reading Suggestion

    This is my seventh semester taking one class at the Dominican House of Studies, trying to make my way towards a degree that would qualify me to teach in a seminary.  This morning my class for this semester met for the first time, and I had the experience I always do:  The syllabus [...]

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The Joy of Cereal

    One of the greatest sensory pleasures of my life is a nice bowl of Raisin Bran right after Mass in the morning.  I am a whole milk man, though I can live with any kind of milk, provided it is very cold.  If there is no milk in the fridge, I have even been [...]

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Tie Goes to the Winner

    I       In my earlier posts about the Olympics, there was one controversy about which I neglected to opine.  In the women’s gymnastics uneven-bars competition, Nastia Liukin of the USA and He Kexin of China wound up with the exact same score.  NBC announcer Tim Daggett then declared:  “The computer applies [...]

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Corporal Punishment for Bad Priests

    Back in the winter of 2004, when I was still a newly ordained priest, I asked my pastor if I could offer an “adult forum” on sexual abuse by priests.  It had been two years since the Boston Globe had investigated and exposed the abominable shamblings of the Archdiocesan authorities there.  As we [...]

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