What Was the Lord Doing on Wednesday of Holy Week?
Archdiocese of Washington
by Msgr. Charles Pope
2d ago
Two momentous days have passed: On Monday there was the cleansing of the Temple and the laments over Jerusalem’s lack of faith; Tuesday featured exhaustive teachings by Jesus and interrogations by His opponents. Today, Wednesday, it would seem that Jesus stays in Bethany. According to Matthew’s Gospel, the day begins with an ominous warning: When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified” (Matthew 26:1-2). The scene then shifts across the Kidron valley, where we “overh ..read more
Visit website
What Was the Lord Doing on Tuesday of Holy Week?
Archdiocese of Washington
by Msgr. Charles Pope
2d ago
It is Tuesday of Holy Week. Jesus likely arises early, as did all the ancients. Days both ended and started early, at dusk and dawn, prior to the advent of electric lighting. They leave Bethany and head back to Jerusalem. Perhaps a few converts can be made before the transcendent events of the Passion begin. It is only a couple of miles, mostly downhill, to Jerusalem. As they come down the steep hill they see the fig tree Jesus had cursed the day before. As they were walking back in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from its roots. Peter remembered it and said, “Look, Rabbi! The fig ..read more
Visit website
What Was the Lord Doing on Monday of Holy Week?
Archdiocese of Washington
by Msgr. Charles Pope
3d ago
According to Matthew 21:10-17, Mark 11:15-17, and Luke 19:45-46, Jesus returns to Jerusalem today. Seeing shameful practices in the Temple area, He cleanses it. The Gospels also recount His weeping over Jerusalem and His cursing of the fig tree. Matthew and Mark relate that He returned to Bethany that night. Let’s look to the details.  Prelude: The Scriptures record that Jesus went to Bethany on the Sunday evening after His triumphal entrance into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday): [Jesus] went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, He went out to Bet ..read more
Visit website
See What the End Shall Be – A Homily for Palm Sunday
Archdiocese of Washington
by Msgr. Charles Pope
4d ago
The Passion, which we read in the liturgy for Palm Sunday, is too long to comment on in detail, so we will only examine a portion of it here. It may be of some value to examine the problems associated with the more moderate range of personalities involved. The usual villains (the Temple leaders, Judas, and the recruited crowd shouting, “Crucify him!”) are unambiguously wicked and display their sinfulness openly. But there are others involved whose struggles and neglectfulness are more subtle, yet no less real. It is in examining these figures that we can learn a great deal about ourselves, who ..read more
Visit website
For Holy Week: A Rosary of the Penitential Psalms
Archdiocese of Washington
by Msgr. Charles Pope
6d ago
For Holy Week an possible practice is to pray a rosary combined with the Seven Penitential Psalms. One could do this on a chosen day, such as Good Friday or on another day, even several days. I have set this forth in the rosary that follows. I also offer a PDF of this rosary that you can print here:  Rosary of the 7 Penitential Psalms. Praying this rosary is straight-forward. The usual preliminary prayers of the rosary are prayed. Then, the Sorrowful Mysteries are prayed and one reads a verse from the psalms assigned to each bead. By the end of the rosary all seven psalms have been prayed ..read more
Visit website
The Cross Wins, It Always Wins. A Meditation on the Gospel of the Fifth Sunday of Lent
Archdiocese of Washington
by Msgr. Charles Pope
1w ago
The Gospel today is, to the world and to those who are perishing, utter madness, utter foolishness. For Christ, in effect, declares that dying (to this world) is the only way to true life. While the world’s so-called wisdom declares to us that the way to life is power, prestige, possessions and popularity, Jesus says, die to all that and you’ll find true life. The word “paradox” refers to something that is contrary to the usual way of thinking. And the true gospel, (not the watered down, compromised one) is a real insult to the world. To those who would scoff at this way of the Cross there is ..read more
Visit website
Where the Tree Falls, There It Will Lie – A Meditation on the Finality of Judgment
Archdiocese of Washington
by Msgr. Charles Pope
1w ago
Some engage in the wishful thinking that humans can suddenly and dramatically become converted and wholly different. To be sure, there are what are sometimes called “sudden conversions” of individuals. But what this usually means is that the person’s disposition against God and/or the faith is transformed into an openness to the truth and grace of God. It does not usually mean (barring a miracle) that the person is instantly possessed of all virtue and is suddenly free of all sinful inclinations. In order for fundamental change to take deep and lasting root in a person, he or she must work har ..read more
Visit website
What are “Lost Sabbaths” and Why Do They Matter Today?
Archdiocese of Washington
by Msgr. Charles Pope
2w ago
In this past  Sunday’s readings (Fourth Sunday of Lent B)there came an instruction to God’s people that they would be exiled seventy years. And why? the text supplies a reason: “Until the land has retrieved its lost sabbaths, during all the time it lies waste it shall have rest while seventy years are fulfilled.” (2 Chron 36:16). Of all the things we might think of as a serious matter, so serious as to merit exile, “lost sabbaths” would not occur to most of us in this present age. Other matters such as violence, murder, sexual sin, greed, injustice and so forth would occur first to us. So ..read more
Visit website
The Enduring Love of the Father – A Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Lent
Archdiocese of Washington
by Msgr. Charles Pope
2w ago
The readings from today’s Mass speak to us of our desperate condition and how God’s abiding love has not only set us free but also lifted us higher. God was not content to restore us to some earthly garden, paradise though it was. No, He so loved the world that He sent His Son, who opened Heaven itself for us and has given us a new, transformed, and eternal life. Let’s look at some of the themes and ponder how God  demonstrates His ardent love for us and persistently works to lift us higher. If there is any problem it is from us, not God. I. Problems – In those days, a ..read more
Visit website
Don’t Forget the Old Evangelization
Archdiocese of Washington
by Msgr. Charles Pope
3w ago
The term “New Evangelization” was originally used by Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI to refer to the unique situation of the West, wherein we were not preaching the Gospel to a people who had not heard it, but were instead “re-presenting” the Gospel to a culture that had once embraced the Gospel and later rejected it. In essence, the term means “re-evangelization.” In his “Latin Letters,” C.S. Lewis quipped that while the ancient Europe encountered by the Apostles and the early Church was a virgin awaiting her groom, Jesus Christ, modern Europe is an angry divorcée. Reaching this q ..read more
Visit website

Follow Archdiocese of Washington on FeedSpot

Continue with Google
Continue with Apple
OR