“Following after Christ then obviously involves a mortification that results in our denying not only sinfulness, but other human goods that people take for granted, even family. And this is what Christ calls a cross.”
Tag Archives: wisdom of solomon
Wait for the Lord (Sunday XIX of Ordered time)
“Of what should befall that night, our fathers had good warning; confidence in Thy sworn protection should keep them unafraid. A welcome gift it was to Thy people, rescue for the just, and doom for their persecutors; at one stroke Thou didst punish our enemies, and make us proud men by singling us out forContinue reading “Wait for the Lord (Sunday XIX of Ordered time)”
To reign from a Cross (Sunday XXIX of Ordered time)
“But the souls of the just are in God’s hands, and no torment, in death itself, has power to reach them. Dead? Fools think so; think their end loss, their leaving us, annihilation; but all is well with them. The world sees nothing but the pains they endure; they themselves have eyes only for whatContinue reading “To reign from a Cross (Sunday XXIX of Ordered time)”
The true measure of holiness (Sunday XXVIII of Ordered time)
There’s something I mention reasonably often: integrity and sincerity. Let us define religion as rite and ritual: the ceremonies that walk us from soon after we are born, through the period of adolescence and early adulthood, that sanctify our ordinary life throughout and that then finally carry us into the tomb. Why do people whoContinue reading “The true measure of holiness (Sunday XXVIII of Ordered time)”
Christian leadership (Sunday XXV of Ordered time)
As with last weekend, we meditate upon the suffering of our Lord in the course of His great Sacrifice, so let’s again try to unite all three of our Mass readings together to establish a common message. Remember that September is traditionally the month of our Lady of Sorrows, when we stand with our blessedContinue reading “Christian leadership (Sunday XXV of Ordered time)”
Reading through the Wisdom of Solomon (aka. the Book of Wisdom)
The Wisdom of Solomon is traditionally attributed to the king of that name, although Scripture scholars have attempted to throw doubt on that (as Scripture scholars are wont to do). But let’s use the traditional attribution to keep things simple. There are three great themes of the book: (i) the triumph of the Just (oftenContinue reading “Reading through the Wisdom of Solomon (aka. the Book of Wisdom)”
Reading through the book of Ecclesiastes (aka. Qoheleth)
Here’s the slightly controversial Old Testament book called Ecclesiastes, or Qoheleth. The word ecclesia in Greek means ‘assembly’ and, like the other book called Ecclesiasticus, was designed to be read to an assembly. As indeed was most of Scripture. The Hebrew word Q’hal has a similar meaning, but some scholars treat ‘Qoheleth’ as a proper name. My own BibleContinue reading “Reading through the book of Ecclesiastes (aka. Qoheleth)”
Reading through the Book of Proverbs
Pictured above is the interior of one of the greatest churches we ever built, the great Hagia Sophia of Constantinople, now unfortunately desecrated multiple times and (as I understand) functioning as a mosque. Hagia Sophia is Greek for Sancta Sapientia in Latin, or Holy Wisdom in English. That church was built to honour the Wisdom of God (of which human wisdom is onlyContinue reading “Reading through the Book of Proverbs”
Catholic Louth and Mablethorpe 