From the Friars: Let Us Begin Again There are many different philosophies of history, but in general they are either cyclic or linear. The cyclic claim that history keeps repeating itself and has no ultimate goal. The linear proposes that there is progress and usually, that there is an end point toward which we are…
From the Friars: What Do You Seek? On December 13th of last year, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a major scientific breakthrough. For the first time ever, a nuclear fusion experiment was able to produce more energy than what was required to cause the reaction. This technology has the potential to eventually become an…
From the Friars: María Teotókos Happy New Year! Have you made your New Years resolutions yet? If not, turn to Mary, the Mother of God, whom we celebrate each year at the beginning of the secular calendar. “Theotókos” is the Greek word meaning “she who gave birth to God,” and it has an important and…
From the Friars: O Come, O Come Emmanuel! In his Gospel, St. Matthew is careful to show how the birth and life of Jesus fulfill the messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. In the reading for today he quotes the famous prophesy of Isaiah 7:14, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and…
From the Friars: The Question of St. John the Baptist In today’s Gospel we hear how St. John The Baptist sent his disciples to ask Jesus: “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” (Mt 11:3) This seems hard to reconcile with the clear certitude of the man who…
From the Friars: The Coming Wrath In today’s gospel we hear the fiery words of St. John the Baptist warning of “the coming wrath.” Fire and brimstone type preaching is not popular these days. There is a far greater emphasis on God’s Mercy and readiness to forgive. It is first of all important to recognize…
From the Friars: Happy New Year and Happy Anniversary! Today is the First Sunday of Advent. On this day, we begin a new Liturgical Year in the Catholic Church. So, in some sense, we can say, “Happy New Year!” The designation of this year is A-1. This designation is based on the cycle of Mass…
From the Friars: Viva Cristo Rey! Today on this Solemnity of Christ the King, we hear the story of the good thief. The faith of this man is quite extraordinary. For all appearances Jesus’ life was a complete failure. The supposed great prophet, who many thought was the long-awaited Messiah that would deliver God’s people…
From the Friars: Words of Warning As we come to the end of the liturgical year, and the beginning of Advent, we hear much about the Last Things in the readings at Mass. Today Jesus speaks of terrifying events to come and of great persecution that will come upon the Church. Church Teaching and the…
From the Friars: Faithful Unto Death Today in the first reading we hear the story of the heroic seven brothers and their mother who all died as martyrs rather than violate the Law of God. This happened during the reign of the Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a Greek king who ruled over Israel in the second…