Giotto, Marriage at Cana (14th cent.) Many today balk at the thought of a life-time commitment. Yet there is a fundamental desire within the human heart to be in a life-giving, life-long, loving relationship with another person. All the great love songs and epic tales depict the struggle for this lifetime “yes” to another. This [...]
Fra Angelico, Institution of the Eucharist (1442) Scripture tells us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17) since prayer is one of the fundamental elements of the spiritual life. But St Paul says, “We do not know how to pray as we ought” (Rom 8:26). Prayer is difficult and does not come easily for most [...]
Sassetta, Institution of the Eucharist (1430-2) What is the relationship between the proclamation of the Word of God (Scripture) and the sacramental life of the Church? Some think that the power of the proclaimed Word of God, or their private study of Scripture, is sufficient for the Christian life. Others think that the fullness of [...]
Andrei Rublev (1360-1430), Angels at Mamre (Holy Trinity) Often called the “preacher’s nightmare,” Trinity Sunday might be considered the “preacher’s opportunity” to unpack the greatest mystery of the Christian faith. The Trinity is the most arcane and extraordinary of Christian doctrines, and simultaneously the most ordinary and obvious of doctrines. The very technical language used [...]
Michelangelo, Last Judgment (detail), 1536-41 Have Catholics forgotten about the next life and judgment? Seldom do we hear about the next life; and we reflect little about it. Many have come to believe that all will be sunshine and roses, for all will enter immediately into the glory of life everlasting. But is this the [...]
Hans Memling, The Resurrection (late 15th cent.) This Easter thousands of adults will be brought into the Church through reception of the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and Eucharist. In baptism we are incorporated into Christ; we throw off our “old nature” and “put on Christ.” St Paul indicates that entering the baptismal waters we die [...]
Can we hope that all human beings will be saved? Theologians have wrestled with this question since the early Church. More recently it has arisen in light of the secularisation of many previously Christian countries, and the fact that many people elsewhere may never hear the gospel of Christ. We used to hear of the [...]
"Washing of the Feet" by Giotto in the Scrovegni Chapel (c. 1305) C. S. Lewis once wrote, “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilisations – these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals with [...]
"The Annunciation" by Eustache Le Sueur (1650) Let us celebrate the motherhood of the Virgin Mary, and let us worship her Son, Christ the Lord. Today we are urged to consider the fact that the Virgin Mary carried within her womb the Lord, the Creator of the world, and gave birth to him in Bethlehem. [...]
"The Virgin in Prayer" by Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato (1640-50) On New Year’s Day the Church celebrates the solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. Considered the greatest of Mary’s titles, she is the “Mother of God” because she gave birth to Jesus who is the God-man. This feast day falls eight days after [...]
"The Adoration of the Shepherds" by Gerard van Honthorst (1622) Christmas is the celebration of the birth of the God-man. At Christmas night Mass we hear: “For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests.” The birth of any human being is a cause for celebration; but [...]
Christ Cleanses a Leper Through baptism and faith, one enters the People of God and receives a share in this People’s unique priestly vocation. Indeed, all the Christian faithful are members of the priesthood of believers. Some are later ordained to the ministerial priesthood. What does it mean for the laity to participate in the [...]
Notre Dame de Chartres Cathedral, France Recently I’ve come across some faithful Catholics concerned about their children and grandchildren dissociating themselves from the Catholic Church and being swept up in the secular culture. These Catholics are bewildered as to how to communicate the Catholic faith to their young family members. Often the secularised youth are [...]
"An Angel Frees the Souls of Purgatory" by Ludovico Carracci (c. 1610) Christians have always prayerfully remembered the faithful departed who have “fallen asleep in Christ.” In an act of mercy, Christians have prayed for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins and come to share in the heavenly glory of Christ. [...]
"The Sacrifice of Isaac" by Juan de Valdes Leal (1659) Despite innumerable great fathers whom we all know and love, many today have questions about fatherhood often arising from fractured relationships with their own fathers or from bad modelling of fatherhood in society. These questions about fatherhood often challenge people as to whether they should [...]