2008

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2008 Material

WLOF Jubilee Year

  • This is the tenth year that the station has been on the air.
  • Fr. Corapi will speak on "The Lord and Giver of Life" at HSBC Arena on August 15, 2009 (God willing).
  • Conference website: [1]
  • Answers to questions:
    • 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
    • Food services will be available in the arena. People will have to plan on buying lunch because the ordinary policies of the Arena will be in force about bringing in food and drink.
    • Half-day tickets are not available.
    • Mass will begin at 11:00 AM and will not count for Sunday's obligation. We will be celebrating the Feast of the Assumption. Bishop Kmiec will preside at the Mass, I think.
  • We invite everyone to ask the Father and the Son to send the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, into our hearts as we prepare for the conference.

Jubilee Year in Honor of St. Paul (ends June 29, 2009)

"Pope Benedict XVI announced a special jubilee year dedicated to St. Paul which begins on June 28th. He stated that the Church needs modern Christians who will imitate the apostle's missionary energy and spirit of sacrifice."

November 21

November 14

  • Readings of the day (32nd week, Ordinary time). One ordinary Sunday left, then the Feast of Christ the King (looking forward to the "end times").
  • From last week:
    • NFP Special Conference Talk: Fr. Matthew Habiger, Dr. Damon Cudahee.
    • Ann, East Aurora: Why was Jesus not looking for his parents?
    • Tommy, Buffalo: Where can you find information on the Jubilee year?
    • Mike, Fort Erie: A comment on the election and an experience at the abortion clinic.
    • Fred, Rochester: What is Agape love?
    • Frank, Rochester: Question on John Chapter 6.
    • Ed, Rochester: A question on people other than Jesus raising people from the dead. (Why don't popes regularly raise people from the dead?)
    • And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ, so that we may no longer be infants, tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching arising from human trickery, from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming. Rather, living the truth in love, we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, with the proper functioning of each part, brings about the body's growth and builds itself up in love.
    • Donna, Tonawanda: Would like to express her opinion on Catholics voting for a pro-abortion candidate.

November 7

  • October 17: pre-recorded show on Job.
  • October 24: discussion with Gina.
  • October 31: fundraiser on the air; I was in Chicago.
  • November 5: dinner with Fr. Haberger (NFP promoter, OSB).
  • Readings of the day.
  • Octave of the two Martins (Nov. 4 to Nov. 11).
  • From October 24:
    • Gina Freitas - benefit at Salvatore's Italian Gardens for Nicaragua Mission. Journey of Hope Foundation. Hope for Nicaragua. Multipurpose building: chapel, classroom, retreat conference room. Bishop of Granada here. $100 a ticket. $750 per table. Live silent auction. Anne Marie.
    • Peter from Clifton Springs: he and his wife were wondering about some things such as the old and new covenant, numbers things like 10 days between Yom Kippur & Rosh Hashanna.
    • Amanuel (e-mail): Can you please give few examples of "sin against the Holy Spirit." Also if time allows kindly comment on my question about the Just War Theory from two weeks ago. Thank you and God bless you!
    • Amy, Rochester, wondering about the use of labrynth in Catholic meditation: Is it a legitimate form of meditation?
    • 40 days for life finished up this week, I think.

October 24

October 10

Brothers and sisters:
Realize that it is those who have faith
who are children of Abraham.
Scripture, which saw in advance that God
would justify the Gentiles by faith,
foretold the good news to Abraham, saying,
Through you shall all the nations be blessed.
Consequently, those who have faith are blessed
along with Abraham who had faith.
For all who depend on works of the law are under a curse;
for it is written, Cursed be everyone
who does not persevere in doing all the things
written in the book of the law.
And that no one is justified before God by the law is clear,
for the one who is righteous by faith will live.
But the law does not depend on faith;
rather, the one who does these things will live by them.
Christ ransomed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us,
for it is written, Cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree,
that the blessing of Abraham might be extended
to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus,
so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
  • Leftovers from last week:
    • Brenda Sharman..National director of Pure Fashion to speak about the Fashion show in Rochester this weekend.
    • Jose Rivera...Information on life chain in Rochester this weekend.
    • Gabriel..E. Amherst...What is the origin of benediction of the Blessed Sacrament
    • John.... Webster..Has a question on the Mondatum and the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.
    • John... Williamsville...How do angels do battle against humans. They do not bodies.
    • Dan... Sister Camille Campbell. "Transforming Energy." Is Sister Campbell referring to God as "Her", or the mercy of God as "Her"? She credits Matthew Fox, director of the Institute in Culture and Creation Spirituality for advising her in writing this book.

October 3

  • Readings of the day. Book of Job, Jb 38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5.
  • Feast of St. Francis Borgia, SJ. Wikipedia:
    • "He was the son of Juan de Borgia, the 3rd Duke of Gandia and Joana of Aragon, daughter of Afonso de Aragon, Archbishop of Zaragoza, who, in turn, was the illegitimate son of Ferdinand the Catholic (Ferdinand II of Aragon) and his mistress Aldonza Ruiz de Iborra y Alemany. Francis was also the paternal great-grandson of Pope Alexander VI."
    • "The Borgias or Borjas were an Italian noble family of Spanish origin remembered today for their corrupt rule of the Papacy during the Renaissance. They are in fact thought to be "history's first criminal family", and a forerunner to the Italian Mafia.[1] The patriarch of the family, Rodrigo Borgia (1431-1503), "became a bishop, cardinal and vice-chancellor of the church."[2] He was later elected Pope, taking the name Alexander VI and kept that position for at least eleven years. Other members of the Borgia family were Lucrezia Borgia and Cesare Borgia, daughter and son of Rodrigo Borgia, respectively. Among the many accusations against the Borgia family, some are of incest, adultery, murder, and scandal." (Wikipedia)
  • Rick's question: what is the difference between a solemnity, a feast, and a memorial?
  • Leftovers from last week:
    • Jason Evert's visit to Rochester. Has it happened? How did it go?
    • Long e-mail from Amanuel:
      • Does the question that seeks scientific evidence for the resurrection presuppose a conflict between faith and reason?
      • Is there something wrong with the desire for proof?
      • In the case of the apostles, seeing and believing do image the parallel between faith and reason.
      • WE cannot give physical evidence of the resurrection of Jesus.

We can only rely on the faith of our ancestors and accept the truth as it was handed to us through the apostles. They seem to be credible witnesses. The Church is based on the conviction that they were telling the truth about what they experienced.

September 26, 2008

  • Fridays are good; Sundays are better.
  • "Paul, an apostle not from human beings nor through a human being but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead" (Gal 1:1).
  • Readings of the day.
  • Sts. Cosmas and Damian. Died ~287 AD. "Patrons of physicians and surgeons and are sometimes represented with medical emblems."
In union with the whole Church we honor 
Mary, the ever-virgin mother of Jesus Christ our Lord and God. 
We honor Joseph, her husband, 
the apostles and martyrs 
Peter and Paul, 
Andrew, James, John, 
Thomas, James, Philip, 
Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon and Jude; 
we honor Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sixtus, 
Cornelius, Cyprian, Lawrence, Chrysogonus, 
John and Paul, 
Cosmas and Damian) and all the saints. 
May their merits and prayers grant us 
your constant help and protection.
  • From last week:
    • Christina: Are we the only ones who have saints whose bodies are incorrupt?
    • Emmanuel from Rochester: In the light of "proofs" of the resurrection, in what sense are faith and reason opposed to each other?
    • Daniel: Can you have wisdom without a lot of intelligence?

September 19, 2008

  • Readings of the day.
  • St. Januarius. Died around 305 AD in the persecution of Diocletian.
    • [[wp>Januarius|Wikipedia article]]. Liquefaction of blood. Italian version of his name: San Gennaro — a big feast in New York and Los Angeles. The Los Angeles feast seems more secular than religious, but, at least in principle, they claim to be honoring and following San Gennaro's example of love for and service to the poor.
  • E-mail questions from John in Webster (WHIC):
    • Is the mandatum a legal Church document, or Church contract an educator agrees to and signs when presented by the local bishop (diocese)?
    • Do Catholic Universities/ Colleges Boards of Directors or the Presidents of the schools cooperate, facilitate, or prevent this contract coming into existence?
    • Have local bishops given up requiring this?
    • Can Catholic high and elementary schools be included by a diocesan mandatum?
    • Newman Guide to Catholic Colleges & Universities - catholichighered.org.
  • Leftovers from last week
    • Prayed for Rachel and Matthew's baby, which was due last Saturday.
    • Kevin from Buffalo attends a Catholic school and want to know how you handle situations when the truth is not taught.
    • Ed from Rochester: question on the rapture in the gospels. "One will be taken; the other will remain."
    • I think I sent Rick a scan of my article from Conversations.

September 12

  • Readings of the day.
  • Feast of the Holy Name of Mary. Catholic Encyclopedia: Jan Sobieski, "The Unconquered Northern Lion." WP: "The Lion of Lechistan:" "September 12, 1683 with his victory at the Battle of Vienna, in joined command of Polish, Austrian and German troops, against the invading Turks under Kara Mustafa." Mary's role: "Prior to the battle King John had placed his troops under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary. After the battle Pope Innocent XI, wishing to honor Mary, extended the feast to the entire Church." The bagel connection.
  • From last week:
    • Jesus walking on the water.
    • Are parts of cities under the dominion of Satan?
    • Difference between permanent deacon and priest?
    • Are affirmations an Eastern and anti-Christian practice?
    • Discernment of spirits: why did I choose to be a Jesuit?


Friday, September 5

  • Readings of the day.
  • Leftovers from last week:
    • G.I.R.M. on sacred vessels — thanks, Rick!
    • Some parishes ring bells, some don't. What is the standard practice?
    • Aren't the bells like the voices of the angels in Revelation?
    • How does St. Thomas Aquinas understand the relationship between faith and reason? (Natural theology vs. revealed truths.)
    • Ed from Henrietta had a question on the Trinity. He wasn't able to stay on the line. We talked about the general doctrine of the Trinity at the end of the show.

August 29, Beheading of St. John the Baptist

  • Readings of the day.
  • John the Baptist.
  • From last week
    • Talked with Jim about his background — conversion, education, Pentecostal (charismatic) movement, Steubenville.
    • Fan the Flame Festival by WLOF on Sunday.
    • one2believe.com donated Christian toys and materials for children.
    • Bonnie: Is it OK to receive Communion twice at the same Mass?
    • EWTN, Open Line, Colin Donavan.
    • Dave: Was the Church born when Jesus died on the Cross (blood and water from His side) or on the day of Pentecost?
    • Call screener should read e-mail for cac@thestationofthecross.com.

August 22, Feast of the Queenship of Mary

August 8

  • Readings of the day.
  • Feast of St. Dominic (~1170-1221). Dominic's mother was beatified in 1828. Two of his brothers (perhaps his only siblings?) were priests; Manes was beatified some time after 1831.
  • Wikipedia: "Dominic is the patron saint of astronomers and the Dominican Republic."
    • Great controversy of his early career: Catharism (a kind of gnostic "Puritanism"): "Saint Dominic met and debated the Cathars in 1203 during his mission to the Languedoc. He concluded that only preachers who displayed real sanctity, humility and asceticism could win over convinced Cathar believers. His conviction led eventually to the establishment of the Dominican Order in 1216. The order was to live up to the terms of his famous rebuke, 'Zeal must be met by zeal, humility by humility, false sanctity by real sanctity, preaching falsehood by preaching truth.' However, even St. Dominic managed only a few converts, and in the end told them, 'In my country we have a saying, "Where words fail, blows will avail…"'"
    • Aligensian crusade and massacre: "Arnaud, the Cistercian abbot-commander, is supposed to have been asked how to tell Cathars from Catholics. His alleged reply, recalled by a fellow Cistercian, was "Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius." — "Kill them all, the Lord will recognise His own."
    • "By departing from accepted church practices and learning from the Albigensians, Dominic laid the ground for what would become a major tenet of the Dominican order over time - to find truth no matter where it may be."
    • "Dominic returned to Rome a year later, and was finally granted written authority in December 1216 and January 1217 by the new pope, Honorius III for an order to be named "The Order of Preachers" ("Ordo Praedicatorum", or "O.P.," popularly known as the Dominican Order). This organization has as its motto "to praise, to bless, to preach" (Latin: Laudare, benedicere, praedicare), taken from the Preface of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Roman Missal."
    • Dominic and his Order are associated with the Rosary: "the Rosary has for centuries been at the heart of the Dominican Order. Pope Pius XI stated that: 'The Rosary of Mary is the principle and foundation on which the very Order of Saint Dominic rests for making perfect the life of its members and obtaining the salvation of others.'"
  • Nickname for the order: "Domini canes," Latin, "God's dogs."
  • Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary on Doat Street.
  • St. Thomas Aquinas, OP (1225-1274). (Aquinas Institute in Rochester is run by Basilians.)

Last week's leftovers

  • Jean from Rochester asked about how to identify whether a speaker is in good standing in the Church (Charles Curran).
  • Difference between venial and mortal sin. "If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not say that you should pray. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly" (1 John 5:16-17). "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful" (James 5:16).
  • St. Alphonsus Liguori, founder of Redemptorists; Redemptorist retreat house in Canandaigua(Notre Dame).
  • Guadalupe missionary image.
  • "Motu proprio", Latin, "on his own motive; of his own accord." A particular kind of papal decree. E.g., "Ecclesia Dei" by John Paul II in 1988 dealing with the Lefebvre schism: "In itself, this act was one of disobedience to the Roman Pontiff in a very grave matter and of supreme importance for the unity of the church, such as is the ordination of bishops whereby the apostolic succession is sacramentally perpetuated. Hence such disobedience - which implies in practice the rejection of the Roman primacy - constitutes a schismatic act.(3) In performing such an act, notwithstanding the formal canonical warning sent to them by the Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops on 17 June last, Mons. Lefebvre and the priests Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson and Alfonso de Galarreta, have incurred the grave penalty of excommunication envisaged by ecclesiastical law."
  • I was wrong that the papal declaration on the validity of Anglican orders was a motu proprio; it was a papal bull — a different kettle of fish altogether.
  • Randolph from Hamilton, Ontario: Does Anglican Church still have valid orders? (I don't remember talking about this question. We may have missed it.)

August 1

  • Readings of the day.
  • Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787), bishop and doctor of the Church. Catholic Encyclopedia: "Alphonsus was lawyer, founder [of the Redemptorists], religious superior, bishop, theologian, and mystic, but he was above all a missionary. ... He fed the poor, instructed the ignorant, reorganized his seminary, reformed his convents, created a new spirit in his clergy, banished scandalous noblemen and women of evil life with equal impartiality, brought the study of theology and especially of moral theology into honour, and all the time was begging pope after pope to let him resign his office because he was doing nothing for his diocese. To all his administrative work we must add his continual literary labours, his many hours of daily prayer, his terrible austerities, and a stress of illness which made his life a martyrdom."
  • From last week:
    • Finding God in all things. Have we lost the purpose of education today?
    • Can a priest dictate that people only stand to receive Communion at his church?
    • Questions relating to how Catholics vs non-Catholics treat Mary.
    • Got some feedback from the men's night with Fr. Poblocki — many confessions.
    • Adding Wednesday to the Friday fast was asked by Our Lady at Medjugorie.
  • From July 18th:
    • St. Francis de Sales, Bishop of Geneva, Doctor of the Universal Church (1567-1622).
    • "The laughing saint" was Philip Neri, "Apostle of Rome" and founder of the Congregation of the Oratory (Oratorians). "A joyful heart is more easily made perfect than a downcast one."
    • Psalm 2 and Psalm 89: Jewish expectations of their Messiah (Hebrew; translated into Greek as "Christos"; in English, "Anointed One" — the person anointed to be King or High Priest.

July 25: Feast of St. James

  • Readings for the day.
  • St. James, the Apostle.
  • From last week:
    • Ps. 2: "You are my Son, this day I have begotten you."
    • Call from Rochester — organizing 40 days of life.
    • Men's night: "Why do men hate going to church?" Fr. Poblocki.
    • Elizabeth: St. Frances de Sales — did he have a temper?
    • Brother Lawrence, "Practicing the presence of God." Connect to Jesus prayer, all kinds of spontaneous, personal, all-day prayer. "Don't ask your spiritual director if you can smoke while praying; ask him whether you can pray while smoking."
    • Ed from Rochester: Why are there so many religious orders in the Catholic Church? People keep on thinking up news ways to serve God and His People.
  • Next step: Psalm 89


July 18

  • Readings of the day.
  • From last time:
    • Talked about Jim's question: the close but paradoxical relationship between OT (TNK and LXX) and NT: we talked about the meaning of "covenant" (agreement, bargain, deal, contract, testament, committed personal relationship); started on "Christ."
    • If "catholic" means "universal," why can't everybody take Communion with Catholics? The whole world is invited to become Catholic; whatever keeps people from embracing the Catholic faith keeps them from taking Communion with us.
    • Has doctrine changed or hasn't it? Yes and no. E.g.: clarity about the divinity of Jesus; unity of God, the Son, with God, the Father.
    • Why does the Church have a pope? What are the reasons? Jesus chose Simon to be the "rock" (Kephas, Petros) and told him to feed and care for the flock. I left out the power of the keys in Matthew 16:18-19. Symbol of stewardship brings to mind parables of the King who goes away and leaves a faithful servant in charge of the household.
  • For today:
    • Paul is a providential link between the OT and the NT. He was 100% Jewish, thoroughly immersed and well-trained in his tradition. He was equipped by God to think about what does and does not carry over from that tradition into the New Covenant.
    • Finish talking about the differences between the OT and NT understanding of "Christ." Jesus is "Priest, Prophet, and King."

July 11

  • Readings of the day.
  • St. Benedict, Abbot, founder of Western Monasticism. 480-550 AD.
  • Jim from Amherst: talk about the relationship of the Old Testament to the New Testament.
  • Two weeks ago: St. Paul; earliest manuscripts of NT; gift of hope; gift of tongues.

Friday, June 27

Friday, June 6

  • Mom and Dad's 59th Wedding Anniversary tomorrow.
  • Readings of the day. Themes from 2 Timoth 3:10-17:
    • Need to distinguish counterfeits from authentic valuables. Counterfeits always look like the real thing. Someone has to be able to tell the difference. That's the job of the Church.
    • "The Scriptures" in 2 Tim 2:16 must be the OT Scriptures. It took almost 400 years to reach agreement on the 27 books of the NT.
    • Two versions of the Jewish Scriptures (what we call the Old Testament): TNK and Septuagint (LXX). No official "list" (canon) of the OT until 90 AD, after the rise of Christianity and the destruction of Jerusalem. Then the rabbis, the descendents of the Pharisees, reverted to TNK (shorter than LXX). Parts of the NT circulated in various clusters (first 7 letters of Paul, 4 Gospels plus Acts, etc.).
  • Last week:
    • St. Joan of Arc — Catholics aren't pacifists.
    • Dealing with drug dealers, criminal or sinful activity of neighbors.
    • May Catholics use contraceptives?
    • Wine at Mass for alcoholics.
    • Depression.

Friday, May 30


Friday, May 9

  • Happy Easter! Light a candle and pray for the Spirit of Pentecost.
  • Readings of the day. John 21: "Do you love me?"

Trinitarian theology

  • "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God" (Jn 1:1).
  • "The Father is in me and I am in the Father" (Jn 14:10).
  • "The Father is greater than I" (Jn 14:28).
  • "I and the Father are one" (Jn 10:30).

Logos — The Word of the Father

The beauty of thinking about Jesus as the Word of the Father is that the Word remains in the Father while, at the same time, going forth from Him into the world. This is how words work with our minds. When we say something, we are trying to express a meaning that is within us so that others can "see" what we mean.

  • It's funny — we tend to say, "Do you see what I mean?" instead of "Do you hear what I mean?" We shift from what is actually taking place (hearing) to the act of understanding meaning (seeing).

My e-mail system keeps a copy of everything I send to to people. The word remains with me even though I send it out to others. The Word abides in the Father even though He is sent into the world to reveal the Father.

Modern problems

  • We have a taste for equality and for independence. The struggle of the teen-age years to reach equality with our parents and to break away from them is one of the dominant themes in our culture. The fact that the awakening of sexual awareness and sexual appetite coincides with the time of gaining independence makes this a highly "photogenic" period in our lives — our culture is drenched with images of teenage sexuality. That is also a major theme of much of our popular music.
  • Equality and Egalitarianism When we talk about equality, we are speaking in terms of measurement. We must specify the units by which we are affirming equality if we are to make good sense out of what we mean by the term. The Father, Son, and Spirit are equal in every perfection which belongs to the Godhead, because the three Persons are "one in being" (homoousios) with each other: glory, majesty, power, beauty, truth, eternity, knowledge, freedom. The difference in the Persons is one of relationship — they do not have the same (identical) relationship with each other. The Son is from the Father; the Spirit is from the Father and the Son (filioque clause); the Father has no origin — He is the only person in the whole universe of personal beings who has no father.
  • Ricky Jay and I are equal in the eyes of the law (civil rights). We are equally blessed by the sacraments: we are baptized with the same baptism, absolved from our sins by the same Savior, filled with the same Holy Spirit in Confirmation, and given Jesus Himself, whole and entire, in Communion. We are not equal in age, weight, hair distribution.
  • One pound of feathers is equal in weight to one pound of gold. They are not of equal worth for making pillows or making rings or for making a killing in the commodities market.

Friday, May 1

Friday, April 25

= Friday, April 11

  • Happy Easter!
  • Readings of the day - conversion of Saul; John 6.
  • Memorial of Saint Stanislaus, bishop and martyr. "Patron of Poland and the city and Diocese of Cracow; invoked in battle" (CE).
  • Last week's topics:
    • Day for single parents.
    • Who may be anointed? (Knee surgery?)
    • History of the scapular.
    • Mt 27:53 - graves opened when Jesus died; resurrected people testify to Jesus after His resurrection.
    • Question about whether an ecumenical Bible was, in fact, Catholic (yes; it had all the Catholic books; it had an imprimatur).


Friday, April 4

40408.shtml Readings of the day.]

  • St. Isidore of Seville.
  • Last week:
    • Acts 2, 10, 15 — Christian de-literalization of the OT. "Council of Jerusalem."
    • Infant of Prague
    • Theotokos: "Mother of God." First four councils of the Churh.


Friday, March 28


Wednesday, March 19

March 14

March 7

"For ourselves, too, we ask some share
in the fellowship of your apostles and martyrs,
with John the Baptist, Stephen, Matthias,
Barnabas, Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus,
Peter, Felicity, Perpetua,
Agatha, Lucy, Agnes,
Cecilia, Anastasia, and all the saints."



Leftover question

  • "Have you anything to eat?" (Jn 21:5). Greek: me ti prosphagion exete?
    • Prosphagion appears only once in the Scriptures — in this passage. Strong's dictionary says that it is something taken with bread and suggests that the right translation is "fish".
    • King James version: "Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No."
    • History of the Authorized King James Version. Why people have such devotion to the authorization of an English king baffles me!
  • "It is interesting to note (as does the marginal note of the New American Standard Version) that the Greek word (prosphagion) translated ‘fish' actually refers to that which is eaten with bread, as a kind of relish. Our Lord may therefore not only be asking about their catch in general. He might be implying that they not only have failed to make a catch (and thus their living), but that neither have they been able, apart from divine guidance, to provide themselves with enough for their meal. In the marvelous catch that was to follow, Jesus provided a catch, an income, and their immediate need for a meal" Bob Deffinbaugh, Th.M..
  • ichthys — Greek word for fish. Ichthyology. IXTHUS.
  • kreas — Greek word for meat. Gave rise to our word "creosote" because creosote is an antiseptic ("preserves the meat", kreas + soter, savior). Also the root of "pancreas" (literally, "all meat"); "sweetbreads" are "all meat" (the thymus or pancreas of a calf).
  • KJV similarly translates "trophas" ("something to eat", from trefw, "to feed"; root of our our word "trophy") as "meat" in John 4:8 — "His disciples had gone into town to buy something to eat."

February 29

  • Readings of the day.
  • Gregorian calendar, adopted in 1582. "It's all about Easter!"
    • Kudos to Christopher Clavius, SJ. The third largest crater on the moon is named after him.
    • The reform dropped October 5-14 (inclusive; 10 days total) from the calendar in 1582; by decree, the day after Thursday, October 4 was Friday, October 15.
    • The Church had no power to force governments to adopt the new calendar; they did so very irregularly. There were riots in 1752, by which time the adoption of the Gregorian calendar meant losing 11 days in one feel swoop.
    • The most notable holdouts against reform were Russia, which stuck to the Julian calendar until after the Russian Revolution in 1917, and Greece, which adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1923.
    • Many Orthodox churches follow their own revised Julian calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar (the two systems are in agreement until 2800 AD).
  • Leftover question from last week. We got confused about two callers from Rochester (Mike and Mark) with two closely related questions about Jesus renaming Simon: "You are Rock [Aramaic: kephas; Greek: petros] and upon this rock [Greek: petra] I will build my Church" (Mt 16:13-19).

February 22 - Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle

February 15 - St. Claude la Columbiere

Topics covered

  • First program with Ricky Jay.
  • Genealogies of Mt & Lk: how persuasive were they to the Jews?
  • Discussion of why the Jews rejected Jesus: He didn't live up to their expectations of what the Messiah/Christ should do.
  • Why did Jesus tell Mary M.not to hold on to Him after the resurrection? John 20.
  • What graces you get from holy water?
  • Do you still have to fast 1 hour before receiving Communion? Taking medicine does not break the fast.
  • Is the evil eye real?
  • Should an aunt attend her niece's wedding (a civil ceremony)?

People can call from Canada. And the program is webstreamed.

February 8 - St. Jerome Emiliani

Readings of the day

Full texts — USSCB.

Reading 1 - Is 58:1-9a

Thus says the Lord GOD:
Cry out full-throated and unsparingly,
lift up your voice like a trumpet blast;
Tell my people their wickedness,
and the house of Jacob their sins. ...

This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:
releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking every yoke;
Sharing your bread with the hungry,
sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
and not turning your back on your own.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
Your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer,
you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!

Responsorial Psalm - 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 18-19

Psalm 51 - David's Miserere

Gospel - Mt 9:14-15

The disciples of John approached Jesus and said,
“Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,
but your disciples do not fast?”

Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn
as long as the bridegroom is with them?
The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast.”

February 1

Today's readings

Reading 1: 2 Sm 11:1-4a, 5-10a, 13-17

The story of David, Bathsheba, and Uriah the Hittite

Psalm 51 — The Miserere

Responsorial Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6a, 6bcd-7, 10-11

R. (see 3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.

For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight.”

I have done such evil in your sight
that you are just in your sentence,
blameless when you condemn.
True, I was born guilty,
a sinner, even as my mother conceived me.

Let me hear the sounds of joy and gladness;
the bones you have crushed shall rejoice.
Turn away your face from my sins,
and blot out all my guilt.

Gospel: Mk 4:26-34

Jesus said to the crowds:
“This is how it is with the Kingdom of God;
it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land
and would sleep and rise night and day
and the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.

Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear,
then the full grain in the ear.

And when the grain is ripe,
he wields the sickle at once,
for the harvest has come.”

He said,
“To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God,
or what parable can we use for it?

It is like a mustard seed that, when it is
sown in the ground, is the smallest of all
the seeds on the earth.

But once it is sown, it springs up
and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the sky
can dwell in its shade.”

With many such parables
he spoke the word to them
as they were able to understand it.
Without parables he did not speak to them,
but to his own disciples
he explained everything in private.



Topics discussed

  • Followup from last week: "Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 Jn 4:1). "Testing the spirits" is also know as "discernment of spirits."
    • How can we tell what ideas, feelings, desires, insights come from God? "Lord, if it is you, tell me to get out of the boat and come to you across the water" (Mt 14:28).
    • A woman's father believes that he is talking to his guardian angel, Centrifuge. Last week's show ended with a fellow talking about being guided by his dead girlfriend. Such private revelations need to be tested against what we know from Tradition.
    • Best example of certified private revelation: Saul's conversion on the road to Damascus!
    • Best example of the evil of necromancy — King Saul summoned the spirit of Samuel through the Witch of Endor (Samuel 28).
  • Perpetual virginity of Mary — not defined by a papal encyclical, but embedded in the tradition from the earliest days. See the article in the online Catholic Encyclopedia.
  • What about the lay apostle, Anne, A Direction for Our Times?
  • Second installment on my story: starting to pray in the chapel; questions about priesthood; Peggy's encouraging words.
  • "Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he" (Mt 11:11). You can see that Jesus is just using John as a reference point for greatness that His audience would understand the day that He was talking with them. Jesus is not saying:
    • John is the greatest human who has ever lived (from the standpoint of eternity);
    • John is not in the Kingdom (from the point of view of his life after life).
  • Is it proper to say that the Church in the New Testament was organized as a democracy with power coming from the ground up?
    • Kingship of Jesus
    • appointment of apostles by Jesus
    • appointment of deacons by the apostles
    • appointment of other leaders by St. Paul

The best examples of "majority rule" — Acts 1 (election of Matthias) and Acts 15 (Council of Jerusalem). In both cases, the apostles were seeking God's leadership, which is "top-down," not "bottom up."

January 25

Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, the Apostle

Readings of the day.

Reading 1 — Acts 22:3-16

The story of Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus.

Responsorial Psalm — 117:1bc, 2

R. (Mark 16:15) Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.

Praise the LORD, all you nations; glorify him, all you peoples!

For steadfast is his kindness toward us, and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.

Gospel — Mk 16:15-18

Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

  • 6 calls
  • started sharing my own conversion story
  • troublesome call right at the end: gnosticism — looking inside ourselves instead of listening to the gospel, which comes to us by hearing the Word of God.
  • tithing question from an engaged woman (Torah -->grace)

January 18th

Eight callers.

Jason's first show.

Readings of the day (1st week, Ordinary Time)

Full text.

Reading 1: 1 Sm 8:4-7, 10-22a: choice of Saul as King

Responsorial Psalm — 89:16-17, 18-19

R. (2) For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

For to the LORD belongs our shield, and to the Holy One of Israel, our King. Gospel: Mk 2:1-12

"Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, ‘Rise, pick up your mat and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth” --he said to the paralytic, “I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home.” He rose, picked up his mat at once, and went away in the sight of everyone. They were all astounded and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”

January 11th

  • The use of icons in prayer (Stanley Cup at the Art Gallery that day!).
  • Ex Corde Ecclesiae — 1990: The idea of an American Catholic University. My training as doctoral candidate and my life as a professor.
  • Sunday obligation for the elderly, the sick, travelers, etc. "Virtue is the mean between extremes" (Aristotle, Aquinas, the Buddha, Confucius).
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