Catholic schools and vocations to the priesthood - The example of Don Bosco

January 31^st, Feast of St. John Bosco

This week, the Catholic Church in the United States of America celebrates Catholic Schools Week. The US Bishops ask us to consider the great blessing which Catholic schools are to our Church and to our community at large.

During Catholic Schools Week, we call to mind the fact that Catholic schools benefit not only the families who send their children there, but the whole Church and all society. Every Catholic, even if he has no children in Catholic schools (even if he has never had children in the schools), should see Catholic schools as his schools – every Catholic benefits from Catholic schools, and every Catholic has a duty of supporting Catholic schools.

Today, I would like to point out one way in which every Catholic benefits from Catholics schools: Catholic schools produce vocations to the priesthood and religious life. It is particularly fitting that we consider this benefit today, the feast of St. John Bosco – the schools which he founded produced over six thousand vocations to the priesthood during his life-time (and countless more since his death).

A better way of reading the Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas

January 28^th, Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas

The Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas is, without question, the greatest work of theology ever written. And yet, because of the length of the treatise – some six hundred fifteen question of up to six or even eight articles, in three (or four) volumes – even the most avid fans of the Angel of the Schools find it difficult to read the whole Summa.

In this post, we intend to give an indication of not only how to read any particular portion of the Summa, but also of how to succeed in reading the whole work.

Christ taught as one having authority. But what does that mean?

4^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Mk 1:21-28

The people were astonished at [Jesus’] teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.

Both here in Mark’s Gospel (which we will read from this Sunday) and in Matthew’s Gospel at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, the people are amazed at Jesus’ doctrine because he teaches as one having authority. But what does this mean? What was different about the way that Jesus taught? And, finally, how can priests today follow Christ’s example in their preaching?

Christ, prophet and professor

The Lord Jesus is the “new Moses”, the prophet spoken of by Moses in Sunday’s first reading (Deuteronomy 18:15-20): A prophet like me with the LORD, your God, raise up for you from among your kin; to him you shall listen.

Parish priests need to make the time to offer spiritual direction

January 24^th, Feast of St. Francis de Sales

St. Francis de Sales is called the “Doctor of authors and of the Catholic press” on account of his great focus on making use of the tools of modern media in order to spread the Gospel. However, the Bishop of Geneva is most well known as one of the great spiritual writers of the Catholic tradition, due to the popularity of his classic, “The Introduction to the Devout Life”. [you can find this work on-line here]

Living from 1567 to 1622, and serving as bishop of Geneva in Switzerland, St. Francis de Sales had to face a very tumultuous and trying time in Europe. He was constantly at work in fulfilling his duties as a bishop in the counter-reformation period of the Church, and had scarcely a moments rest in the midst of his continuous labors.

And yet, this dedicated bishop insisted that it was his duty to provide spiritual direction to those souls who asked for his guidance and whom he believed would benefit from his personal care. What a witness St. Francis is to priests today! If he was able to serve as a spiritual director on top of his duties as a bishop, surely parish priests must find time to provide direction for their people as well. But how do I know whether I need a spiritual director? And what makes a priest to be a good director?

Were Peter and Andrew called before or after John the Baptist was arrested? Reconciling the synoptic gospels with John

3^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Mark 1:14-20

After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God.

In the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), the vocation of not only Peter but also Andrew as well as of James and John occurs while the soon-to-be apostles are fishing and after John the Baptist has been arrested. However, St. John very clearly states that both Andrew and Peter (and perhaps John as well) were called by Jesus while they were with St. John the Baptist – at least, Andrew was with the Baptizer, and then he went and brought Peter to Jesus.

Now, at first glance, it would seem that these two accounts are incompatible; however, we will quickly notice that there were two occasions in which Christ called these men. The first calling of Andrew and (probably) John and Peter as presented in St. John’s Gospel occurred a full year before the second calling of the apostles which is given.

Were Peter and Andrew called by Jesus before or after the arrest of St. John the Baptist?

Did you know? St. Sebastian wasn't killed by arrows

January 20^th, Feast of St. Sebastian

Many of the early Christian martyrs were not killed straight away by the torments of their persecutors. Probably the two most well-known cases of surviving martyrdom are St. John the Evangelist and St. Philomena. While the Beloved was thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil, he came forth healthier than he went in – and so lived out his days as an exile on the isle of Patmos, where he received the vision recorded in the book of the Apocalypse. St. Philomena, the special patroness of the Curé of Ars, was tortured horribly by Diocletian and suffered several martyrdoms (including both being thrown into the Tiber river with an anchor bound to her neck so as to drown her, and having arrows fired upon her) before finally giving up her spirit at her beheading.

St. Sebastian, likewise, did not die immediately upon being shot with many arrows, but recovered and suffered a second martyrdom – hence, he is sometimes called the saint who was martyred twice (a reference which is shared by St. Isaac Jogues, closer to our own day).

Did Jesus misquote 1 Samuel 21, confusing Abiathar with his father Achimelech?

Achimelech gives David the sword of Goliath

Tuesday in the Second Week of Ordinary Time, Mark 2:23-28

And [Jesus] said to them: Have you never read what David did when he had need, and was hungry himself, and they that were with him? How he went into the house of God, under Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the loaves of proposition, which was not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave to them who were with him?

St. Mark specifies Jesus’ question to the Pharisees in a way that St. Matthew (12:1-8) does not, for St. Mark mentions that our Lord declared Abiathar to be the high priest when David came and ate of the hallowed bread. However, if we look to the text cited (1 Samuel 21:1-6) we see that Achimelech was the high priest and that Abiathar was his son who succeeded him shortly thereafter.

Jesus says that Abiathar was the high priest when David came and ate the bread of offering, but 1 Samual says that Achimelech was the high priest at that time. Could it be that our Savior misquoted 1 Samuel 21? Did Truth himself confuse the son with the father? Of course not!

Why then does Jesus say Abiathar instead of Achimelech?