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“Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years“ so Luke the physician/evangelist tells us early in his Gospel. I wonder what the good doctor thought about Elizabeth’s inability to have children? Or did my use of “inability” unfairly blame her rather than Zechariah?  After all, she isn’t the first “barren” woman described in the Bible (think of Sarah, Abraham’s wife). Perhaps no one bore any responsibility. Did Luke have the not-uncommon thought at that

The Road to Emmaus by Duccio di Buoninsegna 1308-11
Tempera on wood, 51 x 57 cm
Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena This image represents the passage from Luke’s Gospel (24:13-35), in which Jesus joins two of his unknowing and demoralized disciples making their way from Jerusalem not long after the crucifixion. This passage is a perfect example of Divine Revelation, since it is Jesus–the Eternal Word–revealing the truths of Sacred Scripture (Liturgy of the Word)

Good Friday, 2021 In mid-February I attended a retreat at Discovery House, an oasis of spiritual healing nestled at the intersection of Wharton State Forest and the blueberry farms that, long ago, helped earn New Jersey its “Garden State” nickname. The group of faithful Catholic men, in whom I humbly claim membership, is known as”Sons of the Father” (SOTF). We deepen the spiritual roots of our faith in this training ground in the hope that

The Nuns of Compiegne “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” (Dickens, Charles, A Tale of Two Cities bk. 1, ch. 1 (1859))

City of Man or City of God? On August 24 in the year of our Lord 410, a cataclysmic event occurred that many thought could never happen: the sack of Rome! (Britannica.org) To try and put this historic happening into perspective, think of Pearl Harbor and 9/11 with the imagined “sack” of New York City and Washington, D.C.–combined–and you will have an idea of the massive scale of Rome falling. (Thomas Cole 1833) This was