Paul Writing His Epistles, attr. Valentin de Boulogne, 17th century, Museum of Fine Arts (Houston)

Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ
June 14, 2020

It has been my custom to examine the first reading of the Mass in some detail for our emails and website. This is usually from the Old Testament. The passages are unknown to many Catholics and the wisdom contained in them can be quite a revelation. For most of the year the second reading is from St Paul. It is surprising that he too is often unknown and even when acknowledged usually misunderstood. From next week to mid-September we will be reading the Letter of Paul to the Romans and I have decided make this a summer project.

It is in some ways a very good choice to look at Paul through Romans. It is the most comprehensive letter: it covers the most topics. These topics are among the major issues of our faith. He also speaks in calm and disciplined manner and does not go off on tangents. This letter is so critical that some theologians have called all subsequent theology footnotes on Romans. By the end of the summer, I hope you will understand why. Continue reading “Fr. Smith on Romans: Surest Way to End with God is to Begin with Him” →

Sculpture of St. Francis of Assisi, Upper Church in the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, Assisi, Italy; photo by K505/Shutterstock.

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
Exodus 34:4B-6, 8-9
June 7, 2020

There are some parts of the Bible that seem like “fly over” territory. The requirements for what constitutes clean or how to build an altar are not inherently riveting and we can be forgiven for, at best, skimming over them. Yet we do so at our peril for often there are real jewels within the most seemingly tedious or perfunctory sections. Today’s selection from Exodus is one of them. Continue reading “Commentary from Fr. Smith on the 1st Reading – Closer and More Loving Than Reason Permits” →

Why the geese?
Wild geese were the ancient Celtic symbol for the Holy Spirit .
(click here for more info)
(Photo by Bahram Bayat on Unsplash)

Acts 2:1–11

The celebration of Feast of Pentecost brings together the literary brilliance of St. Luke and the ancient wisdom of Israel. The last element perhaps of more contemporary relevance than we might immediately think.

Luke understood himself to be writing a work of history. He did not follow the same conventions as a modern historian but his were clear and, once understood, could give a deep insight into the people and situations of the day. Luke’s work is in two parts: the “Gospel” and the “Acts.” The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, at the beginning of Acts, is the hinge. Luke, like a good historian of his day, would be very careful to have many links between the two works and indeed between the beginning of Acts and further sections. Continue reading “Pentecost Sunday – First Reading Commentary” →

Bag packing at Catholic Charities: I would like to thank those who have volunteered to pack groceries for the food insecure on Thursday Mornings at 8:45 at the main office of Catholic Charities. (191 Joralemon Street). This is a wonderful way for people who live within walking distance to help our neighbors. This location feeds about 200 families throughout the week with the largest number on Thursday Mornings. Please let me (Fr. Smith) know if you wish to help. It is about 90 mins of intense work.

 Pop up Centers: The weekly ‘Pop up” food pantries however dispense food for over 1700 families. This is growing and more volunteers are needed every week to pack and distribute the food. The next “Pop ups” will be Continue reading “Volunteering with Catholic Charities” →

The Women at Christ’s Tomb and the Ascension (The “Reidersche Tafel”), Rome c. 400 AD
(About this image)

Seventh Sunday of Easter
May 24, 2020
1 Peter 4:13–16

There is much that separates us from St Peter’s original audience. They lived almost 2,000 years ago in what is now Turkey. They would have originally been pagans and owed obedience to the Roman Emperor. But perhaps the key difference, spiritually, is that they expected to suffer for their faith, while we are shocked at the very thought of suffering for our faith. Continue reading “7th Sunday of Easter – Sharing in Suffering and a Connection to Jesus” →

Sixth Sunday of Easter
May 17, 2020
1 Peter 3:15–18

Lucian of Samosata was a Roman Satirist who flourished around 180 AD. He would be a combination of Jay Leno and P.G. Woodhouse. He is mostly remembered now because of his satirical portrait of Christians and writing the first known work of Science Fiction. He thought that because Christians believed that, through the resurrection they had a literally new life both now and in heaven, they were extremely reckless and incurably gullible. The Christian would accept death rather than offering a bit of incense up to the gods but also would care for just about anyone without the simplest background check. His “Passing of Peregrinus” is still, I must admit, funny. He, quite possibly, coined the expression “See how these Christians love one another.”

It was not a compliment. Continue reading “Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the Second Reading – “See How These Christians Love One Another”” →

Fifth Sunday of Easter
1 Peter 2:4–9
May 10, 2020

In today’s reading St Peter says “let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Pt. 2:5). We, who are accustomed to using Priest only for those ordained, may find this curious to say the least. The original hearers would have as well and for the same reason. We are all gentiles and to understand this passage we need to first comprehend the Jewish idea of covenant.

A covenant is an agreement that is more than a contract. It is a pledge to share life. A tribe would make a covenant with a King for protection or a nomadic chieftain with a landowner for grazing land. These were both life and death issues and the covenant was sealed by a meal to show its seriousness. An animal was sacrificed, and the parties ate it to share that life. Covenants require priests and the person who offered the sacrifice and recited the terms of the agreement acted as a priest. The nature of the priesthood depends upon the covenant. Uniquely, the Hebrews showed their fidelity to their covenant not only or even principally by offering sacrifices and gifts, but rather by adopting a way of life. Thus, obeying the law was the principal sacrifice. Continue reading “Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the Second Reading” →