Thursday, April 27, 20170291The basilica of San Clemente in Rome features a stunning apse mosaic depicting the cross of Christ as a tree trunk bearing immense fruit in the form of circling vines and flowers. The radiant colors and decorative forms make visible an idea cherished by the early theologians of the Church: that the cross is truly the tree of life, from...
Friday, March 31, 20170262
By Father Thomas Esposito
Special to The Texas Catholic
Among the myriad treasures of Sacred Scripture, one of the most neglected has to be the Letter to the Hebrews. It receives relatively little attention in the liturgy, and I imagine few people would be able to recall any recognizable theme or passage from the book. Many might...
Friday, March 3, 20170237Life can bear the stamp of a perpetual Lent for many people, believers and non-believers alike. The desert is the dominant symbol for the church’s annual preparation for Jesus’ Passion, death and resurrection, joining our meditations and mortifications to the Israelites’ 40 years of wandering and Jesus’ own 40 days of temptatio
Tuesday, January 10, 20170182For the philosophers among us, the question of why clothes both express and conceal some aspect of our body-soul unity would be an intriguing topic of secular conversation. From the theological point of view, garments are featured at some of the most crucial moments of salvation history narrated in the Bible. The feast of the Epiphany...
Wednesday, November 16, 20160339The designation of Christ as “King of the Universe” can sound a bit fantastic to a secular or cynical mind. The title, so simple in concept and yet audacious in claim, could easily be applied to a mythological hero or a comic book character, fictional greats who have seemingly usurped the role of models worthy of imitation by...
Monday, September 26, 20160160The biblical faith expressed in both Old and New Testaments does not lend authoritative support to those who draw a personal map to a God of their own devising.
Wednesday, May 11, 20160344We human beings tend to do goodbyes quite poorly. The awkward hugs, weepy embraces, and inevitable resorting to clichéd drivel as the time for separation draws near, all combine to remind us that we much prefer presence to absence, and would rather dodge the dreaded final encounter of a friend or loved one if possible. I know of several...
Thursday, April 14, 20160230The name Ronald Knox is probably unknown to most American Catholics, and that is a great shame. Hailing from a prominent Anglican family of clerics in England, he was one of the most famous Catholic converts of the 20th century.
Wednesday, March 23, 20160440Someone you know, whether your spouse, a pouty child, or a friend, will soon complain about the interminably long liturgies they will be subjected to this coming Holy Week. Instead of the usual icy glare or a fed-up “because I’m your parent and God expects you there” approach, you might ask them to ponder why it is that the church...
On Jan. 25 of each year, the church celebrates perhaps the greatest conversion in her history: that of Saint Paul. His dramatic encounter with the risen Jesus, narrated three times by Luke in Acts of the Apostles (chapters 9, 22, and 26), marks a pivotal turn in the young Church’s life. Paul reveals in several of his letters that he...
