Wednesday, April 22, 20200295Luke begins his account of Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Messiah with a rather curious phrase: “Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, ‘Who do the crowds say that I am?’” (Luke 9:18). Those who already know the answer might gloss over the sheer oddity of the opening...
Friday, April 10, 20200288Father Thomas Esposito
Special to The Texas Catholic
When I read the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ ministry, I often pause to ask myself: would I have been brave enough to accept his invitation to discipleship if I heard him with my own ears? Had I been a believing Jew following his ministry, could I have embraced his vision of my...
Friday, March 27, 20200291The word “quarantine” as we use it today was first coined in 14th century Venice – the leaders of that most serene watery republic ordered a mandatory period of isolation for people arriving in ships during the Black Death outbreak. A sequence of 40 days — una quarantina in modern Italian — was sufficient, they deemed, to...
Friday, March 6, 20200210By Father Thomas Esposito
Special to The Texas Catholic
January 27 marked the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the most notorious of the Nazi extermination camps. Noting that occasion, Paraclete Press published the translation of a Jewish-Catholic woman’s experience in the death camps. Entitled “The Auschwitz...
Friday, February 7, 20200399If posed to a general audience, the question “What is prudence?” would likely elicit a series of memorable and perhaps depressing answers, ranging from “a name for a cranky granny” and “a cool Beatles song from the White Album” to “excessive hesitation in coming to a decision” and “the Catholic way of saying ‘NO’ to...
Thursday, January 16, 20200443This column is simply an exhortation to you, good reader, to watch and ponder the film “A Hidden Life.” The movie chronicles the true story of Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian farmer, devoted husband, father of three young girls, and a devout Catholic who refused to swear an oath of loyalty to Hitler, and was consequently condemned...
Wednesday, December 18, 20190302In the book of Exodus, the Lord instructs Moses to build a suitable place for His glorious presence (Exodus 25-40). Described simply as “the dwelling,” the Ark of the Covenant was a gilded wooden tabernacle containing the stone tablets of the commandments and manna, the bread from heaven. More important than these covenant treasures,...
Monday, November 4, 20190538The recent devastation of trees, homes, and stores by a tornado proves once more the utter powerlessness of man before the might of nature. No matter our planning, our insurance policies, and our efforts to avoid the prospect of death and disaster, the immense and unpredictable forces of earth, water and wind are never tamed by mere...
Wednesday, October 9, 20190139The canonization of John Henry Newman, set to take place in Rome on October 13, is cause for great rejoicing among Catholics. Regarding the canonization of another Englishman in the year 1935, G.K. Chesterton remarked that Saint Thomas More “is more important at this moment than at any moment since his death, even perhaps the great...
Friday, September 6, 20190195Is friendship with God possible? The question might appear awkward, ideally reserved for those impractical philosopher types who muse leisurely on the mysteries of the universe. But everyone can and should reflect on such a question, because its answer underlines some fascinating truths about our marvelous yet undeserved access to our...
