Blessed Are the Meek
Today’s Beatitude (Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. – Matthew 5:5) continues Jesus’ tradition of transmuting lead into gold. Just as nobody wants to be poor
Today’s Beatitude (Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. – Matthew 5:5) continues Jesus’ tradition of transmuting lead into gold. Just as nobody wants to be poor
The second beatitude says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). I remember it like yesterday. The insistent kitchen phone was ringing on the other
The first beatitude teaches us, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). The Gospel calls us to a paradox in its teaching
Over the past couple of weeks, we took a good long look at one of the legs of Catholic moral teaching: the Ten Commandments. Some people have the notion that
As we noted last week, the Catholic tradition of catechesis has tended to break up Exodus 20:17 into two commandments. The Ninth Commandment bids us not to covet our neighbor’s
As we come to the Ninth Commandment we again arrive in disputed territory. As you will recall, the Ten Commandments can be and have been split up differently so as
It is a curious fact that the same book of Exodus which informs us of the command, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16) begins with
“You shall not steal,” says Exodus 20:15. Once again, the Decalogue faces us with an injunction that seems like common sense (and is) but which is also fraught with all
Our culture pretty much winks at adultery these days. It winks sort of like Maurice Chevalier, lecherously ogling “girls, girls, girls” in some old musical number. Adultery is sold as
It’s a simple-sounding proposition: “You shall not kill” (Exodus 20:13). And some people, such as pacifists, are absolutists in understanding it to mean that all killing forbidden. But, in fact,
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