Author: John W Gillis

Religion & Society

Year 247: In God We Trust

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On a dank and dreary Independence Day Tuesday, I travelled to a neighboring town to attend daily Mass. The celebrant was a visiting priest – a kindly retired priest who was so old that he didn’t always exert enough vocal strength to be quite heard. In his homily, he spoke of the blessings of political liberty enjoyed by citizens of the U.S., and cautioned against the risk of taking our blessings for granted, since we’ve never really known any other reality. But then he said something which really struck me. He called the congregation to remember the even...

Scripture

At the Heart of Liberty is the Right to Encounter and Know the Truth!

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Be holy. Be perfect. Be children of your heavenly father. The spirit of God dwells in you. You are the temple of God… The various liturgical readings this week come together around a common thread concerning the necessary holiness of the Spirit-filled disciple, and of how that holiness is manifest as a reflection of the loving-kindness of God. Can the sudden mad rush to post-human or trans-human existence we find Western civilization engulfed in be enlightened by reflection on this call of God to be holy/perfect/complete? 7th Week in Ordinary Time,...

Scripture

I will give you as a light to the nations: 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

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First Reading:            Isaiah 49:3, 5–6Psalm Response:       Psalm 40:8a, 9aPsalm Versicles:         Psalm 40:2, 4, 7–8, 8–9, 10Second Reading:       1 Corinthians 1:1–3Gospel Acclamation: John 1:14a, 12aGospel:                      John 1:29–34 The NAB Lectionary reading from 1Cor 1:2 has Paul addressing those who are “called to be a holy people.” The implications of that particular calling had changed significantly from the earlier time of the Deuteronomic covenant, when the Lord had declared: “The LORD will establish you as a people hol...

Church

Celebrating Christmas

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Even the World Wildlife Fund had put out a statement Nov. 7 saying, “cutting a tree of this size in the midst of a climate crisis is a debatable decision,” which required “greater transparency.” I saw a Catholic News Service (CNS) article in the Boston archdiocesan newspaper The Pilot several weeks ago (Nov. 18) describing a dust-up concerning the Christmas Tree planned for St. Peter’s square this year. The Vatican had planned on installing an impressive, 98-foot silver fir taken from the mountains of central Italy, until activist...

Misc

Bible Review Journal

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The Fall 2022 edition (Vol. 9, No. 2) of Bible Review Journal arrived today, containing a print version of my Modest History of Catholic Bible Translations in English essay. BRJ is the journal of the International Society of Bible Collectors, who can be found at www.BibleCollectors.org.  

Scripture

Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’

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The Gospel reading for the 2nd Sunday of Advent in Year A, taken from the Gospel of Matthew, contains a passage I think provides a key to understanding a different and controversial passage from the same Gospel. When John the Baptist saw the religious leaders coming to be baptized, he challenged them to demonstrate their repentance in concrete actions, not just in playing “show and tell”. He then said to them: “And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.'” This criticism is reminiscent of a passage in Jeremiah where he ...

Scripture

You know not on what day your Lord is coming.

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Jesus’ depiction of the coming “of the Son of Man” stands in pretty stark contrast to popular ideas of how things might end, or at least of how the race my move into a new kind of future. We largely live among the “don’t worry, be happy” crowd – many of whom do not believe a word of the testimony concerning the last things, while others of them accept some notion of Divine judgment and some version or another of eternal or “heavenly” life, but who are at least implicitly and often explicitly convinced that such eventualities are of no real consequence, o...

Scripture

Let Us Go Rejoicing

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The liturgical year culminates this week in the celebration of the joyous and triumphant solemnity of Christ the King. In the Entrance Antiphon, the Church echoes the cry of the numberless host of heaven, witnessed to in the Revelation to St John, acclaiming in loud voices the worthiness of the Lamb that was slain (Rev 5:12). In the Collect, She prays “that the whole creation, set free from slavery,” might ceaselessly praise God – thus joining...

Music

Close to the Edge at 50

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Yes’ seminal Close to the Edge was released 50 years ago this month, on September 13th, 1972. I was twelve years old, having just started seventh grade at Coolidge Junior High School, and I was oblivious to the music of Yes, with the exception of their hit song from earlier in the year: “Roundabout”. It would be another couple of years before I was introduced to this work, but once I was, it became my favorite album, and the one I would measure all other contemporary music against, to this day. In my mind, nothing over the now many years ever did quite m...

Critical Issues

The Banned Books Scam

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“Banned Book Week” is September 18-24, and my local public library (the Morse Institute Library) has let its freak flag fly and got out ahead of the curve by starting its promotion early. The display was promptly praised on a local Facepalm™ group, where it received an overwhelmingly (though not entirely) positive response. I had to admit to finding it rather embarrassing. “Freedom is reading a banned book” sounds like the philosophical musings of an over-indulged 14-year old planning a coup out at the vacation house to overthrow the patriarc...