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September 2021

September 21, 2021

Forgiveness vs. Reconciliation

Forgiveness is about an individual wronging another individual. Reconciliation is about restoring a relationship. We...

September 06, 2021

Vocation as Life Organized around the Forgiveness of Sins

The Swedish theologian Einar Billing stresses how the doctrine of vocation is related to the...

July 2021

July 02, 2021

An Unhappy Birthday for America

We are celebrating Independence Day in a time of national malaise, in which all sides...

March 2021

March 24, 2021

When St. Patrick Accidentally Stabbed the King

Sean Fitzpatrick tells the rather humorous story of how St. Patrick baptized King Angus, then...

March 17, 2021

The St. Patrick of the Germans

St. Patrick's Day reminds us that Europeans too were brought to Christianity by missionaries. St....

February 2021

February 17, 2021

An Evangelical Discovers the Need for Lent & Confession

A minister calls for his fellow evangelicals to recover the disciplines of Lent and the...

January 2021

January 07, 2021

Trump Turns the Country Over to the Democrats

The Democrats won both of the senate seats in Georgia, giving them control of the...

January 01, 2021

Make Your Predictions for 2021

The custom on this blog on New Year’s Day is for readers to predict what...

December 2020

December 31, 2020

The Cranach Reader Who Predicted COVID-19

In this blog's annual contest to predict what will happen in the upcoming year, someone...

December 25, 2020

The “You” in the Christmas Story

The New Testament describes the events of Christ's birth as being "for you." That is,...

December 24, 2020

Eerie Christmas Songs

Christmas is mysterious. The notion that the transcendent God of the universe has been born...

December 23, 2020

The Christ Child in Revelation

The Apostle John doesn't write about the nativity in his Gospel, but he does write...

December 18, 2020

The Three Religious Factions That Missed the Point of Christmas

The Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Zealots--then and now--miss the meaning of the coming of Christ.

December 14, 2020

A New Argument for the Date of Jesus’ Birth

There have been many attempts throughout the centuries to ascertain exactly when Jesus was born. ...

December 09, 2020

What the Name “Jesus” Reveals

The very name of Jesus, which means "Yahweh Saves," is a creed, a confession of...

December 04, 2020

Advent Teaches Us to Wait

Advent is a season that is all about waiting--for the Messiah, for His Second Coming,...

November 2020

November 26, 2020

Thanksgiving and the 1620 Project

It wasn't the Virginia slave ship in 1619 that defined American values, argues "The Federalist,"...

October 2020

October 30, 2020

Reforming the Church around the Gospel

Reformation Day is about "re-forming" the Church; that is, to return to its "substantial form"...

September 2020

September 07, 2020

The Spirituality of Everyday Life

In our efforts to Christianize "Labor Day" by turning it into a feast day celebrating...

July 2020

July 03, 2020

First Came the Declaration, then the Achievement

The birth of America is celebrated not on the date the British were defeated, or...

May 2020

May 25, 2020

Memory

Memorial Day is a time to remember those who gave their lives for us and...

April 2020

April 10, 2020

Holy Days for the Church in Exile

Just as today's Christians can't go to church and receive the sacraments, God's people during...

April 09, 2020

Classic Pestilence Prayers & Maundy Thursday

If we can't celebrate Maundy Thursday with the Sacrament, we can celebrate it with Christ's...

March 2020

March 17, 2020

St. Patrick’s Confession of Faith

In the course of his "Confession," in which St. Patrick recounts his life as a...

February 2020

February 14, 2020

St. Valentine Then and Now

Stella Marabito draws parallels between St. Valentine's martyrdom for defending marriage against the Roman state...

December 2019

December 31, 2019

Checking the Predictions for 2019

We celebrate New Years' Eve by staying up past midnight, singing Auld Lang Syne, and checking our...

December 26, 2019

Looking Forward, Looking Back

The Julius Caesar's calendar began the year with January, named after Janus, the god of...

December 25, 2019

Amid the Cold of Winter

Winter is a time of darkness, cold, and lifelessness. And yet, Christmas, unlike other winter...

December 24, 2019

My Christmas Gifts to You

I wanted to give all of you readers of this blog, whom I appreciate very...

December 23, 2019

The Origin of Nativity Scenes

A fixture of Christmas decor is the nativity scene, the depictions of Mary, Joseph, and...