William Hemsworth's Blog, page 66

Assisted Suicide Is not a Constitutional Right, Massachusetts Court Says

National Catholic Register, Matthew McDonald: A court decision in Massachusetts this week keeps assisted suicide in the hands of state legislators and voters — and sets up a likely political fight in the coming new year. The state’s highest court on Monday refused to declare a right to assisted suicide under the state’s constitution, in […]

Assisted Suicide Is not a Constitutional Right, Massachusetts Court Says

420 church attacks in 4 years, but most Americans unaware

A new report from the Family Research Council (FRC) has documented some 420 instances of attacks on churches in the United States between 2018 and 2022. While the crisis of violence against both Catholic and Christian churches is disheartening, so too is a new report from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which recently found […]

420 church attacks in 4 years, but most Americans unaware

Study The Genealogy Of Jesus

An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, 4 and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of King David.

And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph,8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.-Matthew 1:1-17 NRSV

The Genealogy Of Jesus Is Important

Yes, I really did just post  the first seventeen verses of Matthew’s Gospel.

This is the time of year when most of us read or hear the genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is full of words that are hard to pronounce, and at its surface seems like a tedious task with little meaning.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

There is so much truth and through it we get a breakdown of salvation history.  Through it we see that our Lord did not come just for Israel, but for the gentile as well.  Praise God!

For Jew And Gentile

Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience, and he puts two huge names before all the others, that of David and Abraham.  Maybe it was to get the attention of his readers, but the next sixteen verses are very important and often overlooked (Which is why I included them).

The genealogy contains a murderer (David), a prostitute (Rahab), and shows the fulfillment of a  promise that God made to Abraham and David.  From this line that contains various sins and people that were looked down upon came the savior of the world.  We often miss that when the passage is read.  Take some time to read nd meditate on the whole genealogy of Christ.  In it you will find rich treasures that will give a whole new meaning to the Christmas story.

A Word Of Encouragement

I want to encourage you to not simply skip over the genealogy at the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel.  Look into it, study it, ponder it, and you will see how amazing it is that Christ the King came from a line that included grave sinners.  It adds a whole new dimension to salvation history.

When I read through all the names in the list delve deeper.  Do a study of who they are and how they lived.  This helps bring the biblical characters to life and see them more than just words on a page.  Seeing their responses and choices brings a whole new element and understanding to the incarnation.

If you are interested in doing a deeper study about those mentioned there are many resources available to do so.  Catholic Culture has a free Bible dictionary where you can simply type in the name and it will bring up a short explanation.  This is a great way to start.  If you want to go eve deeper then that then head over to newadvent.org.  The link provided goes to the Catholic Encyclopedia.  Enter the name you are researching in the search engine on the top of the page and you will be treated with Bible passages, encyclicals, and works of the church fathers that discuss whom you are searching for.  Let’s learn more about our faith.  A good way of doing that is to learn more about scripture and those in the genealogy of Christ.

Saint Quotes

Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.-St. Jerome

Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort me and restore me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.-St. Patrick

Christ said, “I am the Truth”; he did not say “I am the custom.”-St. Toribio

You learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by working, and just so, you learn to love by loving. All those who think to learn in any other way deceive themselves.-St. Francis de Sales

Neo-Pelagianism in the Sacristy

Our Holy Father Francis has written two exhortations, Evangelii Gaudium (2013) and Gaudete et Exultate (2018), that warn against two of the most pervasive and corrosive heresies in the 2,000 years of the Church: Neo-Pelagianism and Gnosticism. The pope, sensing the signs of the times (particularly relevant here in America), offers a pertinent reminder that […]

Neo-Pelagianism in the Sacristy

Pope Francis slams Mother Angelica … but of the 17th century

In his annual year-end speech to members to the Roman Curia, Pope Francis stressed the importance of personal conversion and staying vigilant in the fight against temptation, and made a special appeal for peace, which he said begins in the heart.

Pope Francis slams Mother Angelica … but of the 17th century

Alaska archbishop condemns attacks on Catholic church

Father Arthur Roraff, pastor of St. Andrew’s, told CNA that whoever committed these crimes is in need of help. “It has been very disappointing that we have been the target of someone’s anger. There is obviously some frustration and sadness in someone’s life that they feel the desire to vent it on a church, the […]

Alaska archbishop condemns attacks on Catholic church

The art and science of homiletics: preaching from the heart

Father Michael Monshau Father Michael Monshau is the only priest in the world with a doctorate in homiletics — the study of preaching. The 71-year-old Dominican priest teaches at The St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul and serves as prior of St. Albert the Great Priory in Minneapolis. As he celebrates Christmas, he’s honoring old […]

The art and science of homiletics: preaching from the heart

Athanasius: On the Incarnation [of Jesus Christ]

“For this purpose, then, the incorporeal and incorruptible and immaterial Word of God comes into our realm, although he was not formerly distant. For no part of creation is left void of him; while abiding with his own Father, he has filled all things in every place.  But now he comes, condescending towards us in his […]

Athanasius: On the Incarnation [of Jesus Christ]

Christ as a title. Studying Matthew 1:1

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. -Matthew 1:1   At first glance, it might not catch our attention that Matthew says Jesus Christ. After all, those are both very common words we see in the Bible.  Jesus is his name. We’ll actually see him given that name […]

Christ as a title. Studying Matthew 1:1

The PavoneGate Saga Continues

Michael asks the one question that NOBODY has asked so far about Frank Pavone. He then recaps the situation with the following article: https://www.pillarcatholic.com/priest-for-life-a-frank-pavone-explainer/ https://reasonandtheology.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/The-PavoneGate-Saga-Continues.mp3

The PavoneGate Saga Continues