Catholic Church

By Msgr. Charles Pope - The first reading at  Mass this past  week (17th Sunday cycle A) focused on the kingship of Solomon. Perhaps the high point of his life when he was given the opportunity to ask anything whatsoever from God and chose not gold or glory but wisdom. On Wednesday we read about the visit of the Queen of Sheba, complete with a description of Solomon’s court and kingdom in all its glory... His early years presented a portrait of a man deeply rooted in God, but later in his life Solomon’s infidelity led to a divided kingdom. It is a moral tale that contains a warning for us all. Let’s review the basics of Solomon’s life and ponder the lessons to be learned.

By Dr. Jeff Mirus, Catholic Culture - Living in an era in which the Church has very little influence over human society as a whole, we are apt to feel somewhat abandoned by God. The oldest among us can still remember a time when the Church seemed solid within herself and influential in the wider human community... But even those memories are now some two generations in the rear-view mirror. We are now far more visibly surrounded by severe evils which too many even in today’s Church regard as goods. Where, in all this, is God?