Fr. Paul D. Scalia: Worth & Worship
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June 29, 2026
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By Fr. Paul D. Scalia, The Catholic Thing, June 29, 2026
Fr. Paul Scalia is a priest of the Diocese of Arlington, VA, where he serves as Episcopal Vicar for Clergy and Pastor of Saint James in Falls Church. He is the author of That Nothing May Be Lost: Reflections on Catholic Doctrine and Devotion and the editor of Sermons in Times of Crisis: Twelve Homilies to Stir Your Soul.
What is a thing worth? In economics, it’s relative. Prices fluctuate. Markets rise and fall. A thing is worth what someone’s willing to pay for it. Back in the 1980s, my LPs were worth a lot. With the arrival of CDs, they were worth almost nothing. Then, when vinyl became cool again, they had new worth.
The problem is that we apply the same economic, relativistic thinking to other areas. We fail to recognize the intrinsic worth of anything. Thus, our leaders don’t treat their offices as worthy of respect. Instead of yielding to an office, they twist it for their own purposes. In our culture of death, even persons are worth only what they bring us or what they contribute to society. We think that about ourselves, finding our worth in how much we earn, or accomplish, or win praise. We treat marriage and family as worth the goods they bring us, as a benefit to the spouses, perhaps, but not intrinsically worthy of sacrifice and perseverance. …
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