Pastor's Corner

This was actually the title of a wonderful course in Scriptural/Sacramental theology that I had when I was in Rome, at the Pontifical Atheneum Sant’ Anselmo, while doing my advanced degree. The professor, Fr Odasso, was a gentle and effective teacher, and all of us were grateful for him (and for a large number of the other professors we had).

The 25th of most months is a day of importance to me (and often to many others). Everyone knows the 25th of December, of course. And the 25th of April is my birthday. The 25th of March is the Solemnity of the Annunciation. January 25 is the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul (and the publication date in 1841 of John Henry Newman’s famous “Tract 90,” written while still an Anglican, to show that a catholic-leaning Anglican could still swear allegiance to the “39 Articles” of the Church of England (yes, he got into huge amounts of trouble for this one!).

Everyone knows (or should know) the three “theological virtues”—Faith, Hope, and Love/Charity. They are highlighted by St Paul at the end of I Corinthians 13. I personally love the way St Francis of Assisi prayed for them: “Give me right (correct) Faith, certain (confident) Hope, and perfect Charity.” You are probably also familiar with the “iconography” of these virtues: the Cross, the Anchor, and the Heart. The first and last are pretty self-explanatory; Hope is represented as an anchor because of a passage from the Letter to the Hebrews (6:18b-20—you can look it up!).

This was a refrain when David Brancaccio was the host of NPR’s “Marketplace.” Of course, his “numbers” were the Dow, NASDAQ, & S&P. I’ll want to be a bit more liturgical.