Fr. Thomas Esposito
The mystery of your priestly sacrifices
A Word to Enkindle, February 29, 2024
No easy interpretation of Genesis 22 exists. The account of God’s test of Abraham is truly awe-ful. It gives us no psychological insights into the heart of Abraham or Isaac, and the sparse narrative details — the three days’ journey, the binding of Isaac upon the altar, the dramatic angelic intervention to stay Abraham’s knife — are terrifying in their raw simplicity. Yet these verses offer wondrous cause for meditation on the mystery of sacrifice.
Notes on faith, love, and hope
A Word to Enkindle, November 17, 2023
St. Paul seems to have defined the triad we know today as the theological virtues: faith, hope, and love.
Musings on dignity and profane language
A Word to Enkindle, October 19, 2023
Profane and profanity are English words commonly used in reference to swearing, cursing, and hurling abusive language at someone. That’s an intriguing development from their Latin roots! A fanum is a temple or a sanctuary; attach the preposition pro to it, and you get “before/in front of/ outside the temple.”
Language that is not fitting to be heard in the presence of the divine, therefore, is unholy, not sacred: literally, profane.
Adoration always personal and communal
A Word to Enkindle, September 26, 2023
The current Eucharistic Revival in the United States is generating a discussion of the role of Eucharistic Adoration in the life of the Church.
The privilege of being a priest
A Word to Enkindle, May 23, 2023
And yet the sacramental gift remains a gift. Every priest stores within his heart unspeakable sadness and massive joy, uncertainty in meeting needs and gratitude for the aid of the Holy Spirit.
The incarnational principle and Good Friday
A Word to Enkindle, April 07, 2023
Over two millennia of Church history, several standards of orthodoxy have served as the pillars on which a correct understanding of the Christian mysteries must be built.
Happiness as the blessed life
A Word to Enkindle, March 10, 2023
If you ask most people (other than Father Roch) “Do you want to be happy?”, they will likely answer “Yes!” without much hesitation. If you ask them “What is happiness?”, you are likely to get a splendid variety of secular and sacred answers: “Being at peace…getting or doing what I want…living freely…finding meaning in my life…a feeling of bliss…retiring when I want to…sweet vengeance on my enemy…union with God in prayer”. If you ask them, “Why should you be happy?”, they might look confused for a moment…and that moment could yield a fruitful reflection on the depths within oneself.
The science and theology of invention
A Word to Enkindle, February 14, 2023
We typically associate the word “invention” with modern scientific breakthroughs, brilliant and painstaking achievements by geniuses producing civilizational advancements and mastery over the forces of nature.
Praying with the O Antiphons
A Word to Enkindle, December 17, 2022
“Praying with the O Antiphons” by Fr. Thomas for Texas Catholic. Whenever people ask me how they can prepare themselves spiritually for Christmas, I invite them to read the lyrics of Christmas carols as prayers. Specifying which carols to employ is important; I am not aware of any mystical symbolism behind “Frosty the Snowman,” and […]
Prison meditations on providence
A Word to Enkindle, October 12, 2022
“Prison meditations on providence” by Fr. Thomas for Texas Catholic. While awaiting a sham trial and certain execution for high treason, Thomas More prayed and wrote. Henry VIII had declared himself head of the Church of England, and the Catholic More, who had served the king loyally as chancellor, refused to break his spiritual allegiance […]