The fraternal conflicts between Israel and Judah foreshadow later conflicts between Israel and the true Jew, Jesus. And so, when the Northern Kingdom allies with Aram (its traditional enemy) against Ahaz of Judah, it foreshadows the alliance of Jew and Gentile against the great Son of God. Pilate and Herod become friends.
Ahaz, of course, does not entrust himself to the one who judges justly, but instead seeks a Gentile alliance of his own – with the even more threatening Assyrians. He is no true son of David, but instead follows the example of his brothers to the North.
Wassailing at Christmas
Every year on January 17, revelers gather in an orchard near the Butcher’s Arms in the Somerset…
Rome and the Church in the United States
Archbishop Michael J. Curley of Baltimore, who confirmed my father, was a pugnacious Irishman with a taste…
Marriage Annulment and False Mercy
Pope Leo XIV recently told participants in a juridical-pastoral formation course of the Roman Rota that the…