By Randall Smith

But first a note: : A Catholic editor feels a certain trepidation touting his publication during a fundraising campaign, such as we're in at present. Humility is fundamental to Christian life, even now. But it can't be a sin against humility to quote what others, donors to the current campaign, are saying. Is it? These have to be anonymous, of course, but here are some recent representative samples. The most common: " TCT is my first source, daily. Many, many thanks." And almost as common: "Keep up the excellent work as the battlefield gets more vicious for the soul of America (and the world)." There's the spiritual side: "Thank you for helping me on my faith journey." And the aesthetic: "Brad Miner has introduced me to so much beautiful art." And encouragement: "Keep doing God's work," which of course we intend to. The one lament: "I wish it were more, but I can't afford it right now. Thank you for your great work. TCT focuses my mind and helps keep me sane."

But you never need to think any donation too small. This is a large common effort, with some people who can afford large gifts and many others who do what they can. If any of these comments by fellow readers resonates with you, please, do your part as you've done so generously in the past. We're only here because you stand with us. It's not hard. Click the button. Follow the prompts. Support The Catholic Thing. - Robert Royal

And now for Professor Smiths column.

I guess I'm supposed to "update" my theological terminology now (i.e., a "paradigm shift") and should not keep repeating old terms and slogans. I'm not sure one can express the same thing in completely different words. The poet Robert Frost once replied to someone who asked him to "explain" one of his poems: "Oh, you want me to express what the poem says in different and worse words."

Am I really going to find better words than Saint Augustine or St. Athanasius, let alone Jesus? Count me skeptical. But I'm nothing if not submissive to the authorities. So I'll try.

I've written about priests who, when asked for a prayer, did not pray to God, but merely asked everyone to "be mindful" of something, as for example: "Let's be mindful of the poor," or "Let's be mindful of those suffering from the earthquake." I suggested, perhaps somewhat unkindly, that this was a kind of hypocrisy.

"Hypocrite" comes from a Greek word meaning "actor." A "hypocrite" is pretending to be something he is not, the way an actor pretends to be someone (Hamlet, Henry V, or a cowardly lion) he is not. "Being mindful" is not a prayer, and one should not play-act as though it is.

I have no trouble with mindfulness. I need to be more mindful. And mindful meditation can be a good preparation for prayer. But it's not prayer, so we should not pretend it is.

But if that's not clear, consider another example. There is a story about an Anglican bishop who, when asked by someone about God, replied: "How would I know?" Well, dear sir, if you don't, then why are you wearing that cassock and gallivanting around enjoying the privileges of that position?

Those who pretend to be something they're not, so that they can enjoy the privileges of the institution, those who put on the outward cloak of Christian, Catholic faith but do not possess it, what else can we call them but "hypocrites"? They're play-acting; they're playing "dress up," and not just in the clothes they wear.

Christ described the religious hypocrites of his day as "blind guides," "serpents" (presumably like the one in the Garden of Eden), "a brood of vipers," and "whited sepulchers full of dead men's bones." Those words are all pretty clear. But if I were to make the requisite stab at "updating" them, I suppose I would have to go with one from my science background: parasites.

I am not using the term "judgmentally," however, merely in its technical sense. Technically speaking, a parasite is a creature that lives on or in a host organism and gets its food from or at the expens...