It’s time to grow up. Really. That means having standards. I don’t just mean the kind of standards that you quietly keep to yourself so as not to offend anyone. No, I mean the kind that everyone knows where you…
Enough Already!
Getting Others to Listen to the Gospel
The Gospel is the Good News. So why does it seem so often like people do not want to hear it? Have you ever tried to teach a class or give a witness or just speak one on one with…
The Spirituality of Invitation
The “New Evangelization” is all around us. Catholics Come Home continues its prime time television campaign to eventually reach viewers in every U.S. diocese. The acclaimed Catholicism documentary series produced by Fr. Robert Barron and Word on Fire ministries has aired on…
Unless a Grain of Wheat
Amen, amen I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat: but if it dies, It produces much fruit. (John 12:24, NAB) Every year I buy seed…
Threshold Conversation
A few weeks ago I read a great book, Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus, by Sherry A. Weddell. There is a general review on my blog. I would like to focus on one part of the…
Grace for the Taking
Readings for March 17, 2013: Fifth Sunday of Lent It really looked like the end of the road for her. Caught in the act of a capital crime, her fate lay in the hands of an angry mob. Desiring to…
I *WANT* That!
God’s word says: “Store up treasures in heaven.” (Mt 6:20) “You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Mt 6:24) “Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins? Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God… . Do…
From Science to Salvation
Albert Einstein derived the formula E = mc² over a century ago. I love this equation…it’s easier to understand than you might guess. E is energy; m is mass (you know, stuff); and c² is the speed of light squared, which…
Good Catholic, Bad Catholic: How would YOU respond?
Scene: The vestibule of a church after Sunday noon Mass. A middle-aged woman – let’s call her the Good Catholic – approaches a like-aged woman who is leaving the church with her 15-year-old and 17-year-old sons. The latter has…
Why I Bother with Lent
Lent is, well, a pain. In recent years, it’s turned into something that I personally struggle with into something that I also have to wrench my family through. It’s a desert, alright. A big, fat, empty, pain-in-my-rear-end desert. So why do…