“I can earn my way to heaven.” This statement may not be something that any of us would say out loud. And yet, I bet that if I did a little questioning, I would find this assumption laying underneath my…
We Are Saved By Grace Alone
Augustine’s War of the Heart
“I was groaning in spirit and shaken by violent anger because I could form no resolve to enter into a covenant with you, though in my bones I knew that this was what I ought to do.” St. Augustine is…
Repent and Believe
Previously I wrote about belief and mercy, how Jesus wants to save us, and how we need to repent and believe in him. In fact, Jesus himself in the Gospels invites us to “repent and believe” [Mark 1:15]. But how?…
St. Augustine and the Attraction to Sin
“To do what was wrong simply because it was wrong – could I have found pleasure in that?” (St. Augustine, The Confessions II.4) When St. Augustine was a youth, he and his friends got the brilliant idea to steal pears…
Man Was Made For The Sabbath
In the Gospels, the Pharisees complain about Jesus performing miracles on the Sabbath. Our Lord famously turns to them and says “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.” (Mark 2:27). Jesus says this to refute the…
What is Jesus Like?
This is a different kind of writing than I usually do. I am going to be very personal. I have been reading and praying with the Gospels for decades, and seeking Jesus out at Church and in the sacraments, too….
“I Have Only On Thing To Do Today.”
We are busy. I do not know when you are reading this, but I imagine that you are in between your many important activities of this day. From the moment we wake until we fall asleep, our lives are filled…
Three Types of Atheist Arguments
There are few American Catholic writers that I have read more than Dr. Peter Kreeft. I even wrote him a fan letter calling him “an American CS Lewis.” In my years as a teacher, I have found his wisdom, holiness,…
Jesus and Sexual Desire
Modern western culture has a permissive attitude towards living out sexual desire between adults: if you are an adult who wants to have sex, and one’s adult partner is willing, then western society generally says you can, and even should,…
A Gold Medal in Blasphemy
A few days ago, the 2024 Summer Olympics began in Paris, France. To the shock and disgust of Christians around the world, it began with a recreation of The Last Supper. But this time Christ was replaced by a woman…