“But deliver us from evil.” I have never completely understood those who criticize the Catholic faith by pointing to all of the evil in the world. While the problem of pain is a key struggle that many of us have,…
The Lord’s Prayer Part 8 – A Peace the World Cannot Give
Should the Church Apologize?
As if often the case, Pope Francis was the subject of sensationalist headlines recently. Many of them read something along the lines of: “Pope Francis Says Catholic Church Must Apologize to Gays.” The headline is meant to give a very…
St. Francis of Assisi and Pope Francis
When Jorge Bergoglio was elected to the papacy, I wrote about his choice of name “Francis.” As a Jesuit I wondered if he meant Francis Xavier. But it turns out that he made took on the name in honor of…
The Lord’s Prayer Part 7 – We Are Not As Strong As We Think We Are
“And lead us not into temptation…” This may seem like a strange request of Our Father in Heaven. After all, He is not the tempter. Satan is the one who tempts us to damnation. So why do we ask Him…
The Preacher Trap
A little while ago I wrote about “The Teacher Trap” where teachers of the faith place themselves morally above those that they teach. But there is another aspect to this vein of corruption that I like to call The Preacher…
The Lord’s Prayer Part 6 – Mercy and Forgiveness.
“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Most of us would readily acknowledge that we need the forgiveness of the Lord. I know that the older I get, I can see the scales of justice…
Pastoral Orthodoxy
A few weeks ago, Pope Francis released his apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love) in response to the recent Synod on the family. Some were hoping that the document would move towards normalizing and validating sexual relationships that…
The Teacher Trap
“Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” James 3:1 I have been a teacher for many years and these words still haunt me. Being a…
On the Necessity of the Resurection
We have now come through the long lonely days of Lent to celebrate new life in Easter. So now what? Lent is the spiritual boot camp where we are training our souls towards greater holiness. We concentrate on the sacrificial…
The Lord’s Prayer – Dependance on God, Part 5
Did you ever wonder why Jesus instructed us to ask for “daily” bread? Why not ask for a lifetime supply of bread? Couldn’t God do that? Couldn’t God by His infinite power simply provide for all of our material needs?…