The comfort God gives to us by giving us Jesus his Son as our Shepherd isn’t just some poetic, feel-good pasture scene that goes over well in Vacation Bible School or children’s catechesis. No–it’s a reality with hard-hitting promises and assurances. John…
Being a Sheep: Joy, Confidence, and Life Abundant
Fan, Follower, and Beyond
Are you a fan or a follower? Quite a few Christian preachers and teachers (including Catholic ones) have used these images as the basis for helping us move beyond merely liking Jesus, to actually following Him. And that’s a good…
Catechesis and Prayer: “The Faith Prayed”
Do your faith formation classes teach people about prayer or form people as pray-ers? Yesterday marked the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)’s annual “Catechetical Sunday”–an unofficial kick-off to the new academic year of catechesis in parishes across the United States….
When to Not Imitate Jesus
As disciples of Jesus, we seek to follow Jesus–to be like him as much as possible while on earth. This conformity to Christ is a foretaste of future glory, when, as John writes, “we shall be like him, for we…
Tradition and “That”
Can you imagine a culture and circumstances that might compel a person to exclaim: “If that happens, it’s the end of our faith”? What might the “that” be? If you’re scratching your head, coming up with a blank–then good. Here’s…
Witness a Gamble for Faith
Exploring if and/or how faith in Jesus Christ can be certain matters for catechesis, disciple-making, and evangelization as a whole. Certainty is related to confidence. If the “Good News” isn’t confidently known as something good with certainty, then why share it at all? A…
What the Zebedee Family Got Right (And How We Shouldn’t React)
By virtue of baptism, we are joined to Jesus Christ–and thus, supernaturally joined to all other baptized-believers. It’s a powerful reality! But, this truth can often be hard to see behind the human struggles we have when it comes to…
Witness to the “Good Life” (Part 2 of 2)
By witnessing to the good life–satisfied, full of the peace only God can give, and in touch with our deepest longings as human beings–we can pre-evangelize the world around us, attracting and interesting others in that “something” that sets us…
The “Good Life” and Pre-Evangelization (Part 1 of 2)
The desire to live better, to live more deeply. To live in a way that is satisfying beyond wealth or material goods. This is a longing that has always existed, yet in our current cultural setting, is being spoken aloud…
Even Pharisees Aren’t So Bad
How many of of us have a positive impression of Pharisees? Probably not too many. For most Bible readers, the Pharisees stand out, memorably as the best known opposition to Jesus and his followers. However, this Sunday’s Gospel reading for the…