Readings for September 14, 2014: Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Terrorism is nothing new. It’s probably as old as the human race. In fact the cradle of civilization, now Iraq, was the home of the most infamous…
The Exaltation of the Cross
Trusting God: An Interview with Connie Rossini
I recently had a chance to interview Connie Rossini, author of Five Lessons from the Carmelite Saints that will Change Your Life and Trusting God with St. Therese. She lived for many years as a secular member of the Discalced…
Arkeology
This is primarily aimed at catechists; but if you like it, and aren’t a catechist, maybe you should be one. Every year in our journey through the Bible and the Mass, the kids in 6th grade Catechism learn about All the Arks….
God’s Love for the Individual
With today’s longer Gospel reading of an obscure-sounding family tree, you might do a double-take and think that Christmas has come early. Instead, it’s the Feast of the Nativity of Mary. At times, it can seem like the Church has a bewildering…
Admonish the Sinner: Not an Option
Readings for September 7, 2014: 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time I used to think that God’s law was like those dumb rules we had to put up with in grammar school, like “Thou shalt not chew gum in class.” They…
Welcoming The Stranger
The current immigration crisis of thousands of unaccompanied children crossing the border is constantly on my mind these days. I can’t imagine what these children have gone through, in their home countries and on what must have been a terrifying…
Rituals, and Why We Need Them
I’ve been in a “discussion” with a Protestant friend, a very good man. We differ on so many points: faith alone, blessed assurance, church, priesthood – yet we are in agreement on so many more: morality, chastity, the divinity of…
Am I a Shepherd Pasturing Myself?
In my prayer time one recent morning, I was rushed and distracted. As a result, I almost skipped reading that day’s first reading from Ezekial 34. I’ll be honest — all too often my daily prayer time, spent partially contemplating…
On the Necessity of Hope
In my last article I wrote about the sin of suicide. Self-murder is an act of ultimate despair. If you end your own life you believe, for whatever reason, that you will have no more good days ahead. Or if…
What are you waiting for?
“Shalom Festival 2014: Fear not, for I am with you,” was the theme of the one-day conference. A suburban Catholic high school honoring St. John Paul II, the great lover of evangelization, was the ideal location for this program promoting…