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…
God’s Love for the Individual
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…
Peter as Satan
Readings for August 31, 2014: 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Truth in advertising–after all the glowing reports of the benefits of a product, potential side effects need to be mentioned. Informed consent–before surgery, patients have to be told of all…
A Christian Call To Arms!
Fellow Christians, we are under attack! As followers of Christ, we are being persecuted globally, more specifically in the Middle East, Africa, Pakistan, and Southeast Asia. Our faithful are being shot, burned, crucified, beheaded, raped, starved, beaten, and tortured for…
What is Discipleship?
At a discussion forum for Sherry Weddell’s book Forming Intentional Disciples, someone asked, “What does discipleship look like?” It’s easy to talk about the need for discipleship without having a clear grasp of what it is. If you did not grow up in…