My recent pilgrimage to Rome and Medjugorje was filled with many trials and graces. Our band of 36, experienced long flight delays, luggage loss, nearly 24-hour flight delay, extreme heat and money loss. However, I am sure it was just…
Purity Is Not a Dirty Word
How Can I Forgive When I Can’t Forget?
While many people believe forgetting an injury is part of forgiveness, Fr. Justin Waltz of St. Leo’s Church in Minot suggested just the opposite. In fact, he stated that forgetting is not even possible. “The only type of forgetting I…
The God Particles: Part Three
“The Spirit comes to enlighten the mind first of the one who receives him, and then, through him, the minds of others as well. As light strikes the eyes of a man who comes out of darkness into the sunshine…
G.P.S. (God Powered Salvation)
But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find Him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. (Deuteronomy 4:29 KJV) God wants to fulfill His promises to us, to…
How Does Liturgy Fit with the New Evangelization?
What exactly is the relationship between the Church’s liturgy and the New Evangelization? From one perspective, you might feel as if liturgy is an obstacle, something that’s a barrier to more effective proclamation–just think back to the level of concern surrounding a…
The Two Messages of the Parable of the Sower and the Seed
Readings for July 13, 2014: 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time I’ve always loved gardening. Seeds I’ve planted include carrot, cucumber, and of course, zucchini. In each case, I’ve planted seeds in neat rows, expecting nearly all of them to sprout…
Passing Time, Using Time
Summer is a good time to think about time. Some summer days, time seems to fly by and before we know it, the day is done. On others, time seems to crawl as we struggle to finish a project, or…
Sacraments on the Fly
I used to teach sacraments to adults in RCIA, and to kids in Catechism class. With my current curriculum I don’t have specific lesson plans for sacraments. Now sacramental content is woven into the wider lessons, and over the year a…
Prayer Is Not Magic
“I prayed, but nothing happened.” How often have we heard these words? Maybe they came from someone in an argument about faith. Maybe they came from a child trying to understand God’s plan. Or maybe these words came from ourselves…
Historical Sites of Our Faith
As a cradle Catholic the age of the Catholic Church is not something I thought about until I began working with people who were joining the Church. On an intellectual level I know that as a Church we have been…