Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind against it. During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea,…
Walk on Water
A Look at Our Beautiful Faith in Pittsburgh
Recently I was able to make a trip to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to spend the day touring some beautiful churches. Not only were they rich in beauty but they were rich in history as well. My companion for the trip was a…
The Canaanite Woman
Readings for August 17, 2014: 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time The apostles thought she was a nuisance and asked Jesus to get rid of her. Jesus had gone to the region of Tyre and Sidon, modern-day Lebanon, and a local…
The Most Beautiful Time: The Present!
Climbing the mountain was more difficult than I recalled. Although it was daybreak, sweat poured down my face and back because of the high temperatures. Even my heart was beating overtime. I thought that this assent was surely more strenuous…
Emergency Help from the Blessed Mother
When we’ve messed up, we should run to our mother. Scripture makes this clear. At the wedding at Cana, either the wine list or the guest list was miscalculated. Someone messed up resulting in the wine running out. Why would…
Stuff and Sacraments
Let’s look at some miracles. First, God thought matter into existence. That is, some of his immaterial love is so dense that it actually manifests itself as stuff. You know: fermions, gluons, bosons, all the impossibly tiny little grains of…
God in the Gaps
The phrase “God of the Gaps” refers to poor argumentation for the existence of the Supreme Being. There is a gap in our ability to explain things so we use God to explain what we have not been able to…
Touching Suffering in the New Evangelization
Evangelization runs much deeper than just sharing the Gospel (though that’s an essential part, don’t get me wrong). Sometimes, it’s probing the depths of human experience that can be the most challenging to each of us personally as disciples of…
Walking on Water
Readings for August 10, 2014: 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time One of the most famous stories of the New Testament is the one about Jesus walking on the water. If there is any gospel story we never tire of hearing,…
Smells & Bells
A common poor joke during my childhood was the “Catholic aerobics” we did at Mass: stand up-sit down-kneel-stand up-sit down-kneel. Now, I know that each posture has a meaning: we stand for the Gospel because it is Jesus speaking to…