Have you ever felt like King David in today’s psalm? Here is a man who seems to have it all, to be a smashing success. The rags-to-riches story of a shepherd-boy-turned-king is something we usually only see in movies. He…
Create a Clean Heart in Me, O God
The Gift of Ordinary Time
Ordinary Time a gift? Man, that’s not a gift; it’s just the regular, run-of-the-mill Catholic mass season. Wait just a minute! Ordinary Time doesn’t mean mundane or dull in the way we modern Americans think of things as “ordinary.” The…
Michael Novak on His Journey from Liberal to Conservative
A few weeks ago I finished reading the latest book by Michael Novak, Writing from Left to Right: My Journey from Liberal to Conservative. (My review of that book is here.) I also had the opportunity to interview Mr. Novak about…
Curiosity and Human Nature
When we look at the celebrations of the Church we need to remember that there is logic to everything. When and how we celebrate things is not simply random. The last Feast of the Christmas octave is an ending, but…
Elitism: To Be or Not to Be?
“Is evangelization inevitably elitist?” asks Fr. Francis DeDiano, CSP, president of the Paulist Evangelization Ministries. Good question. In the light of our Catholic faith, I think the answer is a clear no. In fact, the call to evangelize helps us…
Called and Chosen
Readings for January 26, 2014: Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Flick on the television, turn to the news, and notice how hopeless it all looks. Terrorists kill hundreds and intimidate millions. Government debt in the U.S. and Europe balloons out…
Pope Francis: Through Baptism, each of us becomes “missionary disciples”
The New Evangelization is a call to each of us to deepen our own faith, believe in the Gospel message, live it out in our lives, and then go forth to spread the Gospel message. The focus of the New…
Studying the Gospel of Luke: Introduction
Editor’s Note: Today we welcome Stuart Dunn to our team of New Evangelizers bloggers. Stuart will begin his posting here by sharing a study of the Gospel of Luke on alternating weeks. Enjoy! Today, I start with my introductory lesson…
I Can’t Do This Without You: The Case for Christian Community
In the evangelical circles where I first cut my teeth as a Christian, hit-and-run evangelism was a sore topic. A mission team might swarm into town, preach the Gospel, hand out tracts, and pray with new converts . . . …
Tapping into an After-Christmas Spirit
The presents have been opened. The cards have all been sent and filed. We laughed, we hugged, we ate roast beast. For many of us, the decorations have already come down. (Of course in the Grayson household, they stay up…