Trudging along two miles of country road in Kettle River, Minnesota, I shifted the back carrier that held my three-year-old son. I was joined by 3,500 other pilgrims who had congregated to see if the Virgin Mary would appear as…
What About Those Apparitions?
Hear the Whispering this Advent
After the earthquake there was a fire—but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. (1 Kings 19:21) It seems as the years continue their steady progression that retailers move the Christmas…
Apocalypse Now!
Readings for November 17, 2013: Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time Whenever I lead a trip to the Holy Land, the question inevitably comes, “Will we visit Armageddon?’ This refers, of course, to the battlefield surrounding the ancient city of Megiddo…
Thank You, God!
“Now thank we all our God, with hearts, and hands, and voices.” As a child I sang these words with a full heart. But things change. I don’t recall at which moment I forgot to thank God, but I’ll bet…
The Importance of the Family Table
In my experience, one of the most important tools in the parenting toolbox is the dining room table. The table is the place in our busy, modern lives where we can gather together for a meal, conversation, and maybe, once…
Managing Your Classroom: A Book for Catechists of All Levels
Liguori Publications has recently published Classroom Management for Catechists by my fellow South Carolina catechist and New Evangelizers blog contributor Jennifer Fitz. I received a review copy which I have now thoroughly marked up. I’ve been catechizing since 1998, so…
Wait Loss for Evangelizers
Timid evangelizers, unite! It’s time to for us to lose wait. Wait is what an evangelizer chooses to do when he really ought to be sharing the Gospel. He will wait to discuss a Scripture passage with a fundamentalist until…
Darwin’s Dead End
I was speaking with a former student recently. Like most people in their first year of college, he has become enamored of new subjects, new ways of thinking. We had a very in-depth discussion on the meaning of life, the…
Time to Fill the Deafening Silence with Our Personal Testimonies
When and where do you hear personal testimony from Catholics? People recounting their experiences of meeting or encountering Jesus Christ, their witness to the power of joining in heavenly worship in the Eucharistic liturgy, a story of a life transformed through Christ…
The Challenge of Humility
Benjamin Franklin wrote in his autobiography, In reality, there is, perhaps, no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases,…