When I first had the idea of doing a New Evangelizers blog series using Jesus and the Holy Family as examples to fight the Five Wounds of Secularization (Busyness, Consumerism/Materialism, Violence/Revenge, Individualism, and Entitlement), I thought Violence/Revenge would be the…
On Haters and the Passion
Do NOT Follow Your Heart
It’s the dogma of our curent culture: follow your heart. It’s such a part of who we think we are, of how we think we should make decisions, of what we strive to reach, that we’ve accepted it as capital-t True. But…
Why We Need Divine Mercy
We live in trying times. Terrorism from both jihad and abortion clinics is but one indicator that shows what a merciless and age we live in. But as evil and terror have increased, so too has the reach of God’s…
Why Doesn’t the Holy Spirit Have a Face?
I don’t know if you were like me growing up, but I had a hard time wrapping my mind around the nature of the Holy Spirit. I knew He was important because He’s mentioned with the Father and the Son. …
Liturgy: What’s the Point?
“So, about that liturgy of yours…” Sometimes the transcendence of a Eucharistic liturgy can get a little blurry. A bad microphone that makes the lector’s proclamation of Scripture unintelligible. The thermostat in the sanctuary turned up so high you can…
The Reward of the Cross
And whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:27, KJV) Imagine you are applying for a job. You’ve gotten through the interview process and are now negotiating your contract. Everything you’ve heard…
Evangelization IS Action
Catholics are not big on evangelization. When I speak to groups I work with about this topic, even in passing, they are uncomfortable. The word is too close to “evangelical,” I am told. Sounds like we are going to go…
Are YOU Feeding His Sheep?
Readings for April 14, 2013: Third Sunday of Easter On many occasions I’ve heard non-Catholics object to the papacy. Often, they say something like this: “I just can’t believe that one man on earth, the Pope, is holier than everyone…
Faith: Substance and Evidence
We are halfway through the Year of Faith which began October 2012 and ends November 2013. During the last few months, our faith has certainly been challenged and, hopefully, has grown. Hebrews 11 defines faith as substance and evidence: “Now…
Transsubstati-what?
I can read something in the Bible a hundred times and still bump into something new. For example, on Palm Sunday I was browsing Luke’s Gospel before Mass started. For the first time, I noticed that at the Last Supper,…