I love stories about real heroes, and Deanna Klingel’s book for young adults is just that. Bread Upon the Water is the true story of Father Tien Duong, a Catholic priest who grew up in the strife and hardship of Communist Vietnam….
Bread Upon the Waters
No Detente with the World
“I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but…
The Failure of the Saints
St. Francis of Assisi went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. When he returned, he found out that two of his vicars has made changes to the Franciscan community. Francis was shocked to find his brothers living in a…
Feelings
Feeings, emotions. We all have them. They so often drive our decisions. That’s fine when our feelings are aligned with the truth: when we know what is right and we feel it is right, then it’s easier to do it….
Holy Hacks to holiness
Since the days of the Amazing Grace book series, Patti Maguire Armstrong, author of Holy Hacks: Everyday Ways to Live Your Faith and Get to Heaven, has been one of my favorite authors. I admire her wisdom, casual style and…
All That Lasts Forever
A short reflection this Monday: According to our best scientists, the universe will end. Entropy is a real thing where all of the energy will eventually be used up. The cosmos will then either fade away like the dying embers…
Journeying As Evangelization
In my last article, I wrote about how if you give tacit approval to people who are doing something morally evil then you are complicit. However, I believe I should also make a bit of a clarification. We want to…
What is Christian Manhood?
Clint Pressley, pastor of the Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte NC, recently published a tongue-in-cheek list, 99 Steps Towards Manhood, that has earned some notoriety on social media. His 99 steps are interesting reading. Some of the steps are…
Ferrymen on the Way to Hell
Recently there was a news story about a man named Robert Fuller. He was a man dying of cancer who took his own life. This, in and of itself, is sad and tragic. What makes this story sting is that…
My Holy Spirit Mission
Each one of us has a mission that perfectly fits who God created us to become. God created this desire within us and sent the Holy Spirit to nourish it. As an introverted convert to Catholicism, I never thought I…