Several years ago I was privileged to attend an elementary school Christmas concert. Having gone to many a public school Christmas concert and not so many Catholic schools Christmas concerts, I am never sure quite what to expect. When…
Prepare Ye the Way
Faith in Receiving the Word
God asked faith of Abraham and Isaac. He asked it of St. John of the Cross, of Mother Theresa, and others. Sometimes their extreme examples seem just that — extreme. They seem to be on the edges of what’s possible,…
What to Do When Stressed
Are you feeling stressed? Everyone gets stressed sometimes. We all know the feeling: that pit in your stomach, the tightness in your upper back. Life brings no shortage of challenges, and dealing with many of them can be stressful. Amidst…
Faith in the Future
It is easy to believe when times are good. It is also easy to believe when we know what to expect. When we are in a reasonable routine and we make plans for tomorrow and those plans come to pass,…
Are you ready for Advent?
Something wonderful is about to happen to you. Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart. As you ready for his joyful coming? Jesus said to his disciples: Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants…
Volcanoes of Thanksgiving
I will praise thee, O Lord with my whole heart; I will show forth all thy marvelous works. (Psalm 9:1, KJV) On a recent weekend my family and I decided to drive to Mt. St. Helen. Usually, we…
Another Reason for an All-Male Priesthood
In my last article, I wrote about 7 reasons for an all-male priesthood. The teaching is very clear, but there are still many people, perhaps even with firm commitments to the spirit of fairness, that do not understand or accept…
Social Media, Relationship and Jesus
The increasing importance of online social media changes how people typically interact, especially in the case of people who have lived in an online world from their youth. Social media groups are very much driven by choice: you can join…
7 Reasons for an All-Male Priesthood
Recently, I had a former student ask me why the Catholic Church only ordains men to the priesthood. Below is my admittedly long-winded answer. I know that this is a stumbling block for many. As a young Catholic, I did…
Cowardice to Shame to Anger: A Lesson from Screwtape
“But hatred is best combined with Fear. Cowardice, alone of all the vices, is purely painful–horrible to anticipate, horrible to feal, horrible to remember; Hatred has its pleasures. It is therefore often the compensation by which a frightened man reimburses…