Immaculee Ilibagiza and Forgiveness

Pope Francis writes, “Mercy has two aspects. It involves giving… but it also includes forgiveness and understanding.” More than just acts of charity, mercy is an act where we forgive others. This is something that all Christians must do. “We…

Reflections on Bl. Miguel Pro

Miguel Agustin Pro was born in Guadalupe, Mexico on January 13, 1891. His family was devoutly Catholic with a strong devotion to the Blessed Mother. Once when he was four years old, Miguel became fatally ill. His father brought him…

How Eternal Life?

The eternal life that God offers to human beings is participation in the very life of God, to be one with God as Jesus is one with the Father. God loves eternally, and he wants human beings to love eternally…

Eternal Life

Jesus offers eternal life to his followers. But what sort of life is it? Some seem to think it is an endless stay at a sort of heavenly resort, our “best lives” extended indefinitely. Sometimes this idea is expressed in…

No Room At The Inn

Like many of you, I notice how packed the pews become during Christmas mass. It is wonderful having large crowds gather to celebrate the birth of Our Lord. And yet there is a sadness that many of the people who…

Reflections on The Imitation of Christ

The Imitation of Christ is a spiritual classic. It is also one of the most read and influential spiritual books in the history of Christianity. Year after year I would attempt to sit down and read through this book. However,…

Following the Rules is Not Sufficient

Religion invariably contains instructions about what to do and what not to do. This makes it easy to think that religion might be, among other things, a sort of self-help system, where we figure out the right things to do,…

The Five Levitical Sacrifices and Christianity

I sometimes ask my students if they have tried to read the Bible all the way through. Some hands go up. When I ask them how far they get, most say that they stop somewhere in the third book: Leviticus….

Synod on Synodality: Final Document – First Impressions

Yesterday, the Synod on Synodality released their final document. I have read what they have released and will share with you my takeaways. I am sure someone more learned can do a more thorough breakdown, but this will have to…

Temperance and Loving God

In Christian tradition, there are seven heavenly virtues and seven deadly sins. The theological virtues (faith, hope and love), some of the cardinal virtues (justice and courage) and many of the deadly sins (pride, anger, lust, envy, greed, sloth) get…