Sunday Readings for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 17. Just about everyone can recite the Lord’s Prayer from memory. That’s precisely the problem, though. We often rattle it off without really thinking about what we are saying. “Forgive…
Forgiveness
Sin takes away freedom, but God makes us free
Freedom: the choice to do or not to do, to be or not to be. God wants us to be free, even if that means we are free to choose wrongly; he much prefers friends, who choose to do what…
Admonish sinners
Sunday Readings for the 23nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 10 I used to think that God’s law was like those dumb rules we had to put up with in grammar school, like “Thou shalt not chew gum in class.”…
Objective Truth
Why do we care about words like “objective” and “subjective”? This isn’t a grammar site. The words aren’t particularly theological, but they do come into play when talking about our faith. Many people opposed to the faith see it as…
What R U Lookin’ At?
In the lessons surrounding John the Baptist there are many things that get our immediate attention as well as some things that don’t but should! Let’s fill in the details a bit about John and his ministry. First of all,…
Sunday Mass in Galilee in Jesus’ language
An entry in my travel journal describes one Sunday in Galilee in 1988 on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land led by John Michael Talbot. As it does now, the world churned in turmoil with war surrounding the holy sites….
Desolation in Ministry: Jonah’s Story
That feeling of dread, regret, or resignation. Not wanting to step into your parish office. Wishing you’d never taken on that new volunteer position. Wanting this year of RCIA to be over because you don’t even want to see the…
How to Evangelize with Silence
When we think of evangelizing the culture–bringing God’s message to all–we usually imagine verbal or written communication. Blogs. Speakers. John the Baptist shouting in the desert. We rarely think of silence, yet there are times when not saying something is…
A Saint Against Despair – Mark Ji Tianxiang
If you are anything like me, I often feel very despondent of the sin in my life. As the years go on, I do note some spiritual growth. But I am constantly struggling with sins that troubled me from my…
Peter and the Keys
Sunday Readings for August 27, 2017, the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time “More Catholic than the Pope.” There is nothing more quintessentially Catholic than the Papacy. When we think “Catholic,” we think Rome, the Vatican, the dome of St. Peters….