A few days ago we celebrated the feast of Sts. Anne and Joachim, the parents of the Virgin Mary. Very little can be said about them with certainty. Neither of Mary’s parents are named in the Scriptures. We find these…
Reflecting on Jesus’ Grandparents
Old vs New
Sunday Readings for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time Old vs. New “Liberal” and “conservative.” The definitions of these terms are seldom stated. Usually, they are just presumed. Often people call “conservative” those who like old-fashioned things and “liberal” those…
Opening Ancient Doors
“Fling wide the gates, open the ancient doors, and the great king will come in. Who is the great king? The Lord Almighty—he is the great king!” Psalm 24: 9-10 What ancient doors do we have to open? Anything that…
Tough Mudder Pre-Evangelization Tips
Why would anyone pay to go through messy, physically demanding obstacle courses and “comically extreme” challenges (Fast Company, Jun 2017)? Indeed. Why? From Tough Mudder CEO, Will Dean, it’s got something to do with ritual and community. As he explains, Tough Mudder events, “are…
Never to be Seen
Are you a gardener? Did you ever plant a seed? Did you ever wonder about the “Seen Parable” (Lk 8: 4-15) and try to figure out which one you were and become depressed because you thought that the description which…
SARAH DID IT, SO CAN YOU
Then he said unto them “Go your way, eat the fat and drink the sweet and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry;…
10 Commandments in the Modern World Pt 10 – Be Happy for Others
Commandment 10: Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s goods. In our last article, we covered coveting your neighbor’s wife. In this one we will talk about our neighbor’s possessions. It is very natural to want what someone else has. We…
The Double Message of the Parable of the Sower and the Seed
Sunday Readings for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time July 16, 2017 I’ve always loved gardening. Seeds I’ve planted include carrot, cucumber, and of course, zucchini. In each case, I’ve planted seeds in neat rows, expecting nearly all of them…
The Bread of Life
Recently, I received an emailed “essay” attacking, specifically, transubstantiation. The author claimed to have had an “intellectual epiphany” based on the “unshakable Scriptures”. We, however, choose instead to follow the word of Scripture, which calls the Church–not the Bible–the bulwark…
Having a Heart like Jesus’ Sacred Heart
Consider the heart: at the center of the body, it is essential to life. When we speak of the heart in matters of faith, we mean the center of our being, our key values lived out, our motive core. God…