Would the community be impacted if your parish ceased to exist? Would there be a decline in concrete acts of love? Would fewer people experience transformed lives in the power of the Risen Lord? There’s no such thing as a…
Spiritual Direction
Faith is awareness of God as a personal God, with our personal response to the love in which we have come to believe. It is a personal encounter, a contact with the divine Persons into which we are taken by…
Three Questions for Lent and Beyond
Popular Catholic speaker Matthew Kelly often begins his presentations with this phrase: “There’s genius in Catholicism.” That couldn’t be truer. There are so many things about the Church that make perfect sense and one of them is the calendar. The…
That’ll Leave a Mark
It’s Lent not November. By now you have at least pondered how you will try to alter your prayer and faith life for the good. You may or may have not been successful up to this point, the first week…
Have a Chestertonian Marriage
A few years ago, a former student invited me to lunch. He was discerning the married life and he wanted my advice as a married man. I was shy to give it. It is not because I have a bad…
For freedom He set us free
“For freedom Christ has set us free.” (Gal 5:16) Why has Christ set us free? For freedom. Think about that; parse it. Christ did not set us free for some other reason and we got freedom as a bonus or…
Lent is Time to Get in Shape through Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving
Christianity is not a cheap religion. Being a Christian is difficult, and it takes sustained effort. Yes, Jesus freely offers salvation (we do not need to “earn” God’s love), but that doesn’t mean living a Christian life is easy: the…
Edging God out?
Are you excited about Lent this year? Making long lists of sacrifices, prayers and goals? Or do you hesitate to take on a new discipline to add to your packed schedule? When we take on a new goal to improve…
Genuine Places for Seekers in Your Parish
Where can a Seeker find belonging in typical American parish life? In Seeker Small Groups: Engaging Spiritual Seekers in Life Changing Discussions (2003) Garry Poole proposes small groups led by ordinary Christians as the best way to engage and evangelize seekers….
Create A Clean Heart In Me, O God
This year I celebrate the beginning of Lent, and I do mean celebrate. Yes, it is a time to turn back to God, to repent and atone and grow in virtue, and repentance does entail sorrow and contrition. But I…