Sunday Readings for October 9, 2016 Leprosy is a dreadful thing anywhere, anytime. But in the ancient Near East, it was a particularly heavy burden to bear since it meant complete social isolation. You could, of course, hang out with…
Thanksgiving
Can Miracles Be (Dis)Proven?
Catholic Canonizations With Mother Teresa’s recent canonization and elevation to Saint Teresa of Calcutta, I’ve had quite a few friends and family members asking me how exactly the Catholic Church goes about making someone a saint. In answering that question, there are…
The Devil is in the Details. . . Literally!
I remember a time when I was at morning Mass. Just before the Our Father, the man next to me reached out to join hands. I explained that the priest was the intercessor for our prayers, and that is…
What Our Country Needs: “Return To Order” by John Horvat II
I heard about the book, Return To Order-Where We’ve Been, How We Got Here, and Where We Need to Go-From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society” by John Horvat II, over a year ago and ordered it. As I…
Murderer!
The devil is in the details some say. When you see the title of this piece, pay closer attention because it refers to YOU, yes you! I’m not really a gambler, but I’d bet with pretty good odds that the…
Review: St. Thomas Aquinas for Everyone
“St. Thomas is the greatest doctor of the Church,” author Dave Palmer said, “and I assert that children can be taught his basic philosophy, as I do with my 11- and 7-year olds.” Let’s Go Find God is the enticing…
Fan, Follower, and Beyond
Are you a fan or a follower? Quite a few Christian preachers and teachers (including Catholic ones) have used these images as the basis for helping us move beyond merely liking Jesus, to actually following Him. And that’s a good…
Mustard Seed Faith
Sunday Readings for October 2, 2016 We all admire the heroes of faith like St. Francis (feast day, October 4). Absolutely nothing stopped him in his pursuit of God’s glory. When, during the Crusades, he was captured by the Saracens,…
How Do We Come To The Wedding Feast
Recently I spoke with a friend about spiritual matters, and one of the concepts we discussed was simplicity. Simplicity in thought, word and deed, as well as simplicity in lifestyle. One of the passages that came up was “Come now,…
Begin with the backstory
Next year, I suspect there will be a lot of people talking about the one hundredth anniversary of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Fatima. That is because what happened there is so extraordinary. Beginning on May 13,…