“It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to us. It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve hunger than to relieve the loneliness and pain of…
The Families That Prays Together and Those That Don’t: God loves them all!
Betrothed at Birth
I have an arranged marriage. As long I can remember, Janet was my wife….my betrothed actually, but that was just a detail. We didn’t take vows until the appropriate time, but regardless, the decision had been made for us by…
Saying No to say Yes to God
We, as followers of Christ, are sometimes viewed as “No” people, as “Thou Shalt Nots”: negative people who call things “sin” that many people like to do. And yes, there are many things that we say “No” to, and do…
Witness to the “Good Life” (Part 2 of 2)
By witnessing to the good life–satisfied, full of the peace only God can give, and in touch with our deepest longings as human beings–we can pre-evangelize the world around us, attracting and interesting others in that “something” that sets us…
The Good Samaritan
Sunday Readings for July 10, 2016, the 15th Sunday of the Year To this day, the road from Jericho to Jerusalem is long, winding, and desolate. The two travelers could have been heading back home after weeks on temple duty….
Warning: Adult Content
Recently, I read a good book called Do Hard Things, by brothers Alex and Brett Harris. (It also has a foreward by Chuck Norris. I know better than to cross Chuck Norris.) It’s about rebelling against society’s low expectations of…
Pane in the Glass
I was sitting in one of the churches I review on my blog a few months ago admiring the intricacy of the stain glass windows. They are in 99.99% of our churches. All are absolutely beautiful and add subtly but importantly to…
Should the Church Apologize?
As if often the case, Pope Francis was the subject of sensationalist headlines recently. Many of them read something along the lines of: “Pope Francis Says Catholic Church Must Apologize to Gays.” The headline is meant to give a very…
Freedom’s Call
If you are an American I suppose that you never really think of yourself as not free. That gift is the one identifiable privilege we all share in common, despite other differences. Here in the USA we can say, do…
Stormy day at the beach?
Does a dark cloud threaten to spoil your day at the beach? What struggles and sadness are you experiencing? What victories and joys are you celebrating? Sometimes we hesitate to give our all to enjoy the high times because we…