“But deliver us from evil.” I have never completely understood those who criticize the Catholic faith by pointing to all of the evil in the world. While the problem of pain is a key struggle that many of us have,…
The Lord’s Prayer Part 8 – A Peace the World Cannot Give
Martha and Mary
Readings for July 17, 2016, the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time I once got a harsh letter from a Baptist lady protesting that she could not find the word “Catholic” anywhere in the Bible. True, the earliest occurrence of the…
The Families That Prays Together and Those That Don’t: God loves them all!
“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…
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…