Why call God “Father?”

This June not only the USA but at least 55 other countries around the world will honor the roles fathers play in the family and the community. This modern secular holiday invites us to ask a very important question –…

Visibly Anonymous

My Fabulous Wife and I went out to dinner for Mother’s Day at our neighborhood Mexican restaurant. Our adult kids are living in other cities, or were at work in this one, so it was just the two of us…

The Table

If you are a practicing Catholic you have most likely heard some form of this running joke:  “That priest is talking too long, I need to get to the donuts.”  Most every parish these days has a coffee hour where…

Catholics CAN learn from Scientific Faith

Last August (2015) an article was written in the Washington Post about the discovery of vessels which connect the brain to our immune system.  I recently read about this discovery two months ago on one of my feeds and it…

Even Pharisees Aren’t So Bad

How many of of us have a positive impression of Pharisees? Probably not too many. For most Bible readers, the Pharisees stand out, memorably as the best known opposition to Jesus and his followers. However, this Sunday’s Gospel reading for the…

Faith vs. Works? Paul, the Pharisee, and the Alabaster Jar

Sunday Readings for June 12, 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time Protestants say we’re justified by faith.  Some Catholics say we’re saved by good works. But what does the Bible say? The Bible – it’s neither.    And it’s both.   At the…

Be a Sheep!

Don’t be a sheep! I am not a sheep! I think for myself! You’re all just a bunch of sheep! We see it on signs and bumper stickers. We hear it and read it. We’re told by the world not…

The Good Father

One of Jesus’ most famous stories is of a father and two sons. The story is known as the story of the “Prodigal Son”, but it is more truly about the “Good Father”. In the story, the younger son asks…

Review: The Healing Power of a Father’s Blessing

I wish my father had read The Healing Power of a Father’s Blessing by Linda Schubert. He parented his three daughters from a distance, following the familiar pattern of how he was raised. Oh, Daddy was in town, working six…

The Lord’s Prayer Part 7 – We Are Not As Strong As We Think We Are

“And lead us not into temptation…”  This may seem like a strange request of Our Father in Heaven.  After all, He is not the tempter.  Satan is the one who tempts us to damnation.  So why do we ask Him…