Wounded Healers

Elisha died and was buried. Every year bands of Moabites used to invade the land of Israel. One time during a funeral, one of those bands was seen, and the people threw the corpse into Elisha’s tomb and ran off….

The Rosary and Me: My Neighbors Think I’m Nuts

This summer, I realized my family was in serious need of prayer. Oh, we are always in need of prayer, but this year things were a little more unsettled than usual. My eldest son was experiencing the growing pains of…

God Doesn’t Compare

“Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57)  Lately I have had several discussions about the saints and martyrs of old. On first observation many of us have concluded that today’s…

Fear and Oprah: A Pre-Evangelization Primer

Over the past weekend, the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, of Ann Arbor, Michigan appeared on an OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) “where are they now” show–a follow up to their appearances on the Oprah show in 2010….

John and James

Readings for October 18, 2015 , 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B It was time to make their move.  Usually it was Peter who took the initiative, but now it was their turn.  They cleared their throats and asked…

If you love something, set it free!

Gazing at my children in their cribs as newborns, I was amazed.  These tiny little infants, barely a few days old, trusted us for every need: feeding, diapering, comforting.  They knew at the slightest whimper, we would come running.  The…

Eating My Spiritual Vegetables

This week, I had an encounter with Jesus I wasn’t expecting, but that I should have seen coming. I made an appointment for confession and spiritual direction, and I arranged to have it at my house. It shouldn’t have surprised…

On the Necessity of a Magisterium

I was asked a question recently by a good friend about the content of what Muslims really believe. In other words, he asked me what true Islam was. This is actually a more difficult problem than it first appears. Mohamed…

Let Your Hair Down

If we look around our contemporary society it is an easy thing to say that we have simply gone mad.  Courts are acting as Law givers, human parts are being sold as casually as car parts and our society is…

The Tale of Two Men

Readings for October 8, 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B He was curious.  He had already fulfilled all the elementary requirements.  He was a decent person who hadn’t killed anybody, had honored his parents, and would never think of…