In her first book, the book of her life, St. Teresa describes prayer and the spiritual life in terms of a garden and of water, using four types of receiving water to describe the stages of prayer life. St. Teresa…
St Teresa of Avila’s Four Waters
Red Hot Sinner
Have you ever been to Jerusalem? When you step out in early morn there is a chill in the air and by noon it’s so hot that you can hardly breathe and all you want to do is find a…
From Inauthentic Evangelizer to Witness
How authentic are you as an evangelizer? When people ask you questions, are your responses what you experience? Or a idealistic, textbook answer? Pope Francis writes, “people prefer to listen to witnesses: they ‘thirst for authenticity’ and ‘call for evangelizers…
Hidden meaning of the Loaves and Fish
Readings for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time Finding the hidden meanings. Unraveling mysteries. Deciphering symbols. The thrill inherent in all this is partly why Dan Brown’s book, the Da Vinci Code, sold so well. But Brown’s secret code, the…
Living through your Suffering
“Nothing is small that comes from the hand of God. If He sends us affliction or suffering, we should accept it with gratitude; for whatever He permits to happen to us is always for our salvation.” -“The Imitation of Christ”,…
Chastity is a Waltz
A few months ago I was speaking to a friend of mine regarding how we teach chastity to our young people. The frustration she shared with me was that the entire burden of chastity seemed to fall on the women. …
Hungry Sheep, Weary Shepherds
Readings for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Lots of perks come with being the boss, whether you are the boss of a church, company, or nation. You get to call the shots, for starters. Then there is good food,…
To everything there is a season
Our Lord has said it, St. Pio has said it. Even songwriters have said it. There is a time for everything. All things are passing. Bear everything in peace. To everything there is a time and season. Time, what does it…
Balloon or Coat?
A short and sweet midsummer faith reflection/checkup. It has been a tumultuous year in our society. Many social issues, many social problems, many chaotic events. How do we as Christians navigate through these tough times when our faith is tested?…
Faith to Evangelize Without Seeing Fruit
“I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother.” Hard words from today’s Gospel (Mt 10:34-11:1). But, I’m going to warn you in advance–just to temper your expectations–today’s blog post isn’t really about this…