Consider the heart: at the center of the body, it is essential to life. When we speak of the heart in matters of faith, we mean the center of our being, our key values lived out, our motive core. God…
Having a Heart like Jesus’ Sacred Heart
The Underrated Virtue of Nice
In mystery author Agatha Christie’s biography, she wrote about her father’s death. Many of those present at the funeral said the same thing about the late Mr. Miller. “He was a nice man.” She went on to state that niceness…
When the Mere Mention of Sin Becomes the “Sin”
Have you found that the mere mention of the word “sin” can be taken as a sign from others that you are somehow intolerant? Our culture relegates the concept of sin to a religious term that only extreme ideologues would…
The Fantasy of a Judgment-Free Zone
The ad for a national fitness center franchise promised that for $10 a month I could enter a judgment-free zone. It gave the hours where I could escape the judgmental world around me to enter a place where no one…
I DARE YOU!
You are the light of the world. A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are…
Spiritual Decoys
“[Hezekiah] did what was pleasing to the Lord. He destroyed the pagan places of worship, broke the stone pillars, and cut down the images of the goddess Asherah. He also broke in pieces the bronze snake that Moses had made,…
Who’s in Charge of Me?
As Catholics, many of our faith have learned the rules at the knee of a teacher, parent, or grandparent without ever having a disagreement, difference of opinion or question of anything. To be sure, there is an encyclopedia of information…
Remember Who You Are
There is important liturgical concept called “anamnesis.” Literally translated it means “remembering.” It is so fascinating to me how important this concept is in the Scriptures. In the Exodus, God says of the Passover, “This day you are to remember;…
A Question of Intimacy
“Remain in me, as I remain in you.” John 15:4 Okay. I know that I over-think things, sometimes to an obnoxious degree, but I just couldn’t understand the morning Gospel. It might have been the word “in”. I could see…
The Art of Praying
In his book, The Art of Praying, Romano Guardini explains in wonderful detail how to go about the act of prayer, and the vital importance of understanding all of its aspects, from preparation of time, place and self, to the…