St. James tells us if we lack wisdom to ask God because He will give generously. Our petition should rest on a genuine faith attributed to Him. If not, then the opposite of faith — doubt — will cause us to be like a wave of the seas that is driven and tossed by the [...]
Imagine a Bishop exercising his rightful authority to assure authentic Catholic teaching and practice in Catholic Schools. If this proposition sounds reasonable, then you will find Bishop Vasa of the Diocese of Santa Rosa, CA to be a reasonable man. He had requested/required that all Catholic School teachers to publicly affirm Catholic Church teaching and [...]
As someone who has long appreciated the catechetical value of CS Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters, it was a great pleasure for me to have the opportunity to interview Max McLean, director of the stage adaptation of The Screwtape Letters and its lead actor, portraying Screwtape. McLean originated the role of Screwtape in New York, Chicago, [...]
Did that which is good then bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, working death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. We know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold [...]
“Are you still without understanding?” – Mt 15:16 With the election still raw in the hearts and minds of many, the political commentary is in full gear and will be for many weeks to come. Many in the Catholic blogosphere have either urged calm, or warned of a potential martyrdom heading our way. Whether you [...]
“About this we have much to say which is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of God’s Word. You need milk, not solid food; for everyone who lives on milk is [...]
“Conversion requires convincing of sin, it includes the interior judgment of conscience, and this, being proof of the action of the Spirit of Truth in man’s inmost being, becomes at the same time the start of a new grant of grace and love” — Blessed John Paul II, DeV 31; CCC 1848 “I can’t believe [...]
Did Jesus really sin? Apparently nearly 60% of all practicing Catholic within the Diocese of Camden, NJ believe so. This was the findings of a religious survey commissioned by the Diocese of Camden, with the intent and purpose of finding out what people know and understand about their Catholic faith. These results should put all [...]
In his masterpiece, An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman at the age of fifteen describes his initial conversion toward the teachings of the Catholic Church where he, “Fell under the influences of a definite creed, and received into my intellect impressions of dogma, which, though God’s mercy, have [...]
Imagine someone coming up to you and without hesitation telling you: “I desire to save your soul.” This is exactly what St. John Bosco would do in his attempt to rescue the kids of Turin, Italy from the depths of despair. He would make his point very clear to the youths he would encounter in the [...]
I’m not strong enough. Imagine if these were the words you told Christ when He asked you to take up your Cross and follow him. St. Mark’s Gospel reminds of us this very notion where Christ provides us with His unique blueprint on discipleship: And he called to him the multitude with his disciples, and [...]
The great theologian and catechist Frank Sheed wrote in his book Are We Really Teaching Religion: “The aim of teaching religion is that at minimum, children should emerge with a tremendous devotion to Christ, Our Lord, with an awareness of Him, a considerable knowledge of His Life and Personality, and a desire to increase that knowledge” [...]
One of the most amazing things about fatherhood is my children’s capacity to analyze every little thing I do. Give them an inch and they will take it a mile with anything I either said or did. No one ever wants to be challenged or corrected for their wrongs. This is a basic fact of [...]
[U]ntil we account for the knowledge which an infant has of his mother . . ., what reason have we to take exception at the doctrine, as strange and difficult, that in the dictate of conscience, without previous experiences or analogical reasoning, he is able gradually to perceive the voice, or the echoes of the [...]
As many of you have already witnessed the disturbing video of a young Chinese girl involved in a hit and run and seemingly ignored by the whole world as she lay on the street with life-threatening injuries, it prompts the question: do we truly see ourselves as children of God? If you were to pose [...]
“He said what?!” These were the first words that came out of my mouth when I heard my Confirmation teacher explicitly go into detail about how it was perfectly all right to have sex with your girlfriend if you truly “loved” her. Naturally, he told us he had sex with his girlfriend because he loved [...]
Does the Church deny couples the opportunity to marry? If your answer is yes, then we need to rethink our understanding of why the Word became flesh. The Incarnation is the fountain of the grace of the sacraments and the Church would never deny anyone that grace. However, there is more than merely the desire [...]
Many years ago, I had an encounter with a coworker that would forever ignite a stronger desire to articulate Church doctrine in a clear practical manner. The story goes this way. I had recently finished developing a pilot Adult Education program for the Diocese I worked in at the time. The Bishop of the Diocese [...]
A couple of years ago, a pastor asked me to provide a catechetical training day for teachers in his Catholic school and CCD program. One of my first questions to him was what issues had developed that required my assistance. The Pastor voiced to me his concern over poor doctrinal formation he suspected the children [...]
But as for you man of God, shun all this; aim at righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness. Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses (1 Tim 6:11-12). At times, there are certain [...]
Is promotion of the family a common good and profitable? These questions appear to be the point of contention for corporate America due to confusion in the definition of “family.” Consider the Human Rights Commission report (buying guide) of companies that promote the lesbian and gay agenda versus those that do not. The Human Rights Commission [...]
If you will, you can keep the commandments, they will save you; if you trust in God, you too shall live; he has set before you fire and water to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand. Before man are life and death, good and evil, whichever he chooses shall be given him. Immense is [...]
One quiet evening, I decided to call my brother to ask how his new teaching position as a religion teacher was going. His first position took him to an all-boy’s Catholic high school in Southern California. After an initial pause he emphatically stated; “They don’t know anything!” I asked him to clarify his statement. He [...]
You have heard the phrase “The devil is in the details” used to describe a certain action or task in need of completion. Or, used in another context, how missed little details prevented a project from being completed. When involved in this type of situation, the human mind can conjure up so many thoughts and [...]
