Have you ever found a really good series of kids’ books, something the kids love to hear read aloud and to re-read on their own (or for our kids, to leaf through and look at the pictures again), but wished that there was something more in them than a light adventure story? I love reading […]
Death is always a hardship, and death by any means besides natural causes is a tragedy. So, when the body of actor Phillip Seymour Hoffman was found Sunday, February 2 in the bathroom of his Greenwich Village apartment, it was a tragedy. Hoffman, 46, had died of an apparent drug overdose. A friend found him […]
I recently led a group of pilgrims to Jerusalem. As we stood at the foot of the Temple Mount and remembered the Presentation of Jesus, several people had questions. There were questions about the redemption of the first-born son. About the rite of purification after childbirth. About how to put Matthew and Luke together in […]
It’s always the same speech, really.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: A lawyer, a cop, and a journalist enter Blessed John XXIII Seminary together. The lawyer ends up leaving to resume his practice but the cop and the journalist get ordained. Two out of three isn’t bad. You can take the man out of the law but you can’t […]
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A Flick on the television, turn to the news, and notice how hopeless it all looks. Terrorists kill hundreds and intimidate millions. Government debt in the US and Europe balloons out of control and whole countries need to be bailed out. Things did not appear much better in first […]
John the Baptist stood waist deep in the Jordan River. Thousands of faith-seekers came to be baptized by John for the forgiveness of sins. John believed that baptizing was his calling in life, the reason that he was born; indeed it was. Then one day Jesus arrived and the life and mission of the Baptist took on a […]
The Protestant Church is all about the Bible; the Catholic Church is all about the Sacraments. Right? Not exactly. When it comes to personal Bible reading, Protestants often put Catholics to shame. But as far as Sunday worship goes, it is hard to find a more biblical service than the Mass. The readings are awesome […]
“We’re on a mission from God.” In the 1980 movie The Blues Brothers, outlaw musicians Jake and Elwood Blues receive a divine commission to save the orphanage where they grew up by playing a one-night-only charity concert. Though Jake and Elwood could “use some churching up,” they are convinced that their plan will succeed because they saw […]
At first glance, the scene makes little sense. John’s strident call to repentance provokes an overwhelming response. People of all shapes and sizes flock to him in the wilderness. They are baptized in the Jordan as a sign of repentance and cleansing. Suddenly, out of the crowd steps John’s cousin, Jesus. Wait a minute. What’s […]
President Obama didn’t attend religious services this past Christmas.
Up until now, all has been quite humble. A donkey-ride to a dusty town south of Jerusalem. Hotel rooms all booked up. Giving birth in a stable and laying the baby in an animal’s feed trough instead of a cozy cradle. Into this scene of obscure poverty suddenly bursts an exotic entourage from a far-off […]
Inspired by a commercial for a movie inspired by a short story.
Responding to an annual fundamentalist canard.
Christmas is about self-giving love. God becomes human to set humanity free from the oppression of sin and death. Accepting Christ, and celebrating Christmas, means welcoming that freedom, and striving that every human being may experience it. Hence we evangelize. And hence we work for justice. “Truly he taught us to love one another; His […]
One-year reading plans for Vatican II, New Testament, and Catechism.
Every year right after Christmas, we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family. There is an important reason for this. It’s easy to think the “incarnation” means God took on a human body, that he appeared in human flesh. But there is much more to it than that. In Jesus, God unites himself to an […]
The home of Nazareth is the school where we begin to understand the life of Jesus—the school of the Gospel (CCC No. 533). My parents married in 1969. The day before the wedding my father got cold feet. In the hotel bar he sat drinking beer with the lawyer Tom Wall who counseled my father […]
“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.”
I’m like a Christmas caterpillar. During the holidays, I put on a fuzzy sweater and eat my way through the season. By the Epiphany, the sweater is a little snug. But that’s ok. I think of it as just a phase in my evolving yuletide metamorphosis, as I pass through different stages of development on […]
In the days of Caesar Augustus, an era of peace was established in the Mediterranean world after centuries of strife. But this peace was forged by the proud ambition of emperors and the edge of their armies’ swords. Upon this stage appears a baby acclaimed as king by eastern dignitaries. Neither Caesar nor Herod will […]
