He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothersor your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, […]
Like the rest of the world, I sat stunned by the revelation that our new Holy Father was almost completely unknown. We didn’t recognize the name; we scrambled for reference points; we watched transfixed as an older man was brought out on the loggia to meet his spiritual children. He also looked somewhat stunned, standing […]
A very wise priest is fond of starting all his discussions on the sacraments with the following fundamental truth. When teaching on the sacraments, we must remember that nobody encounters God without being fundamentally changed. In the Old Testament the names of individuals were changed. Moses’ face became as bright as the sun, and Elijah […]
Some things come as a surprise and others do not. My family and I watched the first episode of The Bible, the History channel’s 5-part series, so it was no surprise to us that it premiered as the #1 cable telecast of the year and the #1 trend on Twitter. It was spectacular; just the […]
4th Sunday in Lent, Cycle C “For our sakes God made him who did not know sin to be sin, so that in him we might become the very holiness of God” (2 Cor 5:21). Some Christians reading these words over the last few centuries have gotten the wrong idea. They’ve put this Scripture together […]
Fifth Sunday of Lent Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Isaiah 43:16-21; Psalm 126:1-6; Philippians 3:8-14; John 8:1-11) Receiving God’s Mercy and Forgiveness Neither do I condemn you. (John 8:11) Every day, we face condemnation, whether it be from an enemy, from a friend, from the devil, or from our own guilty consciences. […]
March 6, 2013, Wednesday — Silence Silence, of a sort, has descended over the meeting of the cardinals in the lead-up to the Conclave. The American cardinals today canceled their scheduled press conference at the North American College — the NAC, as it is called, on the Janiculum Hill just above the Vatican. Cardinal Timothy […]
This is the third in a series in which I attempt to address the question, “What is purgatory, and why is it necessary?” by expanding on the simple answer that Purgatory is the state, place, or process by which a soul is purified for entrance into heaven. Part 1 is here and Part 2 can be found here. “So […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Joshua 5:9-12; Psalm 34:2-7; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Luke 15:1-3,11-32) Answering the Call to be Ambassadors for Christ We are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. (2 Corinthians 5:20) During a high school trip around the world, William Borden, the heir of the Borden […]
When we consider the Sacrament of Baptism, two things become readily apparent. The first is how important baptism is in the Scriptures. Out of all the sacraments, none are foretold more than the sacrament of Baptism. (See Gen 1:2, Ez 36:25, 2 Kings 5:10-15, Is 1:16 to name but a few examples.) The other is […]
Recently, Pope Benedict XVI, now Pope Emeritus, criticized the media for it’s continued misrepresenting of Vatican II. In response, NET (New Evangelization Television) debuted a 10-part weekly series called Vatican II: Inside the Vatican Council, on Thursday, February 21 at 8:30 PM ET. CNA/EWTN reported that “Pope Benedict XVI said that many of the misinterpretations of the Second […]
This is the second in a series in which I attempt to address the question, “What is purgatory, and why is it necessary?” by expanding on the simple answer that Purgatory is the state, place, or process by which a soul is purified for entrance into heaven. Part 1 can be found here. “The doctrine [of […]
When I was in graduate school studying theology, I took a course on the Trinity. It featured a very large scholarly book and lots of Greek words. I found it fascinating, but understood relatively little. There is a reason why the Trinity is considered a mystery. In The ‘One Thing’ is Three: How the Most […]
Most religions in the ancient world were local or national cults. The Egyptians worshiped Isis and Osiris. Athens was named after the goddess Athena. Ephesus was the center of the cult of Artemis. But when the Church was born on Pentecost Sunday, it was comprised of people from every nation under heaven, all of whom […]
Third Sunday of Lent Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Exodus 3:1-8,13-15; Psalm 103:1-4,6-8,11: 1 Corinthians 10:1-6,10-12; Luke 13:1-9) Receiving Jesus’ Compassion and Giving it to Others I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it. (Luke 13:8) The parable of the fig tree tells us that God is constantly at work […]
We understand the sacraments as “visible signs of an invisible reality.” While this is true, it really doesn’t tell us much about the sacraments. A visible sign of what? What is the reality? The questions (and answers!) contemporary Catholicism provides are clearly not satisfying.
Question: What is purgatory, and why is it necessary? Purgatory is the state, place, or process by which a soul is purified for entrance into heaven. Conversion as a Process When we are converted to Christ and baptized, we are given grace which allows us to recognize our sins, and which begins to cleanse us […]
Communion with Christ in the eucharist is the greatest privilege and sweetest joy of Catholic life. However, we must not allow this heavenly banquet to displace the other feast to which we are called: that of the Word. The Scriptures are, in their own way, heavenly food, and we must relish them with all due […]
The Second Vatican Council taught us that the Eucharist is the “Source and Summit” of the Christian life. Yet we must keep in mind that the same council makes clear that the Eucharist is not the sum total of the Christian life. In fact, the Eucharist and all the other sacraments are memorials of a […]
Second Sunday of Lent Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Genesis 15:5-12,17-18; Psalm 27:1,7-9,13-14; Philippians 3:17–4:1; Luke 9:28-36) Knowing Who We are in Christ “My joy and crown … stand firm in the Lord” (Philippians 4:1). Not only was St. Paul passionate about his faith, he was also highly educated. He was well […]
I am of the opinion that we cannot develop a proper evangelization and theology centered around the sacraments because of the way we currently practice our faith. Any proper evangelization begins at home, and we need to take a better look at some realities of our faith.
True as they all are, their answers are incomplete. They are means, not the end. Why does God wish to “marry us?” What is the purpose of God providing peace? As always, the answer may be found within the Scriptures
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Deuteronomy 26:4-10; Psalm 91:1-2,10-15; Romans 10:8-13; Luke 4:1-13) Remembering What the Lord Has Done for Us The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and outstretched arm. (Deuteronomy 26:8) When we read the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, we may put brackets […]
Last summer, I had a conversation on the topic of religious liberty with a dear priest friend who is a very accomplished moral theologian and seminary professor. He’s one of very few people I know whose rock-solid orthodoxy, knowledge and insight make him a reliable guide in all matters Catholic. That being the case, I […]
