Most of us make and break the same New Year’s Resolutions each year: eat less, exercise more, spend less, get out of debt. . . and on and on. My resolutions, while well-intentioned, often fall away by the end of January. This year, I’ve decided to do things differently. Instead of putting all the emphasis […]
On the British tabloid Daily Mail Online, there recently appeared an article by Chris Rogers and Marshall Corwin concerning the six alleged seers of Medjugorje. Rogers and Corwin write a fairly simple article that recounts some basic history of Medjugorje. It also mixes the authors’ own experience with Medjugorje and the alleged seers. I would […]
With nothing but the angel’s words as confirmation of her condition, she hastened toward her cousin’s house to see if the impossible had indeed come to pass. It had. Amazingly, inexplicably, the devout old woman positively glowed as she regarded her much younger kin, at once gratified and awestruck at the hidden miracles that rested, […]
The calendar reads December 27th. Secular society has us fully ensconced in “after-Christmas” sales and is already prepared to move us along to Valentine’s Day. And yet we Catholics know that in terms of the liturgical season of Christmas, we’re just getting started. Some of you may fall prey to the “after Christmas blues” that […]
During the early years of Facebook mania, I posted pics of my kids, events, travels, anecdotes and chanted with the universal FB voice: “Look how great I am; how amazing my life is; how many people like me!” While I really wanted to post about how great God is, a social network broadcasting my religious […]
The early Church had a rough go of things. In addition to the refining of orthodox understanding of Christ’s teaching and intentions regarding the Church it was a challenging time internally, as some controversy resulted from those who felt that converts should be required to undertake the entire law. The Council of Jerusalem resolved many […]
Every December cultural warriors mourn the incessant attacks on Christmas and secularism’s rise in society. News headlines carry stories of modern day Herods banning nativity scenes, religious performances, and even the word “Christmas.” Just as a majority of young people profess they will have less prosperity and opportunity than their parents, many people now expect […]
In the quiet of night, a young mother holds her baby to her, admiring his fingers and toes, exploring the features of his face. Her son is new to this world, a gift from God. She is like every other new mother, filled with wonder and exhaustion and, perhaps, fear. She is very young. Is […]
When I entered this world, my Blessed Mother and her most chaste spouse, Joseph, welcomed Me with loving arms, eyes and hearts. A choir of heavenly angels surrounded and serenaded us! My heart leaped for joy when the humble shepherds came and paid Me homage. I smiled! We waited. But none of the religious, […]
Render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God,’ was the response of Jesus when asked about paying taxes. His questioners, of course, were laying a trap for him. They wanted to force Him to take sides in the highly-charged political debate about Roman rule in the land of Israel. […]
As we begin the Christmas season, we contemplate in earnest that manger scene. The One who was all light emerged from the darkness of the womb. He who was perfect Love entered a world in which, in just a few short months, his parents had to flee their home in order to keep him from […]
During Advent, Christians gather around the Manger, as yet empty. “Come, Lord Jesus, do not delay,” the Church’s liturgy prays. Just as the Baby in the Manger represents for us the greatest Gift God brings, so the emptiness of the Manger represents the deep needs of the human heart — needs that not only we […]
I recently saw a Jon Stewart monologue that really got me thinking. Stewart was making fun of Fox News’ “War on Christmas.” Stewart asks how could there possibly be a “War on Christmas” when Christmas, as a holiday, has become so bloated that this year it finally took over Thanksgiving. In 2012, before the turkey […]
We belong to a faith that over the course of the past two millennia hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people have given their lives for. These martyrs believed that their faith was worth dying for yet this generation of Catholics seems to have abandoned their faith. With the exceptions of Christmas, Ash Wednesday, […]
Love is a Person. St. Augustine profoundly realized this when he spoke of the restlessness of the human heart until it rests in God. In reading John Donne’s poetry over the past few months, one witnesses Donne’s search for love, a journey full of distortion and dead-ends. In some writings, he almost treats the concept […]
But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God. (John 1:12,13) All good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down […]
The 2012 national election is over, and the winners are those who support the legalized killing of innocent human beings, the destruction of traditional marriage, and the gross limitation of religious freedom. The victors include atheists and believers, and sadly among those believers are many who claim to be Catholics. It is not even possible […]
The cardinals and bishops of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints gave the “go ahead” on December 10 for Paul VI’s beatification, Italian Vatican journalist Andrea Tornielli reported on his Vatican Insider website on December 14. “The late Pope’s Positio – the collection of documents used in the process by which a person is […]
During this season of Miracles we often hear and read about the “War on Christmas” and efforts to remove and erase all references of Jesus Christ from our culture. This determination seems to increase each year, and in the near future children may lose all knowledge of the True Meaning of Christmas. As a professional […]
I attended a half-day Advent conference entitled The Silence of Mary. The morning was a much needed retreat from the maddening rush and noise of a city caught up in pre-Christmas frenzy. It was also the day after the horrific school shooting in Connecticut and the stabbing of 22 school children and one elderly woman […]
On the last Saturday before Christmas break, I introduced the belief of a forgiving God to my First Communion class. The lesson was based on a re-telling of The Prodigal Son. As usual, the class, the full complement of twenty-one this particular Saturday, participated eagerly in the discussion. The students had many questions: what if […]
Please read the first part of this article here: How Not to Throw Stones in an Argument, Part One Christ does not end the conflict simply by “cooling down” in these various ways. He also chooses to show mercy to the woman caught in adultery. It is significant that Christ doesn’t simply forgive any such […]
For Christians, Advent is a penitential season. As a penitential season, it is a specially designated time to reflect on our sins and try to break free from those sins as we await the coming of the light of the world, Jesus Christ. I would, therefore, like to meditate on perhaps one of the most […]
Much has been said lately about how to do evangelization. I’ve contributed a bit to that myself. Now I begin to think that, instead of always stressing niceness, it might be good to give tough religion a try. That idea was inspired by a reading of Eric Metaxas’s biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Lutheran theologian […]
