In the Foreward to Three Moments of the Day by Fr. Christopher Collins, Fr. James Kubicki reminds us that “every precious moment of time has eternal significance, either contributing to the salvation of our neighbor or not.” Given that each moment of our life has this eternal value, how do we make the most of […]
He was a pro-life champion. He was a great supporter of EWTN and Mother Angelica. He was a huge booster for Franciscan University. He was a tireless therapist/spiritual director/advocate for priests in trouble. He was a lighthouse for fidelity and truth in the faith during the tumultuous 60’s and 70’s. He was co-founder of Good […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Isaiah 25:6-10; Psalm 23; Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20; Matthew 22:1-14) Accepting Jesus’ Invitation to Say Yes to Him Cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. (Matthew 22:13) How crowded is heaven? How about hell? Theologians have debated this question for […]
We are not to lose hope even in the face of the nightly evening news. We have Jesus and all the treasures of the Catholic Church. And on October 7, we have the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, also known as Our Lady of Victory. This feast is not just an example that […]
The idea of home, of a sense of place, is a vital thread in conservative thought. It’s crucial to the conservative emphasis on community, family, and local institutions. Yet amid the incessant discussions on this theme, it’s easy to forget how such a basic good as a literal home is unobtainable for so many homeless […]
The church on earth lost a great spiritual leader this past Friday night, October 3. On the very same day that St. Francis of Assisi died back in 1226, a priest who lived and taught the Franciscan spirituality and in fact founded a new community based on that spirituality, was called home to the Lord. […]
One aspect of the Catholic religion that many non-Catholics don’t understand is our devotion to the saints. Many of our ‘separated brethren’ can’t comprehend our veneration of the Roman Church’s holiest members. Some think that we worship them and regard us as idolaters. This isn’t true: we believe in one God which we profess every […]
A few years ago, I toured northern England. There, stretching 73 miles from coast to coast, the Roman Emperor Hadrian built a massive wall. Constructed of stone, it was built to last, since it marked the northernmost boundary of the greatest empire the world had ever known. Soldiers from every corner of the world were […]
While Pope St. John Paul II was called the Pope of the Family, Pope Francis is called the Pope of the Poor. So why did the Pope of the Poor choose marriage and family as the focus of his papacy’s first synod of bishops, scheduled to start this Sunday, October 5, in Rome? Because stronger marriages […]
Anyone who has ever observed young children opening gifts on Christmas morning has witnessed the sheer delight that receiving a gift can bring. Their unbridled enthusiasm as they tear open their presents brings joy to the hearts of their parents who have painstakingly sought to find the perfect gift for each child. The greatest gifts […]
I just finished Dr. Paul Niskanen’s wonderful Catholic Courses class, The God of the Old Testament. It’s delightful. Full of “ah-hah” moments on a range of topics from historical oddities (I had no idea where the name “Jehovah” came from) to deep theological revelations, it packs some serious scholarly punch—all delivered in an engaging and […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 80:9,12-16,19-20; Philippians 4:6-9; Matthew 21:33-43) Living Out Our Faith in Christ Think about these things. (Philippians 4:8) When you begin taking piano lessons, you begin by finding middle C. Then you learn how to read the notes on a page and how each note […]
St. Therese once told Sr. Marie of the Sacred Heart that “It is trust, and nothing but trust that must bring us to Love.” Trust in God can be one of the most difficult things to cultivate. We humans like to feel we are in control of our lives. It can be incredibly hard to […]
I was talking with a friend the other day, both of us feeling somewhat melancholy, oppressed from the outside by the horrors of the world and from the inside by loss and chronic illness. We naturally sought out shelter and comfort in our pasts. The conversation turned to younger years — days when we were absolutely carefree, […]
There have been countless recent articles analyzing the millennial generation and its distinctive characteristics, but too many are ignoring an upcoming conflict that could define the generation: the aging baby boomers are going to be a big problem for millennials and their parents in the coming decades. In the U.S., the baby boomers are nearing […]
Following my ordination my bishop assigned me to work in two yoked parishes. “Yoked” churches share a pastoral staff but are not merged. The pastor and myself worked to merge the parishes. One parish was Irish. The other was Puerto Rican. The linguistic and traditional differences were palpable. Often I reflected on the sixth chapter […]
There will never be a shortage of words. Words are plentiful because talk is cheap. It’s easy to make a promise. Keeping a promise is an entirely different matter, as this Sunday’s gospel makes abundantly clear. There are over a billion people on the planet who have solemnly promised to live a life of loving […]
At his weekly Wednesday General Audience this week, Pope Francis spoke about martyrdom. Francis summarized the age-long contradiction of Christian martyrdom when he said that “the martyrs are not the defeated but the winners: shining in their heroic witness is the omnipotence of God who always consoles His people, opening new ways and horizons of […]
Funny, talented, wealthy, generous, admired people aren’t supposed to want to die. People are supposed to live beyond the age of 63, Robin Williams’ age when he died August 11. People aren’t supposed to die by suicide. Yet, Williams is no different from thousands of other Americans who die that way. More than 39,000 people […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Ezekiel 18:25-28; Psalm 25:4-9; Philippians 2:1-11; Matthew 21:28-32) Living a Life in the Spirit as Jesus’ Disciple Regard others as more important than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3) We live in a world that urges us to think in modules. We have a module for church and prayer. We […]
For Protestants, does Sola Scriptura work? Is the Bible alone as an authority standard capable of promoting truth and unity among believers? One of the largest evangelical Protestant charity organizations, Worldvision, has offered a clear answer this year. On March 24, 2014, Worldvision U.S. President Richard Stearns announced that they were making a “very narrow […]
Here at the Bad Evangelist Club, we are trying to do more than just correct some misguided ideas you hear from a lot of apologists and evangelists. In addition to pointing out what not to think, it helps to remember what we should think. When it comes to the topic of Protestants and Ecumenism, it is […]
“Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.” -St. Ignatius of Antioch Pope Francis continues his catechesis this week going over what it means when we proclaim that the Church is both Catholic and Apostolic. In using these […]
Saint Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians about a year before he died in prison at Rome. In the letter he states concisely what he believes the human heart most longs for, that is, the meaning of life: “For to me life is Christ, and death is gain.” Paul wasn’t suicidal but he did […]
