“We fear a civil war. If the various different opposing internal parties do not succeed in finding an agreement, then we must expect the worst. Another war would mean the end, especially for us Christians.” This was the message from Chaldean Auxiliary Bishop Saad Syroub of Baghdad, speaking to Catholic charity Aid to the Church […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion(Deuteronomy 8:2-3,14-16; Psalm 147:12-15,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; John 6:51-58) Remembering Who We are Receiving in the Eucharist Be careful not to forget the Lord. (Deuteronomy 8:11) The Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land, and Moses wanted to make sure that they would stay faithful to God […]
I sat on my back, looking up the speckled with color wall at the rock climbing gym. “One more time,” I thought to myself. This past semester, some of my friends had gotten into the habit of taking time off from the stress commonly found around schoolwork at our Catholic, liberal arts school to drive […]
John 3:16-18 is arguably the most famous gospel passage. You see it written on placards at football games on TV. In a rare breakaway moment the evangelist addresses disciples to emphasize the importance of having faith in the Son of God. And don’t be one-sided about it either, John says. All truths of the faith must be accepted because […]
Many are ready to give a polite nod of some sort to Jesus of Nazareth. Most honor him as a great moral teacher. Many even confess him as Savior. But the Incarnation of the Eternal God? Second person of the Holy Trinity? God can’t be one and three at the same time. Such a notion […]
In this you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Although you have […]
In Pope Francis’ general audience this past Wednesday he explains beautifully what Fear of God means. This particular Gift of the Holy Spirit can be taken the wrong way by many people. It can be taken as a literal fear, of something that could ultimately hurt us in some way. Our Pope knows this and […]
Sitting here in the glory of this spring morning, a quiet breeze touches my cheek and tickles the leaves as it passes by. It’s intoxicating fragrance dances in my nostrils. Amazingly I am at peace, sucking in every possible ounce of this moment. I am usually running at breakneck speeds as I untangle, connect, and […]
God speaks to us constantly through ordinary events and signs, but we aren’t always listening. We need to open our ears to hear his supernatural suggestions. As Jesus said, “let him who has ears to hear, hear.” How do we fulfill this desire of Jesus? 1. Place ourselves in God’s presence. Don’t be too busy to […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Acts Exodus 34:4-6,8-9; (Psalm) Daniel 3:52-56; 2 Corinthians 13:11-13; John 3:16-18) Worshipping and Adoring God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit Moses at once bowed down to the ground in worship. (Exodus 34:6, 8) The Holy Trinity. Three persons in one God. Really, it’s too much for […]
You may have heard that the blogosphere (the community of Catholic bloggers) has been involved in a bit of controversy lately. If you haven’t, good for you. The rest of us lost a week or two of our lives we can never reclaim. I’m really not interested in rehashing the sordid details of what started […]
When we speak of Jesus’ prayer, it is legitimate to put “prayer” within quotation marks. (Benedict XVI did this in Volume I of his Jesus of Nazareth). It is done when we want to highlight the uniqueness of Jesus’ prayer. It was, after all, the human prayer of the Second Person of the Trinity. But […]
Service to God means to submit to Gods will for you at all times. That sounds easy enough you may be thinking, but is it? As a mother of seven children fulfilling Gods will is hard work and it is made more difficult if I am lacking the Gift of Piety. What does piety mean […]
As I sat down to type an entirely different article about my 45th birthday, I looked down and took notice of my aging hands. They tell their own story; that’s for sure. There is the scar from the time I wouldn’t listen to my mother and leave the stray cat, Tony, alone, and he scratched my right […]
“Lifting His eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, ‘I pray for those who will believe in me’” (John 17.20) Comprehending God’s enormous love for us isn’t always easy. St. John helps us understand a good measure of it in today’s Gospel, where he presents us with the amazing prayer of Jesus to His Father. What tender words […]
Back when I saw him regularly, Carl seemed like he never was going to age. Even well into his 60s, he was skinny with little gray in his brown hair and skin like that of a much younger man. He regularly played pickup basketball with men many years his junior. He was one of the […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Acts 2:1-11; Psalm 104:1,24,29-31,34; 1 Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13; John 20:19-23) Receiving the Gift of the Holy Spirit, The Power of God in Us They were all filled with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:4) Today we celebrate that great day when the Holy Spirit came upon Mary and the […]
Is there anything so wicked as a man trying to silence his conscience? It is a willful act that happens in stages: Bit by bit, incident by incident, rationalization by rationalization, the voice of a man’s conscience can be stifled—that still small voice within him eventually becomes fainter, until his heart turns to stone and […]
According to a local Catholic leader, the Catholic Church is growing steadily in Mongolia, despite all the obstacles it faces. The Apostolic Administrator of Ulaanbaatar, Bishop Wenceslao Selga Padilla, made his comments while visiting international Catholic pastoral charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). Bishop Wenceslao, originally from the Philippines, has headed the Apostolic […]
This Sunday, June 1, and Monday, June 2, a miracle of sorts takes place on mainstream TV as PBS affiliates broadcast a documentary about a heroic Catholic priest. Messenger of The Truth is about Blessed Father Jerzy Popieluszko, chaplain to the Solidarity labor union that nonviolently took down the communist regime in Poland. Some efforts to […]
The celebration of the Ascension used to leave me a bit flat. It was clear what Good Friday did for me. And Easter Sunday’s benefits were indisputable. But as for the Ascension, what’s in it for me? Christianity is about a kind of love we call agape or charity. It is love that looks away […]
“I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.” (John 17:20-21) Pope Francis […]
Dr. Bert Ghezzi, well-known Catholic author of several books on the saints and the sacraments, has now written a book about how Catholics live. The Heart of Catholicism: Practicing the Everyday Habits that Shape Us (Ave Maria Press, 2014) “is a book about what Catholics do and why they do it. It describes the practices […]
Our spiritual lives are centered upon Jesus’ sacrifice, made present in the Eucharist. Probably the majority of us however, have schedules that keep us from attending Mass on a daily basis. It may come as a surprise to learn that Jesus, Mary, and Joseph – and the majority of Jews at the time – found […]
