Perceptions of 2020 If we step back and take a look at 2020, there were many blessings for all of us. Yes, there were challenging times, and devastation for so many and our prayers go out to all, but the closeness we have gained in family-time is amazing to ponder. Of course, there have been […]
“Don’t let the demons of yesterday ruin the blessings of today,” An exorcist once told me during an interview. Exorcists understand how the devil invades lives and steals away peace and holiness. They also know that the people they help have a past they would like to forget and a future that might loom large […]
This story happened in our family twenty years ago, but lives on today as a lasting sign of just how powerful our God is. “Dad, may I just peek inside?” ten-year-old Luke Armstrong asked holding a cardboard box. “Wait until we get home,” his dad, Mark, answered. “We’re almost there. I don’t want a bunch […]
For St. John the Apostle, the empty tomb was all he needed to experience to believe in the Resurrection. But two who were later to be saints – Mary Magdalene and Thomas – began the first Easter season as nonbelievers. Mary Magdalene arrived at the tomb not to assure herself that Christ is risen, but […]
“You did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time” (Luke 1:20). Faith assures us that anything is possible with God, and The Catechism teaches us that, “God, who created everything also rules everything and can do everything. God’s power is loving, for He is our Father, and mysterious, for only faith […]
Lift up Your Heart: A10-Day Retreat with St. Francis de Sales by Rev. John Burns (Ave Maria Press, 2017) is an updated version of St. Francis de Sales’ meditations, originally published in 1609. Fr. Burns discovered these meditations during a time of his own spiritual searching and seeks to share them with a new generation. […]
Coming out of high school in 2012, Joe Burger was not offered a scholarship to Ohio State University. Undeterred, he worked hard at contributing to the team in any way he could. His work has paid off, as he was awarded a scholarship last year. And now the linebacker is a senior captain of the […]
What would you look like if you could see yourself as Jesus sees you? Who would you be if Jesus healed all your wounds, both physical and emotional? For most of us, the answers to those questions are a far cry from who we are today. We have been beaten down by the weight of […]
Easter, when we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, will soon be upon us, so it is appropriate to reflect on that resurrection and on the one which will be given to us, as Paul said in his letter to the Corinthians. It is an article of faith for us as Catholics that we will […]
In When You Suffer: Biblical Keys for Hope and Understanding (Servant Books, 2015), Jeff Cavins tackles the difficult question of why a good God allows us to suffer and what we can do to make that suffering have value in our lives. He defines suffering as anything that makes our life less than ideal, so […]
Ephemeral Hope I possess an intellectual spirituality that makes me shy away from an outward display of faith-filled emotions. I prefer internal intensity. I also fear how such emotions are temporary. Ephemeral feelings should not be the foundation of the spiritual life. Although, we certainly benefit from the good times, those windswept moments of conversion […]
I guess you never know how little faith you have, until it is tested. Faith never grows, unless it is tested. I have found it to be a vicious lifelong cycle. I think I have faith, it gets tested, and I realize how little faith I have after all. I have been praying for something […]
Suddenly, quite surprisingly, I find myself deep in despair. Despair for my family and friends. Despair for my parish and my Catholic Church. Despair for myself, my work, my apostolate and my health, for my community and my country and my fellow human beings, for my prayer life and my faith and the souls of […]
Pitter patter the little feet came running from around the corner at the sound of my voice. Being a grandmother is the next best thing to being a mom. While my husband of thirty-five years is always happy to see me, I might think he was after something if he ran to me every time […]
Colin is my 7-year-old grandson and, along with his little brother Lukas, they are among the most incredible gifts I’ve ever received. To say that they have ways of making my day and life brighter is pure understatement. For one thing, Colin can say some truly funny stuff. He has a pretty good one involving […]
Recently, a Facebook conversation turned into a discussion over when we feel “invisible” while driving. It started innocently enough. I commented on how people seem to “not see” me when I am driving our family vehicle (which happens to be a 12-passenger van). My mom said she feels invisible when she drives their white car, […]
I always have been taught that faith is a gift. And who doesn’t love receiving gifts – especially if it is the perfect gift, something sorely needed, something for which we have asked? That could be faith in anything, I suppose: faith in your family’s helping when times get tough, faith in being justly rewarded […]
What are the four greatest Christmas gifts parents can give to their children year-round? Certainly we have the obvious one, love. But how do we love? How do we manifest our love, this love which should be poured out as agape love, a love of total self-giving, a sacrificial laying down one’s life and complete […]
This past weekend I met four other people with multiple sclerosis. It was not by design. I met them at events that had nothing to do with MS or disability. The uncertainty of the disease is terrifying them all. Multiple sclerosis can take a benign course and cause very little disability or it can take a […]
Faith and freedom reinforce one another, each making the other possible.
A few weeks ago, I was reading an excerpt about how a man chose to serve as a missionary on a college campus following graduation. He said that he decided to become a missionary because he wanted to something meaningful with his life and not just push papers in an office. As an office worker […]
This week I started teaching a class to prepare a small group of teens to be confirmed at the Easter Vigil this year at St. Basil the Great Parish in Kimberton, PA. So for the next few months — through Lent — I’ve decided that “A Mother on the Road Less Traveled” will be taking […]
I just finished writing a thesis about the late Father Stanley Jaki’s work for a Master’s degree in Theology, and my brain hurts. I love that about scholarship. You learn, assimilate, and then possess new knowledge. It’s hard, but you earn it. In the end, it’s more exciting than going to the mall, buying a […]
Living the Christian faith comes down to these three ways of life: prayer, humility, and obedience. No matter who you are or where you come from, if you truly want to be a committed and faithful Christian: (1) you must spend some serious time engaged in vocal prayer (both privately and with the community in […]
