? Dear Brothers and Sisters, In our catechesis on Christian prayer, we have looked to a number of Old Testament figures who represent models of prayer. We now turn to the great “prayerbook” of sacred Scripture: the Book of Psalms. These inspired songs teach us how to speak to God, expressing ourselves and the whole […]
In the same way that Eucharist is the conjoining of the past, present and future, personal prayer is a present participation in the time to come. It is a glimpse of the Eschaton and an entry into the kingdom which has been inaugurated but not yet consummated. Prayer unfolds in time, but essentially it transcends […]
Talk is cheap. E-mail is even cheaper. Maybe that’s why we’re inundated with trash talk and junk mail (of both the snail variety and it’s fleeter “e” relation). Silence – now that’s precious. Silence is golden. It’s also rare. You don’t realize just how rare until your one-year-old falls asleep in the stroller and you’re […]
Inevitably forced to descend from the sacramental rampart that stands between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of man, the true believer finds himself beset with the indifference, isolation and ignorance born of the neo-pagan rejection of God and His Church. In understanding and anticipating what the true believer would need to survive in […]
When I was teaching high school, my final exam question was simple: ‘In your own words, with support from Scripture, Tradition, and material gleaned from class, answer the following: Who is Jesus Christ?’ The answers were always enlightening, and while some were certainly profound and showed a remarkable insight, many answers betrayed the current world-view […]
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Today I would like to begin a new series of catecheses. After the catecheses on fathers of the Church, on great theologians of the Middle Ages, on great women, I would now like to choose a subject that we all have very much at heart: It is the subject of prayer, […]
Did you know that prayer doesn’t mean having to stop everything and getting out a book, or having to come up with something formally well-rounded that makes sense? Did you know that prayer is as simple as talking to your next-door neighbor (not that anyone does that anymore) or a co-worker? Absolutely! For the most part off-the-cuff conversations with […]
One of the most comforting feelings that we can experience is a sensation of peace, or even joy, when we pray. For many of us, this feeling was most pronounced at the time when we first made a decision to commit our lives to the Lord. Unfortunately, equally as common is the feeling of dryness […]
Perhaps somewhere out there are women who can completely empty their minds and focus totally on God. I’m sorry to say that I am not one of them — never have been. Just by way of example, there are times I have said an entire rosary and realized at the end of it that my mind […]
I fold my underwear. That is probably an overshare, so please forgive me. I also fold my socks, but I doubt that makes me unique, because folding socks makes sense, but underwear? What’s the point?! I have often had that discussion in my head and with my wife (especially when we were first married and […]
“Mom, that’s cheating!” our 15-year-old son reprimanded me. “Well, whatever works, right?” I tried to defend myself. “Yeah, but it doesn’t really count if you don’t do it on your own,” he insisted. “I still think it’s cheating.” “Fine. You can see it anyway you want, but I don’t see it as cheating so I […]
