I see such massive resistance against complying with God’s will in the world today. This resistance greatly troubles me. There is an incredible amount of
The start of Advent and the Mass readings during Advent grabbed my attention this year. They are on the virtue of “readiness.” As I age,
I was recently able to reconnect with a friend of mine and was pleasantly surprised to find that he had grown a great deal in
My weekly study group has been reading St. Theresa of Avila’s “The Interior Castle” for several weeks now. It’s a book that has been called
Where have all the altar boys gone? At the weekend Mass my wife and I regularly attend we have not seen an altar boy for
I have been an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion for over 25 years, and it has been a truly rewarding experience – in many different
During my freshman year in college, my assistant professor in Composition 101 once went on a seemingly random rant against what was then a relatively
While not everyone agrees that we need to be much more concerned about our planet, no one can disagree that environmental ecology is a hot
The headline on a recent article at The Stream was an attention getter. It read “After Vatican II, the Catholic Church Went Whole Hog for
In the fitness and nutrition world we often say, “You are what you eat.” For example, eating excessive carbohydrates (especially simple sugars) and saturated fats,
As typically happens when I sit down to write, I began thinking about which experiences and events over the last few weeks would make for
Until Vatican II (1965) the Catholic Church carried out missionary activity to convert Jews to Christianity. In 2015 the Vatican said that “it neither conducts
I just filed my income taxes. This always brings to mind the trap about taxes that the Pharisees tried to set for Jesus (Mark 12:13-17).
We often hear people comforting a grieving friend or loved one at a wake or funeral say, “He (or she) is in heaven with Jesus
You may have heard the fable about the two wolves that live inside every person. The story is usually attributed to the Cherokee Indians. The
With all the confusion and uncertainties of today, how do we keep the light of hope burning bright for all to see? When hope dims,
For many centuries the Church taught that “there is no salvation outside the Church.” On the surface this seems to be a straightforward claim that
Picture yourself receiving Holy Communion or gazing upon the Eucharist in adoration. What goes through your mind? Do you think about life and love? Frankly
Throughout the world, there are many things that are poorly named. In other words, there are objects, places, or even people that have names that
I think human nature has been totally confused by the darkness Lucifer spread contradicting everything God has revealed. So sometimes it is helpful to recall
One of my Protestant friends recently asked me whether the Catholic Church believed baptism is necessary for salvation. The answer is a simple “yes.” But
Most of us have probably heard someone or some fringe group lamenting that the end of the world is coming or even upon us. Often
The idea that we are all predestined to heaven or hell when we die is rather disconcerting. However, all Christians (and Muslims, too) agree that
While I am not a degreed historian, I have been a history buff all my life. Studying Church history, especially early Christianity, the Church fathers,
