Wednesday, July 21, 2021034Last month, while celebrating the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, I was reminded about the roles that these two Apostles played in the early Christian Church. Peter had listened to the personal teaching of Jesus and also he had been appointed to be the Rock on which the Church was to be built.
Wednesday, July 21, 20210164Few religious orders can match the Carmelites’ All-Star lineup for sanctity of life and brilliance of theological writings: John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Thérèse of Lisieux, and Elizabeth of the Trinity are the heaviest hitters in this illustrious branch of contemplatives. Equal to those great figures, in my opinion, is the...
Thursday, April 15, 20210191I remember growing up and learning catechism using the question-and-answer format of the simple catechism of the Catholic Church, which was mainly memorization. I still remember very well many of the questions and answers because they have stayed in my head.
Friday, March 19, 20210166When we are baptized we make some promises which are known as Baptismal Promises. We promise to reject Satan and all his works and all his empty promises. And every year at Easter we renew these baptismal promises. (If we are baptized as infants, our parents make those promises on our behalf during our baptism.) As we grow to adulthood...
Friday, November 27, 2020034As we look for something to celebrate during this time of Thanksgiving and it is difficult to find a clear pathway in the midst of stress and distress, and violence and a general bankruptcy of jobs, and of freedom to roam, and of friends to mingle with, and of sports extravaganzas to attend, what will give us hope?
Saturday, November 14, 20200334I recently read a great book about Catholicism and science, “Particles of Faith” by Stacy A. Trasancos. It seems suited for anyone interested in the topic, and especially for undergraduates and precocious high-school students, or science-minded Catholics looking for excitement as they nourish their faith in a secular culture....
Friday, November 13, 20200359As part of our spiritual exercises, priests are expected to do an annual retreat, which we usually do as a group. But this year I decided to go on a solo, private and silent five-day retreat in late October somewhere in the hills of Colorado — a retreat with no moderator, no scheduled conferences, no presentations — just me and...
Saturday, October 31, 20200153The prophet Isaiah surely knew he was introducing a shocking concept when he communicated a message of the Lord beginning with the words “Thus says the Lord to His anointed Cyrus” (Isaiah 45:1). The shock is not that the prophet refers to a king as the messiah, but rather that this particular king is not even an Israelite. Cyrus the...
Friday, October 16, 20200552Listening to the faithful, I sense some political frustration with clergy. They don’t want partisan priests, but they do want the Church to speak the truth boldly; so, they are frustrated when statements given by priests and bishops seem either to transgress the limits of their authority by pronouncing on matters involving secular...
Friday, October 16, 2020029The world is alive with the sound of music. We know that some of these words were sung in a popular musical, but for the people of past centuries these words would be predicated of the angelic swarm of messengers which were sent from the Creator to bring messages of peace, of hope and of victory to we humans.
