Saturday, April 3, 2021056A healthy spiritual life is like a docile and trusting child happy to grow under a mother and father. In this image, we all need “spiritual direction” like we all need mothers and fathers, men and women ready to affirm, teach, console and challenge us. Like all good parents, our spiritual directors will aim above all to emancipate...
Friday, March 19, 20210106Children are increasingly growing up among adults in politics, entertainment and academia who encourage them, even well before puberty, to adopt sexual profiles that conflict with Church teaching, such as transgenderism. This is confusing for those who trust the Biblical understanding of God’s design for human sexuality, according to...
Friday, January 22, 20210158In the July/August 2020 issue of Christianity Today, there is an article by Mark Regnerus, a sociologist at UT Austin, entitled “Vanishing Vows: Can the Church Save Marriage?” It previews his book, The Future of Christian Marriage, and reports interviews of young Christians in Mexico, Spain, Poland, Russia, Lebanon, Nigeria and the...
Wednesday, December 16, 2020077In Advent we meditate on the coming of Christ. Traditionally, we contemplate not only his coming at Christmas, but also his second coming at the end of time – his coming “in glory to judge the living and the dead” (as we say in the Nicene Creed).
Saturday, November 14, 20200329I 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, October 16, 20200543Listening 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, September 18, 20200262Ready for election season? As we discern our candidates, I suggest reading the USCCB’s document Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship. In the meantime, here I try to promote unity in the Church and in our country by offering a meditation that, I hope, will humble us all and thereby draw us closer together.
Friday, August 7, 20200348I just read a fantastic book about faith and science: Christopher Baglow, Faith, Science and Reason: Theology on the Cutting Edge. I highly recommend it to every teacher and catechist, or to anyone interested in the topic.
Sunday, June 21, 20200377One summer in college, I worked at a ministry in Chicago. I served as a mentor for kids in hard social and economic situations. Beyond this ministry, I remember two days there: the morning I ran the Chicago Distance Classic, and the evening I saw someone murdered in plain sight outside Bryant Park.
Thursday, May 14, 20200143As the diocese develops its response to the pandemic, I think we’re all very excited to get back to celebrating the sacraments!
