Friday, December 14, 2018041
By Father John Bayer
Special to The Texas Catholic
In the span of about two weeks I received 15 cards encouraging me as a priest. One person, who signed herself as “Your spiritual mother,” wrote, “May you be strong against temptations. Take heart as we face the current scandals in the priesthood.” Another wrote, “To...
Wednesday, October 31, 2018096By Father John Bayer
Special to The Texas Catholic
I enjoy seeing religious wisdom vindicated by modern science. Let me tell you a brief story about myself.
A few years ago, I was basically crippled by food allergies and chronic pain in my feet, the latter apparently the result of an injury I sustained while exercising. Ever since...
Thursday, September 6, 2018073By Father John Bayer
Special to The Texas Catholic
I recently saw The Greatest Showman, which is an enjoyable movie-musical about the Barnum & Bailey Circus. The music and dancing are really fun, and the main moral of the story is one I wholeheartedly accept: happiness is found only in true love, and not in wealth, popularity or...
Friday, May 25, 2018092This year, on May 21, we celebrated a new feast, the “Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.” About three months ago, Pope Francis decreed that this feast, which since its creation in 1975 had been only a votive mass, should be celebrated by the whole Church every year on the Monday after Pentecost.
Sunday, April 29, 2018062One of my favorite musicians, Audrey Assad, once suggested we should be praying “with” the martyrs and not just “for” them. In this way, she introduced a very beautiful song, “Even Unto Death,” which was inspired by the execution of 21 Coptic Christians in Libya in February, 2015. She says she wrote it “to adopt the prayers...
Saturday, March 31, 2018049Lent is almost over, and many of us are already evaluating our Lenten resolutions. How did you do? Did you keep your resolutions? Let me suggest a few things to keep in mind as we reflect on our resolutions.
Tuesday, February 20, 2018014A rising pastoral topic in the Church these days is the proper way to respond to those who say they are transgender. As Catholics, a good place from which to orient ourselves is Amoris laetitia by Pope Francis.
Tuesday, February 6, 2018059
By Father John Bayer
Special to The Texas Catholic
A thorny theological problem that occupies many people is the relationship between divine grace and human freedom. Nothing happens apart from the will of God, who creates and governs all things. And yet, we are still free to choose whether to go left or right every time we stand...
Wednesday, December 27, 201709On January 8, 2018, we celebrate the baptism of Jesus “in the Jordan by John” (Mk 1:9-11). The evangelist Mark tells us that the baptism John preached was “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mk 1:4). But if it is for the forgiveness of sins, why does Jesus, the all holy Son of God, accept to be baptized?
Monday, November 27, 2017088Christ commands us to love with “all” our heart, soul and mind (Mt 22:34-40). But what does that look like? To speak about “all” a heart is to speak about a “pure” heart: a simple, whole and straightforward heart, free from anything extraneous. When we love purely, we are unified by a single love.
