Tuesday, January 10, 20170131For the philosophers among us, the question of why clothes both express and conceal some aspect of our body-soul unity would be an intriguing topic of secular conversation. From the theological point of view, garments are featured at some of the most crucial moments of salvation history narrated in the Bible. The feast of the Epiphany...
Wednesday, November 16, 20160281The designation of Christ as “King of the Universe” can sound a bit fantastic to a secular or cynical mind. The title, so simple in concept and yet audacious in claim, could easily be applied to a mythological hero or a comic book character, fictional greats who have seemingly usurped the role of models worthy of imitation by...
Monday, September 26, 20160100The biblical faith expressed in both Old and New Testaments does not lend authoritative support to those who draw a personal map to a God of their own devising.
Wednesday, May 11, 20160266We human beings tend to do goodbyes quite poorly. The awkward hugs, weepy embraces, and inevitable resorting to clichéd drivel as the time for separation draws near, all combine to remind us that we much prefer presence to absence, and would rather dodge the dreaded final encounter of a friend or loved one if possible. I know of several...
Thursday, April 14, 20160143The name Ronald Knox is probably unknown to most American Catholics, and that is a great shame. Hailing from a prominent Anglican family of clerics in England, he was one of the most famous Catholic converts of the 20th century.
Wednesday, March 23, 20160355Someone you know, whether your spouse, a pouty child, or a friend, will soon complain about the interminably long liturgies they will be subjected to this coming Holy Week. Instead of the usual icy glare or a fed-up “because I’m your parent and God expects you there” approach, you might ask them to ponder why it is that the church...
On Jan. 25 of each year, the church celebrates perhaps the greatest conversion in her history: that of Saint Paul. His dramatic encounter with the risen Jesus, narrated three times by Luke in Acts of the Apostles (chapters 9, 22, and 26), marks a pivotal turn in the young Church’s life. Paul reveals in several of his letters that he...
Sunday, December 20, 20150284When St. Augustine wrote that “whoever sings prays twice,” he was mindful of the essential role music has always played in the life of the church. (The quote is actually “Whoever sings well prays twice,” but with the Year of Mercy underway, ‘tis the season to pardon the vocally challenged among us!) The psalms, which at their...
Friday, October 16, 20150173A certain hesitation grips me whenever an elderly person asks me, a young priest, for advice, whether spiritual or practical. My usual response is to remind him or her that I have no well of personal experience to draw from, and thus my counsel is little more than a priestly whippersnapper’s detached musings on the matter of aging.
St. Paul’s continued relevance for our contemporary culture is evident in a beautiful passage devoted to an understanding of sports as an image for the life of faith: “Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win. Every athlete exercises discipline in every way....
