Thursday, October 14, 202109Lots of us say we’re stressed. What is stress? According to the American Psychological Association, we can distinguish two kinds, one positive (eustress) and the other negative (distress). Positive stress is what we feel when we stand before a challenge that we believe is proportionate to our abilities — we feel excited and ready to...
Sunday, October 3, 20210146By Father Thomas Esposito
Special to The Texas Catholic
Near the end of his letter to the Colossians, St. Paul includes a greeting from his fellow disciple Epaphras, “a slave of Christ Jesus, always fighting for you in his prayers so that you may be perfect and fully assured in all the will of God” (Colossians 4:12). Paul’s...
Friday, September 17, 2021027Lately, I’ve been thinking about the upcoming diocesan synod announced by Bishop Edward J. Burns, which will integrate the synod announced by Pope Francis. What will this local synod, and then also the universal synod, mean for the Church in Dallas? After reading both Bishop Burns’ letter announcing the diocesan synod and “Radical...
Thursday, September 16, 20210610Pope Francis recently made a much-discussed decision to restrict the celebration of “the Latin Mass,” also known as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman rite. As the bishop of Rome, he has the power to give bishops the authority to allow the celebration of the Tridentine rite in their dioceses. But his judgment, expressed in a motu...
Friday, August 20, 2021086 Photo by Cameron Kologinczak, seminarian of the Diocese of Austin, studying at Holy Trinity Seminary.
By Father John Bayer
Special to The Texas Catholic
This summer I had the joy of serving as chaplain for 12 seminarians from Holy Trinity Seminary as they participated in a formation exercise with COR Expeditions. COR...
Wednesday, July 21, 20210294Few 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...
Saturday, June 19, 2021042On Dec. 8, 2020, Pope Francis dedicated the coming year to St. Joseph. Now, in June, we are at the halfway point. To participate in his intention for the year, I read “Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father” by Father Donald Calloway. It was recommended to me by a friend, a layman, who started a prayer group...
Friday, May 21, 20210218As the successor of St. Peter, the bishop of Rome receives the command from Jesus to the first of the apostles as his own: “Strengthen your brothers” (Lk 22:32). Catholic theology has always understood that command, along with other references to Peter’s primacy (Mt 10:1-2; 16:16-18; Acts 1-2; etc.), to reflect the unique mission...
Sunday, April 18, 2021088The first Christian Bible study was held Easter Sunday on the road to Emmaus. Cleopas and his anonymous traveling companion are wallowing in despair about the death of Jesus, to such an extent that they are fleeing Jerusalem moments after hearing reports that the tomb was empty. Jesus, unrecognized on the road, joins the conversation and...
Saturday, April 3, 20210207A 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...
