It has been said that prayer is communication with God, a spiritual give and take session, a holy interchange between Lover and Beloved. Often that experience appears more one-sided on our part. We are prone to speak more than we listen. We may spend more time in prayer asking for what we need than discerning […]
We have had a lot of rain here in my hometown this summer. It was a wet spring and it appears it is going to be a wet summer too. Last year, we were praying to St. James for rain, especially for our farmers. Western New York had suffered low lake levels and drought conditions […]
I found myself placed next to a high powered High Court Judge at a dinner party in one of the most exclusive clubs in London. What on earth was I going to talk to her about I was thinking, when, discovering that I was a Catholic writer, she made everything simple for me. She asked […]
As Roger Scruton says, “Sex is either consecration or desecration, with no neutral territory in between.” That’s essentially the thesis of Terrence Malick’s recent trilogy of films: To the Wonder, Knight of Cups, and now Song to Song. To the Wonder opens the trilogy by, in accordance with Pope Benedict XVI, emphasizing that the loves […]
Today there are many people who claim to be atheists. Some famous ones, like Richard Dawkins and the late Christopher Hitchens, have even written books with the usual misapplication of scientific facts that somehow disprove the existence of God. The purpose of this article will be to take a rational look at the world we […]
I will never forget the trauma which my vision problems gave me growing up. I had myopia and astigmatism which made every eye test a humiliating experience. Nearly every kid in the class had better vision than I did. They would read off the letters like brushing their teeth while I stumbled and fumbled through […]
A road trip on a weekend and making sure you can still get to Mass can sometimes result in a very pleasant surprise and a holy experience. Quite recently Marjorie (my fiancée) and I were returning home over the weekend from a car trip to Ohio. Not wanting to miss Mass, we looked online at Mass […]
While staying in a remote rural hermitage in western Ireland, there happened to be one day and night that was totally clear — a rare event in Ireland. There had not been a cloud in the sky for 24 hours. Looking out of my window, after the sun had set, I was startled to see […]
“Who did you bring with you?” That, Dear Reader, is the question God will supposedly ask us Christians when we beg admittance to the Heavenly Kingdom. I don’t suppose the person who thought this gem up really thinks of Heaven as a dinner party to which we all are expected to escort a plus-one or […]
Edel Quinn was an unlikely missionary and servant of God. Young, single, female, and knowingly living out her last few years with an incurable case of tuberculosis, she set out from Ireland for Africa in 1936 to continue her evangelization work in the wilds of Africa. Incredibly, none of these were obstacles to Edel, who […]
My friend Harry has been around for some time, and over his life he has experienced many different kinds of physical pain. So I was surprised recently when he contacted me after two weeks silence, and told me he had been through the worst pain of his life: “When my knee was crushed, when I […]
Plato realized that the intelligible is immaterial by identifying a fundamental difference between the intelligible and the material. The intelligible is universal, while the material is particular. The concept of dog is universal: it applies to all dogs, whatever might be the medley of particular properties possessed by each material dog. Plato proposed that there […]
In the past several years, Christians have begun to face increasing pressure to conform to the prevailing ideologies and points of view of the surrounding culture. Almost everywhere we look, people want us to accept practices that our faith condemns, such as abortion and gay marriage. We’re told that we need to get with the […]
Have you ever pondered this question? “How do I know God’s will for my life”? I believe God has placed this question deep within our heart as a compass to navigate us toward greater fulfillment: ‘What is my unique purpose on this earth and how do I find it?’ The Catechism of the Catholic Church […]
To be sure, morally or otherwise, no one is good in the sense of perfect. We are usually only good in a relative sense. We are not perfect but we do not think we are awful either. Our day was fine but it was not amazing. The best tennis player in the world would probably […]
For parents of small children, summer vacation only means one thing — a non-stop set of demands for activities. I don’t know about the other parents out there, but these days, every time I accidentally glance at the calendar, I get a shot of nerves. Yes, there are exciting places to go, wonderful things to see […]
As I write this article for Catholic Stand (July 6, 2017), the battle to free one of the cities in the southern part of the Philippines from the presence of an ISIS-inspired organization, the Maute group, has just entered its sixth week. Marawi City, located in Mindanao, has been under siege for more than a […]
In the book of Luke, an expert in the law asks, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus responds with the parable of the Good Samaritan. His examples guide us through several encounters with an injured man – all with diverse responses. Jesus then turns to the lawyer and asks: Which of these three, in thy opin […]
In conversations with Catholics from around the country, one will encounter varying levels of devotion to Our Lady. Such devotions seem to run along a continuum. At one end of the continuum, we find a very deep devotion to her, including daily Rosaries and other prayers. At the other end, there is little to no […]
There are many painful experiences that are a part of our lives this side of heaven. These can be emotional such as disappointment, heartache, betrayal, sadness, loneliness, frustration, righteous anger and indignation. Or they can be physical sufferings from disease or injury, from torture, starvation or various other trials. The pain can be intensified when […]
Today there are many people who claim to be atheists. Some famous ones, like Richard Dawkins and the late Christopher Hitchens, have even written books with the usual misapplication of scientific facts that somehow disprove the existence of God. The purpose of this article will be to take a rational look at the world we […]
Heaven, Evangelization, and Bumper Sticker Christianity
“Who did you bring with you?” That, Dear Reader, is the question God will supposedly ask us Christians when we beg admittance to the Heavenly Kingdom. I don’t suppose the person who thought this gem up really thinks of Heaven as a dinner party to which we all are expected to escort a plus-one or […]
Plato, Miracles, and the Reality of Matter
Plato realized that the intelligible is immaterial by identifying a fundamental difference between the intelligible and the material. The intelligible is universal, while the material is particular. The concept of dog is universal: it applies to all dogs, whatever might be the medley of particular properties possessed by each material dog. Plato proposed that there […]
What is God’s Will and Desire For My Life?
Have you ever pondered this question? “How do I know God’s will for my life”? I believe God has placed this question deep within our heart as a compass to navigate us toward greater fulfillment: ‘What is my unique purpose on this earth and how do I find it?’ The Catechism of the Catholic Church […]
Muslim Good Samaritans in War-Torn Marawi
As I write this article for Catholic Stand (July 6, 2017), the battle to free one of the cities in the southern part of the Philippines from the presence of an ISIS-inspired organization, the Maute group, has just entered its sixth week. Marawi City, located in Mindanao, has been under siege for more than a […]
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