This past Lent and Easter I spent a lot of time at a Byzantine (Ruthenian) Catholic parish near my home. As someone who often gets up between 4:30 – 5:30 am for work, making daily Mass is typically pretty hard to do on the average weekday. That’s why I was blessed to have this parish […]
Recently, I attending a conference called “The Symposium on Advancing the New Evangelization”, run by my alma mater, Benedictine College. It was the sixth time that it was run and my third time attending, the first time as a non-student. Most likely, if you are reading from a site such as this, you have heard […]
Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. John 19:27 I have been reading Saint John Paul the Great’s encyclical, Ecclesia De Eucharistia, and it is a thing of beauty. I wanted to reflect on some of what is said as I pondered […]
“And also with you.” “And with your Spirit.” Six of one half a dozen of the other ? Mox nix ? Who cares? What difference does it make? The difference is all the difference in the world. Actually, all the difference in all the universe and all Heaven. The difference is: Jesus Christ present as […]
Time present and time past Are both perhaps present in time future, And time future contained in time past. If all time is eternally present All time is unredeemable. What might have been is an abstraction Remaining a perpetual possibility Only in a world of speculation. What might have been and what has been Point […]
“Give us this day our daily bread” … what does that mean? On the surface, it’s a simple acknowledgment that the things we need to live all have their source in God, as well as a request that our needs for the day be provided. However, hiding under that simple word “daily” is many centuries’ […]
Vatican II Music If you read what the Second Vatican Council wrote about sacred music (in Chapter VI in the 1963 constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium) you will wonder what has happened over the last fifty years. By reading the documents of Vatican II, we can learn that the Church considers our tradition of sacred music a treasure “greater than that […]
Doctrinal Homily Outlines, a lectionary-based aid for homilists, began as this layman’s response to the Year of Faith Pope Benedict XVI declared for 2012-2013. In Porta Fidei, Benedict’s apostolic letter announcing the Year of Faith, the Holy Father asked each of us to “rediscover the content of the faith that is professed, celebrated, lived and […]
As part of the Mystical Body of Christ, we’ve each received gifts unique to our position in the Body, with graces that equip us for our work within the Church. If that’s the case, why do so few Catholics volunteer to use their gifts for the benefit of the Church? Who’s Doing All the Work? […]
I am a relative newcomer to the Traditional Latin Mass, the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. My family and I first attended this form of Mass only a short time ago. I think it was the Feast of Christ the King in 2014 at the St. Francis de Sales Oratory in St. Louis, MO, which […]
The Advent season is now upon us. Most people around us seem to be hurrying about looking for the perfect gift, putting up decorations, and planning parties and dinners. It is easy to lose sight of the true significance of this season. Advent is a time of joy and hope, of preparation, and of waiting […]
Next Sunday, November 27, marks the beginning of Advent, the season of hopeful, joyful longing as we wait for the birth of our Lord. This beautiful time of year, which some people refer to as a “mini-Lent,” is an opportunity for purposeful spiritual growth. While both seasons are penitential, the focus during Advent is less […]
The Lost Virtue of Christian Hospitality
Summer is a time we invite family and friends over for dinner often. The sun sets later and evenings are warm. It is an ideal season to entertain guests, to sit down with family and friends and share a meal together. Hospitality is a Christian virtue. Pope Francis has mentioned that it runs the risk […]
Are Most Christians Clueless About Their True Identity?
A good friend, Martha, from Madonna House, “happened” to sit beside a self-proclaimed witch on an old bus heading towards the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico. Noticing Martha’s large cross identifying her as a member of the Lay Apostolate, the witch cynically remarked that most Christians were stupid because they were completely clueless […]
The Catholic Church and Science
Many people erroneously believe that the dark ages were caused by the Catholic Church and its hatred of science/love of superstition, and its dominant control of the mind of man during what has been called the “medieval” or “dark ages.” But nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, just the opposite is true. […]
Our Faith Is Not About Clean Uniforms
A few years back I was visiting a friend when a man in a sparkling white uniform walked out of my friend’s home. When my friend told me that this gentleman was there to repair his washing machine, I was somewhat surprised. After all, I thought, how can anyone repair anything without getting at least […]
Shaping the Image of God: Thoughts about Fatherhood
I have been thinking a lot about fatherhood lately. Having put in quite a few years as a dad with three beautiful children, you would think that by now I would be an expert on the subject. Sadly, such is not the case. I find myself still questioning why I am not the “perfect” father […]
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