“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (John: 6:33) Do you have a cookbook by you or a family member, one made by collecting favorite recipes? I bet […]
Historically, theological controversy has led to the development of doctrine. This is quite apparent in the record of the ecumenical councils of the Catholic Church, but it also occurs with less celebrated questions and in modern times. Both St. Augustine and St. Anselm are quoted for their individual phrasing that belief in revelation leads to […]
Last year, Robert Cardinal Sarah urged pastors the world over to “return as soon as possible to a common orientation, of priests and the faithful turned together in the same direction—Eastwards or at least towards the apse—to the Lord who comes, in those parts of the liturgical rites when we are addressing God.” To worship […]
Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 I had a dream last night that I was on my patio planting some flowers. Everything seemed fine until I looked up and saw something coming towards me in the distance. I […]
Faithful Catholics order their lives around the sacraments of the church. They are regular in attending Mass, often more than once a week, and they participate in the sacrament of reconciliation regularly. The grace they receive through these gifts to the Church becomes one of the most important parts of their daily and weekly schedule. […]
Have you ever encountered someone who feels the Catholic Church is all about guilt? They ask: “Why do I have to go to Mass every Sunday? Why can’t I the receive the Eucharist if I missed Mass? Why do I have to go to confession?” Blaming the Church is an excuse people use to diminish […]
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 […]
“Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” These are the traditional words with which the priest traces the ashes on the foreheads of the faithful on Ash Wednesday. But the Roman Missal gives the priest an option: he can say instead, “Repent and believe in the gospel.” There are also two […]
O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you. My flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where no water is. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. (Psalm 63:1-2) As this passage from Psalm 63 tells us, the ancient Israelites yearned […]
As a Catholic, I am often challenged about our use and reverence for the crucifix. The most common charge has been that the crucifix focuses on Christ’s death and fails to celebrate the Resurrection. But as Catholics we recognize these two events are necessarily intertwined. Each time we reflect on the image of Christ […]
“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’ […]
One of my favorite movies, if not my favorite of all time, is Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line. I watched this movie in my senior year of college, with my beautiful wife (we had been married for about three months at that point) and my fellow classmates, for a class on Terrence Malick’s films. […]
Last year, I found myself in a terrible position. It was a Sunday morning and I was preparing to take my kids to Mass. The problem was that I believed I needed to go to Confession prior to receiving the Eucharist. That was cause enough for anxiety, as no one wants their soul outside a […]
How does the Mass compete? The scenes from World Youth Day in Poland give hope that all is not lost. There is still a zeal for the Faith among young Catholics. Yet whenever I gather with other Catholic mothers of grown children there is always a sad story of a child who has left the […]
A few months back I attended a Confirmation ceremony at a local parish. Of course, we were all very proud of the confirmandi, especially as they proceeded into the church in their Confirmation attire, and as the priest laid hands upon them conferring the seal of the Holy Spirit. But as the ceremony ended, it […]
A few weeks ago, we celebrated the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, calling to mind the mystery of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. This wondrous gift allows us to experience the most intimate encounter with Christ this side of heaven. The Church has always taught the Eucharist is the source and summit of […]
In the Summa Theologiae, II-II, q. 30, a. 4, St. Thomas Aquinas writes: “It is proper to God to exercise mercy, and he manifests his omnipotence particularly in this way.” At first glance, it seems odd to equate God’s mercy with power. When we think of God’s power, we are drawn more to images of […]
How often do we hear of a spouse (usually the wife) struggling in their marriage because of a lack of deeper, heartfelt connection? And the communion experienced is primarily physical and shallow. Of course, in right order, marriage is meant to have an emotional and spiritual intimacy that then leads to a very meaningful physical […]
There is so much to be said about the Eucharist. It is Christ’s supreme gift of Himself to mankind. We can never truly thank God enough for this new Passover meal, which replaces an ordinary sacrificed lamb with The Lamb of God, Jesus Himself. It is the true food that replaces the forbidden fruit. What […]
Author’s Note: This article is the second in a five-part series examining the beauty and medication of the Most Holy Rosary. This series is dedicated to the memory of Fr. Patrick Peyton, C.S.C., whose love and dedication to the Rosary inspired its widespread use and understanding in our time. The Luminous Mysteries The Joyous Mysteries leave […]
For Valentine’s Day this year, I am taking a new approach. No more chocolate, fancy dinners or jewelry. This year’s gift is the ultimate. This year’s gift is love itself. This year, I am going to give the most precious gift of all. I am going to give an understanding of how each of us […]
The Holy Mass is the re-presentation of Jesus’ sacrifice on Calvary, in a real liturgical manner. At the Last Supper (also known as the First Eucharist), Jesus created the Mass for each one of us to be present at His great sacrifice, even through time and space. The word “Mass” comes to us from the […]
There are not too many things in life that are certain, as the saying goes, except for death and taxes. But in addition to those two things, I would like to add one more that I have discovered over the years. That one certain thing that we all must do is to praise and thank […]
Dying is not a popular topic for discussion. But considering that everyone who dies leaves some kind of legacy behind, maybe we should at least all think about death a little bit more. Have you ever stopped to consider that one day you will die? That you’ll no longer be in the land of the […]
Arguments Pro and Con: the Four Marks of the Church
After a fruitful breakfast conversation with a searching friend, I realized that almost all the questions that he asked were in some way connected to the four marks of the Church, its holiness, oneness, Catholicity, and Apostolicism. In these marks, the Church finds its authority and its right to call herself holy—two points that are […]
Ever since the public release of Pope Francis’ exhortation Amoris Latitia last year, the Catholic media has been full of stories about the errors that are perceived within it’s writing. These errors have been widely written about by scholars, priests, bishops, and laypersons. I have written about them many times since immediately after the exhortation’s […]
Understanding the Holy Spirit Through the Life of the Virgin Mary
As we look at Holy Spirit in the life of the Virgin Mary I want you to think about what our Catechism says at the start of its section on Mary “What the Catholic faith believes about Mary is based on what it believes about Christ, and what it teaches about Mary illumines, in turn, […]
Athletic Spirituality and Competition, Part II
In my previous post (Athletic Spirituality and Competition, Part I), I discussed the idea of “The Competitive Christian” and God’s call to use our competitive nature on our journey towards heaven. We recognized our opponent, identified the importance of practice, emphasized the transference of competition to the spiritual realm, and touched on the idea of striving […]
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