Grace And Our Response to It
Many people, including my past self, say the word grace without knowing exactly what it is or what it does. We sometimes think of it
Many people, including my past self, say the word grace without knowing exactly what it is or what it does. We sometimes think of it
I celebrated my fifth Christmas in Italy this past December. It was certainly the most normal one after COVID. Still, I was struck by several
This article discusses how God moves us to choose Him without diminishing our free will but, rather, perfecting it. How many times have you heard,
By Ralph A Capone Matthew’s gospel account about Jesus asleep in a boat that is being tossed about in the sea, fore and aft and
Catholics are erroneously told by Protestants that we are saved by faith alone, words not found in the Bible. In reality, though, Catholics are saved
Catholic poet Dana Gioia once wrote, “Catholic writers tend to see humanity struggling in a fallen world.” The statement applies perfectly to writer/director Martin McDonagh’s
The idea that we are all predestined to heaven or hell when we die is rather disconcerting. However, all Christians (and Muslims, too) agree that
There’s a saying: “If ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ were candy and nuts, we’d all have a Merry Christmas.” Well, I don’t know about that—candy and nuts
A recent opportunity to speak to a group of young people about the saints had me digging into a variety of sources as to what
The other day I read an excerpt of a psalm that annoyed me. It said: “Do not fret at the man who prospers; a man
Strange title, you say? Well, yes it is! But each and every Catholic Mass offers this life-saving gift to those who receive the Eucharist in the
One of the advantages of being a pastor of a small parish is the ability to visit most families in their homes throughout the year.
The daily news depresses me. With the news comes that horrible feeling of helplessness. I’ve tried tuning it out, but it doesn’t work. So what
“Never be too hard on the man who can’t give up drink. It’s as hard to give up the drink as it is to raise
What a tragedy if, at the end of my days when I stand before God, I finally realize that I spent my earthly life playing
Recently I read an article about a diver caught up in a terrible accident. He came to the surface near the shore and was hit
As a mother of a large family – twelve children ranging in age from four to 27 years – I am often asked this uncomfortable
One of the nice things about being an associate pastor of a wonderful parish in a poorer area was that I got to see many
As far as dogmas go, the Assumption is unfortunately named. The belief itself, though – that Mary, conceived without sin, and sinless throughout her life,
There are birds singing all around me. Occasionally, a car drives past with the whoosh of wind that sounds almost like the ocean. When it’s
Here in Italy we recently changed our edition of the Roman Missal, the book that guides the priest through the celebration of the Mass. Priests
I find it interesting that the current controversy over Communion occurs while simultaneously critical race theory is suffering pushback from communities and states. Yes, the