As I was preparing to leave for college way too long ago, my dad told me to be sure to introduce myself to the “young priest” at the parish I would be attending. Dad knew Father because they had served on a committee together. Talk at that time was that this priest would one day […]
Online Catholics I’ve recently been discouraged by a number of responses to Catholics asking advice on the internet. Usually, a sincere Catholic posts a question on a group page, or on a column, asking for some support or guidance on a matter related to faith. These people are hoping for encouragement, support, and guidance on […]
Unimaginable Loss Tragedy struck our family in February of this year. My 47-year-old aunt Jeannine, with whom I was close, committed suicide during a night when she was lost in deep despair. A despair we hadn’t known she battled, until we read her journal entries after the fact. Our family has been and continues to […]
A month or two ago I started wondering about the Christmas season. Specifically, I wondered why it seemed so much more magical to me as a child than as an adult. Now, there could be a variety of reasons for this—maybe it was because as a child I loved the sparkly tree and presents, or […]
I have trust issues. It’s precisely this fact about me which limits my public self-revelation, and which more than anything else explains why I’m still a bachelor in my middle age. In the imprecise, even sloppy way we use the word love, to love someone isn’t necessarily to trust them with our vulnerabilities. We have […]
One of the most common early Church titles of our Lady is “the Valiant Woman.” She is the one we run to in distress, looking for shelter and asking her to rout our spiritual adversaries. This gentle woman, quiet dove, is also She who will crush Satan beneath her heel. How do we reconcile these […]
Knowing God has a plan for my good can be of great comfort especially for people, like me, who suffer from crippling anxiety. Social media has been a godsend in many ways including renewed and new friendships as well as remarkable opportunities to evangelize. However, it also comes with a greater opportunity to discover the […]
With the early days of the Lenten season now upon us, perhaps, like me, you already find the prospect of so many weeks ahead until Easter quite daunting. Usually, the First Sunday of Lent has not even arrived and I find myself war weary from the penitential season of Lent. I think by the time […]
I walked into Wal-Mart in Dearborn and seemed out of place because I was white and buying alcohol. (Dearborn is a Detroit suburb with the highest concentration of Muslims in the USA.) I probably looked extra-weird as I had just finished a 40-mile bike ride and was still dressed in clothes appropriate for cycling. I […]
The Mass readings for this last Sunday, August 7, have as their common theme trust in the Lord. Another word for this trust is faith. For us in the beginning of the twenty-first century, the idea of faith has something of an air of “buying a pig in a poke” to it, or of […]
In my last article, I wrote about my Rome semester. Obviously, my journey through the Eternal City contained lots of different experiences, both good and bad, and trying to describe all of them would be impossible. However, I would like to highlight one in particular now, because it held a significance beyond what happened at […]
“Why did God let that happen??” We have all had the experience of pondering why something bad or disappointing happened to us. It is even more frustrating when our plans do not come to fruition despite the goal being good and worthy and our best efforts being put forth. If the disappointment concerns something […]
Early one brisk January evening a few years ago, I was driving to a speaking engagement at a parish in North Seattle. As I exited the highway I noticed a coffee shop on the other side of the road. A good, hot cup of coffee was exactly what I needed, so I parked, went in […]
The secret to authentic interior freedom goes against every fiber of our being. The answer to every crisis, every threat we will face in our lives on earth, is to stand still and trust. Easier said than done. As sinful humans, we are wired to fight or run from any threat to ourselves or those […]
There are many lessons to be learned from reading Holy Scripture, but in my opinion, one of the most important lessons to be learned is that we humans should learn to totally trust in God to do what’s best for us, at all times, no matter how bleak the situation. Of course, the caveat that […]
My husband called on his way home from work, tired and hungry. He had been in Atlanta since before the sun came up, and now he was stuck in traffic. He still had to go back to his office, which meant passing our house (which was still 25 miles away from where he was) and […]
Ephemeral Hope I possess an intellectual spirituality that makes me shy away from an outward display of faith filled emotions. I prefer internal intensity. Also, I also fear how such emotions are temporary. Ephemeral feelings should not be the foundation of the spiritual life. Although, we certainly benefit from the good times, those windswept moments […]
Pretty soon, many students will make the return to college to continue their four year academic odyssey. This group will also include recent high school graduates that will officially become college students. The one question they are sure to be asked will be, “What are you majoring in?” For some, it will bring a quick […]
In the past six months, my large family of eleven has been tested by multiple traumas; we have been bombarded with illness, cancer and subsequent treatments, a threat of a premature birth of our fifth grandchild and a traumatic birth, celebrated the birth of a fourth grandchild, suffered with a daughter cracking under a combination […]
“Friendship is born at that moment when one man says to another: \”What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . .” – C.S. Lewis . People come into our lives for a variety of reasons. Some of them stay for a while – call it a season – leaving after a few […]
“… for nothing will be impossible for God” –Luke 1:37 Christmas vacation as a graduate student is nothing short of spectacular. No more papers to write, novels to read or tests to study for. For the first time in a while, I had time to breathe, time to think, time to write. Which also means […]
As Catholics, we are often leery of personal revelation because we are afraid of the being deceived but really, do we trust more in the power of God or the devil? Of course we should be cautious but what are we so worried about? The Church protects us with the gift of confession, the mystical tradition of the […]
Have you ever prayed really hard about a decision – perhaps one involving a new job or a new relationship – and you were absolutely certain that God would answer your prayer in a specific way? You would get the job, the guy or girl, the promotion or the recognition for work well done. But you […]
Standing in the Cesspool: The Complicity of the Commentariat
Like you, Dear Reader, I was angered and sickened by the Pennsylvania grand jury report. But the lynch-mob mentality that quickly formed among the chatterati struck me as off-kilter. Especially bothersome has been the demand that the U.S. bishops follow the lead of the Chilean bishops and resign en masse, on the grounds that they […]
The Death Penalty, the McCarrick Scandal, and a Grand Jury Report
Some Catholics are pretty worked up over the news about the recent change to paragraph 2267 (the death penalty) in the Catechism. But many more are angered by the McCarrick scandal and the revelations in the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report on past sexual abuse in five dioceses in PA. Catholic Church ‘news,’ any way you look […]
Ask Tony: Did the CCC 2267 Rescript Change Catholic Doctrine?
Many people argue that the rescript issued on August 2, which changed Paragraph 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church to call the death penalty “inadmissible,” was a change of doctrine. In fact, some have gone so far as to treat it as a heresy on a level with denying the divinity of Christ. […]
I’m angry. I’m disgusted. And I don’t like being played for a sucker. The Requirements I Must Meet As a Catholic school teacher, I’ve been required to take several “safe touching” classes. I’ve had to sign document after document in which I agree to abide by Church teaching. I am prohibited from being in a […]
Wisdom from an Existential Jewish Mystic
I don’t think Mr. Hogg would have been employed in the first place had his predecessor not suddenly dropped dead on his way to school. Mr. Hogg was what was called in those days a ‘hippy’ and would not, in the normal way of things have been accepted as a suitable candidate to teach English […]
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