Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:24-25) But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are […]
“Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent” (Luke 24:29). Just yesterday we remembered the victims of September 11, 2001 in our prayers as we marked the twentieth anniversary of that tragic day. That is a day that I pray we never forget. However, our present year, 2021, is one of the darkest […]
Pontius Pilate infamously asked Jesus, “What is truth?” A number of years ago, Sister Regina Marie OCD, a Carmelite Sister of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles, spoke at the Atlanta Catholic Business Conference. She asked the audience a question, “What is the greatest of truths?” The answer she gave was simply, “God is.” I remember one of the […]
Four Sundays ago, I mentioned here that the liturgical calendar of the Church was taking a short break from the Gospel of Mark, which we had been hearing this year at Sunday Mass. Next Sunday, we will return to Mark’s Gospel. We have spent this time hearing from the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel. Its content has been focused profoundly […]
I have been thinking a great deal about my experience at Reconciliation this past Saturday morning. I felt an intense and unexplainable urge to go and confess my sins when I woke up that morning. I try to go every six weeks or so, but this was no routine visit to the priest for me. I needed to unburden myself […]
As long as we live in the world our life is a constant struggle between love for Christ or giving into lukewarmness, to our passions, or to comfort-seeking, which destroys love. Faithfulness to Christ is forged each day by struggling against what separates us from him, and by an effort to make progress in virtue. Then they will be faithful […]
I have had numerous conversations over the years with other Catholic dads about the challenges of raising kids in today’s world. The discussions usually center on the bad cultural influences affecting our children, our hectic schedules and our well-intentioned desire to be better fathers. We mean well, but how do we move from conversation to action? The stakes are high, […]
“It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father.” (Pope St. John XXIII) I often feel completely lost and befuddled as a Catholic father in today’s world. How do I set the right example? How do I help my sons grow up with a strong Catholic faith? How do I prepare them […]
“Prayer involves our mind, heart, and will. It involves our intellect, memory, imagination, and emotions.” Last week, we looked at the importance of making a plan if we are going to cultivate a prayer life. Cultivating an active, healthy prayer life is difficult – not because it is against our nature, but because we are fallen human beings. We know […]
Work is a gift. Perhaps it doesn’t seem that way when we’re growing tired of the monotony of our commute, when the stress of deadlines is threatening our peace, or when we struggle with our coworkers or our boss. But our work is one way we partner with God in our sanctification and the sanctification of the world around us. […]
“Cultivating a prayer life requires building habits. And we do not build habits without a plan.” When I read Paul’s lament in Romans about consistently doing the thing we don’t want to do – even though we know what we should do (For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the […]
“If our loved one is indeed in purgatory, they would much rather have our prayers than our praise.” The end of August brings us back-to-back feast days of two great saints, Monica and Augustine. There are few saint stories as legendary as this one: the mother who prays for decades for the conversion of her son, who is very intelligent but […]
Dr. Scott Hahn reflects on the Mass readings for the Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) Readings:Wisdom 2:12,17-20Psalm 54:3-8James 3:16-4:3Mark 9:30-37 In today’s First Reading, it’s like we have our ears pressed to the wall and can hear the murderous grumblings of the elders, chief priests, and scribes—who last week Jesus predicted would torture and kill Him (see Mark 8:31; 10:33–34). […]
Dr. Scott Hahn reflects on the Mass readings for the Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) Readings:Isaiah 35:4–7Psalm 146:7–10James 2:1–5Mark 7:31–37 The incident in today’s Gospel is recorded only by Mark. The key line is what the crowd says at the end: “He has done all things well.” In the Greek, this echoes the creation story, recalling that God […]
Four Sundays ago, I mentioned here that the liturgical calendar of the Church was taking a short break from the Gospel of Mark, which we had been hearing this year at Sunday Mass. Next Sunday, we will return to Mark’s Gospel. We have spent this time hearing from the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel. Its content has been focused profoundly […]
Dr. Scott Hahn reflects on the Mass readings for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) Readings:Jeremiah 23:1–16Psalms 23:1–6Ephesians 2:13–18Mark 6:30–34 As the Twelve return from their first missionary journey in today’s Gospel, our readings continue to reflect on the authority and mission of the Church. Jeremiah says in the First Reading that Israel’s leaders, through godlessness and fanciful […]
This week’s poem in the Catholic Poetry Room is by Barbara Crooker. Walking with Jesus in the Blue Ridge Mountains, eating corn fritters and okra, passing the black-eyed peas. He […]
Ideas are more precious than diamonds. The three most precious ideas I have ever discovered all concern the love of God. None of them is original. But every one is revolutionary. None of them came from me. But all of them came to me with sudden force and fire: the “aha!” experience, the “eureka!” experience. They were all realizations, not […]
This week’s poem in the Catholic Poetry Room is by Jeffrey Essmann. Cana When Mary said to Jesus, “There’s no wine. They have no wine,” she told him, “This is […]
This week’s poem in the Catholic Poetry Room is by P.C. Scheponik. Ner Tamid I used to love entering the empty church, to be alone with the whispers of the tall wooden timbers, the random creaking of the pews, the giant crucifix hanging in the center of the altar wall– Golgotha in marble on wood, suspended in mid air– a […]
A Daily Quote to Inspire Your Catholic Faith “It is Jesus in fact that you seek when you dream of happiness; he is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; he is the beauty to which you are so attracted; it is he who provokes you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle […]
Encountering the Word — Your Daily Bible Verses Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy steadfast love; according to thy abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! (Psalm 51:1-2) Please share on Facebook and other social media you choose below. Print this entry
A Daily Quote to Inspire Your Catholic Faith “Out of gratitude and love for him we should desire to be reckoned fools.” (St. Ignatius of Loyola, Priest) The Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Priest (1491 – 1556) is July 31. Please share on Facebook and other social media you choose below. Print this entry
Encountering the Word — Your Daily Bible Verses He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms, he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. (Isaiah 40:11) Please share on Facebook and other social media you choose below. Print this entry