Identity The things that we do tell us who we think we are. The truth is that who we are should determine what we do… yet the world behaves as if what we do defines the essence of who we are. You have heard the saying, “Actions speak louder than words.” We know this is very true. There are many […]
Charity
What Difference Does Heaven Make?
Heaven’s Difference If a thing makes no difference, it is a waste of time to think about it. We should begin, then, with the question, “What difference does Heaven make to earth, to now, to our lives?” The answer to the question is only the difference between hope and despair in the end, between two totally different visions of life; […]
Surrender to the Transfigured Christ
The Transfiguration of Christ (Matthew 17:1-9) stands prominently as an encouragement along the walk from Baptism to Resurrection; a walk that must pass through the Cross. Place yourself in the position of the Apostles—they have journeyed with Jesus since he began his public ministry and I am sure that they could not have been more astonished at what they had […]
Daily Catholic Quote — St. John Vianney
A Daily Quote to Inspire Your Catholic Faith “All our religion is but a false religion, and all our virtues are mere illusions and we ourselves are only hypocrites in the sight of God, if we have not that universal charity for everyone – for the good, and for the bad, for the poor and for the rich, and for […]
How to Respond When You Meet Suffering
In 2005 while undergoing chemotherapy, I was sitting in an uncomfortable recliner on the sixth floor of the medical facility. An IV dripped poison into my veins that would simultaneously cure me of the cancer in my body, and wreak havoc on it, sending waves of nausea, chills, malaise. The concoction did not discriminate between healthy and cancer cells. It […]
God and the Coronavirus
"Christ the Consolator" (detail) by Carl Heinrich Bloch (1834-1890) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
How many times have you heard people say, “If God really exists, why does He let people get cancer or brain tumors?” Or, “If there really is a God, why does He allow wars and famine?” Or, “Where is God when we need Him most?” Well it occurred to me during this time of the world-wide, coronavirus pandemic called Covid-19, […]
Life-Changing Lessons from St. John the Baptist
“In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’” (Matthew 3:1-3) St. John the Baptist is […]
Remembering What’s Important
“In the end, a life that radiates His truth, His love, and His glory is going to do far more to spread the kingdom than an argument on Twitter.” A friend emailed me recently, after finding out that his friend had left the Church. I look forward to his emails – they’re strikingly perceptive and usually make me either laugh […]
The Search for Meaning and Purpose
Does Life Have Meaning? What is the meaning of life? This a question each of us asks, sometimes without any awareness at all. The search for the meaning of life has filled books throughout history. At heart, we are all philosophers searching for meaning. At heart, we ought to love wisdom, but too often we play the fool. The book of […]
Discover What Jesus Teaches About Prayer
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Why is there so much interest in prayer and yet so little praying? Discover what Jesus teaches us about the essential qualities of prayer. In my parish ministry and work around the archdiocese, one of the questions I receive most frequently is like the question posed to Our Lord in Luke’s Gospel, “He was praying in a certain place, and […]