It might be tempting to treat the upcoming weekend as just another regular ol’ weekend. Christmas Day and New Year’s Day have gone. Friends and family are away. Most have gone back to work or will be soon. In fact, … Continue reading
Knapke
The Need to Abide in Love
In today’s liturgy, we read from the Second Letter of St. John. Tomorrow, we will read from his Third. And beginning next Monday, we will work through his Apocalypse (Revelation) until the beginning of Advent. Ending the liturgical year with … Continue reading
Preacher, Theologian, Contemplative
In Blessed Humbert of Romans’ important work, “On the Beginnings of the Order of Preachers,” he calls St. Augustine “the distinguished Preacher.” This way of identifying Augustine stands in splendid relief to St. Thomas Aquinas’ way of identifying him over … Continue reading
Cultivating and Tilling the Heart
Cultivating and Tilling the Heart In gardening, one speaks of both cultivating and tilling. The two activities are similar, but there are some differences. Cultivating is the process of breaking up and loosening the soil in a garden. The purpose … Continue reading
On Valedictions
As we near the end of May, we end a month of graduations and commencement ceremonies. A whole new generation of young adults has been sent into the world with degrees in hand. A venerable tradition for universities today is … Continue reading
From Peter to Francis: A Constant Papal Teaching
At Mass today, we hear from the closing of St. Peter’s First Epistle, which mentions a man whom Peter calls “Mark, my son.” It can be easy for those of us in the pews to forget that these holy saints, … Continue reading
The Saintly Father of Lima
In the Soul of the Apostolate, Trappist monk Jean-Baptiste Chautard quotes this saying: “A holy priest makes a fervent people; a fervent priest a pious people; a pious priest a fairly good people; a fairly good priest, a godless people.” … Continue reading
The Imperishable Wreath
Every two years, people from all over the earth unite to participate in one of the most internationally distinguished events in the modern world—the Olympic Games. It is amazing to see how the scope of the Games has widened since … Continue reading
“Let the past die!”
(Spoilers!) A number of characters from the most recent installment of Star Wars struck me as exemplifying a real source of struggle for many people today: a desire to break from the past. Kylo Ren voices this leitmotif of the … Continue reading