Sometimes we avoid the medicine because we don’t like to admit that we are sick. We look away, make excuses, or minimize the danger. Then, with a jolt, a shock bends us double, knocks us down and out. Finally, desperately … Continue reading
Sacraments
That Sin, Again?
Have you ever confessed a sin and then, no matter how earnestly you intended to amend your life, had the desire to commit that sin again? Why aren’t we simply fixed after Confession? Jesus instituted the Sacrament of Confession that … Continue reading
Reclaiming an Art of Dying for the 21st Century
Ars Moriendi, or “The Art of Dying,” was an immensely popular and influential medieval text aimed at equipping the faithful for death and dying. It appeared by order of the Council of Constance sometime between 1414 and 1418, and although … Continue reading
In the Eucharistic Feast
For 39 days, we have been rejoicing in the glory of the Resurrection, recalling the wonder of the apostles in those weeks after the first Easter. Tomorrow, Jesus ascends to the Father, fulfilling his mission on earth and preparing his … Continue reading
Smoke
Ideas affect us. Bad ideas affect us for the worse. Like smoke in the air, they make it hard to see things as they really are, and breathing them in makes us sick. We’re bombarded with smoke from every direction … Continue reading
On Your First Holy Communion
I cannot believe that today is the day of your First Holy Communion! How special! How beautiful! How joyful! Alas, I cannot be with you; I have other things that preclude me from being near you on this day. Know, … Continue reading
I Write This to You
The first letter of John, over and over, tells the reader what the letter is for. Again and again, we find “I write to you because” or “I write to you so that.” It’s helpful for us who are often … Continue reading
The Joy of A Faithful Community
Perhaps a lesser known fact about St. Catherine of Siena was that she lived with a small “spiritual family” around her in Rome toward the end of her life. Throughout her travels many people flocked to her because they saw St. … Continue reading
The River of a City
“There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.” (Ps 46:4) Last Friday, a river gushed forth through the city of God. The steel point of the lance, bound to a wooden rod with simple cord, pierced … Continue reading
The Weight of Love
Faith and Film Friday: The Jeweller’s Shop Editor’s Note: This is the ninth and final review in our series, Faith and Film Friday. Read the whole series here. “Love is a constant challenge. It is given to man so he … Continue reading
Sharing More Than Germs
Even as a kid, if I wanted to drink from my brother’s water bottle, he asked me to “waterfall” it. When I was in college, it was alright to share a pint of ice cream with friends, even if there … Continue reading
Mass on a Roadtrip
Restless night in a hotel. Bad coffee. Unknown parish. Architecture from the 60s—white walls, strange angles, ambiguous stained glass. Pews of cheap wood stretch forward to the sanctuary. A candle burns before the tabernacle. An empty pew stands out, halfway … Continue reading
Every Crumb
This year, I am assigned to work in the sacristy, wherein we look after everything that is used in the liturgy. We do everything from setting up for Mass, to cleaning objects that I never knew the name of before … Continue reading
Time for a Check-Up!
“You’re dying.” It took a moment for those words to sink in. Dying. This thing will kill me. “How could I be dying? How could it be this serious? I mean, how long have I had it?” “Actually,” the doctor … Continue reading
The Faithful Bridegroom
Scripture tells the story of the prophet Hosea, a man commissioned by God to marry a woman named Gomer who will prove unfaithful to him. “Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry and have children of harlotry, for the … Continue reading
Jesus Can
The waters of Baptism have washed billions of men and women. They keep flowing. The Church has absolved sins since her foundation. She still pardons. God secretly has graced and forgiven unknown multitudes. He ever labors. Jesus is always able … Continue reading
Here He Comes
It’s been a long, cold, lonely winter. It feels like years since it’s been here. The Beatles have Good News for us: Here Comes the Sun! In this iconic song, George Harrison captures (even if unwittingly) the Advent sentiments that … Continue reading
Ted Works at the Pentagon
Ted works at the Pentagon. I can’t tell you what he does—that’s strictly confidential—but I can tell you that he barely ever leaves the compound. Although his work is not extremely stressful in itself, it demands that he nearly always … Continue reading
Even This Cannot Stop True Love
Love hopes all things, bears all things, endures all things, but is blind to nothing. True love sees the faults and failings of the beloved, yet bears them out of a love that pierces through daily annoyances, faults, and failings … Continue reading
Why Doesn’t God Give Everyone Faith?
Those who do not believe the Christian faith fit into two categories: those who have heard the faith and rejected it and those who have never heard the faith. The former group was offered the gift of faith but did … Continue reading
Union Brings Silence
If you are able to escape the stuffy mass of humanity in the Sistine Chapel and the security guards yelling “SILENCIO” and “NO PHOTO”, be sure to take the short walk down the hall to a room called the “Stanza … Continue reading
While You Were Sleeping
I recently baptized a two month old. He slept through the whole ceremony, barely stirring as I poured water over his head three times (admittedly, it was warm water). On a natural level, this may be rather unremarkable. Babies sleep, … Continue reading
Rise, and Have No Fear
Peter, James, and John were terrified at the Transfiguration, and rightly so. After all, according to the Gospels, it was a pretty scary scene. Their friend, Jesus, was transformed before their eyes, his face shone like the sun and his … Continue reading
Undefiled
Sooner or later, my body will become a corpse. A corpse looks alien. It’s both strangely familiar (so clearly my body), yet utterly unrecognizable (so clearly not me), putting on display the jarring indignity of death, the separation of my … 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