We Are All Called to Lives of Holiness
There is a sin that all of us who are not saints battle. It is the sin of pride. It causes division within ourselves and in our relationships with other people. We see the devastating impacts of pride in our families, friendships, relationships with co-workers, strangers, and in the inner-workings of the Church. Pride is …
Continue reading "Catholic Exchange: To See Others as Christ, Let Go of Pride"
One of the good things coming out of the evil that is the current sex abuse crisis in the Church is the call for a closer relationship between the laity and the clergy. The days of placing priests on pedestals passed with the first sex abuses crisis 17 years ago. This is a good thing …
Continue reading "Catholic Exchange: How To Approach Our Priests About the Scandals"
A few days ago a friend of mine came to me to share some joyful news: She’s pregnant. She felt some trepidation in telling me the news. This friend and I have suffered together through the grief of miscarriage; for her the loss of her daughter and for me the loss of four children, two …
Continue reading "Catholic Exchange: How We Can Grow in Divine and Fraternal Charity"
The self-help industry has made billions of dollars convincing people that they simply need to believe in their goodness to succeed. Much of what is marketed by self-help gurus is called moral therapeutic deism. It’s a belief system that says that God is all loving and merciful and He loves you just the way you …
Continue reading "Catholic Exchange: The Good We Have Within Us is Because of God Alone"
A little over four years ago a friend of mine called enlisting my help with an unlikely and unexpected project. Her parish priest had just died and she was the executor of his estate. Upon his passing, he left his estate over 70 holy relics and artifacts from our Catholic tradition. The will was complicated …
Continue reading "Catholic Exchange: What I Learned by Caring for Holy Relics"
What do we do now? That is the question facing all of us within the Mystical Body in response to the ever growing scandals being brought to light. No doubt we are angry, but we must channel and harness that anger lest it become wrath and remain at the level of blind rage long-term. As …
Continue reading "Catholic Exchange: A Call to Spiritual Arms in Response to the Sex Abuse Scandals"
One of the biggest struggles many Catholics face each year is how to financially support our parishes and dioceses, while also giving to the poor and needy, and providing for the needs of our families. This topic results in a wide range of opinions, some of them heated. The most recent sex abuse scandals, including …
Continue reading "Catholic Exchange: Supporting Our Parishes is an Act of Love"
As the depths of the moral and spiritual corruption in the hierarchy continue to be brought into the light, many in the laity are wondering what should and can be done in response? Some want massive overhauls of the hierarchy, but quite frankly, that is not in our power within the laity. We should, and …
Continue reading "Catholic Exchange: Living Holy Lives Will Help Heal the Church"
A few years ago, when The Benedict Option was becoming popular in certain Christian circles—primarily through the writings of Rod Dreher who is influenced by Alasdair MacIntyre—I was initially intrigued and drawn to this approach. The culture was, and continues to be, in a downward spiral. Anti-Christian sentiments and policies continue apace throughout the Western world, while …
Continue reading "Catholic Exchange: Re-Thinking the Benedict Option in Light of Lumen Gentium"
When I read Bishop Robert Barron’s Op-Ed last week entitled “Getting out of the Sacristy: A look at our pastoral priorities” a lot of questions immediately came to mind. I’ve read many of Bishop Barron’s books and I recently made sure that every member of our parish’s Evangelization Team, and both of our priests, got …
Continue reading "Catholic Exchange: To Evangelize the Culture, We Must Equip the Laity"
Swimming the Depths 