We Are All Called to Lives of Holiness
This time of year can present challenges to all of us as we approach the Christmas season. More and more Catholics are trying to slow down and enter into the period of waiting and preparation in the Advent season. As the secular Christmas season continues to spiral out of control, a lot of people are …
Continue reading "Catholic Exchange: When Advent Feels More Like Lent"
Sacred Scripture is filled with unlikely messengers. Men and women who are never the "right" messenger. They are too old, too young, too male, too female, not from the right town, not a priest, they are a priest, not a king, they are a king. There's always something wrong with them according to their listeners. …
Continue reading "Come Christmas, Don’t Shoot the Messenger"
Image taken from Wiki Commons I've been spending this Advent trying to enter into stillness and waiting. I am very bad at both. I'm a person of action, so being told that I'm to sit still and wait for God's mission for me has been difficult. It's felt more like a wrestling match than stillness. …
Continue reading "The Answer to Division is Charity, Forgiveness, and Communion"
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"
In the past few weeks I have come into contact--both in person and in social media--with people who have felt the need to lecture me on their individual learning in areas of the Catholic faith. I stepped in at a Catholic bookstore when a man was telling a woman in full communion with Rome that …
Continue reading "The Dangers of Isolationism and the Need for Holy Guides"
The Church in the United States is once more stunned to learn of scandal within our leadership as news of accusations of sexual abuse by Cardinal McCarrick continue to be reported. The news coming out of Chile has been bad enough, but now a high ranking member of the hierarchy is accused of multiple instances …
Continue reading "Catholic Exchange: Don’t Let the Scandals of the Hierarchy Lead You to Despair"
Image taken from Wiki Commons. This morning I was driving around town running errands when I saw a man panhandling at a rather popular intersection for such activity in this area. I was a lane over, so I couldn't have safely given him anything and I only had a few quarters on me at the …
Continue reading "“Get a Job” and the Oversimplification of Poverty"
Image: Wiki Commons There is an adage in our culture that is prevalent in movies, books, even daily conversations. It is: "People never change." It is even quite common for Catholics to make this statement. If this is true, then we are all in trouble. Scripture and our Faith tell us otherwise. People deeply attached …
I have been in active ministry for over ten years. I've had occasional breaks as my vocation has required, but I've worked with a variety of people and priests over those years. In all of my time serving in the parish and local community I have observed--as Pope Francis has said many times--that gossip is …
Continue reading "We Need to Stop Gossiping About Our Priests"
It happens to every penitent who frequently seeks forgiveness in the Sacrament of Penance. We trudge, once more, to the confessional door and upon our entry, lament to the priest that we are once again confessing the same sins. It’s been a week, a month, a year, and it’s the same sins. We are tired …
Continue reading "Catholic Exchange: Healing the Wounds of Rejection"
Swimming the Depths 