We Are All Called to Lives of Holiness
“Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.” G.K. Chesterton Our culture seeks to hide suffering behind closed doors. The elderly are left in nursing homes while the unborn are "humanely" disposed of in abortuaries. We pretend that suffering …
Continue reading "No, We Can’t Fully Protect Our Children From Suffering"
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"
One of the greatest battles we face in the spiritual life is knowing and understanding ourselves. "Know thyself" appeared on the temple at Delphi in Ancient Greece. It's influenced philosophy for centuries and it is an essential aspect of the spiritual life, as long as it is properly ordered to God and a life of …
Continue reading "Knowing Ourselves and the Battle for Objectivity"
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. I recently started reading Bishop Robert Barron and John L. Allen Jr.’s book To Light a Fire on the Earth: Proclaiming the Gospel in a Secular Age. I’ve read quite a few of Bishop Barron’s more theological books and I own both the Catholicism series and the most recent Pivotal …
Continue reading "Catholic Exchange: Why the Culture Wars Don’t Evangelize Souls"
Image taken from Wiki Commons. It is easy in our daily lives to discount the seemingly minor encounters or experiences we have throughout any given day. We are so busy going through the motions that we often forget to pay attention to where God is blessing us and showering us with His gratuitous love. He …
Continue reading "Looking Past the Monotony of Daily Living In Order to See God’s Gratuitous Love"
Image taken from Wiki Commons. As I scroll through my social media feed looking at the day's news, I am struck by the sheer commonality of the sin of presumption on display. It appears that far too many of us--myself included at times--do not understand Our Lord's admonition that we are not to judge other …
Continue reading "Leading People to Christ Rarely Begins with Teaching Sexual Ethics"
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"
During Advent every year I try to imagine what it was like for the people of Israel as they waited for the fulfillment of the promises to Abraham, David, and the prophets. We live in a time after the Paschal Mystery, but we do still wait for Christ in the Second Coming. We approach Christmas …
Continue reading "Catholic Exchange: Christmas-The Light in the Darkness"
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 …
Swimming the Depths 