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Prayer: Perseverance, Posture, Praise
The theme of the readings today is prayer. From the Old Testament reading, we are comforted to know that all prayers reach the ears of the Almighty. St. Paul’s second letter to Timothy demonstrates how prayer must be at the center of the disciple’s life. In the gospel from Luke today, Jesus warns us about the… Continue reading
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The McCarrick Effect
Some time ago, a bishop on Twitter tried to put me in my place by reminding me he had been a priest and bishop for more than 30 years. Instead of making a real argument, he chose the common social media debate strategy of intimidation and rebuke. This particular priest and bishop is a good… Continue reading
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Time and Talent
The parable of the prodigal son is one of the best-known stories in all the Bible. I’d like to draw your attention to the first turning point in the story, where the younger son is in the middle of his terrible job feeding the pigs, and he realizes he doesn’t have to live like this. Some voice inside… Continue reading
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Expectant Waiting
The readings for last Sunday and this Sunday are about what’s important and how to protect it. Last Sunday’s readings were about what is not important. Riches are not important, building bigger barns or bigger retirement accounts is not important. This Sunday’s readings are about what is important. What is truly important is that we… Continue reading
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Mary Has Chosen the Better Part
One of the great topics of dispute in the Christian faith, from the time of St. Paul certainly through the time of Martin Luther and even up to our own day, is the question of faith versus works. The two sisters from our gospel today personify the interplay between faith and works, for Mary seems… Continue reading
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Letter from a Suffering Church
Bishop Robert Barron just wrote a short book, Letter to a Suffering Church, in which he confesses the sins of the clergy and shows this is a regular pattern in church history. He encourages us to stay and fight for holiness in the Church and its clergy. As a permanent deacon, I am a member… Continue reading
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The Mystery of the Trinity
Today is Trinity Sunday, when the Church celebrates one of its greatest mysteries. We affirm our belief in this mystery every time we recite the Nicene Creed. The mysteries of the Church are supernatural truths. These are realities that we know to be true, and we accept the fact that we cannot fully define them… Continue reading
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A New Commandment of Love
Our gospel reading picks up right after Judas has left to bring back the soldiers to arrest Jesus and begin the trials that will lead to crucifixion on Good Friday. And now that the passion is definitely under way Jesus proclaims to the remaining apostles, “Now is the son of man glorified.” And the next… Continue reading
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Thomas and Truth
This gospel story today about Thomas speaks to us about the nature of truth and how we know it. In his homily last Sunday, Fr Neil spoke about the many ways that people come to decide as adults that they want to be Catholic, whether they are coming into Christianity for the first time or… Continue reading
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Into Your Hands – The Seventh Word
Into your hands I commend my spirit. St. Anselm taught that the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross was something only a man must do and only God could do. Jesus is true God and true man, one person of the Trinity with two natures. Jesus did not deem equality with God something to… Continue reading
Bound in Love 