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Our Task as Christians Is to Be True to the Gospel
The Book of Malachi supplies this weekend’s Liturgy of the Word with its first reading. Malachi was not the name of the author of this book. Rather, it refers to […]
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Maternal Mystery: Rosary Brings Us to Christ Through Mary
This mosaic appears in the apse of the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere in Rome. The first time I saw it, I was spellbound. I had never before seen […]
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Christ Is Still with Us, Still Forgives Us, and Still Nourishes Us
This weekend, the Church celebrates the feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John on the Lateran Hill in Rome. Most Catholics, and indeed most people, presume St. […]
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What a Surge in Conversions Might Mean
Have you ever been sitting in a parked car when something catches your peripheral vision? In a panic, you imagine your car has started to roll forward and you slam […]
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Thin Places in November
Walking around my neighborhood this fall, I saw many skeletons. Bones seemed to protrude from every lawn. One evening, taking a walk in the encroaching darkness, a skeleton I hadn’t […]
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Laws Cover Unethical Actions in Medicine
In recent decades, lawmakers have been pressured to provide legal cover in the form of “immunity from prosecution” for medical personnel who participate in various unethical practices. One involves physician-assisted […]
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Spreading the Fire of God’s Love
I am excellent at doing house chores like cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming, or picking up the living room. My bride and my former roommates would likely disagree, but when I […]
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Christ Purifies Us – Heals Us – from the Damage of Sin
Almost 1,000 years ago, the great Benedictine abbey of Cluny in France, situated roughly two-thirds of the way from Paris to Geneva, was a major center of learning, piety, caring […]
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The Theology of Lullabies
When I was a child, I thought I was the luckiest kid in the world because I got four lullabies sung to me every night – one each from my […]
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An Unsinkable Faith
It was a Monday afternoon in November of 1975 when Debbie Champeau got the call. The 17-year-old, a senior at St. Pius XI in Milwaukee, left school immediately, taking two […]
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To Embrace God Himself
As we approach the end of the liturgical year, something that is worth pondering anew is the role of the word of God in our lives. Often, we can come […]
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Strive to Please God; Only Foolish Seek Earthly Rewards
The Book of Sirach provides this weekend’s first Scriptural reading. The book is part of the group of biblical writings classified by scholars collectively as the Wisdom Literature. The Wisdom […]