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When Lent Is Extra Difficult, You Need Holy Week Even More
Propped up on pillows, ice packs piled on my aching chest, I watched our parish livestream of the celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday. After the painful biopsy […]
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4 Things I Learned from My First Month of Going to Daily Mass
It was a quiet Saturday afternoon. I found myself in my parish’s chapel, yelling at God, angry at Him for calling a dear friend to move away. Between tirades […]
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Like Lazarus, Christ Will Raise Us All if We Devoutly Follow Him
Fifth Sunday of Lent The Book of Ezekiel provides the first reading for this weekend. Even a quick reading of the history of ancient Israel shows that there were precious […]
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Baptism Isn’t Merely a Symbolic Gesture
On this Fifth Sunday of Lent, because we are in year A, the whole Church will hear the Gospel reading of Lazarus being raised from the dead by Jesus. This […]
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What We’re Becoming: AI and the Future of Human Dignity
There’s a Substack I’ve been reading lately called Metatrends, run by Peter Diamandis and his team. They’re tracking AI’s exponential growth with the breathless optimism tech futurists are known for. […]
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We Must Stay Humble and Recognize Our Need for God
Fourth Sunday of Lent Drawing from the first word, in Latin, in the entrance antiphon for this weekend’s liturgy, this Sunday long has been called Laetare Sunday. Laetare means “to rejoice.” The Church […]
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Is Our Nation Losing Its Soul?
U.S. bishops are speaking up about the treatment of immigrants and the deportation strategy and tactics of the current administration, and their messaging has grown increasingly urgent and concerned. What […]
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Lent Is Not Punishment; It Is Invitation
At Mass on Ash Wednesday, the holy Communion line was down to its last person. Suddenly, a young woman hurried down the aisle just as the priest was turning back […]
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This Lent, Be Reminded of the Wellspring of Mercy Offered by God
Third Sunday of Lent The source of the first biblical reading for this Lenten weekend’s liturgies is the Book of Exodus, one of the five books of the Bible regarded […]
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How Our Bodies Cooperate in God’s Plan for Salvation
Often as spiritual people, we put all our focus on our souls, that immortal part of ourselves that longs for union with God. We are right to lead with the […]
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Second by Second, Turning Toward the Sun
The older I get, the more I appreciate the math of meteorology. Something has shifted in me, and now I’m all ears when my retired neighbor rattles off numbers from […]
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In the Footsteps of St. Oscar Romero in El Salvador
When I heard that an upcoming mission trip for the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers was going to be to El Salvador, I didn’t hesitate to sign up immediately. I […]