God Fights for our Freedom to Worship
From the time that Israel began its sojourn in Egypt until its liberation under Moses, although God’s Chosen People were not in the land that was their inheritance through Abraham, they seem to have experienced something of the blessing meant for man in the beginning, when God called Adam to be fruitful and multiply. Thanks […]
What Does It Mean to “Fast” for the Saints?
In general, the modern era neglects the practice of honoring excellent people. We idolize the famous and popular and leave the admirable, the truly excellent, to the teachers and textbooks. But we ought to honor the excellent. Why? Because it is part of the virtue of justice; honor is due to the honorable. Furthermore, holy […]
God’s Love: Perfect Justice Combined with Perfect Mercy
Love, suffering, and death have a uniquely interrelated relationship. To understand love, one must know sacrifice and therefore be acquainted with suffering. Jesus modeled this relationship by sacrificing Himself on the Cross for us. We all experience this in our human relationships as well. For example, spouses sacrifice for the good of one another, parents […]
The Lord Loves Us in Our Weaknesses
For 7 years, I have lived with a chronic medical condition called bile reflux disease. My gall bladder stopped working, and I had it removed in 2017. Unlike many people who have their gall bladder removed, my issues worsened rather than getting better. The medications I take aren’t working very well, and I haven’t always […]
Time and Christianity
Out of necessity, humans have latched onto dating systems and chronologies as the means by which we keep track of ourselves in time. We keep track of where we are through our age, by the face of a clock, by naming generations, and by counting centuries and millennia. How often have you thought about this […]
An Open Letter to The Catholic Filmgoer
In his 2021 video essay, “The Side of Scorsese We Don’t Talk About,” Thomas Flight reflects upon the notable lapsed Catholic director’s use of the fourth wall in his films, specifically within Scorsese’s 1991 remake of the classic thriller, Cape Fear. In the film, obsessive criminal Max Cady (Robert DeNiro) seeks revenge upon attorney Sam […]
Experience The Transforming Power of Divine Mercy
A Follow-Up to Divine Mercy Sunday 2024 “You are I know the most incapable person, weak and sinful, but just because you are that, I want to use you, for my glory.” It may surprise us to know that Jesus spoke these words to St. Teresa of Calcutta before she founded her religious congregation, the […]
Remembering Pope Benedict XVI on His Birthday
I first learned of Pope Benedict XVI, then Cardinal Ratzinger, from his former student, Father Joseph Fessio, SJ, during lectures he gave at two Catholic conferences at the University of Notre Dame. I remember Father Fessio describing Cardinal Ratzinger as a brilliant yet humble man who was always kind, a great help to Pope Saint […]
Jesus’ Eucharistic Virtues
Have you ever pondered Jesus’ Eucharistic Virtues? St. Peter Julian Eymard, “the Apostle of the Eucharist,” did. He wrote the following: Few persons think of the virtues, the life, the state of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. We treat Him like a statue; we think He is there merely to forgive our sins and […]
Catholic Faith in Action on the Titanic
God puts us where we need to be. A radical statement for an article on the Titanic, I know. But on April 10, 1912, God placed Catholic men and women on board the Titanic to offer prayer and hope when it was needed most. Three priests are known to have sailed on the Titanic: […]