“Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.” – Jesus Most people would not smack books out the hands of a cripple at the library. Most people won’t cuss out the girl at McDonald's because they got an apple pie instead of a pumpkin pie. Most people quietly tolerate Facebook posts th...

When did the Church actually begin? Undoubtedly, we have heard different answers to this important question throughout the years. Was it the moment the Roman soldier’s lance pierced Christ’s side and blood and water flowed out and spilled upon the ground on Calvary? Was it the result of the “...happy fault, O truly necessary sin of Adam, dest...

What makes a man “give up” or “give in”?  We presume this means some sort of ceding of ground to either an enemy or a lesser good. “Tossing in the towel,” is another way of saying it, which comes from a boxer giving up the fight.  There seems to be two main reasons we give up on something we formerly chose: we either lose sight of th...

The beginning of fall marks the end of the summer wedding season, and as I see the photos of friends, acquaintances, and distant family members getting married, I can’t help but reflect on the classic Catholic wedding photo. The young couple is standing together looking overjoyed at the foot of the altar framed by decoration and bright colors. Th...

“We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).  These words from the first letter of John beautifully and succinctly sum up the origin and end of the Christian life—which, in a word, is love.  “Being Christian,” said Benedict XVI, “is…the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction�...

People say you should never talk about religion in the workplace.  I failed on this front last week, but I’m glad I did.  The conversation between me, a coworker and my boss—though uncomfortable at times—was fruitful.  It’s difficult to admit, but the temptation for me in such conversations is to either recoil in fear, to act from a post...

Christianity is more than a canceling of a sin-debt.  The central piece of our faith is not just the communication of our cleansing, but the Incarnation of God Himself.  But even that doesn't say enough – it's not the whole story.  Because it is not just that the divine intermingled with man, like a visitor, but that through Christ man becomes...

Lukewarmness is an inescapable temptation of the Christian faithful, and every person in every vocation at every stage of life must deal with it at one time or another. It can come as a consequence of making God a central part of our daily lives, a consequence of making God and the mysteries of the Christian faith common, so to speak. It seems quit...

A priest friend of mine says very regularly, “All of us are called to holiness.”  This is a constant call of his, showing up in nearly every sermon, a preaching of a main theme of Vatican Council II.  “Great.  We get it,” I said one day.  “Now tell us what to do.” Men (male and female) are body and soul.  We have a physicality t...

“...Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed that your own faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers” (Lk 22: 31-32). Christians have an especially significant means of communication, a vehicle for societal change and a methodology for transformation s...