Travels with Guapo, Part III: The Cross Entangled
My four-legged companion, Guapo, gazes at the passing countryside with a contented expression. I, on the other hand, am caught up in complicated rumination. We have just passed a sign for Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and my thoughts are engaged in untangling the story of the founder of Cape Girardeau, a French fur trapper named Pierre Loramie. U...
Today is the Day to Run to The Cross
Recent history has seen the sad displacement of traditional Lenten fasting, which has been noted on this site. Yet on this day, Good Friday, Catholics are bound to fast in accordance with the law under pains of mortal sin. Even in an age of laxity, Good Friday stands in contradiction to our comforts and calls us to penance and remembrance. C...
A Real Picture of Loving in Sickness and in Health
Imagine a man linking arms with his wife and leading her everywhere she goes. She has lost nearly all her sight, so must rely on him. She is also quite ill and utterly exhausted. The man longs for a happier season of marriage, but this is what they’ve been dealt, so he bears it. He picks up her prescriptions, he helps her eat her meals, a...
Four Truths We Need to Tell About Forgiveness
Forgiveness is absolutely central to our faith. Most of us know this and simply take it as a given. But we must remember that forgiveness is not commonplace. Many who have been wronged bear a heavy burden of bitterness, and those who have wronged them bear a crippling sense of shame. At root, this is a spiritual problem, and it’s a proble...
The Cross & the Mass Are the Same Sacrifice
When we go to Mass, we are brought into the presence of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross which took place at Calvary two thousand years ago. His one sacrifice is again made present; what happened on the cross and what takes place on the altar at Mass is the same sacrifice - yet present in different modes. This understanding helps us to better ...
Suffering as a Path of Love
Lent begins early this year. We traditionally continue to celebrate Christmas by singing hymns in honor of the Nativity until the Feast of the Presentation (Purification of Mary) on February 2nd. Ash Wednesday follows a week and a day later. It makes me reflect on this short period of Ordinary Time in between our Lord’s Baptism and Lent. Is it li...