• 10 articles

Welders, Fishermen and a Pope

It’s been a long, hot summer in West Texas. Even now, in September, the daily highs continue to register 100 degrees or more. I have done my share of complaining.  But my whining was tempered after conversing with a friend from a former parish. Raymond works as a welder at an oil refinery. When I asked if his shop was air-conditioned, he l...

09 14 2023

Silence

This article was originally published in Sword & Spade magazine. Fr. Jarrett Bede, O.P. (1881-1934) historian, author, priest — wrote this short meditation in his classic book Meditations for Layfolk. Silence is no less necessary for those out of the cloister than for those within. For religious, monks and nuns, it must of course be mor...

12 08 2021

River Guide

The young man pulled up to my house looking for a place to bunk. He wore long hair, sunglasses and a tank top. His beat-up car was crammed—dashboard to hatchback— with clothes, boots, sleeping bags, coolers and a Coleman stove. I would have sworn he was homeless if a friend of mine hadn’t called to tell me that his nephew, a river guide from ...

10 20 2021

Badges, Stars, and a Dugout Stable

From a distance, the cloth patch on my shirt—vaunting the Lone Star of Texas—looks like a badge. The two-way radio on my belt commands respect. Mounted on my steed with a Stetson pulled low over my brow, I’m tempted to introduce myself as Fr. Walker, Texas Ranger. Actually, the uniform is only that of a safety volunteer at a local state pa...

09 14 2021

A Story Of A Fallen Monk (And Faith Vs. Pride)

In Father Sergius, a short story by Leo Tolstoy, a wealthy Russian nobleman enters a monastery under questionable motives, but ended up genuinely striving for holiness and virtue, and even finding that the battle for sanctity was worth it! Despite his progress, he constantly felt weak in his faith, and unceasingly begged God to grant more. He was ...

07 15 2021

A Good Retreat Is No Date With God

St. Francis de Sales was ridiculed in his day because he did not preach in lofty sounding ways, sermons being sprinkled with glittering phrases in Greek and Latin, place just so in order to impress his audience. No, he spoke plainly, as a man acquainted with spiritual growth and battle, to men acquainted with the challenges of real life. In other w...

07 09 2021

Hope Is Hearts In Heaven, Not Heads In Clouds

Desire for things we do not yet fully possess drives so much of our lives. Even when we ask one another, “How are you?” the detailed answers tend not toward what we are in the current moment, but what we “will be” after something else is achieved and reached. “Fine,” we say, “I’m almost done with this big project and then I ca...

07 05 2021

Don’t Just Go To Mass – Assist

by Craig Taffaro One may hear of the need to prepare for Holy Communion, but wonder how. Besides the obvious — be in a state of grace — or the many beautiful prayers written to help prepare a soul for Communion, one should study the Mass. Holy Mass contains within it the means for proper preparation and efficacious receptio...

07 03 2021

Nothing Good Is Good Enough

by Chris Fernandez Jason Craig’s Article What’s Wrong with the ‘Pursuit of Happiness,’ from the 2nd Sunday in OT is applicable here, and a good reference. This article clarifies what consists in true happiness: Freedom for the Good. “To be happy is to seek God and virtue in relation to the order of grace.” Jason quotes Aquinas in e...

07 02 2021

Don’t Shoot For The Stars. Shoot For Heaven

The historic timing of Jesus’ coming was not random. He came, as Scripture puts it, “in the fullness of time” (Gal. 4:4). What does that mean and why might God have chosen that time over others? Let’s put it into a broader context. The moment of Our Lord’s coming was when many currents of world history were coming together, specificall...

07 01 2021

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