If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. (1 John 4:20) Developments in ultrasonic technology help us to clearly see that an unborn child is a human life deserving our love. Yesterday, on [...]
We are all brothers because of the love of God the Father for us. It turns out that brotherhood does not have to remain broken after sin. Jesus Christ, in showing us the love of the Father, reveals that true brotherhood is beatific. Brothers do not have a good record in the Bible. The book [...]
To be poor in spirit is to acknowledge our creatureliness and our radical dependency on God, who loves us and wants our happiness. The Beatitudes all have a similar structure—but upon close review one of them is quite different! Most Beatitudes promise a future blessing to reward a present suffering, except for the first Beatitude in both Matthew’s (Matt 5:3-12) and [...]
At the Easter Vigil, with the faithful gathered together in a dark church around the newly lit and christened Paschal Candle, a deacon will chant the Exsultet. This ancient hymn of unrestrained joy contains one seemingly out-of-place, despondent couplet: Our birth would have been no gain, had we not been redeemed. Chilling, sobering words for [...]
Today, as we wash off yesterday’s ashes, we stand six weeks away from Easter. The long winter of sin is thawing; a new day is dawning as the Resurrection approaches. Easter and springtime seem to go together, and with the approach of spring comes yet another reason for hope—Opening Day. While Opening Day may bring [...]
Crushed into near despair by a particularly nasty cold, a man reaches blindly into his pocket searching for relief. He grasps a cough drop—the sole salve for his burning throat—and unwraps it. Something catches his eye. He finds printed on the wrapper lines such as “Impress yourself,” “Bet on yourself,” and “Elicit a few ‘wows’ [...]
Have I actually had a true friend since those childhood days of simple and blissful friendship? My other friends have come and gone. As I reflect, I’m now not sure if I actually have a single real friend. The leaves rustle underneath my feet as I meander in the park. They are November’s leaves— brown, crunchy, and [...]
What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? (Rom 8:35) In this line from the epic eighth chapter of Romans, Paul supplies a laundry-list of circumstances that might at first seem to remove us from Christ’s love but in [...]
Blinding light surrounds me. My eyes, grown old from endlessly straining in vain for light, begin to adjust. As they open, I see a man bearing a staff. “AWAKE O SLEEPER! ARISE FROM THE DEAD!” Editor’s Note: The following is based on a precious text of the Triduum, read as the second reading in the [...]
Let us imitate St. Patrick’s single-minded love for Christ, which was made possible through his humility. By being humble like children, we can hope to one day be great in the kingdom of God, with Patrick and all the saints. Few people want to be described as “narrow-minded.” Narrow-minded people, neglecting key information, can miss [...]
Our fundamental mistake is that we conflate freedom with a multiplicity of options. This view of freedom is actually paralyzing—we are enchained by our inability to make a decision. Thankfully, this is not how a Christian is expected to live! Ordering from a lengthy restaurant menu is a frightful experience. Your eyes scan desperately over countless [...]
Saint Dominic is a perfect saint for our unprecedented and challenging times. His spiritual joy and his radical trust in Divine Providence are two antidotes to our modern ailments of anxiety and fear of the future. St. Dominic stands as an example to achieve peace in unprecedented times. “Thank you for your patience during these unprecedented times.” Produce [...]
Baseball is beautiful, fun, and enjoyable. It can also help us learn how to enter into the present moment. Of course, one does not have to be a fan of baseball to enjoy life truly. But loving a sport such as baseball can help us to appreciate life as it comes to us in the present [...]