In the News
After setting up for Mass this morning, I glanced at a Catholic news headline that said, “Dublin archbishop responds to stabbing of 3 children that sparked violent riots”. Ugh! Stabbing children? Why? Why? I clicked on the headline. Reading the…
Read MoreWhy am I Catholic? Traditionally, the answer to the question why are you Catholic was, “Because my parents and grandparents are Catholic.” Being Catholic was part of our identity. One went to church for Christmas and Easter because that’s what…
Read MoreI hope I am not sounding like a broken record that keeps repeating itself. Last week I wrote, “What’s It Going to Take to End the Violence.” There I said the answer laid in tears that came from the depths…
Read MoreThere is a lot of violence in the world today. We see the wars between Israel and Hamas, and the Ukraine and Russia. How many mass shootings have there been recently in our Untied States? Maine, Cincinnati… What’s it going…
Read MoreFor the third week in a row, I find myself beginning a blog article by mentioning the conflict between Israel and Hamas (see “Escalating Conflict,” 10/10/23 and “The Importance of Building Relationships,” 10/17/23). The situation in Israel is important in…
Read MoreLast week I wrote about the escalating conflict between Hamas and Israel. Since then, the fighting has continued with many people injured or killed. It looks like Israel is preparing to go into Gaza with ground troops. Clearly the situation…
Read MoreDo you pray for the church? There are two ways we can look at this question. First, if we consider the transcendent church, meaning the church that is beyond human institution, one might say why would I pray for the…
Read MoreLast Saturday I read a news story (Sarah Maddox, “Why thousands of U.S. congregations are leaving the United Methodist Church.” September 9, 2023. CBSnews.com.). You may remember that in 2019, the United Methodist Church held a conference that discussed same-sex…
Read MoreSome people love change. I’m not one of them but I do believe some change is natural and not necessarily something to be feared. Change can be good. There is change we seek. It might starting a new job that…
Read MoreThe national and world news has been a little different in the last week or two. First, I would like to mention the situation in Niger. Where is Niger? It’s in Africa. What happened? There was a coup by the…
Read MoreLast week the United States Supreme Court issued decisions on two cases involving religious freedom. The first case was 303 Creative vs. Elenis (see Kevin J. Jones, “Supreme Court sides with web designer opposed to same-sex marriage” Catholic News Agency.…
Read MoreThe right to choose one’s religion is a basic human right. Yet Christians (and people of other religions) have faced persecution since Jesus Christ walked on this earth. Jesus himself was persecuted. Until Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan…
Read MoreI write this during the second week of our Easter season. It is a season of resurrection. Thus, it is a season of life. If we are to enter into eternal life in the resurrection, we must first be good…
Read MoreLast week I wrote about how our lives can be superficial (“We Need to Look Into Our Hearts”). Today I would like to talk about how being superficial relates to problems in the world today. It starts with the question…
Read MoreI’ve been hearing in the news lately about anti-Semitic comments. I do not know why there is a rise in these comments. The Jews as a group were stereotyped by Catholics as bad for a long time. In the gospels…
Read MoreIn the past I have written about the importance of following the news to know what is going on in the world. I have also written about how the news can be discouraging (see the articles under the category “In…
Read MoreAs I have been looking for topics for new articles for this blog, the topic of who can receive Communion in the Catholic Church has been in the news. In the news it involves politicians. I am not going to…
Read MoreIn its Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision released last week (June 24, 2022), the United States Supreme Court did what prolife advocates were hoping for. They overturned Roe vs. Wade. I found my heart heavy with the news.…
Read More13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C1 Kings 19:16b, 19-21Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11 (see 5a)Galatians 5:1, 13-18Luke 9:51-62June 26, 2022 Today’s gospel passage begins a new section in Luke’s gospel that will continue until the time for Jesus’…
Read MoreThose of you who are long-time readers of my blog know that from time to time, I like to write about the importance of following the news. As Christians we are called to pray for the needs of our brothers…
Read MoreAs we celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Easter in Year C, our first reading continues to come from the Acts of the Apostles. The Acts of the Apostles tells the story of the early church. In chapter 2 the disciples…
Read MoreWe are a full two years into the Coronavirus pandemic. Many of us have been worn out by the pandemic. We are tired of shutdowns, social distancing, and facemasks as well as the polarization over these. Presently, there is good…
Read More