Worldview

Can’t We All Get Along?

By Fr. Jeff | 11/08/2022

I’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…

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Predicting the …

By Fr. Jeff | 09/20/2022

We like to know what the weather will be. Will it be warm and dry, not too hot and not too cold, so that we can enjoy some time outdoors? Predicting the weather is not that simple. It does not…

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A Time of Distress

By Fr. Jeff | 05/08/2022

As 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…

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Why the Fathers of the Church are Important

By Fr. Jeff | 03/29/2022

I recently read The Fathers of the Church 3rd Edition: An Introduction to the First Christian Teachers by Mike Aquilina (Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division. 2013). When I saw an ad for the book, I was drawn to…

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Forward or Backward?

By Fr. Jeff | 03/08/2022

We 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…

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Living Our Faith in a Secular World

By Fr. Jeff | 03/06/2022

Our first reading today is taken from the Book of Deuteronomy. The Israelites were preparing to cross into the promised land. It has been a long time since Jacob brought his family to Egypt in a time of drought. They…

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A Troubled World

By Fr. Jeff | 02/22/2022

One does not have to look far to see that we live in a troubled world. We have been dealing with the Coronavirus for two years now. Right now, the number of cases in the United States has dropped significantly…

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Final Reflections on “The Catholic Gentleman”

By Fr. Jeff | 02/15/2022

Three weeks ago I began a series of articles reflecting on my reading of Sam Guzman’s book, The Catholic Gentleman: Living Authentic Manhood Today (San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 2019). Today, I would like to offer my sixth and final article on The…

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Work, Sainthood, and Holiness

By Fr. Jeff | 02/08/2022

This is the fifth of sixth articles I offer here inspired by my reading of Sam Guzman’s book, The Catholic Gentleman: Living Authentic Manhood Today (San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 2019). (For the previous articles see “Are You for Real?”, “More from “The Catholic Gentleman”,…

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How Do You Look at Things?

By Fr. Jeff | 02/03/2022

This will be my fourth article inspired by Sam Guzman’s book, The Catholic Gentleman: Living Authentic Manhood Today (San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 2019). (For the previous articles see “Are You for Real?”, “More from “The Catholic Gentleman”, and “We Need to Stand for…

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We Need to Stand for Something

By Fr. Jeff | 02/01/2022

Today I continue my series inspired by Sam Guzman’s book, The Catholic Gentleman: Living Authentic Manhood Today (San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 2019). (For the two previous articles see “Are You for Real?” and “More from “The Catholic Gentleman”) Today I would like…

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More from “The Catholic Gentleman”

By Fr. Jeff | 01/28/2022

A few days ago I began a new series of articles based on Sam Guzman’s book, The Catholic Gentleman: Living Authentic Manhood Today (San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 2019) with an article titled “Are You for Real?” Today I offer my second article…

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Are You for Real?

By Fr. Jeff | 01/25/2022

“Authentic. Genuine. Handcrafted. Vintage. Real.” These are the first words in chapter 1 (page 17) of Sam Guzman’s book, The Catholic Gentleman: Living Authentic Manhood Today (San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 2019). Are we who we claim to be? Do we…

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A Polarized People

By Fr. Jeff | 11/23/2021

I recently saw a news headline where a health official involved in the government’s handling of the Coronavirus pandemic said he did not cause political divisiveness. He is right. We have been becoming a polarized people for some time. This…

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What Does Your Faith Mean to You?

By Fr. Jeff | 10/26/2021

If you are reading this blog article, it would seem likely that your faith means something to you. It likely means faith is more for you than just going to church on Sunday for one hour. The time spent at…

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Generations

By Fr. Jeff | 10/11/2021

In today’s gospel Jesus speaks of “generations.” We use the word “generation” to signify the changing of stages. Most often we use it in the sense of biological generations. When parents have children, the children began a new generation. Grandchildren…

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In Struggles We Find Hope

By Fr. Jeff | 09/28/2021

I recently read St. Joseph and His World by Mike Aquilina (New York: Scepter Publishers. 2020). I purchased this to read with the Year of St. Joseph called for by Pope Francis (Dec. 2020-December 2021) in mind. As indicated by…

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It is Not Easy to be Faithful

By Fr. Jeff | 09/19/2021

In today’s first reading we hear, “Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training.” This…

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More on Scott Hahn’s “The First Society”

By Fr. Jeff | 07/30/2021

In my last article, “Marriage and Society”, I began reflecting on Scott Hahn’s book, The First Society: The Sacrament of Matrimony and the Restoration of the Social Order (Steubenville, OH: Emmaus Road Publishing. 2018). Today, I would like to conclude my thoughts…

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Marriage and Society

By Fr. Jeff | 07/27/2021

In his book, The First Society: The Sacrament of Matrimony and the Restoration of the Social Order (Steubenville, OH: Emmaus Road Publishing. 2018), Scott Hahn discusses marriage as foundational to a strong society. In the introduction he says, “There is…

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More From Peter Kreeft on Liberty

By Fr. Jeff | 07/23/2021

Earlier this week I posted an article, “Peter J. Kreefts “How to Destroy Western Civilization”, sharing some thoughts from Kreeft’s new book, How to Destroy Western Civilization and Other Ideas From the Cultural Abyss (San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 2021). In that…

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Peter J. Kreeft’s “How to Destroy Western Civilization”

By Fr. Jeff | 07/20/2021

I recently read Peter J. Kreeft’s new book, How to Destroy Western Civilization and Other Ideas From the Cultural Abyss (San Francisco: Ignatius Press. 2021). From the title alone one might think it is a “how-to” book giving ideas on…

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Building on the Past for a Better Future

By Fr. Jeff | 05/10/2021

In the last article, “Why is Change Difficult?”, that I wrote on the subject of change, I found myself reminiscing about the past. The past is something valuable, something we can learn from. This includes the past as it pertains…

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What Does It Mean to Love?

By Fr. Jeff | 05/04/2021

In March I wrote an article called “Chastity and Sexuality”. As part of that article, I discussed how sexual acts are meant to be an expression of the love between a man and a woman in marriage. Sex without love…

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Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Our View of this World

By Fr. Jeff | 04/30/2021

I recently read the book Things Worth Dying For: Thoughts on a Life Worth Living by Archbishop Emeritus Charles J. Chaput, OFM Cap. (New York: Henry Holt and Company. 2021). Reading it has led me to share some thoughts about…

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