I remember as a young priest I was visiting an older woman we'll call Veronica whose life was in chaos. She was grieving over a broken marriage. Her children were a disappointment. She had health problems and money worries. She had emotional and relational difficulties. In addition to this she talked too much. The poor soul [...]
You know the theory that a frog put in a pan of water will stay there as the temperature rises and the poor thing doesn't sense the increase in temperature and eventually boils to death. The biggest problem with American Catholics is that the majority of them are asleep. Lulled by materialism, the good life and [...]
In reading Frank Viola and Leonard Sweet's Jesus A Theography I enjoyed the second chapter the most. Frank and Leonard aim to show how Jesus Christ is echoed and reflected in every part of the Scriptures. They build up a full picture of Christ the Lord--not just by trying to reconstruct the "historical Jesus" (that exercise usually [...]
Here's an excerpt from today's gospel, and there is something there I had never noticed before: The Lord said to him, "Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. You fools! Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside? [...]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_-BOvWVycM[/youtube] As a fundamentalist boy I had to learn my Bible verses from the King James Bible. One I remember clearly is Hebrews 11.1 "For faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen." For some reason I always loved the way that rolled off the tongue. It had a [...]
Do similarities between pagan religions and Christianity dis prove the Christian claims? To understand the relationship between pagan religions and Christianity it is important to understand the Catholic idea of the 'development of doctrine.' This was first set out by fifth century theologian Vincent of Lerins.In this excerpt from his writings he explains how truth develops within [...]
The religious life requires faith, but what is 'faith'? One of the greatest misunderstandings among believers and non-believers alike is the concept of 'faith'. Let's rattle through the misconceptions before we try to say what 'faith' really is. First is the idea that faith is 'blind'. The non believers often blame believers for believing something which [...]
I don't know when I've been happier to see someone walk up the street to my home! I feel like I've been weeding this flowerbed for hours, and in this heat, why I'm just about to melt! I was going to keep going, but now you're here I can get myself a nice cold glass of [...]
An interesting story has popped up about miracles taking place in India. I've heard church workers report that the growth of the church in Africa is also attributed to a rush of miracles happening there. So why no miracles here? First of all, to see a miracle you have to believe in miracles. C.S.Lewis said he [...]
In Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice Caroline says to Mr Bingley, I should like balls infinitely better, if they were carried on in a different manner; but there is something insufferably tedious in the usual process of such a meeting. It would surely be much more rational if conversation instead of dancing were made the order [...]