Breath is as essential attribute of one’s person, whose existence we may only infer through other media: the sight of our chest rising and falling, the sound of air rushing into our sinuses, the disturbance of the atmosphere near our skin. We mentally connect this evidence-of-breath into a coherent whole, and then label it “my […]
Listening to the song “Epiphany” by Staind on the iPod. The music is loud enough to drown out the background noise. At this line, I drift off… But I know I’ll do the right thing If the right thing is revealed The right thing—what is that? Has it been revealed? Yes, of course, in Jesus! […]
From Reference.com: The most common translation of Pantocrator is “Almighty” or “All-powerful.” In this understanding, Pantokrator is a compound word formed from the Greek words for “all” and the noun “strength” (κρατος). This is often understood in terms of potential power; i.e., able to do anything, or omnipotentent. Another, less literal translation is “Ruler of […]
On the thin border between faith and doubt walks Christ, calling all to trust.
Christ on the cross bows his head, Waiting for you, That he may kiss you, His arms are outstretched, That he may embrace you, His hands are open, That he may enrich you, His body spread out, That he may give himself totally, His feet are nailed, That he may stay there, His side is […]
To see joy in another is to see Christ in them. To see sorrow in another is also to see Christ in them. I don’t want to see Jesus as sorrow, but He is there. I cannot deny Him. It saddens my heart. And sometimes in the midst of sadness and tears, when I remember […]
As an iHermit, I minimize my time on the internet, but I still visit a couple sites like PostSecret. This postcard was posted last week: The emailed comment posted underneath this postcard says: I believe that a new religion could be based on this single postcard. It is a crying shame that we have distorted […]
Father, I don’t know. I don’t quite understand it all. I read Saint Catherine of Siena and her words are harsh for sinners. She says in her own style, and in the style of her times, to wake up idiots! Your time is slipping away from you. The window of opportunity for choosing heaven is […]
Christians! Notify your face. Let others see Christ in you. — Seen on a billboard
The word mercy is one of those loaded words with many meanings and connotations. Unfortunately, the modern use of this word has tended to focus on its association with the word pity or clemency. The older meaning of mercy, the one intended in a religious or spiritual context, means so much more. A quick seach […]
At times, there is a big difference between reading scripture and hearing it. Case in point was in this Sunday’s Gospel reading from Mark 10:46-52: As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was […]
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. — Galatians 5:22-25
Are you holy? This question was asked by the guest speaker at a conference I attended this past weekend. No one raised their hand. The speaker went on to say that she has asked this same question for many years. No one has ever raised their hand, except for one person. The speaker asked this […]
The spirit enters a wilderness and travels blindly in directions that seem to lead away from vision, away from God, away from all fulfillment and joy. It may become almost impossible to believe that this road goes anywhere at all except to a desolation full of dry bones—the ruin of all our hopes and good intentions.
Fr. Ken told this parable during last week’s homily on the Exaltation of the Holy Cross: There was a man standing beside a river and saw a scorpion floating on top of the water, helpless in the river current. The man reached out to save the scorpion and was stung. He instinctively reacted by jerking […]
Kevin, one my students, asked me a single interview-type question for his religion class. He asked, “Why is your relationship with Jesus life-giving for you?” My reply: Jesus is love, peace, and energy. Love—I know that I’m am loved by Him (and by others); thus, I am able to love others. Through Him, I can […]
I have been trying to write this journal entry for over a week now. I have started and stopped several times, and eventually erased all of them because I never liked where they were heading. The topic is about prayer, and none of the words I can find seem to describe what I am going […]
Last summer, I ran into a major frustration in my journey of faith. I had just found my faith the previous February, and everything about the Church was new to me. I was not sure what I was suppose to be doing as a “new” Christian, but I knew that I wanted God in the […]
Before school started, the faculty and staff of my high school had a retreat. Fr. Boyer lead a wonderful, insightful, and motivating discussion on the virtues needed to be a disciple of Christ. Jesus teaches these virtues to his apostles and disciples in Luke’s Travel Narrative: The Journey to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51-19:27). What follows are […]
As a recent convert, I find great comfort in today’s reading of Matthew 20:1-16, The Workers in the Vineyard: Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them […]
The song “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence as been playing on popular radio stations lately. It has an edgy rock sound, and the lead singer has an incredible voice. But when I read the lyrics (after my previous entry), it gave me goose bumps…
Over the last month or so, little things have been popping up here and there that have reminded me of my old self—the self-reliant, skeptical agnostic. I used to believe in a Creator-God, the Initiator of the Universe. I was not sure if He interfered with things on this planet, and if He did, science […]
Before I found my faith, I had a real problem with the concept of original sin. The first time I attended RCIA classes with my wife, I used it as one of my excuses for dropping out of the classes. I remember someone describing original sin as a stain on humanity, that is all humans […]
Anytime I find something coming in threes within the church, I always assume that it represents the Trinity. My favorite example is: Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna […]
Back in April, I wrote about a problem I had with understanding Jesus’ words on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34) In my prior, faithless life as a skeptic and agnostic, I saw this as a big hole in all of the reasons for believing in […]