Aug
27
St. Monica & St. Augustine
August 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Today and tomorrow, we remember the lives of St. Monica and her son, St. Augustine.
There are two amazing things about their story. The first is that St. Monica spent her whole married and maternal life praying for the conversion of her pagan husband and her delinquent, wayward son. She kept the faith and hope needed [...]
Aug
6
Transfiguration
August 6, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I have often wondered what it was like to be an apostle following Christ. The healings, miracles and profound daily wisdom must have had an incredible jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring, did I just see that quality to them.
So what did Peter, James & John think of the Transfiguration? They saw Moses and Elijah. They heard our Father. They saw the [...]
Aug
3
Ryan Hall
August 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment
The Olympics start on Friday, but the guy I’m most intrigued by won’t compete until the 24th when the Men’s Marathon is run.
Ryan Hall, is a 20’s-something long-distance runner who last year stepped up to half-marathons and marathons. He made his marathon debut in London and ran a sub-2:10 (which is outstanding). He blew away [...]
Jul
29
St. Martha
July 29, 2008 | 1 Comment
Today is the feast day of St. Martha. To me, she is always one of the most confusing stories of the Bible.
Here she is working her butt off and Mary is getting all of the attention. I’d be a little upset too. How many times have I been the one working my butt off and yet someone else gets [...]
Jul
28
James’ Baby Girl
July 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Through Catholic Dads, I’ve been following the heartbreaking twists and turns of Catherine Hahn. She is James Hahn’s (blog: Real Life Rosary) baby girl and her GI system just can’t seem to get on track. She’s been in the hospital for an eternity (since birth) and has become one of those cases in which doctors [...]
Jul
20
The Crops v. the Weeds
July 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I have found myself growing more and more anxious about events in the world. It seems we are under seige from a variety of fronts - cultural, economic, domestic, international.
So, I’ve been praying for a sense of security, a hint of optimism. And God sent such a thought to me the other day as I was contemplating the half-million [...]
Jul
13
Another Lost Laborer
July 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I find two gospel passages especially meaningful for how I want to live my life.
One is Matthew 9, where Christ proclaims -
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”
The other is today’s gospel from Matthew 13, where Christ preaches the parable of [...]
Jul
1
“Oh, you of little faith”
July 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Today’s gospel (Matthew 8) has the disciples caught in a storm at sea with Christ in the boat with them. He is asleep and they wake him up, shouting “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
Christ’s response is simple - “Why are you terrified? Oh, you of little faith.”
No matter what we are going through in [...]
Jun
27
The Angelus
June 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment
One of these days, I’m going to write a book about forgotten traditions in the Church. It seems that I am writing a great deal about traditions and devotions that I didn’t know about until I really started paying attention a couple years ago.
I came across another example today.
My kids have been in vacation bible school all [...]
Jun
18
Falling & Staying Away
June 18, 2008 | 2 Comments
I had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine last night. He lives in a different town so we get together about once a year and talk about once a month.
He is a cradle Catholic who left the cocoon a long time ago. I’ve never gotten the feeling that spirituality plays any part in [...]
