Oct
31
Candy Collectors on Beggars Night
October 31, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Just got back from taking my candy collectors out on Beggars Night - or at least that is the new terminology used by our suburban newspaper. Go figure.
Today is, of course, the last day of October - the Month of the Holy Rosary. And I’m thrilled that I somehow prayed the Rosary every day this month. It’s [...]
Sep
29
777
September 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment
A missed opportunity!
I’ve been trying to get a fallen-away Catholic I care about back to the Church. I took a look at the Dow Jones from today and saw that it fell 777 points. I made crack to him that if it had fallen 666 points, then we would have seen the churches packed this [...]
Sep
14
Triumph of the Cross
September 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Today is the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross. It’s a good day to think about whether we have, at times, taken the Cross for granted.
I see crosses all around; sometimes displayed with devotion, other times not. The focus of every Catholic Church is on the Crucifix behind the altar. Catholic churches used to [...]
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
21
How’s Your Heart?
August 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment
How’s your heart? Not your blood pressure, pulse rate, or VO2 Max rate; but the spiritual soundness of your heart.
I starting pondering this question after reading the first reading from today’s Mass (Ezekiel 36):
“I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you [...]
Jul
31
St. Ignatius of Loyola
July 31, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I think many of us wonder whether we’ve just blown it. Whether God has just given up on us and declared us a lost cause. Yes, he may grant us mercy and redemption, but he has nevertheless decided that we have screwed up his plan for us so badly that he has us just playing out [...]
Jul
6
Sunday Morning Marriage Counseling
July 6, 2008 | 1 Comment
Ah, so this explains my wife’s and my marital bliss -
“Churchgoing married couples happier, study says - Catholic News Agency
“Charlottesville, VA, Jul 5, 2008 / 08:03 pm (CNA).- A new analysis of three major national surveys claims that married couples who attend church together tend to be happier than couples who rarely or never attend [...]
Jun
9
The Beatitudes
June 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Today’s gospel from Matthew 5 teaches us about the Beatitudes.
Quick, who can name four of them?
There are actually nine “blessed are they”’s in the Beatitudes and I bet there was a time when most school kids could name them all and know what they meant.
For my generation, we probably know “blessed are they who mourn” [...]
May
23
St. Louis & Senator Kennedy
May 23, 2008 | 1 Comment
Two totally unrelated thoughts for today . . .
Archbishop Burke just ordained nine new priests to his See in St. Louis. That’s the total for the Archdiocese in the past three years combined. They have so many guys interested in the priesthood that they are actually talking about expanding the seminary.
To say that this news is [...]
May
22
I think I might have a new favorite saint. St. Rita of Cascia is new to the U.S. liturgical calendar even though she lived in the 15th Century and was canonized in 1900. Why the Church waited so long to canonize her and then get her on our calendar is beyond me because I fell in [...]
