Posts from June 2024

Jesus tells the formerly hemorrhaging woman: “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be free of your affliction.” (Mark 5:34) And to distraught Jairus: “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” (Mark 5:36) This day, and every day, Jesus offers himself to us as the source of inner peace and freedom from fear, especially paralyzing fear, if we wholeheartedly place our faith in him. The Catholic Church has the deepest knowledge of Christ Jesus, her divine Bridegroom. For over…

The smell of a new car seems to have the power to make everyone riding in it feel better and acquire an overall positive outlook. They admire its new features; they touch here and there; they stroke the upholstery; they let their eyes feast on all corners of its interior. Today, we are reminded by St. Paul that “whoever is in Christ is a new creation.” (2 Corinthians 5:17) We need this reminder as so many events, along with painful circumstances…

This past Thursday and Friday, I had the blessing of traveling with my youngest daughter on a whirlwind day-and-a-half college tour from Michigan to Cincinnati to Cleveland and back to Michigan. At some point, because fathers just know, I turned to my daughter and gave her my advice where she should attend and then had some fun and predicted a future event when a boy named Tommy Gunn would call and let me know he was in love with her.…

Yet we are courageous, and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8) I don’t know how you feel about this personal statement from St. Paul. Do you find it odd for people to wish to die so that they could be at home with our heavenly Father forever? Or do you find it rather dark and off-putting? No matter how we take it, I think that for a healthy person to wish to be at…

A website devoted to the discipline of psychology reminds that when we lose something, we should embrace a three-prong approach: first, calm down and don’t panic; second, carefully look around; and third, if necessary, trace our steps. After considering these, many Catholics have long recommended a fourth option; that is, a quick shoutout to St. Anthony of Padua. For Anthony, the twelfth-century Doctor of the Church and patron of the poor, is also known for his assistance in finding missing…

The Gospel passage for the Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Mark 3:20-35) mentions what is needed, in Jesus’ eyes, to turn a house into a home.  Jesus came home with his disciples. Mark 3:20 Jesus and his disciples had been on a mission to preach the good news of God’s Kingdom in many villages and towns. At home, in Capernaum, they were in urgent need of recovering and re-energizing themselves before the next mission. However, the crowds had even more pressing…

It is patently clear that the word “blood” is the most revealing word in all three readings of this liturgy. We immediately associate blood with life; while we recoil from the sight of spilled blood as, right away, it conjures up the specter of a violent death. The significance and the message conveyed by blood are evident in the sealing of the covenant between the community (the twelve tribes of Israel represented by the twelve pillars) and Yahweh God (Exodus…

One day a girl brought home her report card. Most of the grades were all right, and a few were even very good—but there was one glaring exception that stood out like a sore thumb, no doubt due to a lack of effort on the girl’s part in that particular subject. When her mother saw this grade, she demanded in an angry tone, “Young lady, I want you to explain to me why you got an ‘F’ in spelling!” The girl shrugged her…