Monthly Archives: October 2016

When Christ reaches into your life and your heart, it’s easy to understand the pull to follow him radically the way the first Christians did.  Living the gospel in the first years of the Church meant being counter-cultural, revolutionary. Ancient … Continue reading →

I learn so much from the saints. One of the graces I most appreciate of Rome is being able to visit so many of the tombs of these holy men and women who have gone before me and taught me … Continue reading →

The 45 DAY CHALLENGE 4 VOCATIONS consists in making a commitment, a pledge to do one vocation-related action daily for 45 consecutive days. Looking at our vocation crunch, I asked myself, “What am I doing concretely to foster vocations?” The … Continue reading →

Cover me, Lord, with your loving kindness. Save me, as you have promised. Then I will answer those who taunt me, for I put my hope in what you have said. –Psalm 119: 41-41 So many of our problems do … Continue reading →

Dear Grandpa Diff, Remember the Kennedy-Nixon debate?  It was the first on television and, naturally, the first I watched.  You were pretty old then; I believe it was the first and last televised debate you witnessed before going to you … Continue reading →

God listens especially to the attitude with which we pray. To God it doesn’t matter who we are in the image of the world, but the fact that we are His son or daughter makes all the difference. He wants … Continue reading →

Last Saturday I was accompanying a group of high school boys and girls for a monthly service project. This first one of the year was visiting a local nursing home. On the back of their missions t-shirt was the quote … Continue reading →

          A silent, beaming testament Of something just behind, Beauty blankets earth and sky That something more may find.

The Catholic Church has faced many crises over the centuries. Persecution by unfriendly Roman emperors like Nero. The Crusades. The Inquisition. The Reformation Post-Vatican II confusion The sex abuse scandal. Through these and many other challenges, the Church has persevered.  … Continue reading →

Today prayer is presented to us in the liturgy. We all need time to pray. Not just to ask God for things, but to build a loving trusting relationship with Him. Prayer is a battle and we must persevere in … Continue reading →