We have an existential problem. Sunday after Sunday, we risk failing to capitalize on what God’s words are meant to elicit in our minds and hearts. Too often, we forget that the Lord is present in our midst with all his awesome, boundless power, as...
Fr Dino Vanin
Fr Joseph Esper
Tom BorekRecent Essays
Jennifer Borek
James S. Anderson
Br Matthew Marie, OSB
Vincent Ryan RuggieroReflections- From Our Archives
Gifts of Self
The scripture readings for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ focus on covenants. In the Book of Exodus (24:3-8), at Mt. Sinai, Moses sprinkled blood upon the Israelites, a symbol of God’s desire to...
Deacon Kurt Godfryd
His Love is Everlasting
People in economic straits learn to make do with less. But, it is much more difficult for those whose standards of living were elevated and have fallen on hard times. Our readings for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time...
Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap
A New Commandment
One of the worst sinking feelings we do not want to experience in our fast-paced world is pressing the ignition button and failing to hear the vrmmmm sound of our car awakening from its mechanical sleep.The readings (Is...
A Legacy that Will Endure
Once there was an unhappily married woman—we’ll call her Jane—who, at a young age, had married a handsome, dashing, but self-centered man we’ll call Alphonse. Her family and friends had warned her that Alphonse had a...
William BorstThe Hardening of Our Hearts
We are often confronted by painful reminders of how the culture of death is hardening the hearts of many and, thus, devastating our country and large portions of the world also in ways not readily evident. If some of us...
The Father’s Family Has No Boundaries
In the Gospel of Matthew (5:38-48), Jesus speaks to us regarding our disposition. Now, perhaps more than at any other time, the obvious question might be: Should we take him seriously? At Mass, usually we give the...
Deacon Steve GrecoSong of Songs and The Ability to Tolerate Being Loved
“Your children love you more than anyone has ever loved me.” This unsettling statement was delivered to me by a member of my dissertation committee when my children were small. I confess that I had not given significant...
David SeitzThe Path of Love
The 20th-century Dutch Catholic priest, Fr. Henri Nouwen, noted that “we should pay attention to the people God puts in our path if we want to discern what God is up to in our lives.” How many of us sit in...
All Essays
Preparing for Future Storms and Menacing Waves
We have an existential problem. Sunday after Sunday, we risk failing to capitalize on what God’s words are meant to elicit in our minds and hearts. Too often, we forget that the Lord is present in our midst with all his...
Crawling Back to God’s Law
In our last thrilling episode (See Slip-Sliding Away from God’s Law), we highlighted two Truths that considered together tend to make us uncomfortable: Since the days of Moses, the second part of the Third Commandment...
Reform and Renewal in the Church—And in You
During my first month in Seminary, all students were required to attend a concert by a well-known Flamenco guitarist. Flamenco guitar music is a unique art that blends playing the strings while using the guitar’s body...
Every Day We Are Given Opportunities to Make a Difference
Temple University in Philadelphia is the third largest university in Pennsylvania; it enjoys a worldwide reputation for research, scholarship, and education, and has international campuses in Tokyo and...
Things Aren’t Always as They Seem
A woman named Sarina was leaving her hotel when suddenly her left arm no longer worked; she dropped her purse, her arm went numb, and she was convinced she was having a stroke, or apoplexy. A stranger helped...
Michael BaglinoDesert Flowers
A desert has an atmosphere of impending death. This can be seen most vividly in the arid terrain below sea level known as Death Valley in California. The valley is located largely in Inyo County. In 1849 thirty pioneers...
Carolyn Humphreys, O.C.D.S.
Paul Suski
One Nation Under God
Having just celebrated our country’s 250th anniversary of independence, it is noteworthy that America was intentionally founded as “one nation under God,” and most of our founding fathers publicly acknowledged His...
Door Number Four
The hot summer months are always a good time to sit, relax, and remember. So, I begin with two snippets of grandmotherly wisdom, one a personal story and another, one that occurred right here—in our day chapel...
Deacon Gregory Webster
