fbpx

Category: Reflection

Cooperative Salvation

As St. Augustine, whose feast day the Church observed yesterday, famously said, β€œHe who created us without our help will not save us without our consent.” From the very moment we begin to freely choose ourselves, sin, and the world...

Is the Desire for Perfection a Good Desire?

The correct answer to the unconditional question β€œWho is like God?” is the unconditional response β€œNo one is like God!” Only God is truly infinite. Only God exists essentially. Only God is absolutely perfect. All finite substances have real essential...

The Dangers of Weeding

When confronted by the evil in the world, we are often tempted to impatience and rash action. We can appoint ourselves as God’s champions and avengers, scouring the world for evil to eradicate. Such attitudes, however, tend to produce more...

The Paradoxical Jesus

In one scene from the iconic Pixar movie Cars, protagonist Lightning McQueen is being schooled by seasoned race car Doc Hudson. In this scene Doc tells him he needs to β€œturn right to go left.” Doc tells McQueen to drive...

Blind Faith

When a blind priest stands in front of a congregation and exhorts them to trust in Jesus, who could possibly ignore him?Β 

The Church, School of Attention

During his general audience on July 28th, Pope Francis discussed the life of St. Mary MacKillop, Australia’s first canonized saint. As Mother Mary of the Cross, MacKillop founded the Josephites, an order of religious sisters dedicated to the education and...

For a more Sentimental Church

β€œThey were men of genius, but they had no perception of what is just and lawful in music; raging like Bacchanals and possessed with inordinate delights-mingling lamentations with hymns, and paeans with dithyrambs; imitating the sounds of the flute on...