Habits of Synodality
When I was learning French, there was a phrase I picked up without paying much attention to it. The phrase was « Je n’ai pas de voix au chapitre » and it means “I have no say in the matter.” It was...
Category: Reflection
Challenging Our Misunderstandings
One does not have to do much digging to discover that opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement has moved onto a new subject: critical race theory (CRT). Perhaps what we have seen in recent days as various politicians have...
Synodality is Simple
Synodality is simple. There is nothing confusing about it. Sometimes it can take a complicated intellectual journey to understand a simple concept, however. God Himself is so simple that we, in our complexity, cannot fully grasp Him. The same is...
Blood and water: A sign of the total gift of Christ
Greetings from Florence, Italy, where my family is spending the Triduum following a visit to Rome. As I mentioned before, the highlight of the trip was my family meeting Pope Francis following his General Audience on Wednesday, April 6. We...
Seeing the Perfect Christ in His Marred Body
When I was in high school, I spent a horrible week consumed by doubt that God is a good God. A trusted community member abused a child of a family that I cared about and this abuse caused deep and...
Pope Benedict and Pope Francis on the Prodigal Son
The parable of the Prodigal Son was the topic of the Pope’s Angelus address on March 27th. Pope Francis said: The Gospel for this Sunday’s Liturgy recounts the so-called Parable of the Prodigal Son (cf. Lk 15:11-32). It leads us...
Humility and Mercy to Heal the World
In his prayer for the consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Pope Francis lamented the collective sins of our world. We can’t see ourselves as free of guilt; we have all fallen. He said: Yet...
What Is Doctrine For?
Catholicism is a religion of the paradox, of distinctly opposite ideas that nevertheless are both affirmed in their totality. One and Three. God and Man. Virgin and Mother. Sacrifice and Meal. Another of these dualities is the relationship between doctrine—what...
Hosea, Emotional Unavailability and Radical Traditionalists
In Singapore, where I am from, the festive mood extends all the way from Christmas until the beginning or middle of February, thanks to a festival variably referred to as the Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival. Sadly, for...
Panning for God
Panning for gold “is slow, backbreaking work.”[i] The panner stands knee-deep in cold, running water, scooping up the deposit at the bottom of the stream and slowly swirling it in his pan. The heavier rocky material, such as gold, remains...
Alliance of the generations
Today’s General Audience address by Pope Francis brought tears to my eyes. It was the second installment of his Catechesis on Old Age. The title of this week’s teaching was “Longevity: symbol and opportunity,” and he spoke about why he...
Traditionalism, heresy, and the power of the colanders
What’s the big deal about traditionalism? Surely it’s harmless enough? If people want their smells and bells, why not? Who knows? Maybe some of that old fashioned Catholicism will rub off on the modernized Church. Well…. as an ex-priest of...
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