Today, December 13, 2020, marks the 51st anniversary of Pope Francis’s ordination to the priesthood in Buenos Aires. He has often reflected on priestly ministry and vocation, and his reflections reveal a life of prayer and closeness to Jesus which...
Today, on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I was reflecting on Our Lady’s role in bringing us together as a Church, and as a comforter—someone who is with us and reassures us when we are wounded and divided....
A reflection on the Sunday readings for December 6, 2020 — the Second Sunday of Advent Today, December 6, is the feast of St. Nicholas, who is of course known in popular culture as Santa Claus. Santa Claus is the iconic...
“I am a sinner, but I trust in the infinite mercy and patience of our Lord Jesus Christ.” These were the first words spoken by Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio when asked by the cardinal dean if he accepted his canonical...
“God wills, Man dreams, the work is born” — Fernando Pessoa “O Infante,” “Mensagem” (my translation) Pope Francis often asks us to dream. In fact, the Holy Father signs off his most recent encyclical with these words: “Yet only by...
As the Savior of humanity, Jesus Christ had a record of embracing those disparaged by members of his Jewish culture. It was common for him to dialogue with tax collectors, gentiles, women, sinners, and prostitutes conveying to them that they...
The traditional understanding of Christian eschatology is decidedly linear, moving from a defined creation to a defined end of time. While this model of time has more corroboration from the natural sciences today, it is in many ways less intuitive...
Do you remember when you were a teenager and you first discovered the joy and freedom of going out with your friends? Oddly, the experience I recall most about going out with my friends was the moment I returned home....
A reflection on the Sunday readings for November 29, 2020 — the First Sunday of Advent This is the first Advent we have observed during a pandemic and this will be our first pandemic Christmas. What if I told you that...
Community—communion—is the fundamental building block of the Catholic faith. Christ draws us into himself to create the community of believers, a cloud of witnesses. Even more foundational is that God does this radically by offering the whole of himself to...
This has been a Thanksgiving like no other. A national holiday that we otherwise celebrate with abandon is being observed with utmost caution, restraint, devoid of large family gatherings, and perhaps, even alone. A pandemic Thanksgiving – it almost sounds...
Pope Francis continually encourages us to reflect inwardly on our spiritual lives in ways that compel us to take concrete actions toward building God’s kingdom on earth. I recently wrote about some ways that eschatological reflection can lead us to...
Popular Posts