Hope Never Disappoints
In his Wednesday General Audience today, April 5, Pope Francis spoke of the hope that arises from the cross, which is a true paradox. He began by asking “Where is your hope?” Do we, accordingly, place it rightly in Christ?...
Tagged: hope
Love – Disappointment – Hope: Living in an Abusive Church
I believe that love is a requirement for disappointment. I love the Catholic Church. I’ve shared this story many times, but during the summer following my high school graduation, at a Steubenville Youth Conference, I fell in love with Jesus,...
A faith built upon the love of God
Early in the pontificate of Pope Francis I was, generally speaking, what could be called a “Francis skeptic.” To be honest I didn’t pay that much attention to him at first. As the father of three little kids, I primarily...
The Lord has not forgotten you
The Advent and Christmas seasons are emotionally impactful for me, even more than Lent and Easter. How can this be? Lent prepares us for Christ’s Passion and on Easter we celebrate his Resurrection. It is when we celebrate how he...
The Synod, Christian dialogue, and a lesson on hope
When the General Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops released its preparatory document for the Synod for a Synodal Church in September, one of the items highlighted was a statement that “dialogue between Christians of different confessions, united by one...
Advent is a Season of “Hoping With”
My very liturgically-minded husband strongly believes—and advocates for—the correct implementation of the Advent season. It starts with no decorations before December 17 (that’s when the “O Antiphons” begin.) It continues with observing the emphases of the two foci of Advent’s...
The hour of the People: Pope Francis and the Post-Covid moment
Dr. Austen Ivereigh via Zoom to Archdiocese of Boston Social Justice Convocation, November 13, 2021 Perhaps it’s the Gospel readings we’ve been having that make me want to share some ideas about how Pope Francis sees our present moment: in...
God, evil, and hope
The German cardinal Walter Kasper opens the first chapter of his book Mercy: The Essence of the Gospel and the Key to Christian Life by describing the twentieth century as “a horrible century in many respects.” Continuing his deplorable description...
Fear of Hell or the Joy of the Gospel?
If hell is empty, as some hope, does this fundamentally alter our evangelical zeal? Paul Krause, writing for Crisis Magazine, thinks so. He argues that without a recognition of what Christ has saved us “from,” then we risk completely misunderstanding...
Palm Sunday is only the beginning of the story
A reflection on the Sunday readings for March 28, 2021 — Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion It is an interesting thing to be asked to offer my first reflection for this website on Palm Sunday, the one Sunday of...
Hope for Iraqis: A Chaldean Catholic Anticipates Francis’s Visit
While growing up in Canada, I vividly remember a moment that occurred during my elementary school’s lunch recess. Our prayer group, which met every Wednesday to say the Rosary, was just finishing up when a friend noticed a hung portrait...
Christmas gives us hope in a time of crisis
I want to begin my Christmas 2020 reflection with the first four stanzas of the poem Esperanza by Alexis Valdés, a Cuban-American poet based in Miami, Florida. When the storm passes and the roads are tamed, and we are the...
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