A Credible Witness
Paragraph 89 is perhaps my favorite passage from Pope Leo’s encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas. It’s at the end of a short section titled “An examen for the Church,” where Pope Leo makes the case that the Church must live out its...
Tagged: Sacrament of Reconciliation
Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up?
We spend most of our lives hiding behind our true selves. It’s pitiful, honestly. I’m nearly 50 years old and I still spend much of my time worried about what others will think. Does it really matter? A few years...
Mercy is not a “Get out of Jail Free” Card
A reflection on the readings of September 17, 2023 — the 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time. In a reflection I recently read on today’s Gospel, the author did some math to try to put the two debts we just heard...
World Youth Day: A City of vocations and sacraments
LISBON, August 4, 2023 — Among many other initiatives meant to bring pilgrims into a deeper relationship with Christ, the World Youth Day (WYD) organized the “City of Joy,” promoting vocations and the sacraments. Set in the gardens sprawling before...
Chicago controversy, denying absolution, Limbo debate
In this week’s episode of The Debrief, Dominic De Souza and I discuss three recent debates in the Church. First, we look at the controversial decision by Cardinal Blase Cupich to limit the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament when a...
When the Church Refuses God’s Love
In late July 2021, I attended Mass at Our Lady of Peace Parish in Santa Clara, California, with my teenage family members. I literally and figuratively grew up at that church as my mom worked as a secretary there for...
Sins Like Scarlet
Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. (Isaiah 1:18) There is a legendary story,...
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