A Quiet Architect of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal In the course of my research on the early history of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, I had the privilege of spending several hours interviewing Gerry Rauch about his life, his faith, and his role in the early Catholic Charismatic Renewal. With the news of his death this past week, I found myself returning to those notes. What follows is offered as a small tribute to a man who devoted his life to... Read more
It’s easy to lose focus during the Easter Vigil. The liturgy is beautiful, but it’s long, and the sheer number of Scripture passages can feel overwhelming if we don’t have a few handholds to guide us. My hope is that with a little preparation, you’ll be able to enter the Vigil with a sense of anticipation—so that as each reading unfolds, you begin to recognize the pattern, the story, and the movement of God’s work. And when that happens, the... Read more
Isaiah 53 has always stood at the heart of Christian reflection on redemptive suffering. The figure of the Suffering Servant is understood as fundamentally connected to Christ, and the New Testament itself makes this connection explicit. Matthew writes that Jesus’ healing ministry fulfills Isaiah’s words: “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases” (Matthew 8:17). In Acts, Philip encounters the Ethiopian official reading Isaiah 53 and explains that the Servant is Jesus (Acts 8:32–35). 1 Peter echoes Isaiah directly: “By... Read more
I had the joy of joining Deacon Tom and Sister Sarah on Notes from Above last week to talk about one of the Church’s most tender and hope‑filled prayers: the Nunc Dimittis, the Canticle of Simeon. It was a gift to reflect together on how this ancient prayer still shapes the heart of Christian discipleship. As we read in the episode, “Now, Lord, you may dismiss your servant in peace… for my eyes have seen your salvation.” A few insights... Read more
In today’s (Monday of the third week of Advent) Office of Readings, the second reading comes from William of St. Thierry, a Cistercian abbot, active in the 12th century and friend of St. Bernard of Clairvaux. The reading comes from his treatise on the nature and dignity of love, one of his earliest and most influential works. I, for one, think it is one of the most concise and brilliant examinations of the economy of love that God invites us... Read more
I’ve been thinking a lot about Advent this week. This season is all about having hearts that are desperate for Jesus. It connects us with those who longed for the Messiah in former days, and it connects us with hearts that are hungry for the promise of a redeemed and restored creation. It is also a call for us to have hearts that are desperate for Jesus, seeking his advent in our own lives each and every day. There’s a... Read more
Last night I had the privilege of spending time with Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. We celebrated Mass together and then gathered for dinner, where he shared his heart for the many Christians he serves in Palestine. I was really struck by his pastoral heart and sensitivity. As he spoke, several things stayed with me. One was the resilience of the people there. They are suffering — suffering greatly — yet they continue to endure. Their hope... Read more
“Viva Cristo Rey!” Long live Christ the King. Once shouted by martyrs in the face of persecution, these words became the defiant anthem of faith during the Cristero War in Mexico (1926–1929). When the government sought to erase Catholic worship from public life, ordinary men, women, and even children took up this cry as their final confession of loyalty to Christ. It was on the lips of Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro, S.J., a Jesuit priest executed by firing squad in... Read more
Saint Luke is the evangelist whose Gospel pulses with compassion. He transmits many of Jesus’ most beloved stories, offering vivid portraits of mercy that continue to shape Christian imagination and pastoral practice. Consider the image of the prodigal son returning to his father’s embrace after years of wandering. Luke writes, “While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him”... Read more
Honoring St. Vincent de Paul As we prepare for the weekend, I’ve been thinking a lot about St. Vincent de Paul. I wrote a new entry in my series on him, whose feast day we celebrate tomorrow, on my Substack. You can visit it here. I was particularly struck by how he transformed the wounded places in his life into opportunities for healing in the world. That kind of spiritual resilience is tremendously powerful. Book Reflection: Life Worth Living This... Read more
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