Christianity is about more than morality. Mahatma Gandhi was once asked about his thoughts on Christianity. In response, he drew a stone from the river next to him and broke it open. Inside, the rock was dry. He said, “I think Christians are kind of like this. You live in the midst of a wonderful set of teachings, but you do not let it penetrate your hearts. So, you live as if you were not Christians.” First Commandments In today’s Gospel... Read more
Scientists do science and theologians do theology, right? Galileo was one who broke the mold. His controversy of promoting the Copernican theory that the earth orbited the sun rocked the Church world. At the same time, he helped revolutionize the way Churchmen would look at the Bible. The Inquisition accused him of dismissing Aristotelian astronomy; yet he actually ended up teaching them a few things about theology. Avoiding Literalism In 1615, Galileo was working on a treatise explaining tidal movement... Read more
Imagine you were sitting at a coffee shop and Jesus sat down in front of you. You can ask him anything in the world. Would you know what to say? If you had one shot or one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted in one moment, would you capture the moment or let it slip? (Eminem, “Lose Yourself”). This is what I love about Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus is a blind man who encounters Jesus and asks him to see. He... Read more
Galileo’s fascination with the stars prompted his interest in mathematics and Scripture. Beyond the science of astronomy; astrology, engineering, and mathematics also piqued his interest. Although he lived a life that did not follow Church doctrine at every moment, he was proud of the fact that he was Catholic. Astrology caught his fancy as a young man. As the Church condemned it and he discovered its weak points, he distanced himself from astrology. His investigations into the scientific method set... Read more
What does it mean for us to be a disciple? Hopefully, we all want to follow Jesus. We probably ascribe to this on a theoretical level. But what happens when following Jesus means leaving behind our own comfort zone. Maybe we need to reflect whether we are we disciples or admirers of Jesus. Jesus challenged James and John to reflect on their own attitudes in following him in the Gospel passage Mk. 10:35-45. The great American theologian Stanley Hauerwas tells... Read more
The Gospel story of the rich young man is the story of someone who wanted to do good and avoid evil. When he went to Christ, he was not impressed hearing the commandments, with which he was already familiar. Christ does not condemn him for his decision to walk away, but the Gospel author makes sure to note that he “went away sad” (Mk. 10:22). If we do not rise to the occasion to live out the Gospel, we will... Read more
The people Jesus was addressing in the Gospel had a fixed mindset regarding marriage and divorce. We can fall into the same thing, holding on to the well-known – yet outdated – statistic that half of marriages end in divorce. The truth is much more nuanced. There are 86 divorces every hour, compared to 230 marriages an hour Marriage and divorce rates in the U.S. are decreasing for a range of reasons Estimates say 41% of first marriages will end... Read more
Do you believe that God wants you to be happy? Do you believe that the Church wants you to be happy? It seems like so often we look at God’s rules and the Church’s rules as an obstacle to our happiness. Meanwhile, it seems that the world is offering us pleasure without consequences. The Church tells us that this is a lie – and it really is one. The reality is quite the opposite. Growing up, I once had the... Read more
What place does ambition have in the life of a Christian? In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the main character struggles with his own desire to become king. He has to reflect on the nature of his deep emotional draw to the crown and his advisor, Rosencrantz tells him that “the very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream” (Guildenstern in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet). The tragedy of young Hamlet shows that ill-advised ambition can lead to ruin. Yet,... Read more
I have met many young people who want to grow deeper in their prayer life and at some point come across the liturgy of the hours, wondering if this might be a good way to get some more prayer time. However, they usually find it difficult to get started. Here are five things that you should know about praying the Liturgy of the Hours. Video on Youtube 1. Lots of Names One of the first disorienting facts is that we... Read more
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