In the year 1963, it is safe to say most people felt a general anxiety about the future of humanity. With the looming threat of nuclear war, people all over the globe sought reasons to continue to hope for peace, even though the obstacles seemed insurmountable. So many people today are unable to find peace because fear overwhelms them. They are afraid of losing their job, or of getting sick, or of political upheaval. Fear is a powerful emotion and... Read more
Life can easily feel overwhelming. Most of us find powerlessness distressing and want to feel like we are always in control. It can be disconcerting when we find ourselves in a situation that is far beyond our capability to handle. Navigating the complexities of life and finding practical solutions to our problems can often feel like an exercise in futility. Nevertheless, we can always find hope, and we can devise a strategy that helps us to feel less overwhelmed. We... Read more
Most of us have times when it’s hard to pray. In this article, I want to share some tips that I learned from running that help me pray when I don’t feel like it. Praying is like Running During COVID, I discovered running with the Nike Run Club app. It was very helpful and motivating to have a virtual coach “in my ear” as I confronted this new world of running. I am a runner–at least, that is what Coach... Read more
Thermodynamics is a branch of physics which deals with the energy and work of a system. Thermodynamics deals only with the large-scale response of a system which we can observe and measure in experiments. In aerodynamics, the thermodynamics of a gas obviously plays an important role in the analysis of propulsion systems (NASA, “Second Law – Entropy”). As we see in the law of entropy, absolutely everything in this world tends towards disorder. This happens in the universe at both macroscopic and microscopic... Read more
What is missing in the Church? Pope Francis suggested something we might not expect this Holy Thursday. Each year on Holy Thursday, the bishop of the diocese gets together with his priests for the Chrism Mass. For practical and pastoral reasons, this mass is often moved to earlier in the week, as happened on Monday this week at the cathedral in Los Angeles. It is a telling moment to know the heart of the pastor. Pope Francis had a special... Read more
Suffering is part of life. Learning to unite this suffering to Christ helps us become cooperators in his redemptive work and helps to stave off despair. Despair is the absolute extreme of self-love. It is reached when a person deliberately turns his back on all help from anyone else in order to taste the rotten luxury of knowing himself to be lost (Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation). If you are ever feeling down or discouraged as a Christian, look... Read more
Often, it can be excruciatingly difficult to find meaning in our suffering. This was no different for Victor Frankl, who was a Jew consigned to one of Hitler’s death camps during World War II. Frankl was also a psychologist and his experience of countless horrors during those years led him to believe that man does not have to view suffering as meaningless. If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering... Read more
Palm Sunday pulls us into a new stage of Lent: Holy Week. Our liturgy this week highlights the disparity between our world and a true Christian society. We are pulled between the allure of a Spring Break mentality and the long-standing traditions of contemplating the suffering and death of our Lord. When we see Jesus going up into Jerusalem, we can think of our spiritual lives as well as a certain “going up the mountain.” Going Up the Mountain Mount... Read more
The Mass is a mystery. The word “mystery” comes from two Greek words meaning “to shut the mouth.” When we experience mystery, we must stand silent because we cannot explain it fully. Some people like to heighten the sense of mystery in the liturgy, as evidenced by an increase of interest in the Mass celebrated in Latin. The melodious beauty of the language helps to shroud the whole celebration in mystery. Others reject the mystery and do everything possible to... Read more
Holy Week is about contemplating and sharing the suffering of Jesus. We do not do this as an exercise in masochism, but as an expression of our love for the one who loved us first. In a world so hyper-focused on comfort and pleasure, it feels counter-cultural to turn our gaze to suffering. Yet, if we want to appreciate fully what our Lord did to save us, we must undertake this, no matter how demanding it may prove. Sad During... Read more
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