Genealogy has been on my mind a lot the past few months. Isn’t it fascinating that so many people had to be involved for each of us to exist? I mean, with exponential growth, you only have to go back seven generations to have 128 people. Each of those individuals had to make the decisions that they made in order to lead to you! Every one of the thousands of ancestors before you has played an important role in your life... Read more
This August we have two full moons – a reminder that we celebrate Mary, who like the moon points us to the Sun. There may not be any secular holidays in August, but for Catholics this month is full of celebrating. In addition to a full lineup of Saints (starting with Alphonsus Liguori), it is also a month that we celebrate Mary – twice! How convenient, that August has two full moons, and the second will be what they call... Read more
A couple weeks ago, I reflected on how the Lord’s Prayer hinges on forgiveness. This week, in honor of the Feast of Saint Alphonsus de Liguori (August 1st), I’d like to pause to think about the line, “Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven” (Matt. 6:10). St. Alphonsus de Liguori St. Alphonsus de Liguori was an incredible man. He was a gifted mind that gave up his life as a lawyer to serve the Church. He... Read more
Reflecting on the day of his wedding, a good friend of mine stood up at the reception and gave this speech: “This must be what Heaven feels like, because this is the only time this side of Heaven that so many of our friends and family who love us will be all in one place together.” I have shared this with friends who have gotten married since, and they have agreed. Then I gave the same speech at my wedding.... Read more
“As we forgive those who trespass against us.” The One Condition in the Lord’s Prayer Of all the lines in the Lord’s Prayer, this is the only conditional statement. That should say something to us. Of course, every line of the prayer given to us by God Himself is important. We have an address (Our Father), statement of fact (hallowed be Thy name), or requests (daily bread, deliver us from evil); but lately I’ve been thinking about this condition. It... Read more
Faith is like a language. It helps us to understand and express our love, gratitude, apologies, or requests to God. Like any other language, it is important to learn and to teach to our children. Why is it Important to Teach Language to Children? I have heard it said: “When I have kids, I will let them choose what religion they want to be.” There is something that concerns me about this concept though. It will deprive the child of... Read more
World population right now is over 8 Billion! For some reason I remember more talk leading up to 7 billion. It seemed like a bigger deal. Was less going on in 2011 than 2022? Is there less concern and fear around population today as we learn about what we can overcome? Or is it something else? Despite being surrounded by major cities, my hometown in CT felt surprisingly remote. Now that I’ve moved to central KS, it seems even more... Read more
It’s been a big week. Loving Others The kids got a little sick – while visiting family across the country. While I was praying for all of the family, and especially the little ones, I decided to look ahead at the readings for this Sunday’s Mass. It can be hard to focus on Sunday with the kids, so I thought it’d be nice to pre-read and think of them. Starting with the Gospel to get a theme, the first words... Read more
We’ve mentioned before that the Liturgy and Eucharist are the source and summit of the faith. Carrying out the analogy, what does that mean for us? The Mountain If the source of faith is water flowing out of the source and summit of the mountain, it flows down to the world around it. We want to be living on that mountain, within reach of the lifegiving faith. Source and Summit Adam Bartlett, of Source and Summit has used this image... Read more
Growing up, I never learned about Buddha, Buddhism, or the daily life of Buddhists beyond basic knowledge and seeing the occasional statue in a gift shop. One high school class on “India and Southeast Asia” covered the topic for a week or so, but I have never had a desire to truly investigate Eastern philosophies outside of basic awareness. I don’t think I shied away from Buddha out of fear of being swayed. Rather, I didn’t feel a need for... Read more
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