When I was a high school chaplain I had a set of parents fix an appointment to see me. They turned up on time. Dad was a moderately successful business man. Mom was well turned out. Just proper. Nice and tidy neat and together suburban Protestant couple who had chosen to sent their tenth grader to Catholic school. The kid had got himself into a spot of trouble the year before and they thought it would do him some good... Read more

How is the gospel best spread? By talking about how the faith has changed you. It is by telling faith stories. It is by sharing the amazing, simple and real experiences of the faith. It is talking about wave walking. Sherry Weddell emphasizes this in her important book Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus. What is a “faith story”? Here’s one I shared earlier this week–the story of my visit to a man’s deathbed and the transformation... Read more

One of the sweet things about being a priest is being able to minister at a person’s deathbed. The veil between this world and the next is very thin at that point, and you can see so much. When I say you can “see” so much what I mean is that so much is revealed. At that point the person who is dying is usually very vulnerable and open. Their worldly facade is fading. Their accomplishments and pride are forgotten.... Read more

If any off the cuff remark is ever destined to haunt the undisciplined public figure who let it fly it will be Pope Francis’ now famous comment about a homosexual–“Who am I to judge?” So an American state legislator quotes the pope to argue for same sex marriage, and now Catholic high school students are using the pope’s comments to campaign for the re-instatement of a homosexual teacher who was fired because he “married” another man. Warren Blumenfeld writes about... Read more

Sorry I have been away from the blog for a few days. Things have been busy in the parish–busy good with detailed design drawings for the new church completed this week. I also had an invitation to Rome later this month for a conference on Evangelization in the Media, so I’ve had to get that trip ready. Busy at home and school too. Here is my latest article for National Catholic Register commenting on Pope Francis’ criticisms of both Trendies... Read more

Where did the Magi come from? The usual answer is from Persia. They are identified with a caste of Zoroastrian astrologers and philosophers known to be active in Persia from the sixth century BC. The term “magi” is derived from the Greek magos which in  turn was derived from the Persian term for the philosopher-astrologer-priests. They were active during the empire of the Medes. But did the wise men really come from Persia? I’m increasingly interested in the idea that... Read more

Today on the way home from Mass I stopped at Krispy Kreme for a dozen donuts. I’m wearing my cassock and Benedictine scapular. Here’s what happened. First guy I see is about thirty. Hospital scrubs. He says, “What church are you?” “Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church.” “I’m the son of two Lutheran pastors.” “I can help you with that if you like…” Laughs. ” I really like the new pope.” “Me too. What do you do. Doctor, Nurse?”... Read more

Here is a treat for you: a recording from the BBC of T.S.Eliot reading his poem, The Journey of the Magi.  This was one of the first of Eliot’s poems I encountered, and I have loved it since. I especially like the way he uses various imagery from the gospels to load the poem with a mysterious level of meaning–pointing us to a contemplation of the deeper meanings–meanings that have yet to be revealed. “Feet kicking empty wineskins”, “Six hands dicing... Read more

Joseph Pearce writes here on the nightmare of nihilism and the false promise of progressivism. This spiritual entropy, which theologians prefer to call Original Sin, is a via media[5] between the fallacy of progressive optimism, otherwise known as the ascent of man, and the opposing fallacy of nihilistic pessimism, which could be called man’s descent. “One class of popular writers are perpetually telling us that the world has always been growing better and better,” wrote Chesterton; “others, rather less popular, that... Read more

The Obamastate has told the Little Sisters of the Poor that they should just go ahead and sign the waiver form by which they authorize someone else to pay for contraceptives and sterilization. “Come along now sisters, it’s just a piece of paper. With one little signature you will have the exemption you want! What’s the big deal?” Thus the report here. Where have we heard this before? Henry VIII and the Act of Supremacy. In November 1534 the English... Read more