Near Death Experiences remind us of the other side, and of the reality of resurrection and life. Read more

I answered the door to a girl in her mid twenties who looked like an old woman. She was bent over in pain and her face was a contorted mask of agony. Tracey came to me in an act of desperation hoping I could help. She complained of chronic, searing abdominal pain. I invited her in and began to ask a few questions. The pain was intense and the doctors were baffled. Tracey had to quit her job. The pain... Read more

The reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the tomb must remain the cornerstone of any apologetic for the Christian faith. Time and again we must challenge unbelievers or agnostics to honestly examine the evidence we have for the resurrection. There are a good number of up to date and clearly written books on the topic, but this article provides a good, short summary. One of the key arguments against the evidence of the New Testament itself is that... Read more

Either Jesus Christ rose from the dead or he didn’t. If he didn’t there are only four options: The whole thing is a made up story The disciples made an honest mistake Jesus didn’t really die Jesus died, but something else happened to his body. The whole thing is a fiction: In this group are the academics who think the early Christians like the pagan stories of gods dying and rising and decided to adopt them and adapt them for... Read more

“What I don’t understand” said my friend, “is how you think the criminal’s death of one man two thousand years ago has anything to do with you, or me or anybody living here and now.” At first it seems like a sensible enough question. We see billboards saying “Christ died for you.” or we hear slogans like, “Jesus died to save you from your sins.” For the ordinary person on the street in individualistic, relativistic twenty first century America what... Read more

We usually think the command “Love your enemy” is an order to suppress our emotions of dislike and then pretend to like the other person, or at least be nice and polite. That’s okay, but it’s an immature response. Sort of like– after a spat on the playground the teacher says, “Now I want you two boys to be friends from now on! Go on. I want to see you shake hands!” So you shake hands, scowling all the time... Read more

Yesterday I was at our cathedral with the other priests in the diocese for the Chrism Mass. It is rare that I am able to be at Mass without celebrating and preaching, so for once I sat and observed and simply took in the ceremony and took time to pray and worship and thank God for the Catholic Church. As I did, it came to me just how much the Catholic Church has to offer not just Catholics, and not... Read more

“But Father, the Mass is like the Last Supper when we all gather around Jesus in a fellowship meal! That’s why the priest should face the people–because it’s like we’re all sitting around the family dinner table with Jesus.” It’s easy to see how this thinking came about, and within the “spirit of Vatican 2” it’s not hard to draw the conclusion that the Mass is essentially a fellowship meal and a re-enactment of the Last Supper. However, this is... Read more