St George’s Day is also the anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare. Do you know the mystery of Psalm 46? It goes like this: William Shakespeare was 46 years old the year the King James Version of the Bible was published. Get out your KJV (you good Catholics who don’t own one will have to borrow one from your Prot neighbors) Find Psalm 46. Count 46 words from the beginning. The word is ‘shake’. Count 46 words from the... Read more

St George–what a perfect patron for England. That noble land where chivalry and gentle manners prevailed! St George– a knight on a white charger! A knight prepared to lance the dragon to defend purity and the fair maiden! St George–more mythical and mystical than any other saint for a country more mythical and mystical than any other! All the sadder to see fair England dominated by dragons today. The dragon of drunkeness staggers across the land, spewing out fire from... Read more

Many years ago I had a neighbor who was a Jehovah’s Witness. This guy would always try to pull me into arguments about the Bible and the end times. He was a particularly joyless individual who always had a frown on his face, and never had anything good to say about anybody. After enduring yet another long rant from this guy I said, “You know what Bob? I’ll never convert to your religion. Do you know why?” “Why?” Bob asked.... Read more

I think I have met a good number of saints in my life. Some I can name: One was Mother Teresa. Two was an old lady named June. Three was her daughter. Four was an old priest named Richard and Five was a priest named John. Six was a young priest named James. When I call to mind there have been a good many others. Some have been old, some have been young, some Anglican, some Catholic. The distinguishing mark... Read more

I love the fact that the fathers of the Church load the daily Mass readings after Easter with the events at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles. Have you noticed how many of the stories are like symbolic little ‘resurrections’? When the apostles heal the lame man in the Beautiful Gate the whole story is crammed with resurrection symbols. The open tomb is the ‘Beautiful Gate’ from which life bursts. Jesus himself is ‘the Beautiful Gate’ into heaven.... Read more

A student asked me today how I knew that I had a vocation to the priesthood. Maybe it would help others to hear the story too; I was a student at Bob Jones University. In my sophomore year I had found my way to the Anglican Church, and I was praying about what I should do with my life. I can remember not having any idea what I was supposed to do, and I spent time on my knees asking... Read more

The Evangelical Catholic Institute in Wisconsin invited me to their annual conference last week. Their mission is: The EC’s vision is that the Catholic Church be experienced as a vibrant, evangelical movement. We work towards the renewal of individuals, campus ministries, and parishes through an emphasis on interior conversion, devotion to the Scriptures, formation in the habits of discipleship, intense Christian community, and a commitment to evangelization. Started as a mission to Catholic students at University of Wisconsin in Madison,... Read more

    Here goes: Chapter Ten Memes, Magicians and Manichees … On the third day he rose again… Some years ago there was an Anglican bishop who was asked his opinion about the Christian belief that Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the third day. The bishop said he believed in the resurrection, but not in any crude physical way. “The resurrection”, he stated, “was not a conjuring trick with bones.” What many people did not notice at the... Read more

In the reliquary on the left you can see the finger bone of St Thomas the Apostle. On this day when the gospel recounts the story of his challenge to ‘put my fingers in the nail prints’ it’s sweet to see that the finger in question has been preserved as an everlasting memorial to the victory of resurrection over doubt. The relic (along with a portion from the pillar where Christ was flogged in the center and two thorns from... Read more

What gives your life focus and direction? Death. Without faith, everything the natural man thinks, says and does is conditioned by the fact of death. In the face of our ultimate death we are, by default, either Epicureans or Stoics. The first face death and determine to gather from this life what little morsels of comfort and pleasure that can be had. In the face of death the second type of person creates whatever meaning for his little life he... Read more