Why the stigma? It was the start of another day. A rare snowfall happened at my home in Tucson, AZ the night before. It was cold and a strange white substance (snow) was on the ground. At the time I worked about 70 miles from home. On the way I hit black ice and I rolled my vehicle about 3 times while going 55 miles per hour. I was able to climb out of the vehicle and was unaware of... Read more
Biblical Passages Some claim that the doctrine of the Eucharist is not found in scripture, but this outlook is an indication of one reading the biblical text through a denominational lens. The last supper narratives all describe Jesus as saying “this is my body, this is my blood” in Matthew 26:17-30, Mark 14:12-25, Luke 22:7-20, and John 13:1-30. St. Paul also writes about the body and blood of Christ in the breaking of bread in 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 and 1... Read more
Though we celebrate the liturgy of the Eucharist everyday at Mass, there is a tendency to get complacent. This seems to be our human nature, because if we do something enough we tend to go through the motions. We have all been forced to take a step back and take a moment to remember what an awesome gift the Eucharist is. With this in mind I want to take a brief look and see what scripture and the early church... Read more
In the Gospels we see many instances in which our Lord commands His disciples to evangelize. One such instance is known as the Great Commission. It occurs at the end of Matthew’s Gospel and states, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close... Read more
On my journey into the Catholic church there were three things that had the potential to derail me. Mary, Mary, and Mary. One of the objections I had, which sprang from my Baptist days, was the title of Mother of God for Mary. After all God is eternal and has always existed. That title, at least in my mind back then, meant that somehow Mary was exalted to a deified state in which she surely didn’t belong. How can a... Read more
Before entering the Catholic church, I had a lot of misconceptions about what Catholicism was. I am not the only one that had these misconceptions, and these misconceptions are still ongoing for many people. There is a very vivid memory I have of the day I made myself a challenge. At the time I was Baptist and very passionate. I wanted to show that the Catholic church could not be the church founded by Christ. I wanted to show that... Read more
Depending on the kind of suffering involved it is hard to see the light that it can bring. That light at the end of the tunnel seems distant. When St. Paul was writing to the church in Philippi he was writing to reassure them. He wants to encourage them to continue in the faith. The Suffering Evangelist The church founder was arrested, and it was well known that Christians were heavily persecuted in Rome. To see this clearly a closer... Read more
Maybe it is just me, but there seems to be an uptick in criticism in online exchanges. There is a time for criticism, but there is also a time for charity. Perhaps it is because everyone is staying home with no other way to expend energy and stress. Let’s be honest…this has been happening for quite some time. Especially when it comes to politics. Pray for Leaders There is no doubt that we are to hold our leaders accountable for... Read more
Thomas Aquinas is known as one of the greatest thinkers in the history of the church. He was a prolific writer, and writings are still widely read today. When it comes to Christology Aquinas had a lot to say, and his writings on Christology can be read in the third part of his Summa Theologica and his Commentary on Matthew. Aquinas on the Incarnation His view on the incarnation was different because he assumed its necessity was hypothetical. This does... Read more
I was once a freemason. Freemasonry was something I became interested in when I wasn’t taking my faith seriously. It offered something I had been looking for such as friendship, a social life, and of course the teachings were interesting. However, when I started taking the faith seriously, I realized that freemasonry just is not compatible with the Catholic faith. Freemasonry has Always Been Banned by the Church On March 26 I had the opportunity to appear on Gary Michuta’s Hands... Read more
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