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My thoughts on the Synod thus far
There has been much ink spilled — good and bad, astute and sloppy — on the Synod these days. Part of me feels like we’re back in 1963 and relying on Xavier Rynne to tell us what the Church teaches....
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why ashes?
What is it about Ash Wednesday that gets people more excited than they get for Mass any other day? I’m conflicted about this. I have been reading a lot about parish renewal and missionary evangelism,...
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Your thoughts
Okay, peeps. I know you’re out there, and I know you’re reading my blog. But I rarely get comments. I don’t take it personally, although I do occasionally wonder why some blogs get oodles of comments...
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thoughts – take two
I’m very grateful for all the input I received in response to my request last week, whether it came through comments, emails, or personal conversations. As I read over everyone’s thoughts, one...
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Statement from Bishop Choby
(It’s an honor to work for this man.) June 26, 2015 Friday morning’s announcement of the Supreme Court’s decision to require all states to license and witness “same-sex” unions as well as affirm and...
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More than a Venue
I recently had someone ask me, “What’s the least you have to do to get married in the Church?” When I spoke to another person who works for a church, she said she gets that question all the time. My...
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My Hope for Next Week
Last night, the women’s prayer group I belong to began discussing the preparatory catechesis that was prepared for next week’s World Meeting of Families. I don’t know how many people are aware of it,...
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We will be their Gospel
One of my first sights at the World Meeting of Families this morning was the News 10 crew interviewing two nice older women. As I walked to get out of the shot (not wanting to be that millennial on...
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Division and hatred
Today’s Gospel is one of those passages that seems to contradict the picture of Jesus we might have painted in our minds. “Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell...
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Fact-Checking What You Hear
Several months ago, I did a YouTube video about fact-checking what you hear about Pope Francis. It was the first YouTube video of its kind that I did, and perhaps someday I’ll look back and laugh at...
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Why I’m not reading Amoris Laetitia…
…today. I will read it. From what I’ve read about it and the snippets I’ve seen, there are very beautiful, affirming, moving, and pastoral sections of it. But it’s long. Very long. My first instinct...
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When I am “the Church”
What is the Church? Perhaps I used to think that question had an easy answer. But even flipping open the Catechism will give you several different images, definitions, and nuances. It’s something...
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Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher
There’s an unassuming little memorial just northwest of the Tower of London, often missed by tourists because of the large World War I and II naval memorials that stand directly adjacent. The memorial...
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St. John the Baptist
“A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord.” Isaiah 40:3 Today we celebrate the feast of the birth of John the Baptist, the precursor to the Messiah. John heralded the coming of...
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St. Cyril of Alexandria
Today’s saint lived a generation after the Roman persecution of the Church had ceased. (Stay tuned in the next few days to hear more about that persecution.) He lived at a time when the Church was...
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St. Irenaeus
As we have seen thus far, difficult situations in the Church and the world have been occasions for God to raise up great saints. When we are in need of certain gifts, whether it is the logic of Thomas...
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The First Martyrs of the Church of Rome
Today we celebrate the feast of the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome, which officially commemorates the martyrs killed under the Emperor Nero (54-68). Fittingly, their feast is celebrated the day...
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Bl. PierGiorgio Frassati
Two hundred and forty years ago, on July 2, about 50 men gathered in Philadelphia and voted to declare independence from the British Crown. Two days later, the men approved a document called The...
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