Last Saturday I read a news story (Sarah Maddox, “Why thousands of U.S. congregations are leaving the United Methodist Church.” September 9, 2023. CBSnews.com.). You may remember that in 2019, the United Methodist Church held a conference that discussed same-sex relationships. Since then there have been whole congregations that have left the United Methodist Church …
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Some people love change. I’m not one of them but I do believe some change is natural and not necessarily something to be feared. Change can be good. There is change we seek. It might starting a new job that we very much want. It might be starting a new relationship with a wonderful person. …
The national and world news has been a little different in the last week or two. First, I would like to mention the situation in Niger. Where is Niger? It’s in Africa. What happened? There was a coup by the military to take over from the democratically elected government. You might say why does that …
Last week the United States Supreme Court issued decisions on two cases involving religious freedom. The first case was 303 Creative vs. Elenis (see Kevin J. Jones, “Supreme Court sides with web designer opposed to same-sex marriage” Catholic News Agency. June 30, 2023 online at https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254692/supreme-court-state-laws-can-can-t). In this case, Lorie, Smith, a web designer had …
The right to choose one’s religion is a basic human right. Yet Christians (and people of other religions) have faced persecution since Jesus Christ walked on this earth. Jesus himself was persecuted. Until Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 313 A.D., Christians faced repeated persecution, even death. The Edict of Milan legalized Christianity. …
I write this during the second week of our Easter season. It is a season of resurrection. Thus, it is a season of life. If we are to enter into eternal life in the resurrection, we must first be good custodians of life in this world. After all, Jesus says, “His master said to him, …
Last week I wrote about how our lives can be superficial (“We Need to Look Into Our Hearts”). Today I would like to talk about how being superficial relates to problems in the world today. It starts with the question that if we are superficial, without depth, do we have a sense of right and …
I’ve been hearing in the news lately about anti-Semitic comments. I do not know why there is a rise in these comments. The Jews as a group were stereotyped by Catholics as bad for a long time. In the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke it is the Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes who get the …
In the past I have written about the importance of following the news to know what is going on in the world. I have also written about how the news can be discouraging (see the articles under the category “In the News” on my blog).. At times, I look to the news for inspiration for …
As I have been looking for topics for new articles for this blog, the topic of who can receive Communion in the Catholic Church has been in the news. In the news it involves politicians. I am not going to talk about politicians or any other particular individual receiving Communion. Today I would like to …
