Last week I shared some thoughts on why it is important for us to read the Bible (see “Have You Read From the Bible Lately?”). Today I would like to offer some thoughts about which Bible we use. Which Bible? Is there more than one? In the sense of the Bible as inspired by God …
5th Sunday of Easter, Year AActs 6:1-7Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19 (22)1 Peter 2:4-9John 14:1-12May 10, 2020 Today’s gospel is a familiar one to many, at least the first half. The first six verses are often chosen as the gospel reading at funerals. In that setting, our hearts are troubled because we have lost a loved …
As we find ourselves in isolation from the Coronavirus, how are you doing with your faith? Are you struggling? That’s understandable since we can’t gather together for the Eucharist. Some are finding their faith stronger (see article – “Polls Show Faith is Getting Americans Through the Coronavirus”). As we look for ways to strengthen our …
Last night was the final presentation in my series, Sacraments: Channels of God’s Grace, We covered the Sacraments of Service, Marriage and Holy Orders. We are still under the Coronavirus shutdown so there was no in-person presentation. Instead, we did as a live webinar on Zoom. I am grateful that all went well for the …
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You may have heard the term “Cafeteria Catholic” (Protestants would say Cafeteria Christian) and wondered what it means. We go to a restaurant and order what we want. If we don’t like something, we don’t have it. The strongest example of this might be a buffet. You can pick and choose everything you eat. It’s …
As Catholics we have many rites for how we do things. For instance, we have specific rubrics as to how we celebrate Mass (see “The Roman Catholic Mass Explained”). We have particular rites for every Sacrament. It is important for us to know how we do our rites. The same is true for devotions like …
4th Sunday of Easter, Year AActs 2:14a, 36-41Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6, (1)1 Peter 2:20b-25John 10:1-10May 3, 2020 Today is the Fourth Sunday of Easter. Every year on the Fourth Sunday of Easter we read from the Good Shepherd discourse in chapter 10 of John’s Gospel. Thus, today is also called Good Shepherd Sunday. In …
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Earlier this week I wrote a blog article, “Silence, How Much and When” where I talked about silence in private prayer as well as silence at Mass. Now, I would like to discuss how silence at Mass needs to be balanced against other considerations. Specifically, today I am writing about silence before Mass. I like …
The Coronavirus shutdown continues. Some states are beginning to lift restrictions. New York State, where I live, continues under shutdown. We are now around the six week mark. Of course, the challenges caused by the pandemic started before we actually shutdown. We had started social distancing and the shelves in the grocery stores went bare …
