Once there was a priest—we’ll call him Father Smith—who heard that the neighboring Catholic parish had a newly-painted mural dedicated to the souls in purgatory; the pastor there commissioned it as a way of reminding his parishioners to pray on a...
Back in 2001 I was on a two-week pilgrimage in Italy, and it was a very enjoyable and spiritually rewarding time. There were twenty-five people in our group from all across the United States, and we were fortunate to have a very good guide...
The gift of faith includes mystery, which is so necessary when seeking God in positive or negative life situations. To focus on the light of God’s truth and the hope of heaven while walking through the shadows is an enormous blessing...
The palm-tree is called in Hebrew tarmr, and in Greek phœnix. It is a dioecious tree, and belongs to the natural order Palmaceae. The plants of this interesting family are characterized by their tall, usually unbranched stems; their pinnate or fan...
When we look at our lives, if we are honest, the vast majority of our time, the vast majority of our effort, and the vast majority of our resources are spent on earthly pursuits. The problem with that is that we have no lasting home here...
I had a friend who passed away this past week and have taken his death hard. I knew him for 65 years. As we aged, we both knew that father time would take its toll on us. For me, it was especially hard given that my friend was a person that had no...
…so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. (John 3: 15) This sentence, along with some others, can be easily misinterpreted to indicate that, as long as we believe in Christ Jesus, we will enjoy eternal life, i.e. we will be saved...
Some time ago a friend of mine—I’ll call him Ron—had a very moving spiritual experience; he wrote a description of it, which I’d like to read right now. He says: “A few years ago, before my parents passed away, I’d visit with them at a Catholic...
