One day, an expert of the law asked Jesus about the greatest commandment; and Jesus answered by pointing out that there were actually two: “to love God with our total self and to love our neighbor as ourselves.” He also added that the second was...
I grew up on a farm, and so the Gospel verses from Matthew (13:1-23) about a farmer sowing seed brings back certain memories and reflections. My father, his three brothers, and one of his brothers-in-law, were all farmers in southeast Michigan, and...
On the 5th Sunday of Easter, as a Community of Faith, today we go over Jesus’ farewell speech, the words he spoke the night before his death (John 14: 1-12). They are words of comfort, among the best ever spoken by a friend to his friends. But they...
One of the greatest movies ever made was Cecile B. DeMille’s 1956 epic The Ten Commandments, with the actor Yul Brynner portraying the Egyptian Pharaoh, and the native Michigander Charlton Heston as Moses. Heston’s deep and melodious voice was...
As I have pointed out many times before, there is a basic difference between faith and religion. In a nutshell: people of religion spend their life looking for a Deity who is convenient and who can grant them what they request of him according to...
There was a famous American painter over 100 years ago named John Singer Sargent. He spent much of his life in London, England; there he became famous for painting flattering and heroic-looking portraits of important figures in English society...
On October 24, 1993, a large advertising agency launched one of the most influential advertising campaigns of all time. Its client was the California Milk Processor Board. With the use of just two words (Got Milk?) and images of numerous celebrities...
The longest-serving Pope in the Church’s almost 2000-year history was Pius IX, who reigned for almost 32 years, from 1846-1878. It was he who solemnly defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception: namely, that Mary was conceived in her mother’s...
