Fr Joseph EsperChances are you’ve heard of the famous Passion Play of Oberammergau in Germany. Back in 1633, one hundred villagers died in an epidemic of the bubonic plague, and the people vowed that if God would spare the rest of them, they would reenact the...
Deacon Donald CoxIn the past, I ministered at one of the prisons in Michigan. In that experience, I learned that there are basically two types of inmates. There are those who will benefit from the experience, take advantage of the counseling opportunities that are...
Fr Dino VaninHow should we handle those stubborn, relentless, pesky distractions that seem to spoil our prayer time and fill us with mounting frustration? The first thing that can be said about this thorny and troubling topic is that it is affecting every single...
In this reflection on prayer I will attempt to describe private forms of prayers that are better designed to create the spiritual environment in which God reveals to us who we are, vis-à-vis who we are not; where we truly stand in relation to him...
The word “liturgy” refers to the work of someone on behalf of the people. In our case, it refers to our collective effort to be sustained by the Source of life in all components of our being, especially our mind, heart, body and soul. This work...
Deacon Gregory WebsterOn a recent Saturday night my family and I, along with 75,000 friends, went to the “Stroll on State” event in Rockford, Illinois. It was the city’s opening festivity for the Christmas season. For this event, the city shuts down its main stretch on...
The first thing I need to point out about prayer is its absolute necessity to sustain us as living and operative members of the Body of Christ. “Pray without ceasing.” (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:17) This terse order from God tells it all. We need prayer...
A doctor—we’ll call him Dr. Anderson—had an appointment each Monday afternoon with an elderly woman named Mrs. Gonzales. She was eighty years old and in the last stage of breast cancer. No further treatment would be helpful to her, so Dr. Anderson...
It is useful to start by recalling the incident in which an expert of the law asked Jesus about the greatest commandment; and how Jesus answered by pointing out that there were actually two: “to love our God with our total self and to love our...
I read the other day about a guy who noticed that whenever he reads Scripture and recognizes a passage, he quickly moves on without reading it. He realized that he was missing the nuances of the reading and promised to break this habit. This notion...