Tag: Witness

Bearing Witness to Christ

Once there was a teenage boy who was not very religious; in spite of his mother’s best efforts and some friendly advice from his pastor, he did not want to come to church, read the Bible, pray, perform acts of Christian charity, or be publicly...

Pope Francis’ Support of Protests

On the day before Palm Sunday 2018, young people in the U.S. participated in a march in favor of gun control. The following day, Pope Francis delivered a sermon at the Vatican encouraging young people to speak out on issues they feel strongly about...

Placing God’s Will Ahead of Our Own

A young man in his late twenties told his pastor, “Father, I’ve started looking for another place to work.” “Really?” said the priest. “I thought you were happy with your position.” The young man explained, “Well, I was, but then something happened...

We’re Being Watched and Judged Every Day

A Christian baroness, after her noble husband died, moved from Europe to Nairobi, the capital of the African nation of Kenya. In setting up her household there, she hired a young Kenyan to be her houseboy. For three months he gave her excellent and...

Putting God’s Will First

About ten years ago a Muslim in Afghanistan named John was age 23, and married with a young son. John’s father, an important tribal chieftain and a leader in the Taliban terrorist group, sent John to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, so that...

The Sign of the Cross

I cannot remember how old I was when I learned to bless myself with the Sign of the Cross. My mother might have taught me or perhaps it was my first grade teacher, Sister Ellen Marie. It is startling to me over 65 years later that the Sign of the...

The Light of the World

Most of you have probably seen the famous painting of Jesus holding a lantern as evening falls, while knocking on a door, hoping to have it opened to Him. There’s no handle or doorknob on the door, for it represents the human heart—which can only be...

The 8th Sacrament

I must confess that saying grace before meals was never a common practice for me as a child or even while my wife and I raised our three children. Grace was something reserved for Christmas, Easter and family celebrations at home. My failure to make...