Christmas is just around the corner. Despite the holiday-themed TV ads that began in early November and the radio stations that started playing Christmas music around the same time, it’s possible you may have missed it. As a friend of mine observed, “Christmas seems to come earlier every year.” If the crass commercialization of the […]
To this point, we’ve talked about chastity, about getting fit, about developing a work ethic and about perseverance — all oriented toward actions you can take to improve your future. But what if your past is holding you back? I mean, what if you’ve totally blown it? Is there a way to start over, or […]
“But it does make a difference if you hurt your friend terribly, risking his eternal ruin! When you hurt your friend, you hurt Christ. A free meal here and there isn’t worth it at the cost of even one of these “weak ones.” So, never go to these idol-tainted meals if there’s any chance it […]
“The best argument for Christianity is Christians: their joy, their certainty, their completeness. But the strongest argument against Christianity is also Christians–when they are sombre and joyless, when they are self-righteous and smug in complacent consecration, when they are narrow and repressive, then Christianity dies a thousand deaths.” – Sheldon Vanauken, A Severe Mercy As […]
” But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.“ -1 Corinthians 8:9 I don’t normally comment on news and current events, as I prefer to write about topics that have some staying power. Even though the mass shooting in Charleston, SC, last week dominates the […]
“The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” -Mark Twain Perhaps you’ve heard or read a news item on the findings of a new report on religion in America published by the Pew Research Center. The link to America’s Changing Religious Landscape appears here. The main point reported is that the number of Americans […]
“It’s not a shame to have roaches — it’s a shame to feed ’em!” -my mom In honor of Mothers Day, I want to share a few thoughts about my mom. We live two states apart so I don’t see her as often as either of us would like, but we are still quite close. […]
“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant […]
Merry Christmas! While we celebrate the incarnation of Christ Jesus, I want to ask you to consider the example of a man who was indispensable to the Christmas story — Joseph the carpenter. When we first meet Joseph in the Bible, he is defined in terms of his relationships — as the son of his […]
Christmas is just around the corner. Despite the holiday-themed tv ads that began in early November and the radio stations that started playing Christmas music around the same time, it’s possible you may have missed it. As a friend of mine observed, “Christmas seems to come earlier every year.” If the crass commercialization of the […]
