historical research
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This week I ask that we pray faithfully for more vocations to the priesthood. We have heard calls for these prayers for a long time, but if one stops to think about how crucial priests are in our faith, and look at their declining numbers, we will acknowledge the urgent need to pray that more…
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How do you know Jesus? As a historical figure of the past, or do you also know Him with your heart? Pope Benedict (2009, chapter 7) explains, using St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians (5:16), that there are two ways to know Jesus. We may know Him from a human point of view and…
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We are all familiar with the sign of peace offered to those sitting around us right before communion. Before COVID-19 we typically would offer a handshake, but today it is more likely a nod, a fist bump, or a peace sign. We might still offer a kiss or handshake to close relatives. I’ve wondered how…
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The Bread of Life is one of the the most prominent of Jesus’ figurative expressions of himself for it is about the Eucharist, which the Church recognizes as “the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself” (CCC 1324). Yet, in an earlier post I wrote that a 2022 study suggests that only 2/3…
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Let us all pray for America on the 250th anniversary of her founding. I don’t think any of us would disagree that there is so much division among her people at this time. Abraham Lincoln said on June 16, 1858 “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” I pray that we would live as founding…
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During my adolescent and teenage years I attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church and admired the beautiful image of the Blessed Mother and Jesus behind the altar in our church. It seemed to cover almost the entire wall behind the altar. I never understood the meaning and symbolism behind it, but I often picture…