Sometimes it does feel like God is far away. It feels like prayers are unheard and reading the Bible feels unfulfilling. But is God really far away? And if not, why do we all experience a feeling of distance sometimes? The answer to overcoming a perceived distance is to remember that it is based on  Read more …

GO OUT INTO THE DEEP In today’s liturgy, the Gospel according to Luke presents the story of the call of the first disciples, with an original version that differs from that of the other two Synoptic Gospels, Matthew and Mark (cf. Mt 4: 18-22; Mk 1:16-20). The call, in fact, was preceded by the teaching  Read more …

It’s normal to worry from time to time. Given life’s many unknowns and challenges, worry could be considered a natural response to many situations. But chronic and all-consuming worry can be troublesome and interfere with our ability to function freely and calmly in our daily lives. More importantly, problem worry can make faith in God  Read more …

A Blessed Nation Tuesday, July 4, we celebrate the birth of a novus ordo seclorum – a “new order of the ages,” the American Era. God has blessed our nation with resources, power, beauty and the rule of law. We have so much to be grateful for. But these are gifts. They can be misused. They  Read more …

Dealing with Loss This Sunday’s gospel is the “parable of the loss”; the lost sheep and the lost coin. In fact, this text is one of sorrow and misery, recounting for us the pitiful state of a man and a woman who, having lost what they once had, are looking … What happens when the  Read more …

Forgive and be merciful That may be your best gift on this Father’s Day weekend. Forgiveness is the only thing that is new. The world contains only one thing that is truly novel, forgiveness. Everything else is an old tape repeating itself endlessly over and over again. There is normally only one song that gets  Read more …

Our lives on earth are temporary. Where do we go after our earthly sojourn? Jesus answers: to Heaven or to Hell depending on how you lived. In this Sunday’s gospel, the story of Lazarus and the rich man, Jesus teaches us that Heaven and Hell are both real, literal places. Sadly, many Christians shy away  Read more …

Eucharist: The most cherished Gift We celebrate the body and blood of Christ not as isolated objects of adoration but as food and drink, like the manna in the desert and the water brought forth from a rock. Jesus makes it very clear how we are to approach his body and blood: “If you do  Read more …

The word “Rogation” comes from the Latin verb rogare, meaning “to ask” , which reflects the beseeching of God for the appeasement of his anger and for protection from calamities . “Rogation” means “asking”, which is a theme particularly prominent in the Gospel text for this Sunday (St. John 16:23-33). We call this Sunday “Rogation  Read more …

GOD our Mother “As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you.” (Isaiah 66:13) On this Mothers’ Day, I invite you to reflect upon one of the sweetest and tenderest pictures of the character of God. That revelation is not made in the New Testament, but in the Old Testament prophecy of Isaiah  Read more …