Petersboat

We become addicted to something when we give ourselves to it instead of what is being given to us by God. The word tradition refers to what God is trying to give us. I think it an important distinction, because we can not save ourselves by our own efforts, not matter what we give ourselves to, but only by what is being given to us by God, all of which are His ways of sending His Son, Jesus, to us.

When he gave the blessing, after praying the Rosary, I wept. That's when the cleansing of my temple really began.

It's a dad-joke-style play on words, I know. A bit click-batey. But I thought it interesting to consider how the devil is causing us to abuse dopamine to the point of creating a resistance in ourselves to the theological virtue of Hope.

A meditation on the readings from today's Mass. It's about the connection between electric vehicle range anxiety (the fear of running out of juice) and the how that can lead us in the spiritual life to be like the Pharisees and Scholars who seemed, in their own ways, to lose trust in God, to suffer a kind of spiritual range anxiety.

This is a recording of a conversation I had with Allie and Mary at the doorway to the church following Daily Mass today. We recorded it with the hopes of inviting you to listen in. I do hope you enjoy and find it helpful in coming to know yourself as one who is beloved of the Father.

A short reflection originally prepared for our Faith Formation students for the month of October, shared here for the parish. Part One considers why we pray; Part Two looks specifically at the Glory Be.

His mother named him Peter John, after each of his grandfathers, PJ for short. But whenever he would cry his mother would give him to her father, Mr. Fulton, to walk him. The townspeople called him “Fulton’s child” so often that the name stuck. He later took it to himself: Fulton J. Sheen. I first learned of Bishop Sheen when Father McDonald gave me audio CDs of his radio talks, but the world knew...

A brief reflection on the meaning of the Sabbath and how taking refuge in it is like entering into new life with God, even now.

This episode offers a way of looking through the lens of Mother Teresa (whose Feast Day is today) at the people in our lives who need us or who ask something from us. Could it be Christ in them...longing for us?

If the Word of God is spoken most powerfully from mother to child over the Baptismal Font, or through the priest over the bread and wine, then the Church speaks the tiny whispering sound that Elijah heard in the desert - the still, small voice of God.

When the Muppets come to understand that they are puppets, something amazing is happening, as mysterious as when a man or woman begins to perceive the meaning of our common humanity.

Sometimes my father would say to me, “Don’t move. I’ll be right there,” and he’d directly intervene to save me from some situation. But other times, he would say to me, “Figure it out on your own.” For instance, when I broke my arm in the 6th grade he rushed me to the hospital, acting powerfully and swiftly on my behalf. But not long after that, when I told him that I was being bullied on the bus,...

I mentioned Game 4 of the NBA Finals, when, after the Knicks had gone up by one point (after being down by 29) the Spurs inbounded the ball with 1.9 seconds left on the clock. The prayer at that point was, “Just don’t foul them.” And I feel like there’s something similar happening in our Christianity: Christ has won the victory for us, conquering the Evil One on the cross, and His parting prayer f...

Many people today are reaching out for God in a proud and ambitious way, like Icarus, and end up only hurting themselves, as we once did before beginning to love Jesus in the Eucharist. This weekend's Feast of Corpus Christi raises the question: Can man really know God? Can man really approach the Son without getting hurt? I say he can. Good News, Icarus.

What if God were to begin imparting to us some of His divine life now, in this life, little by little, all along the way, until He finally takes us to Himself. Then - even if we were to have a bad day, or someone were to betray us, or we were to get sick - then, we would be able to call life good because of where it’s ultimately going.

If remaining with people requires forgiving them all the time, and forgiving people all the time will make us more like Christ, then perhaps it's good for us that we challenge one another. Good for us, personally. Good for our loved ones. And good for our country.

I grew up golfing. I still golf. Sometimes I think I should quit. But something tells me that God wants me to keep playing because of what it teaches me about life. Many people promise us an escape from failures, mistakes and losses. But what if there were something for us to be gained from those as well by offering them to God too?

It's never easy to be "in between," but it is possible with the Church.

The natural communion of marriage and motherhood remains the basis of all society in this world, but the Holy Communion of the Church, which is a holy marriage and holy motherhood, is the new and eternal basis for life in the world to come.

Saints emerge from the times in which they live, and Saint Louis de Montfort lived in a time not all that different than our own. It was a matter of belonging to Christ through a kind of holy slavery in order to be free.

I grew up “looking in” at the Church. I felt that way even when I was in the Seminary studying for the priesthood, like I didn’t really belong there. And I feel that way now that I’m ordained. It’s not the virtue of humility; it’s just what it is for me, but it shapes the way I preach to people (and speak to you hear). I’m always like Thomas in that way: the other guys see it first before me, and...

With time and openness to the resuscitating friendship of Christ, friendship between men is possible. Lazarus shows us this.

To be Christian is to be alone, but to be alone together with Christ and with one another in the Church. We are those blessed few who have been sought and found by Christ, the Eternal Sunrise, Who shines us who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and Who guides our feet into the way of peace.

Life isn't programmed, but it isn't entirely random either. It seems that Our Lord knew the Samaritan woman would be at the well, just as He knows where to find us when we're hiding, or just in need of restoration.

Is it necessary that all conflict must become all-out war? Is the annihilation of the enemy what makes for peace? Or, is there some way to permit that there will always be conflict in a fallen world, but that not all conflict needs to lead to the tearing apart of peoples. In fact, what if there were a way to be drawn even closer together through conflict?