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Spirituality
God Never Gives up on Us; Why Should We?
Be persistent, “will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to Him day and night?” (Lk 18:7)
Publish date: 2019 - 10 - 20
Parenting
A good young priest, Fr. Lucio Choi, once shared with me how he was discouraged, and it wasn’t because of his bad haircut. He said he now understood why some priests get cynical: You try so hard, do so much for people, and they don’t care or respond.
Publish date: 2019 - 10 - 20
The miracle of the ten lepers
“God calls us to live in gratitude, obeying with joy to the One who has given us so much, infinitely more than we could ever give to him” (Pope Francis General Audience June 27, 2018)
Publish date: 2019 - 10 - 13
Healing is Simpler Than Imagined
I know a man who’s got a lot of problems: He struggles with his closest relationships, with his work, and with his direction in life. He blames everything: God hasn’t helped him, people are jerks, the government’s full of morons, and everything he’s tried hasn’t worked. But when someone asks him to look at what he could change about himself, he refuses. He’s looking everywhere around him for a solution when it’s right at his feet.
Publish date: 2019 - 10 - 13
Lord, Why Don’t You Listen?
The exasperating lamentation of Habakkuk will resonate with many of us who seek to exercise our own prophetic ministry of promoting love, truth, and life in a world intoxicated with hatred, lies, and the culture of death.
Publish date: 2019 - 10 - 6
How do you spell faith? R-I-S-K
Many of you have said that you remember the story I told last year about Mother Angelica’s amazing faith! After she, a nun, started a Catholic TV network in 1981, she felt called to expand it, and so, at one point, ordered a large satellite dish without having any money to pay for it. When the delivery […]
Publish date: 2019 - 10 - 6
Rich Man Poor Man
What is the challenge of our wealth? What is the primary concern for God's justice on earth? Let us attend to this Sunday's readings.
Publish date: 2019 - 9 - 29
How We Treat the Poor Matters
I have a happy announcement to make, one that reminds us to do some biblical reflection. Last year, we talked about solicitude for the needy, how Jesus had a heart for the blind beggar on the roadside and asked the disciples to be intermediaries; they were the ones who brought him to Jesus. And we […]
Publish date: 2019 - 9 - 29
Are we as capable as the wicked steward in securing our future with God?
One of Jesus’ preferred methods of teaching is through parables. Though His parables are simple, often making use of everyday things, they conveyed messages that are deep and memorable. Like the parable of the unjust steward in this Sunday’s Gospel Reading; the story is straightforward and the deeds of the steward are rather commonplace. What […]
Publish date: 2019 - 9 - 22
Should There Be Separation of Church and State?
On December 1, 1955, a 42-year old black woman named Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat when asked by the bus driver to do so, in order that white passengers could sit down. Because of racism, black people had to sit at the back of the bus. The driver said, “Y’all better make it light on yourselves and let me have those seats.”
Publish date: 2019 - 9 - 22
The Lost Sheep
“He will seek out the lost [sheep] until He finds it” (Luke 15:4)
Publish date: 2019 - 9 - 15
The Value of One Person
Two years ago, I learned something funny about boys and girls. At the end of the school year, we said goodbye to some staff members at our school, some of whom had been here for over 15 years. We held an assembly, with the kids in a big circle, singing songs and giving gifts to the teachers, who stood in the middle. At the end, some girls went up to the teachers and hugged them. Many of the girls from Grades 4-7 were crying. I was amazed at their maturity
Publish date: 2019 - 9 - 15
What is God’s will? Why is it so hard to follow God’s will?
“For the reasoning of mortals is worthless, and our designs are likely to fail (Wis 9:14)
Publish date: 2019 - 9 - 8
Fruitful Discipleship
One of the last times I went to Confession, I wanted to make a really good Confession. Most of the time our confessions are sincere, but sometimes we’re filled with a particularly strong desire to change our lives. So, I called my friend, Fr. Anthony Ho, to hear my confession. I was looking for a […]
Publish date: 2019 - 9 - 8
Attending Mass with Humility and Holy Fear
Why do the Catholics genuflect, bow their heads, strike their chests, and make all kinds of gestures to humble themselves in the Mass? Now we know why.
Publish date: 2019 - 9 - 1
Made for Service
When I was in Taiwan living at the Holy See nunciature (Vatican embassy), Msgr. Russell surprised me when he said that priests in the Vatican Diplomatic Service are aware of who gets made a nuncio first (a nuncio is the Pope’s ambassador in a country) and to what country he gets sent.
Publish date: 2019 - 9 - 1
Will only a few people be saved?
Will we be the ones to stand outside knocking when the master come?
Publish date: 2019 - 8 - 25
Finding Peace
When we care for someone, we have to reveal to them their value and gifts.
Publish date: 2019 - 8 - 18
Making a decision
In Rome I once met a newly married couple who were visiting from Vancouver. They were clearly in love—it was very sweet. Over lunch I asked how they met. The husband told me about their dating, and then about his long period of hesitation. However, during a confession, a priest asked him, “Well, are you going to marry her or what?” And he thought, “Yeah, what am I waiting for? This is an amazing woman. If I don’t do this now, some other guy will get her!”
Publish date: 2019 - 8 - 18
Laziness or Rest?
Who in your family does the most work? Husband or wife? You or your siblings? Who does nothing? You can point at them if you’d like. We’re talking about laziness today. Some people, when they come home, don’t help prepare dinner, clean the house, or ever offer to help. After all, they say they need to rest; being in Grade 5 is hard work. We’re in the Sabbath Summer of resting in God and celebrating Him, but some people are in the Sabbath Year.
Publish date: 2019 - 8 - 11
Seeing is NOT believing!
Faith is a conviction that God is infinitely loving and merciful; the same faithful God patiently calls us to participate in His salvific plan.
Publish date: 2019 - 8 - 11
“All Things Are Vanity” (Ecc 1:2)
When that day comes, hopefully my son would also be confident that his dad “is rich in what matters to God” (Luke 12:21).
Publish date: 2019 - 8 - 4
Being Rich Towards God
We’re now halfway through the Sabbath Summer, the season of resting in God and celebrating Him, and our goal is to have the best summer ever—how’s it going so far? Has the Lord given us what we wanted for this summer? Or, if you’re a guest here, is God answering your prayers?
Publish date: 2019 - 8 - 4
Praying like Jesus
Here are the four most common stumbling blocks to prayer, in my experience:
1) We don’t know how to pray. 2) We run out of things to say. Dr. Tim Gray shares a story of how, when he was a teenager, he could pray on retreat and at the youth group, but, on his own, he didn’t know what to do. He wanted to hear God speak, but heard nothing. He would ask God to help Him with this or that, but, after that, he had nothing left to say. 3) Many people have asked, “How do we know when we’re talking to God or when we’re talking to ourselves?” 4) We get nothing out of it.
Publish date: 2019 - 7 - 28
