During the Easter season, we read in Acts 5:34-42 that the Apostles left the Sanhedrin “rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer” for Jesus. This same spiritual power seems to be among us even in our day, judging by the testimony of two fellow parishioners: “When I first...
On Trinity Sunday, we celebrate God as a Trinity of persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God the Father, out of love and from all eternity, begets the Son and gives to him all that he the Father possesses (see Jn 16:15). The Son returns the Father’s love and obeys...
For the seven weeks of Easter, we have been hearing of the Apostles miraculous deeds. Today, on the feast of Pentecost, we see that their success was due to the Holy Spirit coming upon them “with power” (Acts 1:8). Ironically, with today’s account, the readings at mass cease their mention...
Today, the seventh Sunday of Easter, lies between the feasts of Ascension and Pentecost. Last Thursday, on the Ascension, we celebrated Christ being taken up into heaven, having spent forty days with his disciples after the Resurrection. When Jesus ascended, he commissioned the apostles to “go and make disciples of...
Throughout the Easter Season our first readings and Gospels are taken, respectively, from the Acts of the Apostles and from the “Last Supper Discourses” of John’s Gospel. Acts is the account of the Apostles miraculous exploits of preaching, healing, and even raising the dead (Acts 9:37ff; 20:9ff), while the Johannine...
“The New Evangelization”, initiated by Blessed John Paul II, is described by the US Conference of Bishops as a “call to each of us to deepen our faith, believe in the Gospel message, and go forth to proclaim the Gospel, especially to those who have experienced a serious crisis of...
St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, is famous for his teachings about decision making. For Ignatius, a dedicated follower of Jesus Christ, decisions ought to be made for “The Greater Glory of God” rather than for personal gain, although God’s divine Knowledge, Goodness, and Love make any...
On Easter we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus, God’s ultimate victory of life over death, good over evil, and love over hate. In rising from the dead, Jesus took up a “glorified” body, one beyond all suffering and decay, through which he experienced all possible joy. Jesus’ Resurrection to glory...
For a person in a state of grace, a good examination of conscience, in and of itself, strengthens her relationship with God, but receiving the sacrament of reconciliation will greatly multiply the effects. The efficacy of the sacrament is rooted in our social nature, the gift from God by which...
Many of the lectionary readings for Lent warn of sin’s unfortunate consequences. One its more insidious consequences is the attenuation of emotional vitality, the displacement of a person’s faith, hope, and charity by feelings of worry, frustration, and boredom. God warns against sin but exhorts us as well to spiritual...