The Meek

posted 6/10/20 When I was an undergraduate at the University of Dallas in the 1990s, the city of Waco was known for three things: 1) Baylor University, 2) fire ants, and 3) Branch Davidians.  Fast forward 20 years and suddenly Waco is the center of the “home improvement” movement, with Chip and Joanna Gaines basically transforming Waco into an interior design destinationContinue reading “The Meek”

Those Who Mourn

posted 6/9/20 Dr. Michael Brescia is a co-founder and the Executive Medical Director (emeritus) of Calvary Hospital in the Bronx.  Calvary Hospital was founded to be a place that would provide palliative care to those with advanced cancer and other terminal illnesses.  For Dr. Brescia, who is a well-respected physician and devout Catholic, it was essential that the hospital be a placeContinue reading “Those Who Mourn”

Poor in Spirit

posted 6/8/20 The gospel reading for today’s Mass is St. Matthew’s account of the Beatitudes.  Everyone is familiar with the Beatitudes, but what actual effect they have on our lives is unclear.  They can seem poetic and obscure – beautiful, but not really helpful in a practical sense.  It’s a lot easier to “get” the 10 Commandments, which seem straightforward. Continue reading “Poor in Spirit”

Te Deum

posted 6/6/20 This Sunday the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity.  The truth that God exists is something that one can reasonably deduce through the exercise of one’s natural intellectual gifts.  The inner life of God as a Communion of Three Divine Persons, however, is something that we know only through divine revelation.  Our imaginations are not muchContinue reading “Te Deum”

Finding Refuge

posted 6/5/20 There are times when I’ll be at a family gathering, the adults sitting at the dining room table and the kids playing somewhere (everywhere) else, and inevitably one of the children will come over and bury himself/herself in the side of his/her mother or father. It could be for a multitude of reasons.  It could be the kid is unhappy because someone wasContinue reading “Finding Refuge”

St. Therese and the Greatest Commandment

posted 6/4/20 In the Gospel for today’s Mass (Mark 12:28-34) a scribe asks Jesus: “Which is the first of all the commandments?”  Our Lord responds: “The first is this: Hear, O Israel!  The Lord our God is Lord alone!  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with allContinue reading “St. Therese and the Greatest Commandment”

The Human Heart

posted 6/2/20 When he was arrested in February 1945 on a trumped-up charge of having committed crimes against the Soviet Union, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was forced to march along with several other detained Soviet soldiers and a German civilian from the jail where they had been processed to the prison which would be their new home.  Solzhenitsyn, an officer in the Soviet Army, wasContinue reading “The Human Heart”

Mother of the Church

posted 6/1/20 There’s a couple I’ve known for many years – I’ll call them Fred and Jane.  They met each other not long after the untimely deaths of their first spouses.  Jane had children with her first husband, and Fred also had children, including a young son with severe disabilities.  I remember a conversation with Jane when she told me about the time she first metContinue reading “Mother of the Church”