Category Archives: Other

posted 6/23/20 The first reading for today’s Mass is from the Second Book of Kings (2 Kings 19:9-36).  It is an account of the siege of Jerusalem that took place about 700 years before the birth of Christ.  The ruler of the Assyrian Empire, King Sennacherib, had already conquered the northern Kingdom of Israel and sent 10 of the Israelite tribesContinue reading “The Narrow Gate”

posted 6/19/20 On a hill overlooking the city of Paris is the Basilica of Sacre-Coeur, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  It is a modern structure, whose construction began in 1875 and was completed in 1914.  Because of the outbreak of the First World War, it was not consecrated until 1917.  Probably the most remarkable thing aboutContinue reading “Sacred Heart of Jesus”

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”

posted 6/3/20 Today is the feast day of St. Charles Lwanga and Companions, 22 young Ugandan men who were put to death for the faith in 1886.  While doing some research on these young saints, I came across a video that Bishop Robert Barron did on the Ugandan Martyrs and it’s much better than anything I could comeContinue reading “The Ugandan Martyrs”

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”

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”

posted 5/20/20 The wallpaper image on my smartphone is a photo that I took of another photo that was part of an exhibit during World Youth Day in 2016.  It’s a black and white image of a young Missionary of Charity bathing the emaciated body of a woman whom the sisters rescued from dying on the streetsContinue reading “The Love of God”

posted 5/14/20 “You shall love… whether you like it or not.”  This is a line from the beautiful homily given by the priest character in the film To the Wonder. The film’s director Terrence Malick is famous (infamous?) for his artsy movies that have beautiful images but plots that are extremely difficult to follow – some might say they are incomprehensible.  Because of this, I won’t recommend theContinue reading “Love”

posted 5/12/20 Recently, a friend of mine very thoughtfully gave me a new biography about Dorothy Day (1897-1980), who was one of the founders of the Catholic Worker Movement, along with her friend and mentor Peter Maurin.  I became interested in Day when I was in seminary through a friend of mine who had a greatContinue reading “A Weird Catholic”

posted 5/9/20 Last week, Don Shula, the winningest coach in NFL history, passed away at the age of 90.  Shula is best known for being the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, leading them to two Super Bowl titles, including a perfect undefeated season in 1972.  He also won an NFL championship in 1968 as head coach ofContinue reading “Don Shula”