It's true, men don't like following direction. This came home to me the other day as I was assembling a small table for our living room. There weren't that many pieces and the assembly "seemed" straightforward so I dove right in. That is until I had to connect the...
You see it in every restaurant bathroom you go to: "Employees must wash their hands before returning to work." I've even seen detailed instructions in bathrooms as to how to wash one's hands properly! In 1546 Italian physician and scholar Girolamo Fracastoro first suggested that unseen "germs" were the cause...
There's just no substitute for contemplation. But it seems our modern world is moving at such a break neck speed that contemplation is impossible! That's why authentic faith is the "last, true, rebellion" and the hardest and most rewarding path to being truly human! Listen to what Abba Evagrius says...
There is a story about a great man. He had searched the world over for wisdom. He had gone to gurus, and sought out great religious leaders and learned philosophers. But still, his heart ached for more. Sure, he learned great and awesome ideas and heard wonderful words, but...
My dear bride has a hard and fast rule for my two girls: “Wash your hands!” You see, my wife is a trained elementary school educator and part of that training has to do with hygiene. Teaching children to wash their hands before they eat, after they play, and...
I’ve heard this all my life “God will provide.” I remember hearing it when me and my brother and my mom were near poverty when I was young, and He did. I remember hearing it when I watched my family go through a shattering crisis, and He did. I...
I know it is a bit “old-fashioned” and it may be hard for those of this generation to understand, but the timeless message of the Faith is that we are called to battle and tame the passions SO THAT they are our servants and never our masters! So what...
I love the scene in "A Few Good Men" when Jack Nicholson's character looks at the military lawyer questioning his leadership of his troops in Guantanamo. It's at a pivotal part of the drama. The commandant, Colonel Jessup, was a rough and tough Marine leader. He was a strong...
One of the most difficult realities I’ve had to face as an adult, as a priest, as a husband, and as a father is waking up to the reality of the complexity of each human person I encounter, including myself. This continuous process of discovery has me regularly seeing...
"That boy is too smart for his own good" as my grandmother would remind me when a certain relative started spouting off about this or that. He seemed to have at least three opinions about everything. Later on she'd tell me that he was "educated beyond his intelligence." Mammaw...
