The True God Changes Everything
The truth is you will never develop or mature beyond your idea of who and what God is. The old gods of the pagans were little more than really powerful humans, and it seemed the whole point of worshiping these gods was to get them to "like" you so...
I Reckon
"Well, I Suwannee!" I remember saying that when I was in seminary in Boston, and the reaction from folks not from the South was, let's just say, interesting. "What does THAT mean?" was the common question. I confess I took pleasure in pouring on the Southernisms in Boston to...
A Jew Inwardly
"That's the real McCoy!" I know, some of you younger readers will stare at the screen and say "What?" But believe it or not, that is a famous American idiom that has an interesting origin. In fact, there are several stories about how the phrase "The Real McCoy" came...
The “Radical” Jesus
It seems fashionable, especially among those who seem to preach a utopian ideology, to claim Jesus was a "radical" that would agree with "us." As someone whose lived a long life already, I can tell you I've witnessed radicals all claim Jesus was one of them. I watched as...
Choose Fire! Sunday’s Homily
https://youtu.be/vMgNR_-1xCg On this Sunday of Pentecost, we hear the tale of two men, and the difference between these two men illustrates the desperate need for the "fire" of the Holy Spirit to vivify us to become the persons Christ meant us to be. What do you believe about your future?...
As Sheep Among Wolves
Someone once said, "Anyone who says raising children is not the hardest job in the world isn't doing it right!" And that is so very true. But "difficult" doesn't mean "bad" or "broken," it just means the task is meant to focus you and make you more attentive! And in...
Purposeful Communion Takes Hard Work
There seems to be a cottage industry that has developed in America surrounding the notion that modern life is lonely. It seems this sense of loneliness flows from the notion that we are to be "self-sufficient" and not "need" anybody to help us. We live in a society of...
The Healing Power of Beautiful Beatitudes
Recently, I was hearing one of my new convert's confession, and she admitted that she was having trouble figuring out what to say. I sympathized with her and told her that was very common in the early days of participating in this spiritual discipline of regular confession. Hey, I've...
Love Is Hard Work
I’ve heard this so many times: Why can’t I find love? What’s wrong with me? The expectations of some fairy tale notions wound us and wound our children. Add to that, the utter chaos in today's society where love is reduced to mere feelings or, worse, just physical desire,...
“You Should Listen to Me”
"How come you were able to find this and not Ann?" With that question, my friend's wife wondered at her husband's ability to fix some tech problems more than the 12-year-old in the house! And his answer made me laugh out loud! He told his perplexed wife that he...