If the Church possessing the mark of “One” seems contentious, how about her claim of a second mark: “Holy?”
Holy? What a bold claim! The Seventh-day Adventist I conversed with would certainly have some questions about this. She was confounded by the idea that…
“One?” an objector might exclaim. “Are you kidding me? Look at you Catholics! You’ve got traditionalists, charismatics, and all these different religious orders, rites, and liturgies. Some Catholics support abortion while others oppose it. You have one Pope saying this and another saying that. And yet you all call yourselves Catholic. How can you all be “One”?
After a religious debate with a Seventh-day Adventist, I wondered: How can someone know that Catholicism is the one true Faith? What unquestionable proofs does Catholicism have to offer that other churches do not?
Even if I have what I deem a “successful” Advent or Lent, I don’t want to stop there. I want to keep growing in my spiritual life throughout the rest of the year. But how?
I’ve been musing on Joseph and how significant his presence is. It seems as if the whole point of Joseph’s life is just to be present to Jesus and Mary. Miracles, words of wisdom, grand gestures? Nope. Just be present wholeheartedly to God and those around you. That’s enough.
What are you afraid of? What is the thing in your life that makes you so afraid that you aren’t happy, the family drama that you worry about all the time, or the world issue that seems apocalyptic in magnitude?
A friend was thanking me for praying for him when he said something most striking. He remarked on how we ask people to pray for us, but forget to thank them later on.
What a profound thought. We say thank you to someone who’s done us some favor, and…
I was recently reflecting on the Presentation and Simeon’s surprising enthusiasm at meeting Jesus. He’d waited so long and patiently for the Messiah, and what did he see?
In school, children are taught that the first Thanksgiving took place when Native Americans brought food to Puritan settlers. No one really thinks about the idea of giving thanks in a Catholic context. Since we celebrate Thanksgiving every year, it is important
Thanksgiving is nearly upon us. Families are planning gatherings all around the country—hopefully, joyful ones. The reality, though, is that many are mentally cladding themselves in iron cloaks and adopting a survivor’s mentality in anticipation of dinner with their family members.
It would be nice if I could hit a “Pause” button on life right now. I’m in such a pleasant situation, and have been for many months. Oh sure, I have my struggles, but they seem small compared to past ones. Meantime…
Depression is a difficult topic to discuss. It afflicts a lot of people, but too often we miss seeing it in someone or we don’t know how to talk about it without causing offense. I have suffered from depression and know others who have as well. Here are my thoughts on it.
Instead of expecting marriages to last, our culture has grown in the past century to tolerate and even expect divorce. Since all of us are sinful and imperfect, how can we confidently make a lifetime commitment to another flawed person in marriage?
Later that same day, I went in for a physical therapy appointment to treat a longstanding bout of tendonitis. It’s not a big issue, but lately I have been dissatisfied. My mindset has been to criticize my body…
When the Catholic Church uses a word like “celibacy,” the world’s reaction is immediately hostile. A lot of the time, the first word people think of is “restrictive.” The world sees celibacy as a ridiculous imposition that the Church puts upon some of her members to exercise excessive control over their lives.