While shopping at our local grocery store, I saw a mother trying to do the same thing—shop—while also trying to foil her little boy’s continued attempts to knock displays over. The more breakable the better. Once he even tried to snatch an item out of my cart and throw it on the floor. She apologized […]
The Wall Street Journal reported recently that the U.S. population of Christians is dwindling as atheists, agnostics and the unaffiliated replace them (Religiosity, Church Attendance Fall Sharply, Oct. 18th). A few pages later, Jillian Kay Melchior observed in her “Houses of Worship” column (Hong Kong’s Spiritual Battle) that as Xi Jinping assumed power in China he […]
The greatest artists put themselves into their works. That’s why their choice of media is so important to them. It affects their art’s texture and therefore the message they wish to communicate through their work. As the artist of artists, God chose the medium of humanity to express His being. Look at His masterpiece: The […]
Leaving an adoration chapel empty-hearted is like going to a store for something you need and not buying anything. As many window shoppers can tell you, that form of retail just reminds you of what you lack. By not making a true investment of self in your prayers before God, you’re reminded how empty you […]
Most parents hate it when their kids pester them for something. Not God Our Father. He expects it. In fact, he’s perpetually attentive to perpetual prayer. That’s why many churches devote a chapel to that purpose. This Sunday’s readings support the wisdom of that decision. In our first reading (Ex 17:8-13), Moses advises Joshua to […]
The title on top of this week’s blog could be a country song, and in a way, it is. Being grateful is a theme in so many country songs that they almost melt together into one. If your heart is attuned to that song, this Sunday’s mass readings may sing it back to you. In […]
During tough times, people throughout history have reached out to God for strength. To this day, we still rely on the philosophy of prophets to bolster our faith. In more recent history, when faced with Nazi death camps, Communist nihilism, slavery of all kinds, and the undying human selfishness that inspires all such evils, the […]
Most Christians know confession as a uniquely Catholic thing that happens between a penitent and priest under a seal of secrecy. Probably not as many are as familiar with the kind of confession the disciple Timothy tells us about in this Sunday’s second Mass reading (1 Tm 6:11-16): I charge you before God, who gives […]
Did you ever spend what seemed an eternity in an airport or a hotel lobby looking desperately for a power outlet to recharge your laptop or intelligent device before it ran out of juice? In a way, that was Doran Oancia’s goal in looking for a church with an adoration chapel. As we shared with […]
A new book titled “The Outlaw Ocean” tells horror stories about the fishing trade to build its case that man is utterly depraved. Author Ian Urbina states that out on the open sea there is no law to keep our animal nature in check, as there is on dry land. If consumers found out that […]