Tom Andel

(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) Oversized clothing was once a wise investment for parents of large families. Each child could grow into these clothes then “hand them down” to the next child. This wisdom is…

(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) This Sunday we get three perspectives on the baptism that made ours possible. Isaiah foresees it (Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7), Peter recalls it (Acts 10:34-38), and Matthew’s gospel makes us witnesses…

(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) Here’s an Epiphany: Herod the Great’s temple renovation project was irrelevant. Herod hoped the temple he was renovating would make him the focus of worship among the Jewish people. The…

(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) The Book of Sirach (Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14) offers a good set of instructions for maintaining a holy and whole family: Honoring your father helps save you from your sins and…

(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) The human ego has threatened the lives of many famous families throughout history—including the holy one our faith venerates. Imagine you’re Joseph. You discover you didn’t sire the baby your…

(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) Many nonbelievers consider themselves free. But in this modern world of war and division, freedom without faith quickly descends into chaos. That’s why St. John Paul II taught that only…

(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) “The Sound of Music” was re-released in theaters this year, 60 years after its debut, enabling new audiences to experience this classic Rodgers & Hammerstein musical on the big screen.…

(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) This Sunday’s gospel reading illustrates the dangers of entropy. A physics professor will tell you that the higher the entropy, the lower the energy available to do work—and the lower…

(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) To non-believers, “Jesus Christ King of the Universe” sounds like a Vaudeville act. Vaudeville was the preeminent performance art in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was where jugglers joined actors, comedians,…

(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: ) Many trees have given their lives to put Bibles in our hands. So it’s only fair that trees figure prominently throughout the Bible’s pages to help tell its truths—starting in…