“The abundance of a grateful heart gives honor to God even if it does not turn to Him in words. An unbeliever who is filled with thanks for his very being has ceased to be an unbeliever.” – Paul Tillich, German-American Christian philosopher There is nothing God loves more than a grateful lover. Gratitude can’t […]
(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: http://brothersinchristcmf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Mass-Blog-for-the-2nd-Sunday-in-Advent-2021.mp3) If Advent is the arrival of an important person or event, people of faith—or those searching for faith—might prepare by thinking of themselves as living in one big Advent calendar. Its days are a series of doors we open as we get closer to Christmas. […]
(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: http://brothersinchristcmf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Mass-Blog-for-the-1st-Sunday-in-Advent-2021.mp3) It’s Advent, and children are already anticipating what they’ll get in those beautifully-wrapped Christmas boxes. But the season of advent invites all of us to adopt outside-the-box thinking when it comes to our relationship with the Divine. Great theologians have described God as “an infinite […]
(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: http://brothersinchristcmf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Mass-Blog-for-the-Solemnity-of-Jesus-Christ-King-of-the-Universe-2021.mp3) Of all three readings for the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, one sentence commands attention. It stands out from all the sentiments regarding kingship and truth: “All the peoples of the earth will lament him.” This comes from Sunday’s second […]
(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: http://brothersinchristcmf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Mass-Blog-for-the-33rd-Sunday-in-Ordinary-time-2021.mp3) The closer technology gets to answering humanity’s hope for immortality, the further we get from the faith that offers it to us. Paradoxically, in the process, technology’s given us many more ways to destroy ourselves. With all the unintended consequences human intelligence has unleashed, many […]
(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: http://brothersinchristcmf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Mass-Blog-for-the-32nd-Sunday-in-Ordinary-time-2021.mp3) One thing that hasn’t changed in this world since Jesus walked among us is humanity’s B.S. mastery. A recent article by a business-to-business writer defines a B.S. artist as “someone intentionally or unintentionally, consciously or unconsciously, communicating something with little regard for the truth, genuine […]
(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: http://brothersinchristcmf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Mass-Blog-for-the-31st-Sunday-in-Ordinary-time-2021.mp3) In late 1800s America, The Rock of Gibraltar became an iconic image for the newly formed life insurance industry. Prudential adopted it because, according to the company, “a century after the Great Siege, it was still the most famous fortress in the world.” Gibraltar was […]
(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: http://brothersinchristcmf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Mass-Blog-for-the-30th-Sunday-in-Ordinary-time-2021.mp3) Upon his 1933 Inauguration as president of the Depression-afflicted United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt encouraged the nation, saying “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Fifteen years later, in his essay “On Living in an Atomic Age,” C.S. Lewis wrote, “If we […]
(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: http://brothersinchristcmf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Mass-Blog-for-the-29th-Sunday-in-Ordinary-time-2021.mp3) Last week we talked about first responders who sacrifice their lives in service. For that they receive humanity’s undying adulation. But there are some who wish to achieve such glory without realizing the price. A few of these types accompanied Jesus when he walked among […]
(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: http://brothersinchristcmf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Mass-Blog-for-the-28th-Sunday-in-Ordinary-time-2021.mp3) As someone who has never served in the armed forces, or as any kind of first-responder for that matter, I always feel an obligation to thank such people for their service—especially in this age when populations are threatened by terrorism on a global scale and […]