Facts and Hope

Sometime ago on TV, amidst all the chaos and insanity happening, a lady being interviewed commented about leadership in the world. When asked what separates a good leader from a bad one, she replied, “The good leader gives facts and hope!” In the time of Jesus, Israel was undergoing uncertainty and unrest. They were waiting…

Eternal Life

How often have we been asked if we have been “saved”? Then the question that follows is “How?” “If you accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior.” While this is nice to hear, the problem is there is nothing written in the bible about accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. On the…

Each Life is Important

If there is so much trouble in the world today, it is because we do not value life as it already is. We do not value people as they already are. Other things are given importance more than people.  Once upon a time, the safest place for a human being was the womb of the…

Pride and Humility

Luke 10:17-24 Once upon a time in the history of humanity, there was one being that was beautiful, strong, intelligent, and powerful. Eventually she “wanted to be like God.” On one hand, she was a creation who was simple and humble. Yet when she was asked whether she wanted to be the Mother of God,…

Angels

One of the first things we were taught when we were small was that we all had angels. We were told that these angels were watching over us. In fact, one of the first prayers many of us learned is a prayer to our angels: “Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom his love…

St. Therese of the Child Jesus

St. Thomas Aquinas once said: “To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.” That is why it is so hard to argue about religion because of this reality. In the Gospel people often ask for signs. After all the miracles, after all the healings and teachings…

Becoming a Better Person

Luke 10:8-15 One of the typical complaints of people who refuse to become active in the Church is that they see the sins, they see the shortcomings, they see that going to Church is no different than not going. Yes, it seems the gossip, the fighting for position, the backbiting, the infighting, and the wrong…

End of Evil

Matthew 8: 28-34 In the U.S., one the sad realities of the protests against racism is that they are now bringing down Catholic images. One of the favorite targets is St. Junipero Serra. He was the one who brought the faith to California, but those who take down his image claim that he mistreated the…

A Mother Suffers Even More

John 19:25-27 There is a saying that you can sacrifice without loving but you cannot love without sacrificing. In my many requests for prayers, one notices that when the child is suffering the mother is suffering even more.  Today we celebrate the memorial of our Lady of Sorrows. Since the life of Jesus had many,…

Shame to Exaltation

During the time of Moses, the Israelites were being bitten by snakes. Since the people cried to the Lord for help, God told Moses to put an image of a snake on top of the pole and that anyone who looks at it, will be saved. Indeed it happened, and many Israelites were saved from…