CatholicAnchor.org Divine Mercy Sunday is the first Sunday after Easter. It was designated by St. John Paul II and officially became a feast day of mercy for the church. Two years ago, I decided we need to celebrate mercy concretely, not talk about it. For my first Divine Mercy Sunday, I went in search of…
CatholicAnchor.org The bible says, “the beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord.” We need to pray for fear of the Lord more than the fear of people and what they think of us. It is a gift everyone receives at their confirmation. Do we believe we have this gift? What is the Fear of…
CatholicAnchor.org When I was first ordained, I studied apologetics. It is equipping yourself with the best answers to questions of what and why you believe. Apologetics was practiced by St Paul and is best represented by the biblical passage of 1 Peter 3:15, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to…
CatholicAnchor.org The joke goes, what is the difference between ignorance and apathy? The answer is I don’t know and I don’t care. The Catholic Church is in a crisis of membership, and we can’t remain ignorant and we can’t surrender to apathy. There are about 100 million Catholics in the United States. It is an…
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!” Isaiah 43:1 I have been called by name for 40 years of priesthood, and He calls all of us. I have learned Jesus doesn’t simply call your name but calls you to himself in a relationship of love….
CatholicAnchor.org For over 28 years, I have been actively helping women choose not to abort their child and assisting women to heal if they make a tragic choice. I have been enriched by these women and have such admiration for so many. The situation they found themselves in was usually difficult. I could deeply empathize…
CatholicAnchor.org I was watching a campaign stop of a Democratic presidential candidate, when a young man asked him a very simple and poignant question: “I was born September 8,1983. Did my life have worth September 7 the day before I was born?” The candidate said, “Yes,” but then he contradicted himself when he argued that…
CatholicAnchor.org This has weighed heavy on me for a number of years as I look at the church: Our faith is too fragile and based too much on feelings. Feelings are sand. Faith in God’s promises is built on the rock. There are two versions of Christianity in the world today. There is the Christianity…
Jesus says that if anyone would come after me, he must follow me. There are not two kinds of Christians — regular Christians and disciples. To be a Christian is to be a disciple.
We used to believe a baptized child would seamlessly pick up the faith of the family and develop a Catholic identity through to adulthood. What was missing in this paradigm was a conversion to Christ.