Author Archive for Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D.

Grew up in Providence RI. BA at Providence college, Ph.D. in historical theology from Catholic University of America. Former professional musician and theology professor at Loyola College in Maryland and the University of Dallas. Currently owner of Wellness Business Ventures LLC and director of CrossroadsInitiative.com. Father of five.

The Eucharist: The Body of Christ?
2

The Eucharist: The Body of Christ?

by

by on Apr 05, 2012 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

On Holy Thursday, the night before he died, the Lord Jesus made some startling changes in the ritual of the Passover meal.  Instead of being content with the traditional Jewish table blessing over the bread, Jesus proclaimed “take and eat for this is my body.”  Over the third cup of wine, known as the cup […]

Lazarus
1

Lazarus

by

by on Mar 25, 2012 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

Some find it hard to accept that God would love some people more than others.  That wouldn’t be fair, they say. But God became man.  If he did not love some more than others, Jesus wouldn’t be fully human.  For human beings have family and friends.  While we can do good and even risk our […]

The Meaning of Mercy (Part I)
0

The Meaning of Mercy (Part I)

by

by on Mar 05, 2012 in Featured, Live in Christ
Print This Article

The Second Vatican Council taught us that the Eucharist is the “source and summit” of the Christian life.  Yet we must keep in mind that the same council makes clear that the Eucharist is not the sum total of the Christian life. Indeed the Eucharist, and all the sacraments, are memorials of a dramatic act […]

Why is Lent Forty Days?
1

Why is Lent Forty Days?

by

by on Mar 02, 2012 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured
Print This Article

In the English language, the special season before Easter is called “Lent.”  The word comes from the “lengthening” of daylight hours as we progress from the darkness of winter to the new light of spring.  But other languages, such as Spanish, have a name for this season that is derived from the word for forty.  […]

40 Ways to Get the Most out of Lent
1

40 Ways to Get the Most out of Lent

by

by on Feb 29, 2012 in Columnists, Featured, Live in Christ, Resources
Print This Article

This, of course, is not an exhaustive list of Lenten ideas.  But it’s a start!  Many of the resources mention here are available on our website at www.crossroadsinitiative.com or can be found by visiting our links page. 1 Take 30 minutes to pray, ask the Holy Spirit’s guidance, look over this list, and make a […]

Noah’s Ark and the Baptismal Flood
0

Noah’s Ark and the Baptismal Flood

by

by on Feb 25, 2012 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

In today’s fuzzy moral landscape, it is quite unpopular to even speak of sin, never mind condemn it.  It’s even more politically incorrect to talk about God taking stern action against sin and those who promote it. But that is exactly what the story of Noah and the flood is all about, as we are […]

Lessons from the Paralytic
0

Lessons from the Paralytic

by

by on Feb 18, 2012 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

Sometimes we act as if sins are just black marks against us in God’s ledger, debits against our rewards account. But the gospel story of the paralytic (Mark 2:1-12) should wake us up to the real nature of sin.  For sin is more than a demerit–it is distancing of a person from God, who happens […]

Called and Consecrated
0

Called and Consecrated

by

by on Jan 14, 2012 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

When I was growing up, we were urged to pray for vocations.  That meant to pray for more priests and nuns.  After all, they were the ones especially called by God.  The rest of us had to figure out for ourselves what to do with our lives, what school to go to, who to marry, […]

Epiphany
0

Epiphany

by

by on Jan 07, 2012 in Apologetics, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

Up until now, all has been quite humble.  A donkey-ride to a dusty town south of Jerusalem.  Hotel rooms all booked up.  Giving birth in a stable and laying the baby in an animal’s feed trough instead of a cozy cradle. Into this scene of obscure poverty suddenly bursts an exotic entourage from a far-off […]

Mary, Mother of God
72

Mary, Mother of God

by

by on Dec 31, 2011 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

The mother of the messiah has been called many things in the last 2000 years –the Virgin Mary, Our Lady, the Blessed Mother.  But call her “the Mother of God,” and you’ll see some Christians squirm. This is nothing new.  One day in the early fifth century, a priest preached a stirring sermon in the […]

The Deeper Meaning of Christmas
1

The Deeper Meaning of Christmas

by

by on Dec 25, 2011 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

In the days of Caesar Augustus, an era of peace was established in the Mediterranean world after centuries of strife.  But this peace was forged by the proud ambition of emperors and the edge of their armies’ swords. Upon this stage appears a baby acclaimed as king by eastern dignitaries.  Neither Caesar nor Herod will […]

The Mystery of the Incarnation
0

The Mystery of the Incarnation

by

by on Dec 17, 2011 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

“Mystery,” he sneered.  “That’s a good Catholic word.” My friend was a fundamentalist who had more than a bit of antipathy towards the Catholic Church, charging that it added to the simple faith of the Bible. But he didn’t read his bible very well.  The word “mystery” is a Catholic word, only because it is […]

John the Baptist and the Path to Joy
0

John the Baptist and the Path to Joy

by

by on Dec 10, 2011 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

On the third Sunday of Advent, penitential purple gives way to pink and we celebrate “Gaudete” or “Rejoice!” Sunday.  “Rejoice heartily in the Lord, says Isaiah” (61:10).  “My Spirit finds joy in God my Savior,” says the Virgin Mary (Luke 1: 47). “ Rejoice in the Lord always,” says St. Paul (I Thes 5:16).  “Make […]

How Our Family Keeps Christ in Christmas
1

How Our Family Keeps Christ in Christmas

by

by on Dec 07, 2011 in Columnists, Featured, Live in Christ, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

“Actions speak louder than words.”  “A picture is worth a thousand words.”  “Talk is cheap.”  There are many sayings in the English language that generally express the same thing: words alone do not do the necessary job of communicating our thoughts and feelings, especially in the case of a personal message. “I love you,” for […]

Prepare Ye the Way
0

Prepare Ye the Way

by

by on Dec 03, 2011 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

Advent is a time of joyful anticipation.  For someone even bigger than Santa Claus is coming to town. The human race has been waiting a long time for his next and final visit.  Actually, it waited a long time for the first visit.  Things had gone awry quite early in the history of the human […]

You Snooze, You Lose
1

You Snooze, You Lose

by

by on Nov 26, 2011 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

Have you ever had one of those days when you just wish God would show up, snap his fingers and work miracles?  The people of Israel had about 500 years worth of days like that, groaning under the oppression of one tyrant after another.  The book of Isaiah gives voice to these sentiments: “O that […]

The Parable of the Talents
0

The Parable of the Talents

by

by on Nov 12, 2011 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

I’ve seen it time and time again. Someone decides to seek a better paying job, or pursue an investment strategy, or launch a new business. Invariably some pious person in the parish objects that maybe this is too worldly, that it will be a distraction from Church and family priorities, that one should be satisfied […]

Foolish and Wise Bridesmaids
2

Foolish and Wise Bridesmaids

by

by on Nov 05, 2011 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

“The religion thing can wait. After all, I believe in God and am basically a good person. I really did intend to go to church this morning, but last night’s dancing took a lot more out of me than I thought and I had one drink too many. I’ll catch it next week. I’ll pray […]

The Pharisees’ Pride
0

The Pharisees’ Pride

by

by on Oct 29, 2011 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

A hundred and fifty years before Christ, they were the good guys.  The Greeks were in charge and decided that, if they were to unify their kingdom politically, they needed to unify it religiously.  So they imposed Greek ways on the Jews, including worshiping idols and eating pork.  You can read about the Jew’s military […]

The Radical Rabbi and the Great Commandment
0

The Radical Rabbi and the Great Commandment

by

by on Oct 23, 2011 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

They are at it again.  In this Sunday’s gospel Jesus’ opponents enlist a lawyer to do what lawyers do best- ask a question that puts a person on the hot seat.  “Which commandment of the law is the greatest?” (Matthew 22:34-40).  If the law consisted in only the Ten Commandments, this would be tough enough.  […]

Render to Caesar
0

Render to Caesar

by

by on Oct 16, 2011 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

Despite their flattering words, they were trying to trap him, to force him into a no win situation. Consider the circumstances.  They are living under the iron boot of a brutal empire which filled the earth with its idolatry.  Patriotic Jews longed to throw off the tyrants’ yoke.  They prayed for an anointed king who […]

The Sneakiest of the 7 Deadly Sins
0

The Sneakiest of the 7 Deadly Sins

by

by on Oct 08, 2011 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured
Print This Article

At age 16, my life was about rock ‘n roll.  If my own band was not performing on Saturday night, I was out in the audience, watching another band. It would have never occurred to me to spend my Saturday nights at a Catholic conference or retreat.  True, no matter how late I was out, […]

Peace and Security
4

Peace and Security

by

by on Oct 01, 2011 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured
Print This Article

A few years ago, I toured northern England.  There, stretching 73 miles from coast to coast, the Roman Emperor Hadrian built a massive wall.  Constructed of stone, it was built to last, since it marked the northernmost boundary of the greatest empire the world had ever known.  Soldiers from every corner of the world were […]

The Generosity of God
0

The Generosity of God

by

by on Sep 17, 2011 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured
Print This Article

“But that’s not fair!”  Most parents have heard this phrase umpteen times.  The notion of fairness, also known as justice, is wired into us.  It makes us aware that each of us has certain rights that need to be respected. But it also means that we each have duties.  If others have the right to […]