Category: MyChurchParish.com

A Revolutionary Approach to the Bible: Jairus’ Daughter and The Enlightenment
1

A Revolutionary Approach to the Bible: Jairus’ Daughter and The Enlightenment

by

by on Jun 28, 2015 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

In the days when states were still “the colonies” and men wore powdered wigs, a new way of thinking captured the intelligentsia of the western world.  “The miracle stories in the Bible and the lives of the saints may be quaint, entertaining, and even have symbolic meaning.  But certainly we should not take them literally!  […]

Our Lady’s Three Rosaries
1

Our Lady’s Three Rosaries

by

by on May 13, 2015 in Featured, Live in Christ, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

In her apparitions to the shepherd children at Fatima, Mary revealed herself as the Queen of the Holy Rosary and encouraged the daily recitation of the rosary. This devotion to the Mother of God has been recommended to the faithful for centuries. In fact, when one is attached to habitual sin, oftentimes in the confessional […]

Love Unlimited
0

Love Unlimited

by

by on May 08, 2015 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

Some people seem to think that the Catholic Church is just another multi-national corporation, Catholicism, Inc., with the Pope as CEO.  Obviously, this view is a bit skewed, but is not totally off-base.  The Church is in fact an international organization.  That’s actually one of the meanings of the word “Catholic”– this church is no […]

Hail Mary, Full of Grace
1

Hail Mary, Full of Grace

by

by on May 05, 2015 in Featured, Live in Christ, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

Throughout more than thirty years with degenerative multiple sclerosis there have been horrible times with the disease that dragged me to deep levels of sickness I did not think were possible. The terrors often came in the darkest nights when exhaustion was at its greatest and I was at the end of my tether emotionally […]

Bearing Much Fruit
1

Bearing Much Fruit

by

by on May 01, 2015 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

No one was more zealous than Saul.  He burned with passion to promote the Law of Moses and the traditions of his ancestors.  From Turkey to Palestine to Syria he had relentlessly pursued his quest for the glory of God. But all his hard work did more harm than good.  Oh, his efforts bore fruit […]

Not a spook
0

Not a spook

by

by on Apr 19, 2015 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

In the heyday of the Roman Empire, the corruption of the times caused a wave of dissatisfaction to ripple across the civilized world.  Many were disgusted with the gross sensuality of society and yearned for a higher, spiritual kind of existence.  They sought a redeemer who would come down from heaven and enlighten those who […]

The Cross is for Wretches Like Me
0

The Cross is for Wretches Like Me

by

by on Apr 03, 2015 in Featured, Live in Christ, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

In his remarkably profound book, Lift Up You Heart, Bishop Fulton Sheen said, “The Cross is the most inescapable reality of life. If we will not accept it outside of ourselves, to pardon us and to heal, then we will have it inside, as frustration and despair.” The life changing reality of Calvary has been […]

Palm/Passion Sunday
2

Palm/Passion Sunday

by

by on Mar 28, 2015 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

We now come to the Sunday with a split personality.  It starts with an upbeat gospel recounting Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  It is a festive affair, complete with a parade route strewn with palm branches instead of ticker tape.  But we quickly progress to the stark reading of Jesus’ passion, bearable only because we […]

Lover of Poverty
0

Lover of Poverty

by

by on Mar 19, 2015 in Featured, Live in Christ, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

Today is the Feast of St. Joseph. He is special to us because he was special to Jesus. I would like to reflect on a title from the Litany of St. Joseph: Lover of Poverty. As Catholics, Jesus teaches that we are to be poor in spirit. St. Joseph is a wonderful example of this […]

John 3:16 and Grace
0

John 3:16 and Grace

by

by on Mar 13, 2015 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

As the camera pans the crowd at a football game, you see a few fans holding up the sign.  It simply says “John 3:16.” For years, evangelical Protestants have extolled this little bible verse as the heart of the Gospel.  In their minds, if you only have a moment to tell people something about the […]

The Heartache of Cavatina
0

The Heartache of Cavatina

by

by on Mar 12, 2015 in Disability, Sickness & Suffering, Featured, Live in Christ, Music, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

Most people associate the beautiful song Cavatina (written by Stanley Myers) for classical guitar with the 1978 movie The Deer Hunter. But Cavatina’s heartbreakingly beautiful melody originally appeared in a 1970 a movie called “The Walking Stick”. The Heroine of The Walking Stick was a 26 year old woman named Deborah Dainton who walked with a limp because […]

The 10 Commandments and the Cleansing of the Temple
2

The 10 Commandments and the Cleansing of the Temple

by

by on Mar 06, 2015 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

When it started, all was fresh and new.  An unnamed but mighty God freed a motley crew of slaves and offered them a new way of life in a new land.  Most importantly, he offered them a privileged and exclusive relationship with Himself. In the ancient world, most nations worshipped their own god and believed […]

The Sacrifice of Isaac
0

The Sacrifice of Isaac

by

by on Feb 28, 2015 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

Everyone knows that Lent is about sacrifice.  So it’s fitting that the first reading in the second Sunday of Lent recalls one of the most famous sacrifices of all time. Here’s the background.  Abraham really only desires one thing–a son who will lead to descendants as numerous as the stars of the sky.   The only […]

Knock, and the Door Will Be Opened for You
0

Knock, and the Door Will Be Opened for You

by

by on Feb 26, 2015 in Featured, Live in Christ, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

If you’ve ever experienced the power of a novena, you can truly understand these words of Jesus told by St. Matthew in today’s Gospel . Novenas are often discovered out of despair, when your own attempts for a solution have failed. You discover one that fits your situation and you start praying like mad, knowing there […]

Lent With Mary
0

Lent With Mary

by

by on Feb 25, 2015 in Featured, Live in Christ, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

During Lent, we generally think about Jesus’ suffering and death. However, how often do we think about the suffering of his mother, Mary? A few days ago I stopped by the adoration chapel to ask Jesus what he wanted of me this Lent. The answer came back clearly: suffer and pray alongside the one who […]

On Brother Paul O’Donnell’s Death and ‘Being There’
0

On Brother Paul O’Donnell’s Death and ‘Being There’

by

by on Feb 25, 2015 in Contraception & Abortion, Euthanasia & Assisted Suicide, Featured, Live in Christ, MyChurchParish.com, Those in Need
Print This Article

As news of the untimely death of Brother Paul O’Donnell spreads, there will be many remembrances by those who knew him well. Perhaps none more than Bobby Schindler, brother of Terri Schiavo. Brother Paul distinguished himself, and the Church, by being the constant companion and supporter of the Schindler family as their severely brain damaged daughter, Terri, […]

Ignorance of God: The Spirit Poverty of Our Age
0

Ignorance of God: The Spirit Poverty of Our Age

by

by on Feb 17, 2015 in Featured, Live in Christ, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

We often think that ignorance is a lack of knowledge, education or social training. But if ignorance is not knowing, then not knowing God is the greatest human ignorance. I want to address ignorance in the context of the human heart’s ignorance of God.  It is my opinion that this form ignorance is the primary […]

Lessons from the Leper
0

Lessons from the Leper

by

by on Feb 14, 2015 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

Many Catholics are confused about suffering.  Some writers extol its surpassing value.  But does that mean that we should look for suffering?  Or, if suffering should come our way, that it would be unspiritual to seek relief from it? The story of Jesus and the leper in Mark 1:40-45 provides us with a case study […]

This Lent, Rediscover What Love Does
0

This Lent, Rediscover What Love Does

by

by on Feb 09, 2015 in Evangelization, Featured, Live in Christ, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

Though my wife and I both grew up with dogs, we do not have dogs. There are a number of reasons, not the least of which is that some of in our family have allergies. But this did not keep us from hosting a dear, elderly couple for dinner last week, their little “Sparky” in tow. Love […]

Preach It!
0

Preach It!

by

by on Feb 09, 2015 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

The Bible is not just for Churches and Synagogues. Portions of it are read as literature, even in secular university classrooms.  Invariably, when you look at the syllabus of such courses, you find Job. It’s not hard to see why.  Job poignantly expresses what all human beings experience at one time or another–the feeling that […]

Help Mary in Her Mission -- Offer Your Communion
1

Help Mary in Her Mission — Offer Your Communion

by

by on Feb 06, 2015 in Featured, Live in Christ, MyChurchParish.com, On Books
Print This Article

Fr. Emil Neubert, SM, one of my favorite Mariologists, wrote many books on Mary including Mary and the Priestly Ministry and My Ideal, Jesus, Son of Mary. Recently, the Franciscans of the Immaculate, through their publishing house, Academy of the Immaculata, have renewed interest in Father Emil Neubert by translating his French works from the 1950’s into English. […]

Authority over Demons
0

Authority over Demons

by

by on Jan 31, 2015 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

I’ve read many term papers in my day.  Most of them are no more than a patchwork of quotes.  That’s because college students are smart enough to know that they really can’t say much on their own authority–to make their case, they have to lean on the authority of others more learned than themselves. That’s […]

Lemons and Moons, or "How to Love"
0

Lemons and Moons, or “How to Love”

by

by on Jan 30, 2015 in Featured, Live in Christ, MyChurchParish.com, Those in Need
Print This Article

When my grief counselor asked me to explain why I felt the loss of my mother so acutely, I couldn’t come up with my own language for it. It was all so natural and obvious to me. She was my mother! But not everyone has a mother like my mother, I learned, so first we had […]

The Priest’s Sacrifice and Yours
0

The Priest’s Sacrifice and Yours

by

by on Jan 28, 2015 in Catechesis, Featured, Live in Christ, MyChurchParish.com
Print This Article

“You received Holy Communion this morning and that is well, but you must do more, make a general confession and offer your communion for the conversion of sinners.” These were the words the Queen of Heaven spoke in 1859 to a Belgian immigrant named Adele Brise in Champion, Wisconsin. In 1917 the children in Fatima […]