Suffering

7 09, 2021

Rivers of Living Water
Rivers of Living Water

Rivers of Living Water

By Father David Nix|2021-09-04T02:23:09+00:00September 7th, 2021|Theology|

Et sustínui qui simul contristarétur, et non fuit: et qui consolarétur, et non invéni.—Ps 68:21 Many people ask me with our crisis in the Church, "What are we to do?" At the risk of sounding saccharine-sweet, I'm going to propose that one of the best things you can do is to give your heart to Jesus to let His heart break in yours here on earth over the state of the Church. If St. Teresa of Avila wrote, "Christ has no hands but yours; Christ has no feet but yours," and since we know that Saul (before becoming Paul) in persecuting the Church was literally persecuting Christ-Himself (cf. Acts 9:4) [...]

28 03, 2021

Palm Sunday Sermon: Why Must We Suffer?

By Father David Nix|2021-04-11T23:30:07+00:00March 28th, 2021|Podcasts, Sermons, Talks|

Given at St. Patrick's during Holy Week 2021. https://youtu.be/eQ2N1z8d4gI

12 04, 2020

Resurrection and the Problem of Pain
Resurrection and the Problem of Pain

Resurrection and the Problem of Pain

By Father David Nix|2020-04-13T17:52:24+00:00April 12th, 2020|Theology|

I have thought a lot about "The Problem of Pain" this Lent. The Problem of Pain is the modern atheist's main objection to believing in God: How could an infinitely good God who is infinitely powerful allow so much evil on earth? Indeed, there have been many books written to defend the existence of God and the goodness of God. But the one line that kept returning to me this Lent was: "Why must we suffer? Because here below, pure love cannot exist without suffering."—St. Bernadette. This sounds like an oversimplification of an answer to the Problem of Pain, but it is the most perfect explanation I have ever read [...]

14 09, 2019

The Cross vs. Emotional Fulfillment in Marriage
The Cross vs. Emotional Fulfillment in Marriage

The Cross vs. Emotional Fulfillment in Marriage

By Father David Nix|2019-09-16T00:18:27+00:00September 14th, 2019|Theology|

By Fr. David Nix and Leila Miller As I have said in many sermons and blog posts, Catholics that use contraception have the same divorce rate as the rest of the United States—roughly 50%. Catholics who refrain from contraception have a divorce rate that is only 3%, even when all studies are averaged. But what about those 3% of Catholics who get a divorce while avoiding contraception? Crisis Magazine did a study about 15 years ago to ask why young Catholics who avoid contraception were getting divorces. The answer was one: They did not expect to suffer much in marriage. This blog post is written by my friend and author, [...]

23 09, 2017

Padre Pio Sermon

By Father David Nix|2019-04-05T16:04:33+00:00September 23rd, 2017|Podcasts, Sermons, Talks|

This is a sermon on Padre Pio, suffering and love. (If you want to help spread these sermons, please click "Apple Podcasts" below and review this podcast on iTunes.)

14 04, 2017

In Cena Domini
In Cena Domini

In Cena Domini

By Father David Nix|2019-04-05T17:52:32+00:00April 14th, 2017|Podcasts, Sermons, Talks|

Tonight's podcast is from the Traditional Latin Mass for the Supper of the Lord (Cena Domini.) This sermon is about the connection between the Holy Eucharist and the Holy Priesthood, and why Jesus transfers His suffering and leadership to His priests. We will see that both the leadership and the suffering of priests are for the life of the world.

26 12, 2016

St. Stephen and Rogue One
St. Stephen and Rogue One

St. Stephen and Rogue One

By Father David Nix|2016-12-26T19:03:03+00:00December 26th, 2016|Theology|

Spoiler alert on Rogue One for the second half of this blog post. Today is the feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr of the Catholic Church. His martyrdom is found in Acts chapter 7 and it contains the jarring testimony of a young deacon who chooses God’s religion over man’s intertwined religious games. Although engaging the high-powered Jewish religious leaders of Christ’s own time, St. Stephen is fearless in proclaiming how Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of all the Hebrew Scriptures. Before being stoned to death, Stephen recounts to the Pharisees all of Salvation history. Then he accuses them: "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. [...]

24 10, 2016

23rd Sunday After Pentecost 2016
23rd Sunday After Pentecost 2016

23rd Sunday After Pentecost 2016

By Father David Nix|2019-11-16T20:44:56+00:00October 24th, 2016|Podcasts, Sermons, Talks|

This homily is about victory in loss and how good comes from evil in your life. We took these pictures in Rwanda two years ago. In the top picture, the Blessed Mother appeared in Kibeho in 1981 and 1982 in a Vatican-approved apparition. Below, we walk in a Eucharistic procession through the streets that—only 20 years prior— the dead had been macheted in the genocide. Now the King of Life and Love triumphs over death on the streets.

15 09, 2016

Seven Sorrows of Mary
Seven Sorrows of Mary

Seven Sorrows of Mary

By Father David Nix|2019-04-10T16:10:10+00:00September 15th, 2016|Podcasts, Sermons, Talks|

Kibeho, Rwanda, where Mary appeared in 1981 in a Vatican-approved apparition, preaching (among many things) the renewal of the ancient 7-sorrows Rosary.

9 07, 2015

Free-Will and Suffering

By Father David Nix|2015-07-14T00:55:03+00:00July 9th, 2015|Theology|

Should God have ended the world when Adam and Eve sinned? As I tell high-school kids, as soon as Adam and Eve had sinned...There were only three options that God had for a planet spiraling towards total sin: 1) Blow up earth to end both sin and free-will...or... 2) Turn people into robots that would automatically obey, so as to terminate free-will but keep the planet...or... 3) Send a rescuer who could transform the human state of suffering into redemptive suffering. If you can think of a fourth option, let me know. In the mean time, notice that only the third option allows for free-will. Because option #3 allows for free-will to continue among both the good and evil people on [...]