26 12, 2016

St. Stephen and Rogue One

By |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. [...]

16 07, 2016

Women Saints’ Problems

By |2016-07-20T03:18:11+00:00July 16th, 2016|Theology|

I'm not sure who originally compiled this, but it is encouraging to know:  You're not alone in your struggles.  These are the women of the school of Christ crucified.  (After writing this blog post last night, I woke up and realized I needed to add an important Nota Bene:  The below listing of saints is not a green-light for women to be doormats.  Most of these women tried to preserve their lives and even live normal lives.  The list below is simply a way to push against the Calvinist idea that suffering is a sign of divine disfavor.) Abusive or Unfaithful Husbands Physical Abuse St. Rita of Cascia Verbal Abuse Bl. [...]

6 12, 2015

St. John the Baptist

By |2019-04-10T16:15:09+00:00December 6th, 2015|Podcasts, Sermons, Talks|

During the second Sunday of Advent, "when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, 'Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?' And Jesus answered them, 'Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by Me.'"—Matthew 11:2-6  

9 09, 2015

End of the Priesthood

By |2017-11-01T00:57:40+00:00September 9th, 2015|Theology|

Today is the feast of the 17th century Jesuit, St. Peter Claver.  He's seen above in his untiring work in Cartagena, Columbia to the slaves who were brought there from Africa. The "end of the priesthood" doesn't mean that the Catholic priesthood is coming to an end.  By "end," I mean the final-end of something.  As I wrote in the post The End of the Mass, "end" simply means telos or goal of its existence. What is the end of the priesthood? The answer: The glory of God and the salvation of souls. What is the means to this end? If you answer "the sacraments," then you're only a third correct. [...]

29 08, 2015

Marriage Defenders: Part 2 of 2

By |2015-08-31T19:13:37+00:00August 29th, 2015|Theology|

A friend of mine who is a beautiful wife and mother of seven children was in a supermarket this week.  A 50 year old man stopped her and then sarcastically asked her if she knew what "caused" having seven kids. She texted me about this and then added her and her husband's thoughts on this: Some days the world just wears you down and a part of you starts to feel like maybe you are a freak. Not just about having a lot of kids, but about everything. And then you realize you need to spend some time in adoration and start to once again see life through Jesus' eyes [...]

27 08, 2015

Marriage Defenders: Part 1 of 2

By |2015-09-20T00:47:17+00:00August 27th, 2015|Theology|

The reason why the Greek Orthodox and Russian Orthodox hesitantly accept divorce and remarriage today can be traced back to a 9th century synod, where Greece had a pre-emptive episode of England’s Henry VIII’s libido issues. In fact, the Greek bishops of the 9th century held a synod to recognize the legitimacy of the emperor Constantine’s second marriage. A Greek monk, St. Theodore, stood alone in the breach, calling this synod the “Adultery-Synod,” moecho-synodus in Greek. Like history that would be repeated seven hundred years later in England with Henry VIII versus St. Thomas More, the Greek bishops and the emperor stood behind the synod of adultery, not behind the saint. St. [...]

Go to Top