Start here.
I have written here since 2010 on evangelization, parish life, Scripture, apologetics, and the moral life. These six are the best place to begin.
Go Home and Live as Missionary Disciples
If your faith feels humdrum, you may not have entered the mission yet. A talk to men on what that asks of you.
Formed By Distraction
Eliot described minds pulled from one distraction to the next. We now carry that in our pockets. What is it forming in us?
What Is a Catholic?
A plain answer: who belongs to the Church Christ founded on the Apostles, and what holds that Church together.
Why You Need Your Men’s Group
Before asking whether men’s groups work, ask what problem they are meant to solve.
Why Protestants Are Becoming Catholic at My Parish
What draws evangelicals and mainline Protestants into the Catholic Church, as they told me in class.
How God Speaks in Human Words
The first of four articles on how the Bible is at once a human book and the Word of God.
St. Joseph: man, husband, father
Today I was greatly honored to speak at a St. Joseph's Table celebration where people gather to honor the name and patronage of Saint Joseph (especially over Sicili, where this tradition originated) by sharing a meal together and offering alms to the poor. I was asked to prepare a short talk on the saint, so I poured over some scholarly, theological, and devotional texts in order to offer the best that I could on the man whom I am proud to name one of my closest patrons.
Joseph, of the House and Family of David
Little is known about Joseph from Scripture. He is named "a righteous man", living according to the law of God. He is of the tribe of Judah, of the "House and family of David," which means that he stands within the secret and sacred bloodline from King David on down to Jesus. The last Davidic heir who sat on the throne had his sons killed and his eyes blotted out, then was carried off to slavery, never to be heard from again. The last thing he saw was the end of the Davidic lineage.
However, as God is one to do, He preserved a remnant, a worthy lineage that continued on in the humility of permanent de-thronement. They would be born, raise families, work jobs, knowing all the while they were supposed to be kings. But none would ever rule.
What I learned at Lunch about the Love of Jesus Christ
The protestors were united against a brutal regime, and they achieved solidarity in and through their faith, not in spite of it. Learn that lesson!He even got to speak on contemporary issues, especially what's going on in Egypt right now. He showed us a picture of an Egyptian Coptic Orthodox man holding up a cross next to a Muslim holding up the Koran, and how they are holding each other's hands. It was a gesture of solidarity.
Something fascinating and under-reported: in the midst of the protest, the Muslims cleared a path for the Christians to gather and to celebrate Mass and the Christians made room so that the Muslims could pray.
Events, Talks and Discernment
Jesus Christ is utterly humble, preaching his message by washing the disciples' feet. How humble are we, the preachers of his gospel?Whenever we give talks and lead conferences for youth we often approach it with programs centered around talks and framed by our own expectations. The danger lies in two things with this approach that must be re-evaluated in order to keep our talk, event or conference Christo-centric.
First, we all may think that discipleship lies in talking. Speech making is not the essence of living the Christian life. Listening to God in loving contemplation ought to be the center, not listening to me. There are two remedies for this from my perspective. For the speaker, all of our talks have to be drenched in prayer: from the topic, the placement, the outline, rough drafts and the final product to its opening and closing, as well as peppering the talk itself with the always-anointed words of Scripture. For the audience, especially teens, all of our talks have to lead them to better prayer, whether that is within the talk, as a challenge during the talk, or as meditative food-for-thought later on.
Confession and God's Loving Generosity
Recently I was blessed with the opportunity to speak to the parents of children who are preparing to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. As I prayed and thought about what I would say, I decided to implement one of my fancy new evangelization approaches. I would situate my catechesis on Confession and it's importance for the family within an all-out kerygmatic evangelization.
I wanted to go beyond a catechesis on the purpose and practice of Reconciliation. I wanted to break open the whole drama of humanity to give people a renewed vision of the gravity of sin, the immensity of forgiveness, the power of mercy, and the eternal depths of reconcilation with God.