“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” -Leo Tolstoy You may or may not agree with this statement now, but after reading Anna Karenina most people agree, and also realize that’s it’s Tolstoy’s thesis for the book. As usual, the movie did not do justice to the book.Read More
St. Paul’s address to the Athenians in Acts 17: 22-31 models an evangelical and catechetical approach worth emulating. The Apostle was a pious and observant Jew; additionally, he was a Roman citizen raised in the cosmopolitan city of Tarsus, a cultural and literary center and a “university” town. So Paul knew how to address notRead More
I found myself marvelling this week at the Apostle Peter’s willingness to welcome Gentiles into the Church. For a Jew like Peter, it must have been unthinkable, initially, that the Messiah of Israel would suffer, die and rise for those who did not yet recognize and worship his Father, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Read More
This past week I found myself thinking about the fear that the disciples must have been feeling after the Crucifixion. John mentions that they locked themselves in the upper room out of fear for the opponents and adversaries of Jesus, but I imagine they must have been fearing more than that. Mary Magdalene had toldRead More
Hello friends, Congrats to those who received their Confirmation! St. Paul has this to say to newly confirmed Christians: “In Christ you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised holy Spirit, which is the first installment of our inheritanceRead More
We do our best, in trying times, to love. But it is challenging to do so, especially when love demands of us work that is hard or uncomfortable or tedious. So when someone comes among us who is willing to serve, and sacrifice, and stay, we know that real love has shown up. Real loveRead More
Hello students, One week until Easter and one month until exams! What does this have to do with fasting? An Old Latin proverb speaks about a generally accepted human experience: Plenus venter non-studet libenter – ‘a full stomach does not learn willingly.’ When the stomach is full, it’s harder to concentrate on prayer and schoolRead More
Who Do You Say That I Am? By, Trevor Jones Earlier this month over 40 Young Adults gathered in our Chapel at 8:30 on a Sunday morning to open up a one-day retreat lead by Father Paul titled “Who Do You Say That I Am?” The focus of the day wasRead More
As he often does, the Holy Spirit surprised us again. More quickly than most thought, the cardinals of the Church settled on a single choice, a humble servant of God, with a fine intellect and strong pastoral sense, who hails from Latin America. I was struck by his strong simplicity on the balcony of St.Read More
In my last post, I expressed, like many others, the conviction that Pope Benedict’s renunciation of the Chair of Peter was motivated by a deep love and concern for the Church. No less than John Paul’s witness to suffering as pope, Benedict’s witness to humility and selflessness is heroic. And rather than shirking the cross,Read More