This writing was first published March 24th, 2009. “the smoke of Satan is seeping into the Church of God through the cracks in the walls.” —POPE PAUL VI, first quote: Homily during the Mass for Sts. Peter & Paul, June 29, 1972 THERE is an elephant in the living room. But few […]
Judas dips into bowl, artist unknown PAPAL palpitations are continuing to give way to anxious questions, conspiracies, and fear that the Barque of Peter is heading for rocky shoals. The fears tend to revolve around why the Pope gave some clerical positions to “liberals” or let them take key roles in the recent Synod […]
Pope Francis in the Philippines (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez) papalotry |pāpǝlätrē|: the belief or stance that everything the Pope says or does is without error. I’VE been getting bagfuls of letters, very concerned letters, since the Synod on the Family began in Rome last year. That stream of worry didn’t let up the past […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for Sunday, October 18th, 2015 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time Liturgical texts here WE are not facing the end of the world. In fact, we are not even facing the last tribulations of the Church. What we are facing is the final confrontation in a long history of […]
THE past few weeks, two crucifixes and a statue of Mary in our home have had their hands broken off—at least two of them inexplicably. In fact, just about every statue in our home has a missing hand. It reminded me of a writing I did on this on February 13th, 2007. I think it […]
“HOW do you hide a tree?” I thought for moment about my spiritual director’s question. “In a forest?” Indeed, he went on to say, “Likewise, Satan has raised a tumult of false voices in order to obscure the authentic voice of the Lord.”
Pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary to obtain peace in the world… for she alone can save it. —apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, July 13, 1917 IT is long overdue to take these words seriously… words which require some sacrifice and perseverance. But if you do, […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for Thursday, August 27th, 2015 Memorial of St. Monica Liturgical texts here “STAY AWAKE!” Those are the opening words in today’s Gospel. “For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.”
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for Tuesday, August 11th, 2015 Memorial of St. Clare Liturgical texts here PERHAPS the deepest trial many are experiencing today is the temptation to believe that prayer is futile, that God neither hears nor answers their prayers. To succumb to this temptation is the beginning of the shipwreck […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for Monday, July 20th, 2015 Opt. Memorial of St. Apollinaris Liturgical texts here THERE wasn’t always enmity between Pharaoh and the Israelites. Remember when Joseph was entrusted by Pharaoh to hand out grain to all of Egypt? At that time, the Israelites were seen as a benefit and […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for Thursday, July 16th, 2015 Opt. Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Liturgical texts here SOMETIMES, in all of the controversies, the questions, and confusion of our times; in all of the moral crises, challenges, and trials we face… there is the risk that the most important […]
THE words were clear, intense, and repeated several times in my heart after Pope Benedict XVI resigned: You have entered dangerous days… It was the sense that great confusion was going to come upon the Church and the world. And oh, how the past year and a half has lived up to that word! […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor Tuesday, June 30th, 2015Opt. Memorial of The First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church Liturgical texts here “Peace Be Still” by Arnold Friberg LAST week, I took some time off to take my family camping, something we rarely get to do. I set aside the Pope’s new encyclical, […]
A FEW days ago, an American wrote me in the wake of their Supreme Court’s decision to invent the right to same-sex “marriage”: I have been weeping on and off a good part of this day… as I attempt to go to sleep I am wondering if you could help me understand just where […]
NOT since Humanae Vitae has there perhaps been an encyclical letter that has generated more angst, more concern, more anticipation than Laudato si’. I have printed it off and will spend the weekend reading and meditating upon it.
Gideon, sifting his men, by James Tissot (1806-1932) As we prepare for the release of a new encyclical this week, my thoughts have been drifting back to the Synod and the series of writings I did then, particularly The Five Corrections and this one below. What I find most notable in this pontificate of Pope Francis, is […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for Monday of the Ninth Week of Ordinary Time, June 1st, 2015 Memorial of St. Justin Liturgical texts here FEAR, brothers and sisters, is silencing the Church in many places and thus imprisoning truth. The cost of our trepidation can be counted in souls: men and women left […]
Dove released by Pope Francis attacked by a crow, January 27th, 2014; AP Photo ALL over the world, hundreds of millions of Catholics gathered this past Pentecost Sunday and heard the Gospel proclaimed: …when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. (John 16:13) Jesus did not say “Spirit […]
Come Holy Spirit by Lance Brown PENTECOST SUNDAY THE recipe for fearlessness is a simple one: join hands with the Blessed Mother and pray and wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. It worked 2000 years ago; it has worked throughout the centuries, and it continues to work today because it is […]
Belle SHE’s my horse. She’s adorable. She tries so hard to please, to do the right thing… but Belle is scared of just about everything. Well, that makes two of us. You see, almost thirty years ago, my only sister was killed in a car accident. From that day on, I began to be […]
THERE are times when trials are so intense, temptations so fierce, emotions so embroiled, that recollection is very difficult. I want to pray, but my mind is spinning; I want to rest, but my body is reeling; I want to believe, but my soul is wrestling with a thousand doubts. Sometimes, these are moments of […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter, May 5th, 2015 Liturgical texts here ARE you at peace? Scripture tells us that our God is a God of peace. And yet St. Paul also taught that: It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the […]
I have been flooded with emails the past two weeks, and will do my best to respond to them. Of note is that many of you are experiencing an increase in spiritual attacks and trials the likes of never before. This does not surprise me; it is why I felt the Lord urging […]
Photo by Al Hayat, AFP-Getty THE past two weeks, I have taken time, as I said I would, to ponder my ministry, its direction, and my personal journey. I’ve received many letters in that time filled with encouragement and prayer, and I am truly grateful for the love and support of many brothers and […]
THIS past Lent was a blessing for me to journey with tens of thousands of priests and laymen alike all over the world through the daily Mass meditations I wrote. It was exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. As such, I need to take some quiet time to reflect upon many things in my ministry […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor Friday of Holy Week, April 3rd, 2015Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion Liturgical texts here YOU are loved. Whoever you are, you are loved. On this day, God declares in one solemn act that you are loved.
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor Thursday of Holy Week, April 2nd, 2015Evening Mass of the Last Supper Liturgical texts here JESUS was stripped three times during His Passion. The first time was at the Last Supper; the second when they clothed Him in a military cloak; [1]cf. Matt 27:28 and the third time, […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent, March 23rd, 2015 Liturgical texts here ONE of the key harbingers of The Growing Mob today is, rather than engage in a discussion of facts, [1]cf. The Death of Logic they often resort to simply labeling and stigmatizing those with whom they […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent, March 18th, 2015 Liturgical texts here THE whole of Jesus’ life consisted in this: doing the will of the Heavenly Father. What is remarkable is that, even though Jesus is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, He still does absolutely […]
With dozens of new subscribers coming on board now each week, old questions are popping up such as this one: Why aren’t the Pope’s speaking about the end times? The answer will surprise many, reassure others, and challenge many more. First published September 21st, 2010, I have updated this writing to the present pontificate.
I could have written this for the past week. First published THE Synod on the family in Rome last autumn was the beginning of a firestorm of attacks, assumptions, judgments, grumbling, and suspicions against Pope Francis. I set everything aside, and for several weeks responded to reader’s concerns, media distortions, and most especially distortions […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor Saturday of the Second Week of Lent, March 7th, 2015First Saturday of the Month Liturgical texts here THREE minutes in a pig barn, and your clothes are done for the day. Imagine the prodigal son, hanging out with swine, feeding them day after day, too poor to even […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent, March 3rd, 2015 Liturgical texts here WHEN it comes to weeding out sin this Lent, we cannot divorce mercy from the Cross, nor the Cross from mercy. Today’s readings are a powerful blend of both…
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor Monday of the Second Week of Lent, March 2nd, 2015 Liturgical texts here THERE is a line from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings that, among others, jumped out at me when the character Frodo wishes for the death of his adversary, Gollum. The wise wizard Gandalf responds:
A Light to the Gentiles by Greg Olsen WHY did Jesus come to earth as He did—clothing His divine nature in the DNA, chromosomes, and genetic heritage of the woman, Mary? For Jesus could very well have simply materialized in the desert, entered immediately upon forty days of temptation, and then emerged in the Spirit […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor Wednesday, February 4th, 2015 Liturgical texts here DISCIPLINE, mortification, fasting, sacrifice… these are words that tend to make us cringe because we associate them with pain. However, Jesus did not. As St. Paul wrote: For the sake of the joy that lay before him, Jesus endured the cross… […]
WARS and rumors of wars… And yet, Jesus said these would only be “the beginning of the birth-pangs.” [1]cf. Matt 24:8 What, then, could possibly be the hard labor? Jesus answers: Then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and put you to death; and you will be hated by all nations for my […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor Friday, January 16th, 2015 Liturgical texts here THERE is so much happening in our world, so quickly, that it can be overwhelming. There is so much suffering, adversity, and busyness in our lives that it can be discouraging. There is so much dysfunction, societal breakdown, and division that […]
First published January 8th, 2015… SEVERAL weeks ago, I wrote that it is time for me ‘to speak directly, boldly, and without apology to the “remnant” who are listening. It is only a remnant of readers now, not because they are special, but chosen; it is a remnant, not because all are not invited, but few respond….’ […]
The truth appeared like a great candle lighting the whole world with its brilliant flame. —St. Bernadine of Siena A POWERFUL image came to me… an image that carries both encouragement and warning. Those who have been following these writings know that their purpose has been specifically to prepare us for the […]
I believe that the vast majority of the Book of Revelation refers, not to the end of the world, but to the end of this era. Only the last few chapters really look at the very end of the world while everything else before mostly describes a “final confrontation” between the “woman” and the “dragon”, and all the terrible […]
HAVE you ever met someone who is passionate about their subject? A skydiver, horse-back rider, a sports fan, or an anthropologist, scientist, or antique restorer who lives and breathes their hobby or career? While they can inspire us, and even spark an interest in us toward their subject, Christianity is different. For it is […]
“THERE is one terrible truth in Christianity that in our times, even more than in previous centuries, arouses implacable horror in the heart of man. That truth is of the eternal pains of hell. At the mere allusion to this dogma, minds become troubled, hearts tighten up and tremble, passions become rigid and inflamed […]
THE call of the Holy Father for the Church to become more of a “field hospital” to “heal the wounded” is a very beautiful, timely, and perceptive pastoral vision. But what exactly needs healing? What are the wounds? What does it mean to “welcome” sinners aboard the Barque of Peter? Essentially, what is “Church” […]
PART III — FEARS REVEALED SHE fed and clothed the poor with love; she nurtured minds and hearts with the Word. Catherine Doherty, foundress of the Madonna House apostolate, was a woman who took on the “smell of the sheep” without taking on the “stench of sin.” She constantly walked the thin line between […]