Written On Our Hearts

We are living in unprecedented and uncertain times. The entire world has been affected by a global pandemic, it has reached nearly every corner of the earth and affected nearly every person on the planet in some way. If you or a loved one has not contracted the disease, you are probably suffering in some other way from the fallout of schools, businesses, and all forms of public entertainment being shuttered. As a human family, more especially as Americans, this is the first time we have experienced the rapid spread of illness, death, job loss, and freedoms being restricted in our lifetime. As people of faith, it is only natural for us to turn to the Church in difficult times. Unfortunately, in this time many of us are finding that no matter how hard we pull and push on the doors of our Church they too are closed. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying the Church has been absent or silent during these times. Many priests and bishops have become creative offering drive-by confessions, parki...

We are all a great deal luckier that we realize, we usually get what we want - or near enough.  ~ Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  Just about everyone knows that the only way to get into Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory is with a Golden Ticket. According to the vision of Roald Dahl, you can’t enter the famous Chocolateer’s world of pure imagination without one. There are only five authentic tickets and they are hidden inside an ordinary Wonka Bar. The reclusive Wonka knows, the demand of chocolate-loving children will outweigh the supply of golden tickets and madness will likely ensue in sweet shops all around the world. Children everywhere push their parents to the brink of insanity with requests for more chocolate in hopes of winning the ultimate prize. For the vast majority, their dream of touring the enchanted factory comes crashing down just as fast as their blood sugar levels, but the sugar rush is extended for the five Golden Ticket finders; Augus...

I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world. ~ John 16:33 As human beings we are constantly competing to win or gain something. Whether it is a game, a job, a new possession or relationship we are continuously attempting to reach a goal whatever it may be for us at any particular moment in our lives. Competition is good, having goals are important but losing often strengthens our will and our resolve. Some losses are greater than others, watching your favorite sports team lose year-after-year pales in comparison to losing your job. Some loss we have no control over and other kinds of loss we had influence in the circumstances and situations that contributed to the outcome. Either way, losing doesn’t feel very good, because we have been created to be champions and conquerors, following in the footsteps of Jesus. Christ promises us in the Book of Revelation, “ I will give the victor the rig...

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. ~ Philippians 4:4 I think the month of May was given to us by God for celebrations. Star Wars fans begin the month wishing well to one another, saying “ May the fourth be with you. ” Mexicans celebrate a victory in their struggle for independence a day later on Cinco de Mayo. A few weeks later we celebrate Mother’s Day. Finally, on the month’s last Monday we memorialize all those who have died defending the United States of America. That is just the societal celebrations, we haven’t mentioned high school and college graduations and proms or those who receive the Sacraments of Initiation. It goes without saying there are many reasons to celebrate this month. As the weather gets warmer, these events and occasions give us reason to gather with family and friends to share in some silliness like Star Wars day, give thanks to our mothers for blessing us with the gift of life, celebrate the accomplishments of loved ones and honor t...

I’ve known since I was in first grade that my stay in purgatory will probably be quite long (and I believe my reservation at the Suffering Suites hotel is getting longer day by day, but never mind that for now). As I remember, the earliest series of serious and repeated offenses that sent me toward the temporal timeout corner was not doing my Monkey Business in first grade. Yes, you read that correctly, Monkey Business. You’d think that any first grader who successfully avoided monkey business would have a golden ticket to heaven, except that my first grade teacher Mrs. Gerwig cleverly used this deceptive term to mean classwork. And who has time for doing Monkey Business when one is already knee deep in…what is the term I am looking for…oh that’s it…monkey business. But no matter how one dressed up doing school work (even hanging a vine across the chalkboard with monkey’s swinging from it holding worksheets) I never liked it, let alone did much of it in first grade. Instead I was c...

I was sitting on a tepid bleacher at Polhman Field in Beloit, Wisconsin on the evening of September 8th, the feast of the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, watching a Beloit Snappers playoff game. To be honest, although I’d been to Mass earlier in the day, I was paying closer attention to the foul balls than I was to the action of the Holy Spirit. At least, I was until the Snapper’s Left Fielder, Ryan Mathews, was introduced by the PA Announcer. As Ryan made his way from the on-deck circle to the batters box, Jeremy Camp’s song “My God” blared over the speaker system; not just for his first at bat but for all of them. To put it mildly, I was shocked. I listen to a lot of popular contemporary Christian music; but the last place I expect to hear it is as the intro music for a professional baseball player. After all, that short clip of music for baseball players is supposed to pump up both the player and the crowd, not worship God. Some songs, like Trevor Hoffman’s theme song “Hell’s Be...

One of my favorite contemporary Christian worship songs to meditate upon is Worlds Apart  by Jars of Clay. It speaks to our unconquerable struggle with sin and despite our best human efforts to live a life of grace we still come up miserably short. The message of this song is particularly pertinent to reflect upon during Lent, helping us remember that without a savior we will be left “ broken and on [our] knees .” We find ourselves overwhelmed by our sin often and it “ takes all [we are] to believe in a mercy that covers [us] .” By admitting that “ what [we] need (or sins that Satan has deceived us into believing that we need to remain happy) and what [we] believe are worlds apart ” enables the Savior to fill the chasm in our hearts with His mercy, forgiveness and love. As St. Catherine of Siena would point out in her Dialogue, Jesus is the bridge, by which our soul must walk across to access heaven, there is no other way; no alternative path. Furthermore, she states, that thi...