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We are in the midst of Respect Life month.  This call to respect all human life is really all-encompassing.  Respect life means that we recognize that each human person has value and dignity.  Humans have this dignity precisely because of how we were made, and by whom.  Every issue matters, and we should have respect for human life at the core of the way we approach any and every issue.

The other morning I was praying before Mass and I had some thoughts that I would like to share. I was offering all of myself to the Lord. Specifically that morning I was offering him all of my failures, my shortcomings and imperfections. I have heard great saints talk about how their shortcomings is all they have that is truly theirs. Anyway, then I started to feel that maybe I shouldn’t be offering such “trash” to the Lord. Then this hit me.

I am writing this on the feast of the exaltation of the Cross. This seems a strange thing to exalt and celebrate. St. Paul says that the Cross is a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. I know that by the time you read this the feast day will have already passed. However, we proclaim not just Christ, but Christ crucified. The Cross does in fact seem foolishness to the eyes of the world and it is in fact a stumbling block for many.

I hope that everyone was safe and relatively unharmed by Hurricane Ida. We were very fortunate here. It is odd to think about how different so many people are experiencing life right now. I am writing this on Aug. 31, just a day after Ida passed through.

​​​​​​​As I write this column we are on the eve of the first full day of school in our Catholic schools. I know that all teachers work hard and all teachers should be applauded. However, in this space I want to thank those who enter into our schools as ministers of education.

I think most people are familiar with the concept that human beings use both faith and reason to come to knowledge. We usually see this when we are talking about coming to know God. As Catholics we know that we must have faith, but we also know that our faith must be informed with reason. These two faculties work hand in hand.

The last few weeks have been great for me in terms of my family life. Three of my five children are grown and no longer live at home. In fact, each of them is at least 13 hours driving from my house. All three of them were home around the Fourth of July. It was fantastic having everyone home. I miss having my whole family together. I mourn for what the family used to be, but that is not the real point of this article.

Am I doing something wrong?  I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior.  I have given my heart, my life, my everything over to Him on many occasions, and yet I sin.  I still get angry in traffic.  I still struggle to be more selfless in my relationships.  I still desire things that are sinful and that are bad for me.  Why?  

Happy Fathers’ Day!  What does it mean to be “the father?”  Well often it means always being the one who ends up with the heels of every loaf of bread.  

Summer is upon us! The kids are wrapping up school and within a couple of hours they will be complaining that they are bored. 

It is getting to be graduation season. Lots of our children, who are now young adults, are transitioning from one mode of being to another. Some are going off to college, some are going on to post-college academics and some are forging out into their careers.

I look at the news and I hear about all of the division and anger in our country.  I know that is real for many people, but I sure don’t see it here. Even so, I have been pondering how I can be an agent for change.   What can I do to foster harmony and community?  This has been on my mind and heart for some time now.

I received a letter from a man who recently lost his wife. My response is below, and I share it with you in the hopes it will help the grieving:

​​​​​​​The tomb is empty!  Alleluia!  Our faith in Jesus is dependent on the bodily resurrection of Jesus.  We may say something like, “It is incredible that Jesus rose from the dead!”  We mean to say, that it is fantastic and wonderful, but there are many people in this world who will take the more literal meaning; it is not believable.  I would like to spend some time reflecting on the credibility of Jesus’ resurrection.  Please know that I am going to do so in a very brief manner.

Welcome to Holy Week.  Of course, if you get your paper on Friday afternoon you will have to wait a couple of days before it is officially so. Holy Week is to Lent as the final two minutes of a basketball game is to the rest of the contest.  

When the Lord came down to the top of Mount Sinai, He summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up to Him. Then the Lord spoke to Moses …” Exodus 19:20-21

I love to eat.  When we as humans eat something our digestive system takes the food, which is not a part of our body, and turns it into energy and minerals that become a part of our cells.  That which we cannot use is discarded as waste.  In other words, what we eat becomes part of us.  This is a true incorporation, literally speaking.  We are all familiar with the expression, “You are what you eat.”

Since the inauguration of the new president I have noticed a huge uptick in political posts on social media, more political topics during shows on Catholic radio, and so many conversations with Catholic friends end up with politics. 

Last time I talked about my desire to be holy and laid out some ideas for how to work toward that.  I focused on the human dimension of trying to grow.  This time I want to supplement what I did last time by talking about prayer and how essential prayer is to us growing in holiness, because without prayer we are just engaging in self-help techniques.

It is a new year.  I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and I hope it lasted for more than a day!