There is an old story about two pilgrims traveling to a monastery high up in the mountains of Tibet. A storm was approaching and they made their way as quickly as possible along the narrow and treacherous paths. While negotiating one such path they heard a voice calling out forContinue Reading
Is there value in suffering? Much of the world would say no. In 1978 the election of Cardinal Karol Wojtyla to the papacy rocked the world. He was the first non-Italian pope in 455 years and the youngest pope since 1846. At the age of 58 he was also oneContinue Reading
In the Apostles Creed the Church professes the belief that when Jesus died upon the cross He descended into Hell. That idea may make some people uncomfortable. But it is an ancient belief that Jesus descended into Hell not as a victim, damned for all eternity, but as a conqueringContinue Reading
Robert Louis Stevenson once told a story about a storm tossed boat. It was night and the waves brought the boat dangerously close to a rocky shore. The wind threatened to drive the boat to destruction on to the rocks. The passengers were confined below decks while the crew struggledContinue Reading
We don’t hear much about the dangers of relativism these days, that’s because it has a new name, tolerance. Tolerance can be a dangerous doctrine. Dangerous doctrines, like ancient heresies never really go away, they are just rebranded. Evil permeates our culture. Its existence is deeply rooted in our awarenessContinue Reading
What exactly do we mean when we refer to the “True Presence?” In October of 1995, Pope John Paul II was scheduled to greet seminarians at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore. At the last moment the Pope told his security team that after greeting the seminarians he would go intoContinue Reading
As Christians we are called to evangelization. We have been given the mission to spread the Gospel, the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. To that end Christian missionaries have traveled throughout the world, converting entire countries to the Faith. But Korea is an exception. It was not evangelizedContinue Reading
We are most fully ourselves when we live as part of a community. There is an old Russian proverb, some wisdom that may have been imparted to young men as they contemplated marriage, that goes, “Don’t buy the house, buy the neighbor.” Or put another way, don’t marry the womanContinue Reading
Satan must have been pleased with himself. Imagine this embodiment of evil, the father of lies, a murderer from the beginning, smiling in satisfaction as Jesus dies on the cross. It was the devil’s greatest triumph, he thwarted God’s plan to save mankind. Ever since the beginning of all things,Continue Reading
In ancient tradition, God dwells on the mountaintops. That is where Elijah encounters Him. But God was not in the great wind that tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks. He was not in the earthquake that shook the mountain to its roots. He was not even in theContinue Reading