Where is the good Shepherd? He has laid down His Life for the sheep who recognized His Voice and followed His lead. Many shepherds would rise from the One Who like the grain of wheat fell to the ground and … Continue reading →
One moment Jesus rose from the Jordan River and the sky opened, the Spirit descended and a voice from heaven stated: “This is my Beloved Son, listen to Him.” The baptism of everyone born of woman began the public life … Continue reading →
Can you please tell me how you are going to die? How will you pass from this world of the living and enter eternity? Will you drown? Will you be shot? Will you contract a disease? Every one of us … Continue reading →
Farmers know very clearly that the soil preparation is most important if a good crop is to come. The soil is the key and so in the spiritual life the soul’s attitude is the indicator of spiritual fertility. Our Lord … Continue reading →
It was on a summer’s day that I took three high schoolers to enjoy a day in the waters of Santa Cruz. Camp St. Francis has a beautiful beach access away from the crowds. As we approached the water, I … Continue reading →
All life is directed towards an end. We are simply contingent creatures which hold the necessary Being. Our Soul is filled with this gift of life from the Life Giver. Our task in this world is not one of achievement … Continue reading →
The Wine, the Woman and the Word. Many of us have heard the story of our Lord’s first miracle over and over again but do you understand the message under the story? Every story begins with a conflict that must … Continue reading →
In an historical moment in which the Jewish nation was divided and the high priests were corrupted and Rome ruled it all, Jesus Christ entered our world. He Who created heaven and earth and all that lives there has come … Continue reading →
Action flows from our Identity. “Good diffuses itself naturally.” The philosophical fact flows from what we learned in last Sunday’s gospel. Our identity, i.e. who we are, is our priority number one. Who we are is always related to our … Continue reading →
Are You He Who is to come or do we look for another? Identity determines our destiny and during the second week of Advent the Mystical Body focuses on this issue. Is Jesus the Son of God Who became Flesh … Continue reading →
The Future of Futility. “This world is futile” remarks St. Paul to each and every Christian. This world was tainted in the sin that brought death to Adam and Eve. That same sin caused the earth to rebel against man … Continue reading →
Our dignity is determined by our destiny. Our destiny is determined by our day to day decisions. You cannot serve both God and Mammon. You will hate the one and love the other; or vice versa. We are approaching the … Continue reading →
He held up a mustard seed which can hardly be seen and said to us that the kingdom of God is like this tiny seed. There must be more to it than that and there is. Parables are divine parallels offering the … Continue reading →
Who is acceptable in the kingdom of heaven? Who is it that pass into that blessed reality that will remain forever and ever? Holy Mother Church answers that question with the wonderful feast of All Saints. Saints come in all … Continue reading →
In 1925, a holy year proclaimed by Pope Pius XI, a vast crowd of people gathered in the St. Peter Square awaiting the Pope’s pronouncement of the Kingship of Christ crucified. What joy erupted when the announcement was made and … Continue reading →
Words do move the hearts of individuals but good example drags others to follow. When we see someone put into practice the faith that they claim to possess then we are sure that they believe. Consider the example of a … Continue reading →
When you approach your death what do you think will happen? This is the questionI asked my brother because he is ailing and bored with life. He answered with the typical modernist’s mind “Everything ends.” There is no heaven; there … Continue reading →
A little boy took his mother aside from everyone else and asked her to see if daddy would help him pick out a bike. The mother asked why he didn’t go speak with daddy himself. The perfect answer came from … Continue reading →
“Whose Son is He?” It is the central question of our life. In fact we must answer this question to understand how we might live in His presence. So let us take up the challenge and see where it leads … Continue reading →
“Sin is at the door of your heart. You must know how to conquer it.” In response to God’s warning Cain sneered. Envy issues forth in the looks of the Pharisees when Jesus asked whether it is lawful to heal … Continue reading →
In every aspect of life there is a master. The masters of the monetary system seek to interpret everyone and everything according to the accounting principle. Women want to be masters of the child within their wombs. Presidents want to … Continue reading →
In every aspect of life there is a master. The masters of the monetary system seek to interpret everyone and everything according to the accounting principle. Women want to be masters of the child within their wombs. Presidents want to … Continue reading →
“Go, show yourselves to the priests.” Ten lepers were told by the power of the Son of God to follow the order of Moses and present themselves to the priests to corroborate the truth…they were healed. Many stories have been … Continue reading →
Within every living being there is a seed which pushes the each being towards its perfection. The rose, the dog, the trout and whatever your imagination can name all have an interior principle urging that being on to its destiny. … Continue reading →
The boneless tongue can break a mighty man’s back, thus the psalmist remarks. Today we face tongue that lie without a concern in the world about the consequences. When the Jews brought a deaf and dumb man to Jesus, they … Continue reading →
What are you? You are not a monkey, nor a beetle, nor even a horse. You are a human being and you have a specific gift that no other beings possess. You are created for the love of God and … Continue reading →
When you weep what emotion do you express? One may weep for joy at the birth of a new child or one may weep for sorrow over a disappointment. In the approach to Jerusalem Jesus wept for sorrow that the … Continue reading →
Do you have a home? Do you have a car? What do you call “yours”? All that we possess can become an obstacle to the reality of who I am. The most difficult parable of our Lord Jesus is this … Continue reading →
By Their Fruit A lamb can never be a wolf for their natures are quite contrary but in the human condition a man’s interior is manifested in his external behavior and his words. We can come to know ourselves through … Continue reading →
Fr. Occhio challenged our philosophy class on the question of perfect justice and can it be achieved in this world? While we exist in this sinful and fallen world there will never be any perfect justice. This fallen earth is … Continue reading →
In the course of our Lord’s public life twice He multiplied loaves and fishes to feed the multitudes. First, there was the multiplication of 5 loaves and two fish among the 5000 with clear references to the Jewish nation. Second, … Continue reading →
“Put Out Into The Deep” “Put out into the deep,” our Lord said to Peter. From Peter’s boat our Lord taught the multitude who recognized our Lord as a prophet with the power to crush sickness and the infestation of … Continue reading →
Why does God enter our humanity and dine with the sinful? The love of God has no limits when in comes to completing the number of children for the kingdom of God. The angels were tested and one-third failed the test. Those … Continue reading →
What More Could He Do for You? From His descent to his Ascension our Lord mapped out His life with us after the pattern of Humility. Imagine that the Lord who called you into being and loved us so much … Continue reading →
Can a finite human mind penetrate the infinite mystery of the Holy Trinity? Not a chance but we were created in the image of God and so by coming to understand ourselves more deeply we might receive an inkling of … Continue reading →
From fear of the Jews to a red hot love for Jesus and the salvation of the world, the apostles could not contain themselves in that upper room any longer. They went without fear and spoke in a variety of … Continue reading →
“I came to give testimony to the Truth.” Pilate cried out in response “What is truth?” God is Truth; God is Light and God is Love. The Divine Trinity is forever true, illuminating and sacrificial. For this reason the Father … Continue reading →
After forming man from the clay of the earth God breathed into man a life giving soul. This breath promotes the life of the body and the life of the spirit. We know how essential breathing is and we know … Continue reading →
“Can you say with me: Praise the name of Jesus?” She stumbled and stammered but could not say those precious words. Why not? because she had been introduced to the ouija board. Instead of knowing the words and works of … Continue reading →
When did time begin?” I asked this New York lawyer who ought to know many things but after a long pause he answered: “Hasn’t it always been there?” No, time did not always exist but it began with a very … Continue reading →
“I am the good Shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know Me.” How do we know who the good shepherd is today amidst the virus. We need to ask three questions to know who we ought to trust … Continue reading →
Daily we are being bombarded by “fake” news and fear mongering so that our minds and hearts question and ask, “Who can I trust? Where can I find the Truth? In substance we are looking into the credibility of the … Continue reading →
“I am the Lord, your God, thou shalt not have strange gods before me.” There is no option in the commandment for souls to substitute self for God. In Him, we live and move and have our very being. WE … Continue reading →
“Gather up the fragments that remain.” Broken things can be mighty precious. Broken hearts need to be mended; broken bones need to be set; broken promises call for repentance. We live in a broken world which lives in fear of … Continue reading →
Tested by Satan and transfigured in glory, Jesus enters a battle with the mind of the Jews who sought only an earthly kingdom. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Hence after Jesus cast out a demon … Continue reading →
“Man does not live in bread alone, but in every word that come forth from the mouth of God.” The apostolic band is on the move to Jerusalem and on the way they encountered the Scribes and Pharisees and Christ … Continue reading →
Where do temptations originate? Clearly the Mystical Body has pointed out that the flesh, the world and the devil are the sources of temptation. Is anyone exempt from temptation? If our Lord was tempted then His Mystical Body will be … Continue reading →
Tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are. This very true statement delves more deeply into our emotions and attitudes that we might wish to admit. Parents develop their children’s attitudes before the marriage … Continue reading →
“A drop of ink makes thousand perhaps millions think.” As John Donne wrote it so the Lord spoke it. It is recorded that our blessed Lord wrote once in Scripture when He bent down and began tracing in the sand … Continue reading →
Team Nike cries out just “do it.” The world wants to force even little girls into womanhood before they reach puberty. Sexuality sings its siren song to entice the unwary pilgrim. The result is an age of impurity. Don Bosco … Continue reading →