One of our two primary obligations is to share the faith.  I get a real kick out of watching people’s reaction when I tell them that.  You’d think I just told them they have to go into a terrorist camp and take out all the camp occupants with a broken, rusty bladed  pocket knife and no back-up.  The idea of having to share the Catholic faith with other people is the stuff nightmares are made of for most folks. Evangelization is really not that difficult.  Even if you’re a complete wallflower, you can still play a role in evangelization.  I’ll save the various mean ..read more

Jesus told us in Mathew 5:48, “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  You’ll notice by the language He used that this is not a suggestion, but a command by His use of the word must.  He didn’t say it’s a goal to shoot for.  He didn’t tell us to give it that old college try.  He said we must become perfect.  How perfect?  As perfect as God the Father.  And how perfect is God the Father?  Infinitely perfect! Is it possible to become perfect?  You bet!  Perfection is the very definition of sainthood.  All of th ..read more

These are indeed strange times. At this writing we are on the brink of a third world war and global economic collapse. We are on the brink of a new civil war in America, and similar conditions exist throughout the rest of the world. We live in a post-Christian era where sexual paganism is the new god, every sort of sexual perversion known to man has become the norm, and now matrimonial bliss for pet owners with their pets is being considered for legalization in some jurisdictions. In this post-Christian culture God has been completely rejected from public discourse—not just in America but the ..read more

Alarming isn’t it? But that’s right! One out of every 10 Americans is an ex-Catholic—yes, a full 10% of our nation. If they were a separate denomination, they would be the third-largest denomination in the United States, after Catholics and Baptists. You may not be reading this in America, but the statistics in your country probably aren’t very different. The alarm doesn’t stop there. 79% of former Catholics leave the Church before age 23, 50% of young people who were raised Catholic are no longer Catholic today, and 6.5 people leave Catholicism for every one that join ..read more

The following brief announcement was found in a parish bulletin recently.  If you’re reading this during the warm summer months it will have a greater impact than it will in the winter, but I think the intent of the message makes a great point no matter when you’re reading this. Plans for Parish Swimming Pool Scrapped! After much study, our finance committee has determined it would not be feasible to construct an indoor swimming pool in our church. As a result, we can now announce with certainty that those who have been arriving for Mass as if dressed for the pool need not do so. Also, we ..read more

I thought that title would get your attention. No one likes to think of himself/herself as a pervert. When we hear the word “pervert,” images of some strange man with various sexual deviancies lurking in the shadows comes to our minds. At best, it is uncharitable to call someone a pervert. These days, it is also unimaginably politically incorrect to use the term pervert. However, perversions do exist and people who commit perversions are indeed perverts. Just because something is unpleasant in the way it sounds and in its usage doesn’t change the reality of what it is. For accuracy’s’ sake, th ..read more

Time was, all practicing Catholic women held up Mary as a model to imitate in terms of virtue, modesty, and womanhood.  They all saw her as a standard that was to be lived up to.  Such an impact did that have on society and culture that nearly every non-Catholic woman wanted to be and live as Catholic women, because men of every stripe (especially Catholic men) would treat women as the special people they are.  Men had such great respect and admiration for the fairer sex that they would tip their hats and open doors for women, something rarely seen today.  Men saw women imi ..read more

I must admit, like most Americans I’ve been living most of my life on the materialistic side.  There’s nothing wrong with possessing “things” or having lots of money.  In fact, I’ve been rich and now I’m poor, but I know which one I prefer.  (HINT: It ain’t the latter.)  After all, if we didn’t have fruits from our labors, there would be no way the Church could acquire what she needs to fulfill the mission given her by her Founder.  Somebody has to pay the electric bill, among other things. But materialism is sort of like emotions; both will lie to you every time.  ..read more

I spent ⅔ of my evangelistic work in Alabama. Alabama is a conservative state, but Catholics aren’t necessarily welcome. The reason? Because the vast majority of Christians are Protestant fundamentalists. You know, the Baptists and Pentecostals and Church of Christ and non-denominational (which is itself a denomination by definition), and other assorted Protestant flavors. Fundamentalists like to evangelize. In fact, they seem to live for it, putting Catholics to shame. And because Catholics don’t know the Catholic faith, they’re easy prey for these fundamentalists. Usually, when a fundamental ..read more

Everything in Catholicism, as in all Christianity, focuses on Jesus Christ. We focus on Him for a great variety of reasons: His sacrificial death on the cross, our redemption through Him, He’s the founder of the faith we profess…  The list could go on and on. The Mass, of course, is the highest form of worship of God.  In fact, the Mass is the worship of God the Father with a re-presentation of the sacrifice of the Lamb (the Son) in atonement for the sins of man.  So the Mass is, to most Catholics’ way of thinking, all about the Father and the Son.  But when it comes to the ..read more