My remarks to our students on the occasion of our first school mass in our new sanctuary at Prince of Peace, March 18, 2024 Good morning, Prince of Peace! This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice in it! What a wonderful gift this new Church is to our school, our parish and the people of God here in north Texas! Yesterday marked the end of a 9 year project of planning, fund-raising, and three phases of construction, culminating in the dedication of this beautiful new church yesterday.  An appropriate question is “Why?”  Why did we do this? Why spend so much time, effort and ..read more

Despite a lot of huffing and puffing from the pundits in reaction to the Supreme Court’s decision that race can no longer be a criteria for college admissions, the response from the general public has been “remarkably muted” (Brookings Institute, William Galston, 7/7/23).  That’s because most Americans, and strikingly,  most blacks and Hispanics, support the Court’s decision. According to a poll conducted by The Economist/YouGov, Americans who “strongly favor” the decision outweigh those who “strongly oppose” by a 28% margin, 46% to 18%. Young people aged 18-29 back the Court’s decis ..read more

It is frustrating to hear the “talking heads” discuss the recent Supreme Court decisions to eliminate race as a consideration for college admissions. For many of these pundits, they’ve either not read the decision or they deliberately choose to mischaracterize it.  So I spent this morning reading through the two cases to better understand them myself.  Here’s my quick summary:  Earlier Court decisions had allowed race as a category to factor into admissions decisions, but only if it survived “strict scrutiny”—that there was a compelling government interest, and that the comp ..read more

Let us be open to new paradigms and possibilities! But let us do so with prudence and deliberation. The problem with navigating our vessels through the powerful currents of contemporary opinion is they are pushed and pulled at the same rate as everyone else's vessels, making it impossible for us to detect the true distance and speed of our travels.  We need reference points alongside the shoreline, outside of the current, to measure how far and how fast we’re moving.  This, it seems to me, is the value of the tradition of our Church. We are quick to marginalize the Church’s cla ..read more

Pope Benedict passed away at the age of 95, on the last day of 2022. His funeral will be this Thursday, January 5. He was pope from April of 2005 to February 2013, the successor to (now saint) Pope John Paul II and predecessor of Pope Francis. Though not as personally “charismatic” as JPII, nor perceived to have the “pastoral warmth” of Francis, he was a man of great faith and intellect, having published over 65 books on matters of theology and spirituality, many as a professor of theology before being elected pope. He was one of the pivotal players of Vatican II in the 1960’s, both during th ..read more

When I used to teach,  I asked this question in some form to my students each year before Christmas:  “In my neighborhood of 200 homes, there are 5-6 homes with Christian decorations out front, and well over 100 homes with lights, Santa’s, reindeer and other inflatables. Roughly 80% of all Americans would say they're Christian.  Why, then, do you think we’re so reluctant to profess that faith at Christmas time? “ “People don’t want to be preachy,” they respond.  “Yeah, they don’t want to come off as better than their neighbors,” they say. “I think it creates awkw ..read more

We are in the middle of Advent. The word “advent” means “coming,” and of course, it’s a reference to the coming of Christ at Christmas. So over the next four weeks, we await the coming of Christ. We’re not very good at waiting. We want everything immediately! Think about it: The fast food industry has grown exponentially in the last twenty years because people want their food quickly, and don’t have the time or patience to cook it at home. We have fast food drive-through lines because it’s way too much work to park the car, walk several feet and stand in line to order. And even with drive-th ..read more

These were my remarks to students during assembly today:  You may have noticed our flags are at half mast today. Twenty one years ago today, we were horrified to watch planes fly into the World Trade Center and into the Pentagon, and a fourth plane crash in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 were killed, the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil in our history. We remember all those who died that day. We also continued to pray for the family members who still feel their loss today.  I was just 1 when our president, John F. Kennedy was assassinated,  22 when the space shuttle Col ..read more

My first assignment as a Catholic high school teacher,  fresh out of graduate school from Notre Dame, was to teach Scripture to juniors. During Holy Week, I prepared a series of presentations on the Passion, helping them understand the distinctions between the four gospels, showing where Jesus fulfilled the scriptures, comparing Jesus’ last words on the cross, and emphasizing the Christology of each gospel account.  I spent Holy Thursday talking about the actual crucifixion, emphasizing the horror and the physical pain of it, hoping to shock students into a sense of gratitude for hi ..read more

And his name shall be called "Wonderful! Counselor! Almighty God! The Ever Lasting Father! The Prince of Peace!  Despite the pandemic, despite our separation, despite our fears, God reigns!  Merry Christmas!  ..read more