How do we move on from the passage of Issue 1 in Ohio? I keep coming back to the need to tell the world what abortion is: the physical killing of small humans in the womb. The medical textbooks show it. Every doctor knows it. And the only reason some of them do it is because they hold radical autonomy higher than human life. And be assured: the politicians will not remind us what abortion is. We have to do it. So, that’s one task.  Perhaps we have seen the photo of the pro-abort lady with her sign at a rally: “Unlimited Free Abortion.” Let me get this straight: You are going to do the thi ..read more

Over the past several months, I jotted down some thoughts on the sacredness of human life. Here is the most recent train of thought: I recall before the Dobbs decision came down this past June that I was fairly optimistic that people were mostly pro-life and would like to see the killing of unborn humans go away but just lacked the political energy to fight something that seemed so permanent, remains hidden, and has been allowed as "the law of the land" for nearly 50 years.  In my optimistic train of thought, I would make excuses for people. "They vote for all these pro-abortion politicia ..read more

The death of Roe brings three things to mind that I would like to mention: First: Thanks be to God! I was starting to wonder if I would see the end of Roe v. Wade in my lifetime. Second: It may be helpful if we defenders of innocent human life continue to point out, every chance we get, that there is a strong precedent for earlier, wrong and embarrassing Supreme Court cases to be overturned by newer, more correct ones, as better information becomes available. For example, virtually no one disagrees with Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Kansas as it overturned the now shameful Plessy v. Fe ..read more

This homily is four months in the making. It contains some thoughts and reflection from my sabbatical. Since it is now in print form in this blog, I am not constrained by time, so have developed certain parts a little further. Because I kept a journal, I can tell you exactly how it went down. On September 17th, I received an email blast from Dr. Scott Hahn, a Catholic Bible scholar who used to be a Protestant minister. He wrote about two things in the email blast: 1) Holiness; and 2) the question: Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus? He wrote: “As a Protestant, I must have aske ..read more

Santiago de Compostela is the end of the pilgrimage for pilgrims who make the Camino de Santiago. So, it seems appropriate that Santiago de Compostela was my final side trip of my sabbatical before heading back home. I was fortunate enough to concelebrate Mass at the main altar here in the cathedral of Santiago (St. James) and pray at his tomb: As pilgrims enter the cathedral at the end of the camino, they encounter the world's most famous giant thurible, the "Botafumeiro," which takes eight men to operate. Since I was not there on a feast or solemnity, I did not get to see it in action, but ..read more

The Basilica of Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) is in the news once again as its newest feature alters Barcelona's skyline. I was blessed with the fortune of being able to visit this magnificent basilica which has been under construction for over a hundred years: As magnificent as Sagrada Familia is, I have to admit the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia was my favorite between the two. Here is a selfie I took of the outside: And here is a shot of the inside: Just when I though the tour was over, I went out this door which open to a courtyard surrounded by about a dozen s ..read more

 I’m on a whirlwind tour of the cathedrals of Southern Spain. I find the area very intriguing because many of these cities were Muslim strongholds when the Moors ruled Spain for several centuries in the Middle Ages. I took this picture from the famous Roman Bridge in Córdoba. This cathedral, which forms the skyline, used to be a mosque: The cathedrals are massive and filled with the best artwork giving glory to God and telling the story of His love for us.  Here are the apses of those in Toledo. Sevilla and Granada:   ..read more

 In this previous post I showed some of the celebration of the National Feast of Our Lady of the Pillar. The feast commemorates the encounter of St. James and the Blessed Virgin Mary at this site in Zaragoza: The plaza is surrounded by a very large Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar (above), the church of St. John the Baptist, and the Cathedral of the Savior (below): Some of the history promises great hope for the future. The Romans who built this amphitheater eventually converted to Christianity and were a powerful force in spreading the Gospel. Much later, for several ce ..read more

 Rolling into Avila ..read more

 I’m on retreat with a dozen other priests at the Marian shrine called Torreciudad. Meaning “tower of the city,” it is one of the titles for Mary in some litanies as her powerful prayers assist in our protection and keeping watch. This devotion goes back to the 11th century. The picture above shows the priest bringing the Blessed Sacrament for the 5 PM exposition and Rosary. Below, can you see the new snowfall on the peaks of the Pyrenees between the layers of clouds?   ..read more