My favorite Jesuit saint got fired from his most important job. This marked the beginning of his true Jesuit mission. Let me explain. Read more here. St. Claude Colombière, S.J. Photo from Wikimedia Commons ..read more

Fall is hay-maze season in America. My Cub Scout troop went to the St. Louis County fall festival. I was 7. We carved pumpkins, rode in a wagon pulled by a tractor and ate our weight in caramel apples. As the sun was setting, my friend Jason and I still hadn’t gone through the hay maze. Read more here ..read more

On TV and on the internet, we see daily headlines about the economy. “The Dow Jones reached another new high,” or “the economy sputtered again today.” I often feel confused and overwhelmed by these stories. What is the economy? Who is in charge? Am I powerless to change it? It can seem that the economy is a sort of giant dragon that needs to be fed—with taxes, regulations, innovations, new markets, and more. When it is fed, it’s happy, and grows fatter. If it isn’t, then it breathes fire, wipes out a few thousand jobs, and demands more food for tomorrow. Is this how the economy really works ..read more

Say it with me: ‘The Body of Christ gives the Body of Christ to the Body of Christ so the Body of Christ becomes more like the Body of Christ.’ Is this a tongue twister, a nursery rhyme, a riddle? Try it again: ‘The Body of Christ gives the…’ Try it this way: Jesus gives the Eucharist to the Church so that we become more like Him. As Christians, we are the Body of Christ. In baptism, we are washed clean in His Blood. We are welcomed into the Divine Family as little sons and daughters with the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. St Paul says simply, “You are the Body of Christ” [1 Cor 12: 27]. Som ..read more

Shortly after ordination, I had a semester-long assignment at our Jesuit parish in S Belize, Central America this is the car battery from the story. I am not making this up. note the shoelace [brown] and bike tire [black rubber] used to hold the battery in place On Sunday I drove out to the villages of Barranco and Midway for Mass. You know those ads that show a guy driving his 4-wheel-drive Jeep through streams and mud? At the end of the 30-second commercial, he arrives at the lodge with a big grin and clean clothes. The roads here are like that. Obstacles include rocks, pot-holes the size o ..read more

[written for USCCB National Eucharistic Revival, feast of Corpus Christi] Imagine this scene: You are in a terrible accident and an ambulance rushes you to the hospital. Wheeled inside, you are in pain, confused, with bright lights shining in your face. And you hear this conversation above you: - It’s bad, Doctor, very bad.      - What does she need? - She’s lost a lot of blood. She’ll need a pint, maybe two at least.      - With my blood type, I’m a universal donor. I can donate. - Doctor, that’s generous. But is this wise? Also, she sustain ..read more

For centuries, Christians have honored the Sacred Heart of Jesus; Jesus Himself has a beating, human heart.. The eternal Son of God was conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary; He grew as a boy and into a young man; He preached, taught, suffered and died on the Cross; He rose to new life in His Resurrected Body. The risen Jesus has a human heart that is beating with love for you and me, right now. full text here: https://focusequip.org/uniting-my-heart-with-the-sacred-heart-for-the-salvation-of-all-hearts ..read more

Contemporary debates about the Eucharist among Catholics are often rooted in disagreements about which aspects of the Eucharist ought to be emphasized or de-emphasized in our contemporary culture. The writings of St. Ignatius Loyola and the traditional Catholic devotion to the Sacred Heart highlight a specific aspect of the Eucharist: friendship…. The Eucharist is a means to deeper communion with Jesus and others [America Media, June 2022] full article here: https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2022/06/17/eucharist-sacred-heart-ignatius-laramie-243180?fbclid=IwAR1c7sy7i7XIdOr08WfC4PEtYQALZtH6 ..read more

Mary sees her Son with the cross. St Ignatius considers her meeting Him in glory. “Mom?” “Son?” Jesus is Risen! Alleluia, truly He is Risen! This Easter we celebrate the glorious Resurrection of Christ from the dead. And who knew Him better than anyone else? His Mother. Who spend more time with Him than anyone else? Mary, His mother. Who was the only one who was with Him from His conception and birth, throughout His entire life, and all the way to His suffering and death on the cross? Only Mary, our mother. To whom did the Risen Jesus first appear, after His resurrection from the dead? Of cou ..read more

Forty days of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Why do Christians do these spiritual practices during Lent? “Because… Jesus told us to? To get ready for Easter? Because that’s what we do?” Yes, these practices are good. They teach discipline. Yes, Jesus did them. Further, they remove daily clutter to ‘open up a space’ for God. To pray means I must cut back on time spent on Disney+ and social media. Fasting cuts out favorite treats, as well as meat on Fridays; it helps me recognize my own dependence on God. I give alms to those in need; to do so, I forsake recreation like movies or ballgames ..read more