Eucharist, sacrament of communion backgroundTrust The Science: Bread Becomes Flesh “Give me bread, a Catholic priest and his prayer and I’ll show you the flesh of a human heart.” The audience of forensic scientists erupted into laughter, guffaws and mockery at the speaker’s bold claim. The commotion quieted when Dr. Ricardo Castanon Gomez mentioned the names of two attendees. He read the forensic analysis from each of their lab stating the specimen was heart tissue. Dr. Ricardo Constanon Gomez then turned to Dr. Frederick Zugibe and said, “You personally anaylyzed the specimen.” Silence reigne ..read more

Image from Classical Wisdom WeeklyMomento mori: sure there’s time? Time…it’s like light, air and water. We have plenty, until…we don’t. The April 8 solar eclipse that brought thousands to Texas, for just a nanosecond, revealed a darkness unlike any other. That total absence of light, reminded me of evil, also a negative: absence of goodness, of God. All of which brings up another absence. Death. In our twenty-first-century, is there anything more terrifying to the modern mind? In fact, scientists like Ray Kurztweil have devoted their entire careers in an effort to achieve immortality. Recently ..read more

Dark underground hallway leads to a stone staircase illuminated by sunlight.Holy Saturday: the anguish of an absence …Holy Saturday: the day God was buried; is not this the day we are living now, and formidably so? Did not our century mark the start of one long Holy Saturday, the day God was absent, when even the hearts of the disciples were plunged into an icy chasm that grows wider and wider, and thus, filled with shame and anguish, they set out to go home, dark-spirited and annihilated in their desperation they head for Emmaus, without realizing that he whom they believed to be dead is in ..read more

Render illustration of “SPIRITUAL COMBAT” title on head silhouette with cloudy sky as a background.The Real Spiritual Battle We’re approaching Holy Week, the days of silence, reflection and accounting we’re given by the Christian liturgy each year to reply to some questions and thoughts: How did I do during these forty days? Will there be reason to feel jubilant on Easter a week from today? We  fight our spiritual battles alone; in the silence, in the reflections, in the accounting. The real spiritual battle is forgiveness, not of others, but of ourselves. Because always, an honest exam ..read more

Cristiana Dell’ Anna stars in a scene from the movie “Cabrini.” Cabrini, the movie and radical goodness. Saint Francesca Cabrini was a force of nature. The actress portraying the first American saint, Francesca Dell ‘Anna makes Cabrini, the movie, a tour de force. Rarely does a film make use of all of its potential. In this one, however, the acting, screenplay and cinematography in Cabrini achieve near-perfection. Although I knew next to nothing about Saint Francesca Cabrini, the fact that it was written and produced by Sound of Freedom writer and director Alejandro Monteverde, along with this ..read more

man holding crossThe world doesn’t need theology, it needs God Halfway through Lent, I’m feeling extraordinarily grateful. Rather than my usual, panicked, “Only three weeks left!” Or: “These grace-filled days are half over and I’m still committing the same boring, banal sins!” Our warmer San Antonio very early mornings beg for reflection and prayer on our outside deck as I await the thrill of the first bird’s song. Alone and in the dark, at times, the joy and wonder almost suffocates. Is this new-found peace because I’ve stopped sinning? Hardly. Rather it’s a two-fold realization. Having raced ..read more

The 90th Anniversary of The Barmen Declaration Pictured above is a memorial to the band of Christian Germans who opposed Hitler. In 1934, eminent Protestant theologian, Karl Bath and numerous German Lutherans wrote the Barmen Declaration. Adolf Hitler had successfully persuaded, intimidated and/or cowed the leaders of the church into supporting the Aryan Solution. The Aryan Solution was the third Reich’s clever euphemism for persecuting and then executing the Jews. Only because I read Francis Maier’s intriguing piece, Toward A Confessing Church, am I aware of the document. But because Diedrich ..read more

cropped image of Jesus in robe, sandals and red sash walking on sand in desertAn icon for Lent Atop one height sits a solitary figure. His head is bowed, His hair tossed by the fitful gusts of wind. His dusty clothes, sunburnt face, and gaunt frame suggest that He has been here for some time. His eyes are closed and His brow furrowed as His mouth silently forms the words of David: O God, You are my God, for You my soul is thirsting … like a dry, weary land without water. Suddenly, His eyes open and He looks quickly to His right. There is a scrawny brown jackal, which shies away at the abrupt ..read more

Cross, buckwheat porridge, bread, glass of water and Bible on white wooden table. Lent seasonLove Fasting: Blessed detox. Love fasting? You’re joking, right? No, in fact, fasting is “in.” Increasingly popular is limiting meals to specific times. In intermittent fasting, eating is restricted to eight of six hour periods out of each twenty-four. Or, in alternate day fasting on one day, total calorie consumption is limited to 500 to 600 followed by normal eating routine on the next day. The terminology can be confusing but the underlying principle is simple: Stop mindlessly ea ..read more

I don’t know what I expected from this movie- I thought I knew but didn’t. Sure we can expect violence and death; after all, it is called Lone Survivor.  I did not read the book but have spoken with several people who did-apparently everything is based on actual events. It’s been a few weeks since we went to see this movie but I decided to write about it because of the 2 portrayals that I continue to think about all these weeks later. The first is about rules of engagement. Most of us know what that phrase means, intellectually. While the movie was filmed in New Mexico, the cinematograph ..read more