One Catholic Life Blog

Italian Landscape at Sunset

When St. Francis of Assisi Returned from Rome: A Poem

I don’t read nearly as much poetry as I’d like to, but I recently read this lovely poem by St. Francis of Assisi and wanted to share it: When I Returned from Rome A bird took flight. And a flower in a field whistled at me as I passed. I drank from a stream of clear water. And at night the sky untied her hair and I fell asleep clutching a tress of God’s. When I returned from Rome, all said “Tell us the great news,” and with...

Company of Voices by George Guiver

“We Treat God Like a Cow” – On Maturity in Prayer

I was reading George Guiver’s Company of Voices: Daily Prayer and the People of God, when I came across this challenging paragraph: However much the modern Church says it believes in prayer, it so often behaves as if it has failed to surrender to God. The word “surrender” is shorthand for Jesus’ image of bride and bridegroom, and the total self-giving which is necessary in their coming together. Allowing God to be at the center is something we all fail to do. We fail to wait utterly on...

Candle in the Dark

A Candle Cannot Light Itself – Homily for the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today’s readings come straight at us. Isaiah might just as well have said: “You are my servant, people of St. Peter Parish, through whom I show my glory….I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” Paul speaks to the Corinthians, but also to us: “Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the church of God that is at St. Peter’s, to you who have been sanctified in Christ...

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Facing Trials with Grace: A Meditation by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Today is the feast of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the woman who founded the first Catholic school in the United States, and also the first American-born saint. In today’s Office of Readings from the Liturgy of the Hours, St. Elizabeth explains how she is able to deal with the trials of life. My prayer today, dear reader, is that this beautiful meditation can be of help as you face the various trials of your own life: I will tell you what is my own great help. I once...

Forming Intentional Disciples

My Favorite Reads of 2013

I barely reached my goal of reading forty books this year, and though some of the books were very short (like the eleven Doctor Who books), some of them were very long (like Quo Vadis, Les Miserables, and The Count of Monte Cristo). Of the books I read, these were my favorites (in the order I read them): Les Miserables (unabridged): I read an abridged version with my students every year, but it had been a while since I read the full novel. I really appreciated this translation,...

The Lord of the Gifts: A Brief Meditation on Tolkien and PEZ

My family held a white elephant gift exchange this past Christmas–you know, where people bring gifts anonymously, exchange them, and get a chance to steal them from others. We fought over battery operated massagers, remote control cars, coffee mugs, and Hot Wheels. I was fortunate enough to get a set of PEZ dispensers in the shape of The Lord of the Rings characters, but the process made me think about other gifts we’ve received: our talents, life experiences, and environment. I wonder how many times we look at other...

Let Him Enter: Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent – Year A

We are at the end of Advent season and as we make our final preparations for Christmas we may wonder how we should spend these last three days preparing our hearts. A few minutes ago we sung together the antiphon from today’s responsorial psalm:  “Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory.” What better way to make our final preparations for Christmas, then by meditating on that antiphon? If we take some time over the next few days to repeat it to ourselves and reflect on...

Paint Roller

A Fresh Coat of Paint

It’s about time I put a fresh coat of paint on this site and try to get back into the habit of blogging. I don’t know if there are many people out there still reading this blog or listening to the homilies that I post each month–I never have learned how to accurately interpret subscriber stats; but for those of you still subscribed and reading, thanks for sticking with me. If you’re reading this in a blog reader or your email app, then I encourage you to click...

Vatican Museums Spiral Staircase

Running in Circles or Climbing the Circular Staircase? – Homily for the First Sunday of Advent – Year A

Today marks the beginning of another liturgical year. It’s Advent, that time of joyful preparation. But so often, rather than marking a period of peaceful preparation, Advent marks the beginning of the season of stress and worry. Will I survive Black Friday? Will the gift arrive in time? Where do we spend Christmas? Will the flight be delayed? Will the pass be snowed in? Will I get what I want? What do I wear to the Christmas party? At the very time of year we are invited to...

Winter Trees

#EndoftheWorld – Homily for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C

The days are getting shorter and shorter. The leaves are abandoning the trees, winter is on the horizon. The liturgical year, our Church year, is coming to an end. And always at the end of the Church year, the readings are chosen to remind us that just as the year ends, so there will be an end of all days. It’s not that the Church is morbid and wants us to think about our death and the end of the world. We already think about it, as humans...

Baptism Homework from Pope Francis

A Strange and Wonderful Thing Happened to Me Today

But first a little background: Back in September, I read about some homework that Pope Francis gave to his audience: look up the date of your Baptism. He was making the connection that the Church is our mother: “The day of our Baptism is the day of our birth in Church, the day our Mother Church gives us birth, how beautiful.” I have to admit that I didn’t know the date of my own Baptism, so I made it a point to dig out my Baptismal certificate and...

Global War on Christianity

The Haunting Question: Homily for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C

“When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” That is the haunting question that Jesus poses to his disciples at the end of today’s parable, and it’s the haunting question that Luke posed to an early Church that was struggling with persecution and conflict. That early Church is featured in Quo Vadis?, the novel the eighth graders and I are currently studying. Quo Vadis? is the story of a young Roman military tribune and the Christian woman he falls in love with. It takes...