One Catholic Life Blog

Ralphie from A Christmas Story

Homily

The Persistence of Ralphie: Homily for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C

Being a parent or grandparent can be really strange. And one of the strangest things about it is when the kids start to imitate you. At first its kind of funny and cute, the way you make faces at them and they try to make faces back. They dress up as mommy or daddy, pretending to do grown up things. But it’s not so funny when they start imitating your bad habits or repeating certain words. As they get older they begin to admire other people and try...

Indiana Jones Banner

Homily

The Cup of a Carpenter: Homily for Corpus Christi

I read recently that filming is going to begin next year on the fifth Indiana Jones movie. I guess everybody knows who Indiana Jones is, the swashbuckling archaeologist, who goes in search of artifacts like the Ark of the Covenant. Well there’s a scene in the third Indiana Jones movie, The Last Crusade, that can speak to us today as we celebrate Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of Christ. In The Last Crusade, Indiana Jones has spent the entire movie searching for the Holy Grail, the chalice...

Icon of Council of Jerusalem

Homily

Love over Fear: Homily for the Sixth Sunday of Easter Year C

It’s nearly June, which means the wedding season is almost upon us and couples everywhere are preparing for their special day. There are lots of things to get ready: invitations, fittings for dresses and suits, lodging for guests, planning the ceremony itself, getting decorations for the reception, flowers, checking off all the final details. But as crazy and chaotic as it can be, all that preparation is done out of love. And once again we find love at the heart of today’s gospel. Jesus is preparing for something,...

Count of Monte Cristo

Books and Reading

Preparing for the 2019 Chapter-a-Day Read-along: The Count of Monte Cristo

Tomorrow we begin the Chapter-a-Day Read-along of The Count of Monte Cristo! To those of you who have been reading Don Quixote with us, congratulations on finishing one of the greatest novels of all time (the greatest, if you ask me!). I will post my thoughts on my experience tomorrow, if I get the chance. To those of you who didn’t find Don Quixote to your taste but are back for the Count, thank you for returning. I hope your experience with Alexandre Dumas’ masterpiece will be more positive. And...

Notre Dame Burning

Homily

Presence, Peace, and Purpose: Homily for the Second Sunday of Easter

In my study at home where I do most of my homily preparation, there’s a bookshelf where I keep all my books for preaching. and on that same shelf there’s also a photograph, a 5×7 glossy of Fr. George Haspedis. Some of you have probably seen the picture. He’s on a golf green in his shorts and windbreaker, standing just behind the pin with a club in his right hand. A finger of his left hand is pointing up to the sky, and he’s looking directly at the...

Count of Monte Cristo detail

Books and Reading

The Count of Monte Cristo Read-along Begins on May 9

Our reading of Don Quixote is coming to an end and it’s time to prepare for our next chapter-a-day book, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. We’ll be starting chapter 1 on Thursday, May 9, so if you don’t have your book yet, get it soon. I’ll be reading what I’ve heard is the best English translation, the Penguin Classics Kindle Edition translated by Robin Buss. Whichever version you read, be sure to get an unabridged version that has 117 chapters. The novel is also available...

Les Miserables BBC Miniseries

Books and Reading

Les Misérables Miniseries on BBC: A Promising Beginning

If you missed the excellent first episode of the new Les Misérables miniseries, you can now watch it for free online. I was very impressed with the production, especially the scope of the opening scene at Waterloo. I have been telling my students for years that if I were ever put in charge of directing a Les Mis movie I would begin with the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, then transition to Fantine giving birth to Cosette, then finally move to Jean Valjean’s release from prison. I think...

Google Maps Rome

Homily

Navigation Apps and Repentance: Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent – Year C

One of the most useful apps on a smart phone is the Maps app. You type in an address of the place you want to go and you’re instantly given not only written directions for how to get there, but you also get a map that shows a path for how to get to your destination. You don’t even have to know the name or even the address of a place you’re trying to get to. You can simply type in “food near me” or “shopping near me.”...

Pietro da Cortona - Calling of St. Peter and St. Andrew

Homily

The Rhythm of the Spiritual Life – Homily for the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C

All three readings today speak of the rhythm of the spiritual life. We see it at work in the lives of Isaiah, Paul, and Peter, each in a different context, but it’s the same rhythm. It’s a rhythm of dialogue, of back and forth, like a conversation. And it begins as all things spiritual begin, with God’s initiative. God is always seeking us out, God is always trying to engage us in his divine life, and God always meets us where we are. God comes to Isaiah as...

Miguel de Cervantes

Books and Reading

Don Quixote Chapter-a-Day Read-along Day 1: Prologue and Poetry

Welcome to the Prologue to Don Quixote, the beginning of the 2019 Chapter-a-Day Read-along! In order to read exactly 365 chapters this year, I am counting the prologue to Part 1 as a chapter (and will do so again at the beginning of Part 2), so we won’t start the actual story until tomorrow, January 2. Though the story hasn’t begun yet, you can already get a sense of Cervantes’ humor as he worries about how his book will be received and frets that it will not contain enough...

Library of Congress Reading Room

Books and Reading

My Favorite Reads of 2018

After one of my most productive reading years ever in 2017, 2018 was a bit of a dip for me. I had to abandon most of my reading challenges because any free time I had was taken up by principal certification classes and getting used to my new role as an elementary school principal. Still, I was able to read quite a few books this year, and here are the details, with stats according to Goodreads: I read 38 books, consisting of 12,182 number of pages. Not a...

The Bishop and the Candlesticks

Books and Reading

Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along: The Wrap-Up

Congratulations on reading one of the great works of world literature! Whether you finished Les Misérables early, on time, or not yet, thank you for participating. I hope the read-along was as enriching for you as it was for me. (If you liked the experience of reading classic literature in one chapter a day, please consider joining the 2019 Chapter-a-Day Read-along.) You now know some of the most memorable characters in literature: Jean Valjean. Fantine. Cosette. Javert. The Thenardiers. Eponine. Gavroche. Marius. The Friends of the ABC. My hope...