One Catholic Life Blog

Preparing for the 2019 Chapter-a-Day Read-along: The Old Curiosity Shop

We are a week away from beginning our final chapter-a-day book of the year, The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens. We end our reading of Lilith next Saturday, October 19, and begin The Old Curiosity Shop on Sunday, October 20. From Don Quixote to The Count of Monte Cristo to Lilith, we’ve gone from Spain to France to the region of the seven dimensions, and we’re going to end our year in England. There’s something about reading Dickens in the twilight of the year, as leaves are falling and logs...

Stir into Flame the Gift of God: Homily for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

It’s a beautiful October day today, and I have to admit that October is my favorite month. I love the colors of the leaves as they change, the foggy mornings that we often get, and the pumpkin spice food and beverages that show up in the stores and coffee shops. But I also love the feast days that come one after another in October: St. Teresa the Little Flower, the Guardian Angels, St. Francis of Assisi, and Our Lady of the Rosary. The month of October is also...

Preparing for the 2019 Chapter-a-Day Read-along: Lilith

Our read-along of The Count of Monte Cristo is almost done, so it’s time to get ready for our next book, Lilith, by George MacDonald. Lilith is going to be quite a change from Dumas’ tale of revenge, so it may take a little adjustment of one’s reading mindset. Not only is Lilith a fantasy story, but it’s also quite dark, dense, and deep. It has been called “a long parabolic narrative heavily laden with Victorian Christian symbolism,” so get ready for some allegorical writing. Lilith is our shortest read-along of...

The Mysterious Package: Homily for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C

Back around 1995 or 1996, I was teaching my 8th grade class about vocations and the different religious orders. Their assignment was to research a particular religious order and write a report to share with the class. Now this was around 1996 B.G. Before Google. There was no Internet, no search engines, no Wikipedia, no email, and so I had given them a magazine that listed addresses for all the different religious orders in the United States. They got into groups, chose a religious community, did some encyclopedia...

Ralphie from A Christmas Story

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...