This week’s gospel (Matthew 13:24-33) has Jesus telling the parable of the wheat and the weeds. A man went out and sowed his seeds of good wheat. While he was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat.…

In college, I suffered the malady of a broken heart. Actually, it was more like a demolished heart. It was a terrible breakup and for awhile I didn’t think I’d ever be able to piece back together the shards of…

I ran into an old acquaintance at a party last weekend. It had been about a year since I’d last seen her and I was delighted to meet her again. She’s always been a warm woman, who seemed to love…

At one time or another, we’ve all dreamed of a perfect world.  Imagine a company where everyone is productive, a government full of honest politicians, a church where all are saints.

Dreaming about such things is natural; expecting such things is…

“God bears with imperfect beings even when they resist His goodness. We ought to imitate this merciful patience and endurance. It is only imperfection that complains of what is imperfect. The more perfect we are, the more gentle and quiet…

When I was a young adult there was a wildly popular book about dressing for career success.  It spawned many copycat books, all proclaiming the benefits of proper attire for everything from boardrooms to schoolrooms.  The premise was that your…

As a child, I loved to collect rocks. I can remember walking down the street with my father, picking up specimens to bring home. I would spend hours studying them and sorting them and placing them in the special box…

I took my youngest children to the pool the other day.  I was wearing the bathing suit I had purchased new last year, and I was also wearing my newer, cute, matching sleeveless cover-up. The suit is brown (’the new…

“Run, run, run” said the automobile, and we ran. “Run for your life. Take to your heels…. Foolish school of fish on wheels…” - James Taylor

Hmm. I am guilty of this. I move too fast, even in the summa’time! I get…

I’ve always loved gardening.  Seeds I’ve planted include carrot, cucumber, and of course, zucchini.  In each case, I’ve planted seeds in neat rows, expecting nearly all of them to sprout and yield fruit.

But the farmer in Jesus’ parable (Mat 13:1-23)…

Most versions of the Bible depict this week’s Gospel passage as the “Parable of the Sower” or the “Parable of the Seed.” These titles focus the readers’ attention upon Our Lord (the sower) or the seed (the Word of God).…

I’m a big fan of dark chocolate so it was with great delight that I embraced the news of dark chocolate’s anti-oxidant properties.  That was all I needed to hear in order to justify my personal intake of the wonderful…

My sister is a Discalced Carmelite nun. For more than 30 years she has remained within the walls of a cloistered monastery living an austere and joyous life of prayer, sacrifice and community life centered on Jesus Christ and in…

Just the thought of summer fast-approaching could bring thoughts of rest and relaxation to mind. We may recall the lazy days of summer during our youth. Summer may also mean anticipated excitement and adventure: exploring new places or trying new…

When I teach spelling to my home-schooled kids, I always begin by presenting them with a basic spelling rule with a list of examples.  For instance, the basic rule of making words plural is to add an ’s.’  Words like…

I once knew a woman who called herself “a recovering Catholic.”  It seems that as a child, she was taught a religion that was all about guilt.  Impossible demands were placed on her requiring strenuous efforts that were doomed to…

There has been at least one occasion in my life when I successfully played the matchmaker. A few years before I was ordained, I introduced one of my housemates to a girl I knew from college. They went on to…

I can say with a fair amount of certainty that my children, now aged 20, 18, and 16, did not see the rules and regulations imposed upon them as they grew up as providing freedom.  Like most kids, and even…

As parents, we have the primary responsibility to raise our children in the Catholic faith. They will learn how to be Catholic by the way that we live our lives and the way that we model Christian behavior through prayer,…

Cable news crews race to hurricanes. They show live updates: water  swirling, trees bent, and wind knocking loose items behind the reporter, who is trying not to fall on his backside.

The hurricane floods coastal cities. Buildings collapse. Some residents retreat,…

For a homeschooling mother like myself, time is a precious commodity, so it is vital for me to make the most of my time.  Yet I have found that rushing around in a frantic daze is not the most efficient…

“Who do you say that I am?” (Mt 16:15). Our Lord asks this question of all His disciples. The “you” here is plural: “Who do you all say that I am?” Yet, even though He asks the question of all,…

“Self” magazine is certainly a sign of the times.  This is an age when it is socially acceptable to admit that life is all about me.

But selfishness is nothing new.  Ever since Eve bit into the apple, human beings have…

As many of the regular Catholic Exchange visitors may have noticed, there is a book quietly calling for your attention in a number of different spots on the site. The book is Letters to Luke by Joe Holoubek and I recently…

This afternoon and evening I watched the U.S. diving and gymnastics trials for the Olympics coming up in August. These young people have spent their entire lives working and preparing for this moment. They have gone over every move thousands of…

Last year, I planted roses. I planted two varieties, six bushes in all. Three of the bushes were white roses called John Paul II. The other three were Our Lady of Guadalupe roses — beautiful pink roses that bloomed abundantly…

Ah, summertime.  The season of warmth and outdoor activities.  It is a time for families to re-connect after months of school-driven schedules, a time for everyone to enjoy a different pace of life.  Barbeques.  Bike rides.  Gardening.  Afternoons at the…

Father’s Day invited us to ask a very important question — what does it mean to call God “Father?”  Most of the great religions of the world believe in one God and teach the gist of the ten commandments.  But…

Do you ever feel living your Christian faith is like fighting a battle? Do you feel constantly attacked from the world around you and perhaps from within as well? Do you feel worn out, almost ready to give up? The…

Although there are very few things that people would agree upon, it would seem safe to say that we would all agree that there is no shortage of evil acts in our world today.  And although that statement could be…

My older son David (age 7) has always been very fearful. He somehow got an extra dose of the “cautious” gene. This can be a good thing. After all, I feel fairly confident that he will never decide that racing…

Maybe it’s the fact that summer is here, or that school is finished, or the fact that at 6:31 this morning it was already 89 degrees, but I’m going back to my salad days for this reflection. Let’s talk about rope…

At Christmas, my aunt gave me a quilt my great-grandmother made.  It’s unlike anything else I own, aside from this hundred-year-old farmhouse.  It was made at a time when quilting was different than it is now, when sewing machines were…

In St. Matthew’s recounting of the calling of the Twelve Apostles, he provides us with the names of the men chosen by Christ to be His most intimate friends and to whom He would give the authority to lead the…

When people meet me and find out that I’m a Catholic theologian, it does not take long before they pop the question: “Why doesn’t the Catholic Church let women and married men be priests?”

Now the fun begins.  “There must be…

Faith is an interesting thing.  I guess it is like a vitamin or a locked door.  We believe it is at work but aren’t necessarily interested in testing it out, so to speak.  In taking a daily multi-vitamin I may…

On June 1, 2008, at his weekly Angelus address, Pope Benedict XVI encouraged Catholics to “renew devotion to the Sacred Heart of Christ in the month of June.” The Sacred Heart of Jesus is a symbol of both His divinity and…

QUEBEC,QC,CA –Amidst the growing excitement associated with World Youth Day in Sydney later this summer, many are not aware of another great international celebration taking place in North America. The 49^th International Eucharistic Congress begins in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada on…

My only sister Mary and her husband Doug purchased our family home. An ongoing topic of conversation between Mary and our Dad was how to decorate the front room. Then, in January 2004, Dad was hospitalized with a heart complication.…

Religiosity and holiness are two different things. 

By religiosity, I mean religious practices such the sign of the cross before praying, genuflecting before the tabernacle, or hanging a crucifix on a bedroom wall.  By holiness, I’m referring to that divine love…

“Anyone appointed to be a watchman for the people must stand on a height for all his life to help them by his foresight.
“How hard it is for me to say this, for by these very words I denounce myself.…

It’s 5:53 AM. I’m standing in front of the mirror trying to force my eyelids to stay in the upright and locked position, and I’m losing. My body would prefer I turn around and crawl back into the the indentation…

Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
But it did not collapse; it…

Patience has never been my strong point, but before I became a mother, I could get by without too much trouble.  Mostly I’d get annoyed at inanimate objects or at myself, so I didn’t have to deal with a lot…

The young man ascends the mountain.  He climbs over boulders and navigates his way around cliffs.  When he reaches the top of the mountain he basks in the beauty of God’s breathtaking creation.  He sits in a silent stillness. In…

According to many, Protestants say we’re saved by faith while Catholics say we’re saved by good works.

But what does the Bible say?

This Sunday’s readings are clear — it’s neither.  And it’s both.  At the same time.

First, let’s define our terms.  When St.…

“Actions speak louder than words,” we say. “He’s all talk,” describes the man who says a lot and does nothing. Or simply, “Talk is cheap.”

These phrases from our culture all express the same basic point: words and actions must go together.…

When I was a kid I wanted to fly. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t alone in that desire. I think everybody has a deep-seated longing for the freedom of the birds, the freedom to simply lift off, float, ascend, sail…

With the feast of Corpus Christi (the Body and Blood of Christ) now behind us, the liturgical year returns to what is known as “ordinary time.” This season will last until the new liturgical year begins with the first Sunday of…

My son, 20, who would be traveling to Rome in a short month, lost his passport. Apparently he delayed telling me for days, surely hoping he would find it. It probably did not help his stress that when he called…