I am nearly 60 years old and I keep making the same mistakes. This is a true statement in my life whether I am talking about financial matters, relational matters, or spiritual matters. For this space I would like to talk about spiritual matters.

The Eucharist is good in and of itself. Christ nourishes us with His own body and blood. This is true, but I think we often miss a very important aspect of receiving the Eucharist. Namely, we are sent on a mission.  We are charged to go forth and bring the Gospel to the world. There is something amiss if we receive the Eucharist and then do not evangelize.

When Adam and Eve chose to reject their relationship with God, something cataclysmic occurred.  Namely, God’s creation was sullied and warped.  The enemy could not destroy God’s creation, he could only distort it.  The enemy has no powers of creation—only God can create out of nothingness. Jesus redeems all of the enemy’s destruction.

On Thursday of Holy Week we enter into a very significant three days called the Triduum (Latin for three days). It is a celebration of the priesthood because it was this night that our Lord instituted the Eucharist and gave of His own body and blood to nourish us. We are also reminded of the fact that the Lord came to serve, not to be served. Jesus washed the feet of His apostles at the Last Supper as a reminder that if we want to be spiritual leaders, we must serve our neighbor. At the Mass on Holy Thursday evening, the celebrant washes the feet of 12 members of the congregation.

Hay mucho de qué hablar en relación con la Cuaresma, pero quiero hablar específicamente de la confesión. La Cuaresma es un tiempo para centrarnos en nuestra vida espiritual y en nuestra propia conversión continua. Para ello es importante que aprovechemos la misericordia de Dios, especialmente en la confesión.

There is so much to talk about relating to Lent, but I want to talk specifically about confession.  Lent is a time to focus on our spiritual life and our own continuing conversion.  Significant to that end is us taking advantage of the mercy of God, especially in confession.

It’s that time of year again; my favorite and most dreaded time of the year.  I don’t like the discipline of Lent.  That is precisely why Lent is so important to me.  Look, if Lent required me to give up things I am not attached to it would be easy.  The fact is that my heart is attracted to many manmade things. 

We rejected God in the Garden of Eden, but the Lord is good and forgiving — He built a bridge so we can fully enter into communion with Him. He longs to be with us and so He found another way to come to intimacy with us here and now.

Many of us think about Mass as a religious obligation and we are missing the point.  The Eucharist is a love story.  It tells the story of a God who loves us into existence and sustains us in existence because He loves us.  God invites us to be united with Him at every Mass.  He, the God of the universe descends from His throne and takes on the appearance of bread and wine so that we can be fed by His own life and love.

As we get older, there is a growing understanding that our time on the stage of life is approaching the final acts.  I find myself wishing I could go back in time and hold each of my children as toddlers.  I miss those hugs.  I miss being young and being able to put socks on effortlessly again.

Merry Christmas!  Yes, it is still Christmas.  Leave those decorations up and keep turning on the lights that are in the yard or on the tree!  The Incarnation and birth of Jesus are something very monumental.  We should ponder it and celebrate it for more than just a day.

I know it is still a few days away, but Merry Christmas ( a bit early)!  I am sure that we are all very busy with so many details.  Christmas is a joyful and wonderful season, but it is also a time of great stress for many.  There is so much shopping to do, both for the ingredients of our favorite Christmas treats and of course thoughtful gifts for loved ones.

I am writing this two days before Thanksgiving.  I am really looking forward to so many foods that I typically only eat a few times a year.  I get to see relatives that I don’t see very often during the year.  I really do love Thanksgiving.  Being reminded that we have so much to be thankful for is a good thing, but I want to write about something else that happens this time of year.

Have you ever given a gift to someone and not been thanked?  Have you ever done something for someone and not received any acknowledgement?  It is probable that all of us have had a similar experience.  It’s a bit insulting, isn’t it?  We wonder if the person was unhappy with what we gave, or if they even recognize that a gift was given.  We might feel hurt or angry.

I would like to begin this with a quick analogy.   A quarterback drops back to pass, and he sees a wide receiver 15 yards down the field.  The quarterback throws the ball.  What he didn’t see was a defender closing in on the “open” receiver.  The defender intercepts the pass.  As the quarterback comes off the field his coach asks him, “What were you thinking?  Why did you throw it to that wide receiver?”  The quarterback responds, “I didn’t see the defender.”  Sometimes what we don’t see can be a really big problem.

Traditionally the month of November is a month that we focus on praying for our deceased loved ones.  November 1st is All Saints Day, formerly called All Hallows Day.  You can easily see how the evening prior to All Hallows Day would become known as All Hallows Eve, or Halloween.  November 2nd is All Souls Day.  It is the day that we specifically focus on praying for loved ones who have died.

Octubre se considera tradicionalmente el "Mes del Respeto a la Vida".  Cuando la gente oye la frase "Respeta la vida", muchos la relacionan inmediatamente con la cuestión de proteger a los recién nacidos para que no sean asesinados en la práctica bárbara llamada aborto.  Es lógico que así sea.  Las personas más vulnerables entre nosotros son las que no pueden hablar por sí mismas.  Muchas personas heroicas han defendido la causa de la protección de la vida en esta fase vulnerable de sus vidas.

October is traditionally considered “Respect Life Month.”  When people hear the phrase, “Respect Life,” many immediately connect this to the issue of protecting the preborn from being murdered in the barbaric practice called abortion.  It makes sense for this to happen.  The most vulnerable persons among us are those who cannot speak for themselves.  Many heroic people have championed the cause of protecting life in this vulnerable phase of their lives.

I am writing this column on the feast day of St. John Chrysostom (September 13).  He is often referred to as the “Golden Tongue” because of his beautiful preaching and writing.  Today the Church offers us a reading from one of his homilies.  

If we read the Bible, and I certainly hope that we do, we may notice that Jesus spent a great deal of time in prayer.  We see this especially when He is approaching great suffering and when He is getting ready to make a major decision and announce it (for example when He chooses His Apostles).