The movie Romero is based on the true story of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the political unrest in El Salvador during the 1970s. The movie depicts the horrendous human rights violations that the government was committing against the Salvadoran people. Women were being raped and killed; everyday laborers were sometimes slaughtered at random; and priests, too, were being murdered. Romero, the archbishop of San Salvador, became a voice for the voiceless speaking out against the abuses, and he paid the ultimate price. On March 24, 1980, he was shot to death while celebrating Mass.
Are You Missing the Gift of the Present?
So you have a problem. You find that you’re spending way too much time either dwelling on the past or thinking about the future. You truly want to stop, but you don’t know how; the past and the future are constantly luring you with their voices, and you keep listening to them. You wonder why you’re constantly restless and why you lack interior peace and joy, but the answer is right before you—literally right before you. It’s called the present moment.
Which is Better: Self-Help or Friendship with Jesus?
The other day, as I was driving south on Route 95, I was awestruck by the autumn foliage. A couple of times I was tempted to stop and look, but that’s not the smartest thing to do when you’re on the highway during rush hour. However, when I was on the back roads about a [...]
The Heart’s Deepest Longing
The deepest longing of the human heart is to love and to be loved; and what’s so amazing is that no one needs to teach us this truth. We know it innately. Our hearts long for love and we want to love back. But this longing to love and be loved often gets people into [...]
Whose Voice are You Listening to?
Do you hear voices? If you answered yes to this question while undergoing a psychological evaluation, the doctor may conclude that you’re schizophrenic. But it’s true that each day we do hear different voices. One voice discourages us while the other encourages us; one voice accuses us while the other comes to our aid; one [...]
The Solution to Your Sorrow
It’s impossible to be selfish and happy at the same time. I know this from experience, for if I’m honest with myself, I find the days that I am most miserable are the days that I am too focused on myself: on my problems, my frustrations, my weaknesses. I’m certain the same is true for [...]
Why Jesus is Different–and Why it Matters to Us
In 1925, the New York World publication celebrated the birthday of Abraham Lincoln with a cartoon that has become something of a classic. Two Kentucky farmers are pictured talking over a picket fence. One asks, “Anything new happen lately?” The other responds, “Nothing much. A new baby was born over at Tom Lincoln’s place, but [...]
Love Your Weakness
I don’t know about you, but there are moments when I am deeply aware of my weaknesses. These moments can be discouraging, and sometimes even frightening, because I become acutely aware of how capable I am of choosing sin over virtue, selfishness over selfless love, myself over the Lord. Our weaknesses can overwhelm us with [...]
End Your Long Distance Relationship–With the Lord
As a priest, people often talk to me about their lives and their problems. Inevitably, I ask them how their relationship with God is. I can usually tell from their response if they have a long distance relationship with the Lord. The language they use reveals that a deep, personal friendship with God is somewhat of a foreign concept. For example, they’ll say, “Well, I say my prayers at night before I go to bed,” or “I go to church,” or, my favorite, “I talk to the Big Guy in the sky; we’re tight.” Great. Saying prayers at night and going to church is a wonderful way to deepen our relationship with God. But saying prayers at night and going to church does not necessarily mean that we have a deep, personal friendship with the Lord either. And as for “talking to the Big Guy in the sky,” that’s simply not Christian spirituality; it’s deism. In fact, therein lay the problem: too many people think God is “out there somewhere” rather than very close to them.
Here’s Some Inspiration to Keep You Going!
In our walk with the Lord, we often fall. We sin every day. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get discouraged by my own weaknesses. However, the Lord wants us to keep going. His desire is that we begin again and again. He wants us to focus on His love, not on our [...]
How to Start Your Day in Holiness
We learn so much from our parents, good habits and bad. Maybe that’s why I’ve always been conflicted about waking up in the morning. On the one hand, my father has always risen before the sun; he’s the earliest riser in the family. On the other hand, my mother, well, that’s a different story. Although she gets up early for work, the truth is that on the weekends she has the ability to sleep until…let’s just say she can sleep pretty late. Honestly, I think I inherited my mom’s sleeping gene. I’ve always loved sleep, and getting out of bed has tended to be an effort for me; yet, I have continually made an effort to get up early. Therein lay the conflict. I really do love the early morning, and I’ve become more of a morning person as I’ve gotten older. Since I live at the seminary I have to be up early—which means I go to bed pretty early as well. We begin our day with meditation in the chapel at 6:30. Prayer is a great way to start the day.
What is Holiness?
Above my desk where my Macbook, printer, and lamp share their home, hangs a large framed print of one of my favorite saints, Ignatius of Loyola. He’s dressed in a red chasuble and stole, the traditional vestments for the celebration of Mass. His eyes gaze heavenward; there is a glow on his face and an aura of light around his head. His right arm is bent upward; his hand, fingers and palm also pointing upward, is open in a gesture of praise. His left hand rests on the top of an open book and on the left page are written the words "Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam": For the greater glory of God. It is the image of a saint, an image of holiness. As much as I love this painting of St. Ignatius and how it can inspire me to stay focused on the Lord, looking at it can also make me forget that he was imperfect. Of course, that may be what the artist’s intention was: images of saints are supposed to reveal their holiness, not their imperfections. However, does being holy mean that we are perfect, that we never sin?
Are You Fully Alive?
St. Irenaeus, a bishop and early Church Father, wrote, “The glory of God is man fully alive.” I love this quote. In one sentence he describes what it means to be holy. To be holy means being fully alive; to be holy means being fully the persons God created us to be. To be fully alive is not equivalent to the modern notion of “living life to its fullest.” When many people talk about living life to its fullest, what they really mean is that we should indulge in as many pleasures as possible, pamper ourselves, and just be comfortable. Not that there’s anything wrong with pampering ourselves once in a while, but that’s not exactly what St. Irenaues meant.
The Gift and Fragility of Life
In the past two days I’ve been reminded of both the gift and fragility of life. Yesterday, I received an email from a friend asking for prayers because her daughter suffered a miscarriage. What a tremendously painful experience a miscarriage is for parents and the whole family. This morning, I administered the sacrament of the sick to my dad. He’s having surgery on Monday. Granted, it’s minor surgery, but any time your being put under anesthesia it involves risk and certainly can be frightening. This afternoon, I received a voicemail from a friend asking me to pray for a man who was rushed to the hospital when a brain aneurism burst. I know this man. He’s married and the father of two young adult sons. This evening, I received an email from a friend asking me if I would be able to go to the hospital to anoint her mom who was about to undergo emergency surgery. Life is a gift. Life is fragile.
Have You Noticed?
Have You Noticed? Have you noticed the sunrise? Have you noticed the sunset? Have you noticed the clouds as they move in the sky? Have you noticed the moon and the stars in the night? Have you noticed the gentle breeze on your face?
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