As we walked out of my mom’s funeral, my brother said, “Let’s talk about how Mom used to cheat at scrabble.” We chuckled. “Really,” he said. There’s a tendency to make people perfect after they die. But if we talk about their faults it keeps them human and real to us.” “Well,” I said, “She… [Read More]
Calling all young adults! – An invitation to sit down with our Bishops
What are you doing next Monday evening? Young adults between the ages of 18 and 35 are invited to attend a Diocese of Austin listening session with Bishop Joe Vásquez and Bishop Danny Garcia on August 7 from 6-8 pm at St. Louis, Austin. This listening session will assist the diocese in preparation for the… [Read More]
I Am, not I Do
My kids had been watching the Veggie Tales DVD “Mo and the Big Exit,” and my four-year old asked a question. I turned to the book of Exodus and began to read aloud: “Doesn’t that sound familiar?” I asked, linking the bible verses to the show. But very quickly, she lost interest and I found… [Read More]
A visit to St.Mary Magdalene
I have come to the top of the mountain to a place we now call, St. Baume (Holy Balm) * to visit my patroness, St.Mary Magdalene. I am not in as good a shape as I used to be. Getting myself up this mountain was not that much fun for me, plus I’m very banged… [Read More]
Diocese of Austin Men’s Mass on July 22, 2017
For the 9th year in a row, there will be a Holy Mass celebrated as an encouragement to men. It’s easy to feel discouraged in a world that is confused and seeking to erode the virtues of masculinity in Christ. By gathering as a community of men of the local Church, we can pray for each… [Read More]
#CatholicConvo Through the Eyes of an Texan
“Uplifting, motivating, challenging, community, transformative.” That’s how Theresa Prudhomme, a mid 20s young professional from Katy, describes her experience of #CatholicConvo in 5 words or less. The weekend before last, while we were all firing up the grill and making July 4th plans, Theresa joined thousands of lay leaders, religious, priests and bishops from across… [Read More]
The Brown Scapular and “The First Born” (Col. 1:15)
July 16th is the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel where the faithful have their Brown Scapulars blessed, and they are enrolled into the Order of Mount Carmel. The feast originated when Our Lady appeared to St. Simon Stock on July 16, 1251 and said, “Receive my beloved son, the scapular of thy Order…. [Read More]
July 4th is Love
I know that today we’re supposed to think about the history of winning our independence. I do. I think that is OK. We think about freedom and the Constitution too. We are glad we don’t live somewhere there isn’t freedom. We are grateful to be Americans. We are proud of ourselves. That is cool. But… [Read More]
Summer for your Soul
In the Sunday homily yesterday, the priest preached about the relationship between the body and the soul, taking this line of scripture from the Gospel reading as a starting place: “And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy… [Read More]
Who Would Choose This?
I lay in bed, but the room continued to spin. I shut my eyes and stayed as still as I could. I was a prisoner of my illness, unable to leave the bed, the room or the house unless someone else came to help me. I thought of Jesus, laying in a ciborium, locked in… [Read More]
Pray with me: the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary
Opening Prayers for the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary “In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen. Come, Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Thy well beloved spouse, and Queen of the Holy Rosary. Help us to… [Read More]
Diversity in Ministry Part III – Financial
In the first two posts of this series, I explored how diversity in Gifts and Age can provide a richer experience of the faith and allow parishes to better minister to the community. Christians of all denominations today tend to look for communities where they feel like they can belong to the larger group. Sometimes the neighborhoods have similarities… [Read More]
Freedom & our relationship to God: Are we galley slaves or free children?
In the echoes of Trinity Sunday, I found myself thinking about how we are called to relate to this mystery that is the Triune God, and how we are made in the image of God. The priest reflected on this during his Sunday homily, about how it’s pretty much impossible for our minds to capture how… [Read More]
A little shisha, a little Nostra Aetate, a slice of real life
We are sitting on cushions at a low table, enjoying shisha from a shared hookah in the corner of a light, airy building in a shopping center in Central Texas. There is country music on the radio, and a minty, fruity smoke rising around us in the late afternoon sun. Frank, (or as I call… [Read More]
Strewing Flowers at the Corpus Christi Procession
For centuries one of the customs at Corpus Christi processions is strewing (throwing) flowers before Jesus in the monstrance to proclaim Him our King in a very special and public manner. Many saints have written about this wonderful experience but one of the most well known is St Therese of Lisieux (Doctor of the Church),… [Read More]
World Marriage Encounters 2017
WWME (Worldwide Marriage Encounter) weekends for 2017 03/31/2017 08:00 pm – 04/02/2017 04:00 pm Austin WWME Weekend Wingate Hotel in Round Rock 06/09/2017 08:00 pm – 06/11/2017 04:00 pm Austin WWME Weekend St Elizabeth Non-residential 09/08/2017 08:00 pm – 09/10/2017 04:00 pm Austin WWME Weekend Wingate Hotel in Round Rock 11/03/2017 08:00 pm – 11/05/2017… [Read More]
Congrats Bishop-Elect Bill!
Fr. Bill Wack, CSC, Pastor of St. Ignatius, Martyr, has been named as the sixth bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee.
It Is Finished! (Jn. 19:30)
The fight went the distance! Fifteen rounds of pure guts, grit, and blood! It was a courageous nail-biting fight of perseverance and determination that left the onlookers spellbound. Those on the sidelines witnessed a tenacious battle against our oldest and unseen enemy – death. My mom, Gloria Rodriguez age 89, passed away on May… [Read More]
Tiny Dynamine: a reflection on my mom, Delphia
Today is my mom’s birthday. She would have been 68 today. And I feel like talking about her. She was a warrior for love, justice, and for her children. I want you to know her. I want everyone to know her. She had several names but the one she liked best, and that suited her… [Read More]
Why Mary?
In our culture and our American church, I come across this question quite often – Why Mary? Sometimes its connected to other related questions like: Can you ever pray too much to Mary? How do I know if I’m worshipping Mary or praying to her for intercession? Does praying to Mary distract from Jesus? And… [Read More]
Susan Conroy, author of “Praying with Mother Teresa” May 20
Are you ready for one of the most profound, meaningful experiences of your life? Susan Conroy, author of Praying with Mother Teresa, will present a collection of prayers, insights, and wisdom from the inimitable Mother Teresa of Calcutta, one of heaven’s newest saints. Saturday, May 20, 2017 St. John Neumann Holy Family Center 10:00 am–1:00… [Read More]
Easter Joy, Family, and Heaven
On Easter Sunday 2017 my family and I gathered at the family home to celebrate Easter by partaking in our regular Easter feast (our family does food well). My grandparents and many of my dad’s graduate students joined us for the feast. I enjoyed getting to know some of the graduate students better during dinner… [Read More]
The Freedom that Comes When Our “Yes” Means “Yes”
I was late the other day (again) on my way somewhere, and I was driving, this scripture came to mind: Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one. Matt 5:37 (NABRE) Have you ever made a decision, and then tried to avoid the consequences of that… [Read More]
Where Is Jesus?
A mother and father bring their small child to a shopping mall on an extremely busy day. They take turns keeping their eyes on the little boy and holding his hand as they move from store to store and then to the food court with a few bathroom breaks in between. Mommy suddenly glances around… [Read More]
The 7 Contemplative Gazes
Peter constantly gazed at Our Lord but like most of us listened poorly. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains how “gazing” at Jesus is a form of contemplation by stating, “Contemplation is a gaze of faith fixed on Jesus.” (2715) Contemplation is the highest form of worship, and it is none other than two… [Read More]
“Do you want to live?”
I had had a big fight with my mom and brother. I was walking super fast across town. It was cold and I had forgotten a jacket. A car full of girls from school drove by, rolling their windows down to jeer and shout insults. I picked up a few rocks and bottles to throw… [Read More]
To My Father For All His Love: A Lenten Reflection
Guest Post by Deacon Dan Lupo In Chicago, where I grew up, March days are shrouded in gray, blasted by icy wind, and blanketed by snow. Perfect Lent weather. The weather is Lent-perfect because the gray skies evoke a somber mood, which matches the serious attitude Lent fosters. Lent calls for soberly examining our faith… [Read More]
How does modern man best hear the call the conversion?
In this liturgical season of conversion, we are faced with the question: Just exactly how does “conversion” happen? How is change possible in our daily lives, and in a lasting way? I’d like to go deeper into thoughts from my last post, as a kind of part II (see: Living Lent Like a Little One)…. [Read More]
What Would Padre Pio Say?
Have you ever been to confession with Padre Pio? I think I have. Someone asked me to pray a novena to Padre Pio for an intention. I love novenas. Not everyone does. But I love them. As long as I had him on the phone for that intention, I asked him about a few other… [Read More]
Living Lent like a Little One
Lent is a season of conversion, a call to repentance, a time of turning back to God. To me, these are Christ’s most striking words on conversion: Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3) Unless you turn and become! We shall not enter… [Read More]
A Sign of Our Times: The Temptation of Survivial
The temptation of survival begins with fear in our hearts deceiving us that there are not enough jobs, resources, and food even though statistically we throw away half of our food every year. The spirits of fear and greed trick us into believing we are no longer safe, and we must protect and preserve all… [Read More]
Are you… “Out of Touch” ?
Indeed, the parts of this country whom you agree with are all that are necessary, and those parts of our country that you consider less honorable are a bunch of rapists and thugs, and those you judge less presentable parts are a bunch of fat stupid pigs. The billionaires lining their pockets don’t need unity…. [Read More]
You Are “That Man”
Once upon a time there was an important man who oversaw a big group. He was very wealthy and had many responsibilities. To his credit, the man loved the Lord and knew that everything he had was from God. But somewhere along the way his love of God began to slip. Feeling entitled and prideful,… [Read More]
Courage
For Catholics of well- formed conscience, the drama unfolding at the Texas Capitol has been disconcerting at best. Gov. Abbot has ordered an emergency session to draft and ratify Senate Bill SB-4. The bill aims to penalize counties and cities whose law enforcement officials will not turn over their residents to federal immigration officers. Keeping… [Read More]
A Lent of Luminous Darkness and Wild Seeds
I love Lent. I am always happy to hear that I am dust, and that to dust I shall return. When I close my eyes to pray, I can really tell I am dust. In here where I live, it’s quiet and dark. Simple. Nothing to it. Who am I? Dust. Clay. Nothing. Everything. Inwardly… [Read More]
The Importance of Consecration to Mary’s Immaculate Heart
Here is a homily from Sunday, February 19, 2017 at St Mary’s Cathedral in downtown Austin, TX, promoting Marian consecration to the Immaculate Heart. [powerpress] You can find resources for doing the Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary at MyConsecration.org. Here is a homily from Fr. Kevin Rai on the Total Consecration to the… [Read More]
Meditation and Emotions (Part II)
This is a follow up to my last post, Meditation and Decisive Times, where I attempted to sketch the basics of what it means to meditate on life, as a way to grow in love and closeness to God, and a way to help foster a deep and integrated inner life. Out of this deep inner… [Read More]
2017 Catholic Men’s Conference – Feb 18
Calling All Men – 5th Annual 2017 CTFCM Men’s Conference – February 18, 2017 Hundreds of Catholic men will be gathering at St Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in North Austin for the annual Men’s Conference for the Diocese of Austin. This year’s gathering features Gus Lloyd, Robert Rodgers, and Harold Burke-Sivers (A.K.A The Dynamic… [Read More]
Providence’s Hidden Grace
God’s providence has granted me grace upon grace. And sometimes graces come in very small packages. Above you’ll see a picture of each of my two god-children Elle (top) and Benedict (bottom). I promised to help their parents raise them in the faith. I traced a cross on their foreheads marking them for Christ. I… [Read More]
Sunshine rain: a day of caring for Mom
The rain sounds so good. I hope it is still raining when I go to sleep. That is the best music to sleep to: rain. It has rained on and off all day. I have had the window open behind Mom’s bed so she can listen to it too. I talk to her about all… [Read More]
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