While my bread is rising I feel like talking about what I was thinking about while I was kneading. I was thinking about the “Keep Christ In Christmas” thing. I think that as a friendly reminder to fellow Christians not to get caught up in the shopping, social obligations, travel and food to the point… [Read More]
Bits and Bytes on Thriving Parishes (Review: “Great Catholic Parishes”)
Since I stopped working in ministry, I’ve been a regular parishioner, just like everyone else. Having seen things from both ends of the pew, in a sense, I remain interested in the state of American parishes and efforts to right the wrongs and fulfill our mission as Christians. So I read a lot of books… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – December 4, 2016 Mass Readings and Reflections
Second Sunday of Advent Sunday December 4, 2016 Lectionary: 4 (NAB Translation) Reading 1 Isaiah 11:1-10 This week’s first reading from the book of Isaiah is a prophecy of the Messiah as the One who will descend as a branch from the root of Jesse in the lineage of King David. The Christ (Messiah) will… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – November 6, 2016 Mass Readings and Reflections
Thirty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time Sunday November 6, 2016 Lectionary: 156 (NAB Translation) Reading 1 2 Maccabees 7:1-2,9-14 This week’s first reading is from the book of 2 Maccabees. This book covers the period of time between the 180 -161 BC, which was during the “intertestamental” period, and provides a link between the Old and… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – September 25, 2016 Mass Readings and Reflections
Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time Sunday September 25, 2016 Lectionary: 138 (NAB Translation) Reading 1 Amos 6:1,4-7 This week’s first reading is from the book of the prophet Amos. Amos was a shepherd from Tekoa (a village in the southern kingdom of Judah), but preached to the rich in the northern kingdom of Israel. He… [Read More]
What Kind of Sower Are You?
[This is a guest post from Norine Shaivitz.] It seems like a waste of seed to throw it on a walking path that’s frequented by birds. I bet a real farmer wouldn’t throw seeds where the ground is rocky or full of weeds either. That was the thought that ran through our minds as my… [Read More]
Sunday Says – June 5, 2016 Mass Readings and Reflections
Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time Sunday June 5, 2016 Lectionary: 90 (NAB Translation) Reading 1 1 Kings 17:17-24 In this week’s first reading from the first book of Kings in the Old Testament, we see the Prophet Elijah demonstrate the power of God by raising someone from the dead. A poor widow in the pagan… [Read More]
The Hail Mary, the Visitation: a reflection
Mary… the name of that beautiful flower which I always invoke morning and evening.” ~ Dante I remember learning the Hail Mary when I was 20. I was dating the Catholic boy who I would one day marry. I was curious about the Hail Mary, never having heard more than the first line of… [Read More]
Catholic Life Online Today Panel
This audio is from the second panel at the ATX Catholic Day of Reflection 2016 at Our Lady of Schoenstatt Shrine in Austin, TX on April 30, 2016. Moderator: Brandon Kraft Panelist: Laura Gonzales, Cristina Almanza, and Steve Scott Panel 2 – Catholic Life Online Today St. John Paul II called us to propose anew the same… [Read More]
Forming Teens Into Evangelical Catholics
Youth ministry is a unique challenge for the Church, and by challenge, I mean opportunity. A decade ago, I started to dabble in youth ministry, but I have spent the last 7 years working with great people in the Church to develop a program that can form young Evangelical Catholics. An understandably lofty goal, but one… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – April 24, 2016 Mass Readings and Reflections
Fifth Sunday of Easter Sunday April 24, 2016 Lectionary: 54 (NAB Translation) Reading 1 Acts 14:21-27 In this week’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles Paul and Barnabas continue their first missionary journey where they experience both opposition and acceptance in their efforts to evangelize. Through preaching, prayer, and fasting they are… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – March 13, 2016 Mass Readings and Reflections
Fifth Sunday in Lent Sunday March 13, 2016 Lectionary: 36 (NAB Translation) Reading 1 Isaiah 43:16-21 This week’s first reading is from the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament. This passage from Isaiah is a message of hope directed to God’s people who are in exile in Babylon. It is a reminder that… [Read More]
A Commentary on Romans: Introduction
This is the introduction to a five-part commentary on the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans. I hope that the reader is inspired to pray with the passages from this letter. My intention is not to explain everything. Rather, I hope to point to and give light to different verses that have affected my… [Read More]
Street Evangelization in Austin
Recently, I attended training for street evangelization. At the end of the training class, we went out into downtown Austin to put this into practice. This experience reminds me of a middle school dance. It all started with spending the day learning to dance. We went through the mechanics and even tried out a few… [Read More]
Taking Steps Toward the Savior (Review: “Forming Intentional Disciples”)
Do you have a relationship with Jesus? Do you believe God has a mission for your life? Do you tell other people, honestly and openly, about the ways the Holy Spirit works in your day-to-day? Or does all of that sound “too Protestant”? Are those things normal for you? Do you feel like a little… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – December 20, 2015 Mass Readings and Reflections
Fourth Sunday in Advent Sunday December 20, 2015 Lectionary: 12 (NAB Translation) Welcome to the Sunday Says podcast for December 20, 2015, the fourth Sunday of Advent. Thank you for joining us as we break open the Word of God to prepare our hearts and minds for this Sunday’s Mass. This week’s readings take us… [Read More]
Stretch of the Heart: Why You Need Hope
Think about the fact that you have a desire to love God and follow his will. Consider the difficulty of being faithful to him when it is tiring or inconvenient. How could it be that the saints before us were like spiritual and charitable super heroes? Is there a saint medicine we’re missing out on?… [Read More]
A Response to “What Sucks about the Catholic Church”
Every spring brings the Church a batch of shiny new Catholics, and every year I see the same list of complaints. No, not the ones about people “taking your pew.” The ones about the niggling weaknesses in the Church. Many adults who enter the Catholic Church, especially those who were members of other Christian traditions… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – June 14, 2015 Mass Readings and Reflections
Sunday Says Podcast – June 14, 2015 Mass Readings and Reflections Sunday June 14, 2015 Lectionary: 92 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time (NAB Translation) Welcome to the Sunday Says podcast for June 14, 2015, the eleventh Sunday of Ordinary Time. Thank you for joining us as we open up the Word of God to… [Read More]
Learn Scripture By Threading
Why learn scripture? The disciples in a certain sense become “drawn into intimacy with God by being immersed in the word of God. God’s word is, so to speak, the purifying bath, the creative power which changes them and makes them belong to God”. And since Christ himself is God’s Word made flesh (Jn 1:14) –… [Read More]
Keeping the Faith and Divine Mercy
A Mormon once approached while I was walking through my neighborhood and started talking to me about his beliefs. I always enjoy talking to people of other faiths, especially the ones convicted enough to try and teach others what they believe at random. They are no real threat to my faith, so I feel very… [Read More]
How to Keep Youth in the Church (A Response to “3 Common Traits”)
Most of my friends in Austin are people I met at Catholic activities. Catholicism is the biggest part of my life (other than being female, I suppose), so it makes sense that I would mainly associate with other Catholics. What most of them don’t know, though, is that I haven’t always been like this. I… [Read More]
Falling into Ecumenicism, or Something I Never Thought I’d Learn From the Public Schools
When I was 18, I became Catholic. For months, leading up to the day of my entrance into the Church, I sat in the pew, in awe of this beautiful Church which had shown me so much in so little a time. I was amazed by the depth, the beauty, the wisdom, the overwhelming love. The… [Read More]
Apologetics Should Not Be Catholic Bible-Thumping
These days, at least in my circles, Catholics are familiar with the concept of apologetics. It is from the Greek apologia, which is not an “I’m sorry” speech, but a defensive speech. It’s more like an explanation than an apology. People who are defending their beliefs usually aren’t sorry they believe those things, anyway! It… [Read More]
Why The New Evangelization Will Fail at Your Parish
Check your calendar, we are about a month away from the canonization of Pope John Paul the Second. His dream of the New Evangelization had a scope that was vast and while it was filled with hope, his vision was colossal. Honesty, I cannot image God working in any other way. However, from the current… [Read More]
Four Attitudes of Evangelical Parenthood: Patience – Part 4
The third attitude of evangelical parenthood is patience. As we write this, we’ve just returned from a stint at the grocery store – one that we thought was going to be 30 minutes. An hour and a half later, we’ve just put up the last of the groceries. And …. where are/were our children? Somewhere… [Read More]
Four Attitudes of Evangelical Parenthood: Readiness for Dialogue – Part 3
The second attitude of Evangelical Parenthood lies in a readiness for dialogue. All too often, as a parent, we can be “preachy”. That is, we desire to control any conversation to the extent that there may be a difference of opinion or lack of time. We, some of us more than others, really need to… [Read More]
Four Attitudes of Evangelical Parenthood: Approachability – Part 2
In order to answer our parental vocation to evangelize our children, Pope Francis says we must be approachable to our kids. We must develop and cultivate an attitude of approachability. As a parent, you want your children coming to you to ask difficult questions, right?! After all, if they don’t come to you, to whom… [Read More]
Four Attitudes of Evangelical Parenthood
Parents are called to evangelize their children – to be evangelical parents. Yet, all too frequently many of us fail to answer the call to share the “Good News” with them because we never preach the Gospel to our children. We leave that to the priest in the Sunday homily or the religious education teacher… [Read More]
Part 5 of 6 – Pope Francis, Teaching, and Parenthood
As with previous Popes, Francis teaches. It’s his job so to speak. As parents, we also are called to be the first and primary teachers, the “first heralds” of the faith to our children. We can learn a great deal about fulfilling that role by watching him do his job. In order to help us… [Read More]
Lying, Confession, and St. Andrew
Lying Have you ever lied to someone? Did you mean to? Did you feel bad afterwards? What about during prayer? A friend and I recently shared a conversation about lying. In our own way, we each had entered into a state of sin; we fell short of our call to holiness and virtue. We shared… [Read More]
Part 3 of 6 – Pope Francis, Parenthood, and Questions
Another important tool for parents that we have learned from Pope Francis is the use of questions in our parenting. In his interview with an atheist, when asked a question, Pope Francis responded with a question on several occasions. We, as parents, can learn from this. Questions are frequently the best response initially to… [Read More]
New Evangelization, Reality TV, and Parenting
Effective parenting calls for new ways of communicating the Faith to children. In essence, parents must answer the call to the New Evangelization in their own homes with their own children. As parents, we’re called to find ways in every day life to convey the truths of the faith in ways that, perhaps, are a… [Read More]
Signs of Contradiction
Three Persons, One God. 100% God, yet 100% man. To save your life, you must lose it. The first shall be last, and the last shall be first. Christianity is full of seeming contradictions. Life is full of contradictions. The Christian must be comfortable with these apparent contradictions. In fact, part of the mystery of… [Read More]
Setting Your Family Ablaze – Part 5 of 5 – Evangelization
The last key to setting your family ablaze is to embrace the call to evangelization, “that is, the proclamation of Christ by word and testimony of life” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 905). For most Catholics, this seems to be the hardest one to embrace. Faith and Integration, the first two keys, can be done… [Read More]
Catholic on Instagram
About 521 images are uploaded to Instagram every second from all over the world. That equals about 45 million photos a day. That’s a superabundance of images. Many of us not only have Instagram on our phones, we also have additional companion apps to help us take image customization to another level. I’ve been fascinated… [Read More]
Thanksgiving and Detachment
This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad! Did you read what happened in that verse? The author acknowledged God’s work of creation and God’s work in creation. What follows when God is acknowledged? His creation is glad and rejoices! We are glad and we rejoice. The heavens declare… [Read More]
Four Keys to Setting Our Families Ablaze – Part 1 of 5
I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled! (Luke 12:49) Jesus desired then, and He desires now that a fire be kindled on earth. Today, as much as at any time before in history, we as Catholics, as Christians, must take these words to heart. We must “rekindle… [Read More]
Confession and Pentecost; Grace and Power
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. -Proverbs 3:5-6 This verse is not like Confession; this verse is Confession. Four things happen. I entrust myself to God through a spiritual father, a… [Read More]
To Be a Saint
This should be read as a meditation. There is scripture mingled in and cited, but not always directly quoted. Who am I to be a saint? Am I tired? Am I afraid? Am I inadequate? Moses was inadequate; he admitted it (Ex. 4:10, 13). And what of fear? Will my friends forget me or leave… [Read More]
