This presentation was given at the ATX Catholic Day of Reflection at Our Lady of Schoenstatt Shrine on April 30, 2016. [powerpress] The slideshow below was part of the presentation.
Parents & Teens, Freedom & Boundaries
Here at ATXCatholic I don’t often write about my job as a therapist, but today I’d like to delve a little bit into it, through the lens of good theology and a Christian understanding of the human person. I’d like to delve into the concept of boundaries in relationships, specifically between parents and teens. Tricky for… [Read More]
Goals, Plans and Motivation – Oh My!
What is your goal? During this time of Easter we read story after story about the life of the early church and more precisely about the lives of the apostles. What made them so effective? What motivated them? Thousands of people converted in a single day, people were cured and they faced persecution bravely. I… [Read More]
A Mother’s letter to her daughter for her Confirmation
“Mary treasured all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19) Dear Roise, Treasuring the life of her child is what a mother does. At this culminating moment in our lives, as you prepare for your Confirmation, this letter is a reflection, a letter of love, encouragement and appreciation, and it is a… [Read More]
Selah: pause, lift up, praise
I was a young widow running through the house kicking toys out of my way, spilling my coffee, responding to a loud crash at the other end of the house. I had been cooking, having invited somebody over for dinner, (what was I thinking,) my toddler was running from the scene of the crime, my… [Read More]
The Healing Path of Catholic Psychotherapy – Quick takes
These are my take-a-ways from the annual Catholic Psychotherapy Association Conference, The Face of Mercy: The Healing Path of Catholic Psychotherapy, which happened in Austin this past weekend. I’d like to distill a bit of the core message I experienced, and at the end, I’ll also share a few of the great resources we were given (Disclaimer – these… [Read More]
Your Flight to Emmaus Is Now Boarding
It’s a long road to Emmaus. I walk it each and every day. Like the two disciples in today’s Gospel reading, I would love to run into Jesus during my travels. But I fear that as Celopas and his friend did, I won’t recognize Jesus. I was thinking about the story of the Road to… [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]
Keep Worship Weird
You might say that the speed at which “Keep Austin Weird” took off says something about how innate this motto is to the nature of our city. It captures in a just few words one essential part of that “something else” about the this town that keeps native here and draws new neighbors in droves…. [Read More]
The Mountain vs. The World
As Christians striving for holiness, we can say we have encountered the Lord in some way, whether it was at mass or in prayer, or in another person. And in one of my encounters, though it was very brief, Jesus revealed a little bit of His glory to me. Just a glimpse – and my… [Read More]
A Fast Food Lesson in Prayer
“If there’s time to lean, there’s time to clean.” This old adage from the restaurant industry is frequently attributed to managers at McDonald’s. The idea is that if you are a fast food employee and are not particularly busy at the moment, then instead of just sitting around – or leaning – grab a broom,… [Read More]
Accountability to Faith: Romans 1-3
Saint Paul makes some pretty dramatic points in this letter. Some of them are so dramatic, different Christian groups and denominations have based their theology on those few statements. The first three chapters have some of those verses: “ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature … has been clearly perceived in the… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – February 28, 2016 Mass Readings and Reflections
Third Sunday in Lent Sunday February 28, 2016 Lectionary: 30 (NAB Translation) Reading 1 Exodus 3:1-8,13-15 This week’s first reading is from the book of Exodus in the Old Testament. This passage recounts Moses’ dramatic first encounter with God in the form of a burning bush in the desert. Moses, a descendant of Abraham, has… [Read More]
The Mystery of Iniquity – Rejoicing in weakness
Each Lent it seems I come back to this theme – how do we think about sin and weakness? It’s been helpful for me to examine my own understanding – I can’t make much sense of redemption if I have a distorted view of the sin and weakness that necessitated such a Savior. And an unhealthy view… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – February 14, 2016 Mass Readings and Reflections
First Sunday in Lent Sunday February 14, 2016 Lectionary: 24 (NAB Translation) Reading 1 Deuteronomy 26:4-10 This week’s first reading is from the book of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament. Just before the death of Moses and before the Israelites enter the Promised land, Moses gives a repetition of the Law given at Mount Sinai… [Read More]
Humility Alone Conceives the Truth – a poem
I hope you are all having a restful and blessed Christmas season! Pope Francis invites us to contemplate what God teaches us in coming as a child: “He makes himself small, he becomes a child, to attract us with love, to touch our hearts with his humble goodness,” and also”Pope Francis said the creche reminds us that… [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]
The Door to Mercy – Knowing We Are Loved
For the opening of the Year of Mercy, I was late to mass. Late to mass! Imagine, this great event, once in a Jubilee, and I had even planned ahead to get out of work early – and still I was late to mass, and very late. Walking up to the mass-in-progress, I slid into… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – December 6, 2015 Mass Readings and Reflections
Second Sunday in Advent Lectionary: 6 (NAB Translation) Welcome to the Sunday Says podcast for December 6, 2015, the second 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 remind us that God has done… [Read More]
Advent: The longing in our hearts for Love Incarnate
“May the Lord make you increase and abound in love, for one another and for all, just as we have for you, so as to strengthen your hearts, to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. Amen” (1 Thes 3:12) We heard… [Read More]
Is it possible entitlement & individualism go hand in hand? (On the parable of the attitude of a servant)
Last Tuesday I was at St William’s in Round Rock for daily mass, and Fr Dean’s homily got me thinking. That day the gospel was from Luke, on the servant who comes in from the field: “Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the… [Read More]
Liturgy and Culture: A Review of Ratzinger’s “Spirit of the Liturgy”
Pope Benedict XVI, as Cardinal Ratzinger, wrote a magnificent book called The Spirit of the Liturgy which I had the opportunity to read, think, and write about for one of my classes here at the seminary. He has a great insight into the Liturgy’s meaning and its centrality to the world in which we live…. [Read More]
Mass As Gift: Receiving The Father’s Love
Here’s the point: we don’t need to ask for more grace. We need to be open to the grace God gives. Were you ever part of the “Mass Is Boring” Club? There were some requirements for membership. You were not supposed to pay attention to the readings in Mass. You were supposed to mumble the… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – November 8, 2015 Mass Readings and Reflections
Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 155 (NAB Translation) Reading 1 1 Kings 17:10-16 The first reading is from the First Book of Kings in the Old Testament. In our passage for today, we see a poor widow and her son during a time of famine in ancient Israel. The widow and her son… [Read More]
March for Religious Freedom November 22 Part I
“[T]he most fundamental human freedom [is] that of practicing one’s faith openly, which for human beings is their reason for living.” Saint John Paul II On Sunday, November 22nd, the Solemnity of Christ the King, the Knights of Columbus from the Austin area and around the state of Texas will march for Religious Freedom from… [Read More]
Shred Away Your Sins
You can learn a lot about sin from a paper shredder. At least I did. Stay with me. It’ll make sense eventually. With apologies to my local letter carrier, most of what arrives in my mailbox falls into the dreaded category of junk mail. It would be quick and easy to toss all that unwanted… [Read More]
Soul-surviving in the wake of a family suicide
Four weeks ago the person who has been closest to me all my life, my brother, Mark, (I just called him “Brother” and he called me, “Sister,”) who was like my other self, committed suicide. We were scared and worried about him. But we didn’t think this would happen. Then it happened. He was dead…. [Read More]
Spit, Mercy and the Human Spiritual Life
What is it about Jesus spitting, putting his fingers in the deaf man’s ear? It hits on something within us, pulls on something. Some inner notion of cleanliness, of boundaries, of unworthiness. It’s uncomfortable. Unusual. Certainly not how we would expect the God-man to act. Now – to bow at his feet, to stand at… [Read More]
A Blue Bell Faith
The state of Texas’ favorite ice cream, Blue Bell, returned to shelves this week after four months of stopped production due to a Listeria problem and 3 deaths in April. Texans mourned the loss of this important dessert, especially during the summer. Memes were created, odes were written, t-shirts printed and people fasted from ice cream… [Read More]
Asking Back: Asking Jesus His Own Question
We are sitting in a bar on a hot summer day. I stare at my dejected feet on the bar stool, then out the door at the hot day, the burning sidewalk, the occasional overheated human being passing by. I don’t want to look at him, though I am relieved by his presence. I glance… [Read More]
Back to Busy – Inspiration for Fall 2015
Fall is in the air! Well not actually in the air weather-wise – I wish! But despite Texas’ insistence outdoors that summer persists, this week kiddos are loading back into school buses, parents are cheering, teachers are groaning, and the boost of energy and activity seems to pervade many realms of economic and social life…. [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – August 16, 2015 Mass Readings and Reflections
[powerpress] Sunday August 16, 2015 Lectionary: 119 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time (NAB Translation) Welcome to the Sunday Says podcast for August 16, 2015, the twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time. Thank you for joining us as we open up the Word of God to prepare our hearts and minds for this Sunday’s Mass. This week… [Read More]
Agnostic Modernists vs The Church
Modernists and modernism have left a significant impact upon our post-modern world. One major impact has been the increasing prevalence of agnosticism or practical atheism within the world’s population. Agnosticism is the belief that man is unable to know whether God exists. Practical atheism is the resulting ethic or morality which is derived from such… [Read More]
“Everything is Connected” – The Ecological Spirituality of Laudato Si
“Everything is connected.” This phrase of Pope Francis could be the link that ties the whole of “Laudato Si” together and also communicates the core of his message. “Everything is connected,” he says, in such a way that as humans and the earth are a part of the same ecological fabric, our actions in one part of… [Read More]
Sunday Says Podcast – August 2, 2015 Mass Readings and Reflections
[powerpress] Sunday August 2, 2015 Lectionary: 113 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time (NAB Translation) Welcome to the Sunday Says podcast for August 2, 2015, the eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time. Thank you for joining us as we open up the Word of God to prepare our hearts and minds for this Sunday’s Mass. This week… [Read More]
Lectio for Lovers: Praying Lectio Divina as a Couple
In silent open-ness to God, we set aside our own agendas and open ourselves to God’s agenda, which is always love, love, and more love. What could be better than that? Lectio Divina (Holy Reading) is an ancient Christian way to pray the Scriptures. It involves reading a passage of the Bible, listening to God… [Read More]
A Demon’s Memo- What Happens When You Return From A Retreat
The following excerpt is meant to be a Screwtape Letters’ type of writing. It;s written from the perspective of the demon. Because of this, “the enemy” is actually God. In this letter, Slubgob, a senior demon, tells his colleagues about a group that came back from a retreat and how to attack. I decided to… [Read More]
Mary, Sister of the Carmelite Soul
We are holding hands as we walk together along a rocky path on a hot July evening. We are talking about this and that. She asks me questions, listens thoughtfully as I talk about my life. She has a lot going on too, these days, and she unburdens her heart to me about her work,… [Read More]
God always wins.
“If you are what you should be, you would set the whole world on fire.” – St. Catherine of Siena By now we are all quite aware of the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage. I think this is the first time in my life that I’ve been nervous about being Catholic (I am so blessed because… [Read More]
The Story of San Salvador Mission
She remembers walking barefoot on pilgrimage up the road to San Salvador Mission as a child, praying the rosary together with her family and friends, each August, lead by her grandmother, Ouida, to commemorate a healing, a vision, and a community coming together in response to a message from Heaven to build a church. She… [Read More]
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