The Vanity of The Gospel of Jesus Nice

The Gospel of Jesus... Nice?

Following my entry into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil as a young man nearly two decades ago, I was bewildered. Much of what I heard in catechesis seemed saturated in a banal sentimentality that presented Jesus as more of a sort of Deepak Chopra figure than the revolutionary Son of the Most High God who said, “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” (Luke 12:49, NABRE)  

Rediscovering the Sacrament of Mercy, Part Two

One's view of God determines just about everything.

In Part One of this blog, we looked at the societal loss of the sense of sin, and how that may be a root cause of Catholics' avoidance of the confessional. 

But I am convinced that there is a second reason so many Catholics don't celebrate the sacrament of Reconciliation. 

Many of us live with a distorted image of God.

Rediscovering the Sacrament of Mercy, Part One

In the coming months children will celebrate the sacrament of Reconciliation for their first time, and some—perhaps many, I regret--- will not return for many years, if ever.

Jesus, the Divine Mercy, will wait in the confessional, eager to offer His healing salve to bruised and wounded hearts, but His wait will be long.

Why?

I believe the simplest answer is this: Mom and Dad have left the Lord waiting. They have neglected the care of their own souls through avoidance of the confessional. Children learn how to view and live life from their parents.

And why do parents leave the Divine Mercy waiting?

I believe there are basically two reasons.

Why it Matters to ME that YOU Be a Good Catholic

I was talking to a buddy on the phone yesterday and I confessed, “I am more Catholic cheerleader than apologist.”

When I watch apologists debate the Catholic and Protestant sides, I feel like I am watching an unbearably long Ping-Pong match without any record of score. Each observer has to imagine the score in his own head.

After half an hour or so, my brain goes numb.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe apologetics is a very important discipline, and I have great respect for those who engage in this essential ministry professionally. Many a seeker has made a definitive choice for the Catholic Church because the case for Catholicism was well argued and systematically presented. I have learned a great deal from the likes of Patrick Madrid, Jimmy Akin, and Michelle Arnold, brilliant apologists all.

Also, I believe that every Catholic should be able to articulate his faith well enough to present a logical and reasonable defense of Catholic doctrine, especially in these relativistic times when truth seems up for grabs and logic and reason are a rare commodity, obscured as they are by rampant emotionalism and banal sentimentality.

But when it comes down to me, my primary drive is to evangelize the disengaged, or the lightly engaged, of the fold. Perhaps this is because I found myself astounded upon my entry into the Church at twenty-nine years old, and following a life of impoverished agnosticism, by the many Catholics who seemed bored by the Faith. I was like a starving man that looks on in wonder as other hungry people sit before piles of the most exquisite food without partaking.

Five Ways to Lead Your Children to Heaven, PART TWO

Most of us have encountered people who journey through life in a way that exemplifies Thoreau’s famous line from Walden: “The mass of men live lives of quiet desperation.”

I have observed that a common denominator in the “quiet desperation crowd,” barring other emotional causes, is often a seeming lack of a sense of purpose and meaning.

What a Real Man Looks (and Smells) Like

My four year old son, Joshua, came up to me at church the other day and said, a big grin on his face, “Daddy, smell me!”

When a four year old boy asks you to smell him, you get nervous.

I leaned over with some trepidation and smelled him.

He smelled kind of like me. Only his smell was lower to the ground.

“Do I smell like a man?” he asked with wide eyes.

“Oh, absolutely, buddy. You smell like a man, for sure,” I assured him, mussing his thick hair.

“I used your perfume!” he gushed.

Kim corrected him, “That would be cologne, honey.”

He asked me recently when he could start shaving (that reminds me, I need to get a play shaving kit like they had when I was a kid--- do they even have those anymore?). My little guy wants so much to be a man. 

And you know what really scares me?

I am the one who is supposed to be his teacher; it is my responsibility to show him what a man looks like!

Happiness Isn't a Warm Puppy: Five Ways to Lead Your Children to Heaven

When teaching baptism classes to parents, I would begin the first class with the question: “What do you desire most for your child?”

Nine times out of ten the response was, “Happiness.”

Parents want the very best for their children. Parents sacrifice a great deal to give their children everything they believe they need to be happy. Parents--- healthy, sane parents--- want their children to be happy today, as children, and tomorrow, as adults.