“The end is near! The end is near!”  As we continue to struggle with the worldwide coronavirus pandemic and a record number of hurricanes and tropical storms, devastating wildfires and even earthquakes, it’s easy to wonder if the end is near.  Of course, people have been making that prediction for thousands of years.  In fact, in today’s second reading, we hear St. Paul address a community anxious about the predictions they are hearing regarding the end of time and the return of the Lord.  Like some people are doing today […]

Do you remember the day last April when the Notre Dame Cathedral was so badly damaged by fire?  We all looked on with horror and gasped as the spire collapsed into the roof.  Was the entire cathedral lost?  It was a great relief to learn days later that much of the interior had been spared and the walls were still intact, for the most part.  For those of us who have visited this magnificent cathedral, it was a time of great sadness and a feeling of tremendous loss. 

This experience […]

“See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called children of God.”  As we heard in today’s second reading, we are privileged to be called God’s children; we become his children as his Spirit comes upon us at our baptism.  And, as with any good parent, God wants us to be happy and to achieve our goals.  And, as any loving father would do, God our Father has given us clear direction on how we are to reach our final goal – heaven.  He has […]

What is love? Each of us probably has our own understanding of love, as well as varying experiences of loving or being loved. We need love as much as we need the air we breathe.  So, it’s important to ask ourselves: what is love?  Is it just an emotion, or a virtue?  Is it chemistry or a psychological commitment, or is it a rational decision?  As Catholics we will find the answer by looking to Jesus and his teachings.  And, as you know, Jesus came to fulfill the law and […]