Here are some key quotes from Pope Francis’ 2024 encyclical Dilexit Nos: Yet living as we do in an age of superficiality, rushing frenetically from one thing to another without really knowing why, and ending up as insatiable consumers and slaves to the mechanisms of a market unconcerned about the deeper meaning of our lives,… Read More Key Quotes from Pope Francis’ Dilexit Nos: On the Human and Divine Love of the Heart of Jesus Christ

Our readings today speak of courage, faith, and obedience. We can see from the flow of the readings that these three themes work themselves out in order: If we have the courage to have faith, we will live according to the word of God, and we will be accompanied and rewarded in this effort. Doubt… Read More What is the Best Way to Deal with Doubt?

On the way home from school, my children and I were talking about the demographic crisis many countries face, and I was outlining potential reasons why the birth rate was so low in so many countries—from economic pressures to cultural pessimism to changing values and norms, particularly where religious practice is declining. They started out… Read More Why Have Children?

Several years ago, Fr. Dan Leary preached a wonderful homily on Pentecost at our parish. He challenged us each to pray to the Holy Spirit as part of our daily lives. After mass, I got to work in the backyard of our new house. I was determined to clear out some of the area around… Read More Come, Holy Spirit

Imagine sitting in mass surrounded by hundreds of people that you love. It is hard to convey the deep sense of communion that I have felt in these moments at the high school where I have taught for the last six years. For tens of millions of Americans, such experiences are quite rare or even… Read More How Can We Rebuild Community in an Era of Extreme Individualism?

I miss Pope Francis. Although he had been seriously ill for several months, his death on Easter Monday was a shock and made it hard for me to savor the joy of the Easter Season. Pope Francis had a gift for reaching people on an affective level. A lot can be said about Francis and… Read More “Authority is Service”: Grateful for Francis, Hopeful for Leo XIV

In our Gospel today, Jesus tells his disciples: “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” What does this really mean—“As I have loved you?” How did he love them? He called them. He listened to them. He healed them. He fed them. He led them. He taught them. He trusted… Read More Love is Fundamental