Every time I pray the Stations of the Cross, I linger at the seventh one, “Jesus Falls the Second Time.” Not one of the more dramatic moments on the cruel path up to Calvary, this second fall, nevertheless, is a crucial point in the unfolding of salvation history.
Tag: faith
Preparing our hearts for Jesus
For children as well as adults, it’s these little acts of self-sacrifice, of striving toward virtue, that help prepare our hearts during Advent.
Never lose hope for others
I write this as my friend and brother-in-law lies in the hospital with COVID and pneumonia, not knowing if he will survive but hoping nonetheless.
A variety of moments in the Church
This past Sunday, I celebrated the final 7 p.m. Mass at St. Aloysius Church in West Allis. The parish is closing and the property is being sold, a necessary but painful decision, given the dwindling number of active parishioners, the need for many physical repairs, and the lack of resources.
Building our faith for generations
I recently came across a treasure trove of family pictures, formal portraits of my maternal grandparents — Ignatz and Frances Franecki.
Love Never Fails: New book by Bishop Hying
Ignatius Press published a series of Bishop Donald J. Hying’s spiritual reflections in book form.
The book is called Love Never Fails: Living the Catholic Faith in Our Daily Lives.
Jesus, I’m learning to Trust in You
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| Susan Swanke |
When Jesus appeared to St. Faustina and shared his message of Divine Mercy, the words he instructed her to put at the bottom of his image were, “Jesus, I trust in you.”
No subtle hint. Jesus wants us to trust him. Why is it so important to him that we trust him? Surely, it’s not because he needs our trust for his good.
In fact, God needs nothing. It must be for our good that he gives this command.A further look at faith and culture
Two weeks ago, I reflected briefly on the fundamental shift in worldview in the West, beginning with the Renaissance and then gaining greater traction with the French Revolution and the Enlightenment.
This movement from a theistic, God-centered vision to a humanistic, this-worldly orientation is complex, long, and multi-faceted, and therefore not easy to fully understand or articulate.
Only Jesus can show us how to carry our crosses
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“Look!” my husband said proudly one evening. “I fixed it for you!”
He held up my favorite handheld kitchen tool, the stainless-steel pastry cutter, and pulled on it to illustrate that he had fixed its broken handle.
To his dismay, the handle pulled apart in his hand.
Let’s be ‘converts’ to our own faith
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Several years ago (I’ve been here that long?), I wrote a feature story on a young woman who was in her parish’s RCIA program and was on the path to being a full member of the Catholic Church come Easter Vigil.
During my interview with her, she remarked, with a huge smile of anticipation, that she couldn’t wait to receive the Eucharist for the first time.
It made me pause and wonder if I ever felt that excited about Holy Communion.
I don’t think I felt that way at age eight when I received for the first time, and any sort of pumped up and glowy feeling probably lessened after that.