Letter from the Pastor

Religious faith brings out all sorts of qualities in the lives of the people whom it touches.  It lays hands on some, making them generous, kind and loving.  It takes hold of others and makes them cold, harsh and cruel.  St. Francis of Assisi was motivated by religious faith to renounce a personal fortune and lead a life of selfless devotion in service to the poor.  Many terrorists today are motivated by religious faith to lead lives of brutal persecution that results in the execution of hundreds and the imprisonment or displacement of thousands more.  Religious faith, strange to say, […]

There is something everlastingly fascinating about the stories that Jesus told.  They are so short and simple, and yet they convey truths about life that are absolutely profound.  Take for example, the parable of the wheat and the weeds.  In just a few sentences, Jesus makes an accurate analysis of the moral dilemma of man. He is telling us that we live in a world of good and evil, and it is going to be that way to the end of time.  This parable is not only a window through which we look out at the world, but it is […]

Words are somewhat like people, in that they can fall into bad company, run with the wrong crowd, and end up with a doubtful reputation.  Such a fate, it seems, has befallen the word “salvation”.  Because of its recent associations with some evangelical groups, one can hardly hear it without thinking of street-corner evangelists, claims of religious magic, and offers of easy one-way tickets to heaven.  And that is most unfortunate, because salvation is one of the great words of the Bible and one of the deepest needs of the human race. Who can look on our world today without […]

Some time ago, as you may recall, I wrote to you that it is certainly appropriate for we Catholics to vote as Catholics.  But this still leaves a number of difficult questions for us to consider.  It is one thing to say that we will let the principles of our Catholic faith be our guide.  It is quite another thing to apply those principles to real political choices today. Simply stated, the Gospel of Jesus is universal.  Its principles apply equally to all people, in all places, at all times, in all cultures and under all forms of government.  The […]

Have you ever seen the bumper sticker: “If it feels good, do it!”?  In many ways, that slogan characterizes the approach of so many people today.  A stream of books, articles, commentary, advertisements and dialogue points to feelings as the basic measure of happiness, as the truest aspect of one’s true self.  Feelings are continually represented as central to self-fulfillment and the development of one’s potential. A popular psychiatrist-author states the “modern” perspective in no uncertain terms:  “Being in touch with your feelings is the only way you can ever become your highest self, the only way you can become […]