(1) The Odyssey, an epic Greek poem [attributed to Homer], tells the story of King Odysseus and his heroic struggle against the gods. The tale begins when the ship of Odysseus is blown off course on the way home from the Trojan Wars. In his effort to get home, Odysseus lands on an island where… Read More Lashed to the Mast
Originally Titled ‘A Catholic Flavored Commentary on Romans 7. By Craig Truglia, Sept. 2015. With the help of Augustine, we undergo exegeting perhaps the most confusing chapter of the Bible. Does a Christian, who is dead to sin, still sin? Can he lose his salvation? Is he even the one sinning? What is the Flesh?… Read More Romans 7 and our Spiritual – Existential Predicament
How to pray in moral anguish. Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene shows the way, “O Truth, light of my soul, do not permit the darkness to frighten me. You have allowed me to walk in it, and now I am in obscurity. But even from the darkness, even from there, I have loved You.… Read More Do not permit the darkness to frighten me.
It was a dream. Needless to say, it was not a vision. If I ever had a vision I would likely run for the psychiatric couch, not to a pope. I cannot remember whether it was a day or a night dream. The city hung heavy over us all. I was lifting a lantern before… Read More The City and the Cross
Malicious gossip and hatred delights in the troubles of another. It is often manifest, sometimes very subtly, by the sins of whispering and detraction. The apostle John warns: “He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in the darkness.”— 1 Jn. 2:9 We Christians— no matter how nice, proper or… Read More Religious Whisperers. The Sin of Detraction. “Triple Murder.”
“Our peace in this life is found in humbly enduring suffering rather than in being free from it. He who knows best how to suffer will enjoy the greater peace, because he is the conqueror of himself, the master of the world, a friend of Christ, and an heir of heaven.”— Thomas a Kempis, Imitation… Read More The Cross of Jesus Christ and Suffering Love.
“O Lord, You are my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? You are the protector of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? If armies in camp should stand together against me, my heart shall not fear. If a battle should rise up against me, in this will I be confident. One… Read More Whom Shall I Fear? Expect the Lord.
Divine Intimacy by Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D. It Is Worth It’s Weight in Spiritual Gold. It is not ordinary. It does not allow us to evade the Cross, yet it does not leave us discouraged and without abundant spiritual comfort. On every page we are lifted up and shown the way to… Read More An Incomparable Book for Our Time. Divine Intimacy.
Modern or post-modern man (i.e., the human person, m/f) is characterized by and attached to ambiguity and relativity. Truth, the very notion of it, is suspect. As a human being, I am obliged to truly encounter my world, my times. It has engaged me. I am now 70 years old. I have tried to engage… Read More The Light and Life of Being
I could never have expected his dying like that.I thought there were things he was still looking forward to. Despite it all… He had quit smoking.Do men contemplating suicide quit smoking? He seemed to have gottenover his divorce. I guess people do. He was in his late 40s. A gifted carpenter.The business and crews which… Read More Suicide.
Strive for peace with all men, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. — Hebrews 12:14. I hope. I hope holiness means the striving for holiness. I’ve wanted it, holiness, ever since I was an aimless teenager. Today I am in my seventh decade and I know I am not… Read More How I Hope for Us All.
If there has been a better talk on Confession in recent years, I haven’t heard it.
Their lives amazingly intersected. And he prayed in her convent’s chapel. Hear the story. —- Divine Mercy and the Lonely
“Straights and Anguish of Dying Christians Who Have Been Negligent During Life About the Duties of Religion“. The “narrow gate”. 2 Cor. 7:10: “For the sorrow that is according to God worketh penance, steadfast unto salvation; but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” By Saint Alphonsus Liguori,Doctor of the Church. “Render, therefore, to Cæsar the… Read More St. Alphonsus Liguori on Presumption in the Face of Death
“Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My Mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. (…) Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the fount of My Mercy.… Read More The Divine Mercy and Loneliness
Catholic Critique 