On October 28, 312 the Roman emperor Constantine, 32, faced a challenge to his rulership of the Empire.  His father, Caesar Constantius had died and Constantine had been proclaimed Caesar Augustus by the armies he was leading.  But he was…

A significant aspect of our Lord’s miracles is the cooperation He requires of the people involved. Rarely does He heal someone without requiring something. He tells the paralytic to take up his mat and walk (cf. Mt 9:1-8), the man…

There was a report in the newspaper a year ago about the large number of Catholics who stopped practicing the faith for various reasons.  I’m sure the reasons are varied but I’m also sure the Lord is saying to them…

Have you moved any mulberry trees lately? If you have, I’d be willing to bet that it involved a great deal of back-breaking labor and some heavy machinery.

“It’s good to have him back home with us,” our Pastor said to me as he nodded toward my brother.  I nodded affirmatively and smiled broadly, but only God and I really knew how deep and everlasting the joy in…

We all admire the heroes of faith like St. Francis (feast day, October 4).  Absolutely nothing stopped him in his pursuit of God’s glory.  When, during the Crusades, he was captured by the Saracens, St. Francis challenged the imams to…

My wife, I and four strangers spent an hour outside the local Planned Parenthood center on September 29th, witnessing to and praying for all those entering that building — staff and client alike.  This was only the fourth time over…

St. Paul’s two letters to Timothy are filled with solid pastoral advice to his young cohort whom Paul had traveled with extensively, trained in the Faith, sent on sensitive missions and commissioned to oversee the Church in Ephesus as its…

I am a very task-oriented person. I know not everyone shares my joy in making to-do lists and then crossing things off of them once they are accomplished, but for me this is one of the simple pleasures in life.…

It’s been 15 years since the Cincinnati Reds last played in the postseason, and nine years since their last winning record.  Normally by this time I’m thinking, “Well, maybe next year”.  But as I write this, my beloved Reds are…