St. Maximilian Kolbe: Witness to the Gospel of Love

What Do You Do? Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15.13) Picture yourself in the death camp at Auschwitz. You’re standing in formation with all your fellow prisoners.  The Nazis who run the camp offer a harsh disincentive to escape: for every inmate who breaks … Continue reading St. Maximilian Kolbe: Witness to the Gospel of Love

Fruit of the Same Tree: St. Valentine and Ash Wednesday

Fruit of the Same Tree St. Valentine's Day and Ash Wednesday, believe it or not, are fruit of the same tree. Granted, that's not apparent to everybody. The last time the two feasts shared the same space on the calendar a priest well known on theh internet posted the following: “This year nothing says happy … Continue reading Fruit of the Same Tree: St. Valentine and Ash Wednesday

The Midpoint Between The Nativity and The Passion

 The Midpoint Today is the midpoint, the end of the beginning and the beginning of the end.  Which is to say, today is the Feast of the Presentation, a perfect microcosm of both/and.  The official Christmas Season ended a couple weeks ago on the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord. The Presentation of the baby Jesus … Continue reading The Midpoint Between The Nativity and The Passion

Christ the King of the Universe . . . and of Our Hearts

Who would have guessed that despite the millions murdered and starved in the 20th century, and the manifest failure of every single attempt to invest god-like power into human governance, the totalitarian impulse would still hold such appeal, even growing appeal, in the third decade of the 21st century?