Lighting Candles in Church
Question: Why do Catholics light candles in church? Answer: Candles have been part of the Church’s worship from the earliest times. In the days before electricity, candles and oil lamps…
Category: Weekly Reflections
What Is God Asking of You?
What are you willing to give for the sake of the kingdom of God? Often, we begin a discussion like this with a story or a few leading thoughts. However,…
Gospel Meditation
Our current journey through this pandemic forces each of us to stop and consider what is really important. Our lives have been turned upside down and we have been asked…
Fish on Friday
Question: Why do Catholics eat fish on Friday? Answer: For centuries, meatless Fridays were the norm for Catholics throughout the world. Friday was chosen because that was the day on…
Do What Needs to Be Done
A friend recently confided in me that although he prayed frequently each day and was involved heavily in his parish, he did not sense much fruit coming from it all…
Gospel Meditation
The parable of the “Wheat and the Weeds,” which only appears in the Gospel of Matthew, can be troubling. In essence, Jesus tells the story of a farmer whose crop of…
Why Do Catholics Baptize Babies?
Question: Why do Catholics baptize babies? Answer: For adults who want to be baptized, the celebration only takes place after a long, guided, and thoughtful process through the Rite of…
Focus on the Good
When I was a child, my mother had a set of sculptures resembling three human heads. One head had hands over the ears, one had hands over the eyes, and…
Gospel Meditation
Words can be cheap. We can’t always tell whether people mean what they say until we see them do something about it. There are some people whose word we can…
Kissing the Altar at Mass
Question: Why do priests kiss the altar at the start of Mass? Answer: Our churches and chapels are filled with symbols. We might think of the more common symbols (like…