"What the world most needs today is prayer. It is prayer that will give birth to all the renewals, healings, deep and fruitful transformations we all want for society today.... I am more and more convinced that everything comes from prayer and that, among the calls of the Spirit, this is the first and most urgent one we should respond to." I highly recommend this book on prayer. I am carefully reading it now, I'm sure it will help me in my prayer life.

"So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive of love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which was in Christ Jesus, who, t

There is a poem entitled "Abou Ben Adhem" by James Henry Leigh Hunt we read in high school. It sometimes comes to mind because our teacher required us to memorize it in full: Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!) Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace, And saw, within the moonlight in his room, Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom, An angel writing in a book of gold:— Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold, And to the Presence in the room he said "What w

The Gospel Reading for today: "Peter approached Jesus and asked him, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times." Our Lord Jesus suffered so much from His persecutors and He forgave them as he continued to suffer on the cross. View this video to get an idea. How much and how often have we suffered from those who have offended us? Is it anything like Jesus

Sometimes in quiet moments some memories, or even just words, pop up into our consciousness. "Peregrinantur", "Rusticantur" -- These are words from one of the classic writings of the Roman philosopher/orator Cicero which we, as seminarians, studied in our Latin Poetry and Rhetoric class many many years ago. Once they all of a sudden came back to mind. "Peregrinantur" in simple English means "going on a pilgrimage, while "rusticantur" means "going to/living in the countrysi

Lent is a reminder of the Lord's Paschal Mystery -- His passion, death on the cross, and His resurrection. All for us -- that He may save us from sin and bring us to the glory of heaven . . . for all eternity. The great saint, Bernard of Clairvaux, is known for his often-quoted question in Latin: "Quid hoc ad aeternitatem?" which is translated: "What is this in relation to eternity?" This guided him in his outlook towards life, in dealing with events of life, and in making c

My dad knew only four Latin words: "Tempus fugit. Memento mori." These are also the first four Latin words I learned from him. "Time flies. Remember death." These words he never forgot. They gave him focus in his life, and I must say, because of him, gave me focus in my own. My dad lived a simple but fruitful life. He preached by example, rarely by words. He influenced many men in our town to join the Knights of Columbus which he helped establish in our parish (where I think

The story is told of a 75-year old woman who in a vision, spoke to God and asked him, “God, how much time do I have to live?” God said, “35 more years.” And so for one whole year, the old woman did everything to make her face look beautiful and her body reshaped into that old Coca-Cola bottle figure. She underwent plastic surgery several times: she had a face-lift and had her nose reshaped, she underwent liposuction where her body bulged in the wrong places. In other words,

We need to go to the mountain to refresh us and assure us of what we are going to be. This is where we receive the Father’s admonition: “Listen to Him.” For God speaks to us, in the plain – in our pain, in suffering, in conflicts. And in our pain and conflicts, we have the strength, because we have experienced Him and seen His glory on the mountain. And this gives us hope. Jesus brought the 3 disciples with Him on the mountain – for them to have a glimpse of Who He is, and