It hurt. If I'm honest, it still hurts. I was taken advantage of. I was treated badly. I was embarrassed by my naivete, and I was angry at the one who had taken advantage of me. It was especially hard because I thought they loved me, and it was painful to finally realize they didn't…
There is a modern poverty, almost a sickness of the soul and mind, of we moderns that we seem to insist that there be an equality in outcomes rather than work for an equality of opportunity for everyone.
When we fall into the trap of insisting there be an equality of outcomes, we easily fall…
"He's a liar!" Yep, he sure is, and his actions send ripples throughout his life and the lives of so many others.
We were discussing a politician we both knew. But, here's the rub; this politician held many of the same values and positions we both felt strongly about. However, this politician had been caught in…
If you've spent any time with me at all, you know I'm a big fan of asking the "WHY" question when it comes to our motivations for living. In fact, I'm convinced that no one sticks with a pattern of life that is effective without really understanding WHY it is effective.
Getting to your "WHY"…
Fr. Alexander Schemann once said "The greatest charge against a Christian is that he has no joy." Frankly, the normal Christian faith is incompatible with a life without joy. It is specifically joy, regardless of the outward circumstances that should be the "normal" Christian life.
Now I know what you're going to say: "But father,…
Nelson Mandela once said "I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." This is so true. I've found too many people who think that because they feel fear, they are not…
When I get discouraged, I can always trace it back to a loss of perspective. I mean, it's inevitable. My challenges give me tunnel vision and I lose the ability to see beyond my own immediate pain.
By the way, that's not necessarily a bad thing, but it can be. It becomes a bad thing…
They say there is a point of absolute clarity when a person is facing their own mortality. We've heard it all before; "Your life flashes before your eyes." Of course, this is a moment in human life we humans regularly avoid thinking about. Our mortality isn't something we like to dwell on. And yet, it…
OK, it's a great scene: Indiana Jones and his dad have reached the cave where they believe the Holy Grail has been hidden. But, to get to the treasure Indy has to pass some tests. As he approaches the first test, he remembers the words of warning "Only the penitent man will pass." As he…
"How can it be wrong when it feels so right?" Probably one of the most overused lines in the history of mankind right before someone does something really stupid! Yeah, I know, I've said it myself!
So, why is it we humans get ourselves into messes like this? Simple, we let our heart be our…