Kansas City area readers have been immensely helpful to me during my two years at Saint Charles Borromeo (SCB) Parish.  If any of you are available and interested in joining me and this parish community for a party to celebrate, please gather with us next Saturday, September 22, for the 4:00 Mass, followed by a […]

When Mother Teresa of Calcutta was once asked about tearing down walls, she responded by saying that it begins with you and me.  Maybe the questioner had in mind the walls that the church has built to protect itself, or walls of clericalism that many Catholics hit but cannot break through, or walls listing endless […]

Though I may be way off base, I wonder if part of the problem with our Church’s continual struggles with sexual maladies is indirectly connected to the unwillingness in our religious culture to openly, honestly, and lovingly discuss the sexuality of those we seek to emulate: Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and many saints. Each human […]

You may recall seeing a photograph or video of Pope Francis in Saint Peter’s Square during the first year of his pontificate embracing a man who suffers from neurofibromatosis—what many of us call elephant man disease.  It is a rare and painful genetic disorder that causes external tumors and pigmentations that render the person hideous […]

The Transitus (time of passing from death to life) of Mary, Mother of Jesus, is among the most popular subjects of great artists.  Many of these masterful religious pieces were painted between the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries, depicting magnificent images that resonate in our minds and hearts.  They exalt Our Blessed Lady as a beautiful […]

In Kansas City there is a Catholic-based group of spiritual seekers that meets to discuss their mystical journeys and encourage one another in faith.  Formed about five years ago by Mike Matteuzzi, they originally met at Guardian Angel Church.  Those who assembled for discussions had one thing in common: their search for a deeper understanding […]

Dietrich Bonhoeffer struggled with the discrepancy between the essence of Christianity and Christian churches.  I have the same struggle.  I love the Catholic Church and I have given most of my life promoting it; for me, it is the best means to helping people unite with God.  But with its emphasis on rules, rubrics, hierarchy, […]

Saint Ignatius of Loyola introduced the world to spiritual exercises nearly five hundred years ago.  Many people who adhere to his path of formation periodically engage in a review of life task to strengthen their awareness of self and God.  Some even carve out an annual time near New Year’s Eve or their birthday to […]

In the early years of the Bush-43 presidency, the recently deceased news commentator, Charles Krauthammer, coined the phrase “Bush Derangement Syndrome”; he defined it as an acute onset of hysteria in otherwise normal people in reaction to the policies, leadership, and very existence of the president.  If such a syndrome exists, it has certainly been […]

On a starry, starry night in 1970 Don McLean paid tribute to Vincent Van Gogh in song, honoring his magnificent painting of a similar title.  He created the art piece after his ear-cutting meltdown, while given residence in a local insane asylum nearly a hundred years before McLean took notice.  While in captivity, Vincent liked […]