Today’s Gospel reading at Mass cites a unique incident from Jesus’ career: a two-stage healing. When Jesus and his disciples arrived at Bethsaida, people brought to him a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his […]
Today’s Mass readings remind us of the importance of loving God. How appropriate that they happen to fall on Valentine’s Day, for God’s love, poured out in the blood and water flowing from the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is the greatest experience of love we can ever hope to know. And such love can only […]
Pope John XXIII, before he was elected Pontiff, served as a diplomat. One evening, he was introduced at a function to a rather scantily clad woman. “Here”, the future Pope said to her, “Why not take a bite from this apple?” The lady looked at him quizzically. He responded, “If you eat it, perhaps, like […]
And so it begins….I really can’t believe it, but I’m a finalist in four categories in the About.com Catholicism Reader’s Choice Awards! It’s so easy to vote, and it only takes a moment. I’d be so grateful if you would vote for me in the following categories: Best Catholic iPhone app: The New Mass Best Catholic […]
Although I’m an iPhone developer, I’ve always admired the BlackBerry and the company that created it, Research in Motion (RIM). Considering the two co-CEOs, Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, are fellow Canadians, how could I not? And a recent book has now shed some intriguing light on the faith of the “Father of the BlackBerry”, […]
Hi Everybody! There’s one day left to vote for me for the About.com Catholic Reader’s Choice Awards! If you enjoy what you read in these pages, or if you like The New Mass app, I’d really appreciate it if you could nominate me for the following categories (feel free to cut and paste)! Your Nominee […]
The new movie, The Rite, #1 at the North American box office this past weekend, once again reveals Hollywood’s fascination with exorcism. 1973’s The Exorcist began this trend in earnest, with 2005’s The Exorcism of Emily Rose a more recent example. All three movies are at least in part based on actual cases. Whenever a […]
On a day when U.S. President Barack Obama gave the “State of the Union” address, it’s apropos that today is the feast marking the conversion of Saint Paul. This, in turn, denotes the close of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. And without true conversion, Christian unity will always be relegated to fantasy status. […]
A friend who is a spiritual seeker recently asked, “Why are there so few non-religious documents to support the existence of Jesus?” In fact, there are numerous references to Jesus in ancient documents. Amazingly, we can actually authenticate dozens of specific facts about his life and teachings – even from non-Christian, non-New Testament sources. Let’s take […]
Now you can download version 1.1 of The New Mass app from the iTunes App Store! For those of you who already have The New Mass, simply download the update from the App Store on your iOS device. Click here for all the info. It only took 1 hour and 44 minutes for Apple to […]