bible
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We have a snake in our backyard. He’s a 2-3 foot black racer, and he likes to hang out on the rocks by our garden hoses, so I call him Rocky. I had a pet grass snake for a little while when I was young, so I don’t mind Rocky. April is another story. I’ve
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How do we treat a traitor? Trust in institutions is broad and deep. We distrust almost everyone, it seems, and along with that distrust comes the feeling that people are betraying us, selling us out for power or wealth. Maybe it’s insurance executives delaying and denying claims so they can pocket more profit, or private
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Did you know that I wrote a book? Are you looking for a book of short daily reflections that you can read this Advent season? Did you plan to buy my book, but never got around to it? Have you bought my book, loved it, and want to share it with others? If any of
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How are we living the dream? Catholics celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran on November 9th every year, and the Scripture passages for that day are an interesting mix: Jesus cleanses the Temple in the Gospel (John 2), Ezekiel dreams about life-giving water flowing from the Temple in Ezekiel 47, and
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Who’s on your team? Today’s Mass readings include a great passage from Romans 12 that is translated in a way that makes it more engaging: Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them: if prophecy, in proportion to the faith; if ministry, in ministering; if one
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The Bible readings for the Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (October 26, 2025) seems tailor-made for Pope Leo XIV’s newly released apostolic exhortation, Dilexi te. The first reading from Sirach dwells on God hearing the cry of the oppressed, the wail of the orphan and widow, the prayer of the lowly.* The Psalm response is
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If you are a Catholic nerd deeply engaged Catholic, this is probably not your post. But if you saw some quotes from Pope Leo about poverty (that weren’t fake), and you were just curious enough to learn some rudimentary things about this document that the quotes came from, I am here for you. Let’s do
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Who is Jesus to you? I’ve been asked that by a couple of people recently, and, to be honest, my answer to that is pretty flat. I know the “right” answer, but the reality is that I’ve always found it easier to relate to God through the (non-anthropomorphized) Holy Spirit than through the person of
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At what point do our scruples do more harm than good? Scrupulosity is not a term you hear a lot these days, even though I think it’s a burgeoning condition now in both secular and sacred circles. (We tend to go with the more pathological term, OCD.) Back in the day, Jesus poked at the
Reading Francis 