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05, 2015
Pilgrimage 1 of 5
This is a series not on my current pilgrimage, but on the Theology of Pilgrimage. A priest-friend from Denver once said to me: "Pilgrimage isn't just another analogy for the Christian life. Pilgrimage is the reality of the Christian life." That may not sound too profound at first, but the more I meditated on the Old and New Testament, the more I realized that every book of the Bible fulfilled these words. It is no wonder that he had walked the Camino a few times. I'm in Spain now, but when I wrote this post, I was flying from India to Spain. Flying over the Red Sea, I look at the computer [...]
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05, 2015
Old People with Cell Phones in Adoration
I got debilitated by some Indian food poisoning, so I let Ryan start the Camino without me. I got some good time in adoration in Pamplona. Let me be clear: I love seeing people of all backgrounds and ages in adoration. No one who claims to be pro-life should even begin to bothered by crying babies in adoration chapels. At the other end of the spectrum, let me say that I love seeing the more "mature" generation in adoration, too. However, someone needs to tell them how not to use a cell phone before the Blessed Sacrament. Who will do it? Ok. I will do it in a top ten countdown: 10) You don't have [...]
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05, 2015
Mary and Pentecost part II
The unity between the Holy Spirt and Mary is so intimate that each one can be called the Immaculate Conception—one in eternity, and one in time. However, to understand the importance of Mary in our lives, we have to understand the basics of the Holy Spirit, as given to us by the earliest Christians. This post will be like a tornado hitting a junk pile and then organizing it into nice categories, so bear with the heavy theology at the beginning. Every earthly analogy to explain the Blessed Trinity eventually breaks down, but the least-failing analogy is the following: The Trinity is like a fire. There is a flame. There is a light. [...]
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05, 2015
RIP Dr. Alfred Woodward M.D.
The personal physician of Mother Teresa died two days ago (7 May 2015.) May God grant eternal light and peace to Dr. Alfred C. Woodward M.D. Actually, I brought him all the sacraments two days before that, including Mass in his room. He had had a heart attack a month or two ago, but I was surprised at his rapid demise, considering that when I saw him, he was awake, alert, ambulatory...and extremely polite. Since his death, the sisters have told me about his wholehearted and free service to the poorest of the poor of Kolkata, and it is top news for the Times of India. Here's a picture taken by his [...]
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05, 2015
Mary and Pentecost part I
I suppose I wasn’t clear with my friends or family exactly what I’m doing in India this time either. The Missionaries of Charity at the Mother House in Kolkata wanted me to come back to do general confessions and deliverance prayers for two groups: 1) A youth group of Indian high school students run by four lay American missionaries. 2) University aged students of volunteers from around the world. It sounds like a glorious work, but I only have the energy for two of these sessions a day. This depresses me when I think of how St. Francis Xavier, at the height of his ministry, was baptizing between 300 and [...]
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05, 2015
He’s got nothing on me
In today's Gospel, Jesus speaks to the Apostles before His death: "I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over me, but the world must know that I love the Father." (John 14:30) I noticed that the Greek doesn't actually have the word power (dunamis) as the English translations do. So, I'm going to give you my literal translation of that line from today's Gospel: "The ruler of the world comes and he has nothing on me, but so that the world might know that I love the Father...(this I do.)" (John 14:30-31) Yes, Jesus literally says of [...]