Lent

Lent can be a difficult Liturgical Season for some Christians. In addition to the fasting, abstinence, sacrifices, alms-giving, and penance, it often seems like the devil ups the ante on spiritual warfare. It’s almost like he is throwing a satanic temper tantrum. And you know what? He actually... Read more

You are a sinner. You have not loved well. You haven't even kept all of the commandments. You do not deserve heaven. You deserve hell. When you die and come before God for your judgment, these are the words with which the devil will accuse you.  And, to some extent, the devil is right:... Read more

I consider myself a Lent dropout, but that’s not entirely accurate, because I keep re-enrolling. I’m not so different from a lot of people, I’m sure. I start off strong and motivated and full of ideas and plans and ways that this will be the Best! Lent! Ever! Except I didn’t start... Read more

During Lent the Church calls on us in a special way to prepare our hearts and to purify our souls so that we can be ready to commemorate the most important events in all of human history: the Passion, death, and Resurrec­tion of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our eternal des­tiny —... Read more

A gentleman heard me on Relevant Radio earlier. I had mentioned on the air that one of the great humiliations of a crucifixion was that a man was crucified naked. This thoughtful gentleman wrote to challenge my comments. Below is his e-mail and my response. Dear Mr. Ray, Please correct... Read more

Let’s continue our consideration of the Passion with a text describing the aftermath of Jesus’ crucifixion. The Gospel of Matthew recounts four immediate results of Jesus’ death, and while they describe historical events, they also signal deeper spiritual truths. And when Jesus had cried... Read more

St. Thomas contends that a man with no sense of humor is actually deficient, lacking something that ought to be present in a man fully alive. Jesus was perfectly man, so where are his casual smiles, his amused chuckles, and his belly laughs? Some of the most popular current answers to this... Read more

Why did Judas betray Jesus? Was it for the money? It is difficult to go back in time to discover the exact intentions of Judas Iscariot, but we can at the very least examine the price Judas was paid for his betrayal and see if the money was tempting enough to make a man hand over his friend to... Read more

There is a story about my patron and favorite saint, the great female doctor of the Church, St. Teresa of Avila, which centered on her encouraging her fellow Carmelites after they received the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  The story goes that as the sisters would come out of the confessional... Read more

 Crucifixion Scenes in Film Dr Monica Miller – 03-31-17 Al Kresta:  And good afternoon.  I'm Al Kresta.  As we, again, move through Lent toward the Triduum, a lot of us preparing, of course, for Good Friday.  And one of the things that families have started doing on Good Friday is... Read more