I had been a Catholic only for a few years when one day I casually engaged in a pleasant conversation with a kind Catholic lady. She seemed to be interested in my conversion, how have I started to write about the faith and so on. At one point she said: "Well, like the Bible clearly says 'Act as if you have faith and faith will be given to you.'" I was familiar with the phrase, having heard it for the first time from the lips of Paul Newman in Sidney Lumet's The Verdict. There Frank Galvin (Paul … [Read more...]
Sign and Destiny
The present post is part of my incoming new book They Asked For A Sign — Peter the Fisherman Meaning and Destiny. In the book I try to explain how Peter is part of the promised "Sign of Jonah" a mystery presented to us as a man: the Fisherman. Writer and readers will follow Peter through the Gospels to learn about the meaning of his life and the mystery of his predestination to be the rock of the Church Militant subsisting on Earth until the End of Times, the New Israel. Please pray for the … [Read more...]
Who’s Fishing Who?
"Cast yourself into the arms of God and be very sure that if He wants anything of you, he will fit you for the work and give you strength." - St. Philip Neri Our story begins as Jesus starts gathering his disciples. The following passage of the Gospel of John will allow us to glean some interesting information about Simon Peter, the fisherman from Galilee. The next day John [the Baptist] again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is … [Read more...]
God-Killing Theologies
What follows is a conversation between two Catholic friends. We will call them Beppe and Carlo. Beppe wrote: « In between sleep and wakefulness (is that wokish?) I was thinking about the photo you sent with the multi-color runner and matching mask. [NOTE: this was a presumably Catholic priest who had the altar covered by a rainbow runner and appeared wearing a rainbow surgical mask] Strangely my thoughts turned to the three little peasant children at Fatima. They were 10, 9 and 7 years old … [Read more...]
Ponder In Your Hearts
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. (Luke 2:16-20 NIV) Mary remembered … [Read more...]
