People who have had near-death experiences sometimes report a kind of giddy exhilaration at finding themselves outside their bodies. They frequently describe a “popping sound” as they separate from their bodies, along with a complete cessation of pain or suffering. That might lead us to think that liberation from the body is something to be desired, and that death accomplishes this. But actually, this is not what we believe as Catholics. We yearn for some kind of liberation because our bodies, as they are now, weigh us down. They are burdensome because they have been wounded by original sin, by our own sinfulness, and by the sins of others against us. But the body is not something to be gotten rid of.  Deep down we know this.  Deep down we understand that being human means having a particular kind of body that identifies us as human.   In fact, the physical death of the body subconsciously disturbs us so much that it makes death hard to even think about.   God didn’t make us as creatures …

My Dad was surprised to discover that after my Mom’s death (whom he missed terribly), he experienced her presence every time he went to Mass. The first time it happened, he was awed by it and wanted to talk about it.  Dad and Mom were married for 57 years and knew each other several years before they married.  Dad said after she died, he’d be out walking and see something and say:  ” Oh, I have to tell Mom about that,” and then remember as he came into the house she wasn’t there anymore.  She wasn’t there, but he unexpectedly discovered her somewhere else. This was not just a manifestation of never-before-felt emotions, or the deep pain of a man missing the person who went through life with him, side by side, for over 60 years.  It is a reality that Pope Leo has taken up, like many of his predecessors, especially Benedict XVI, in making the Liturgy- what happens there and how we are meant to participate- a part of his instructions for God’s …

A House Divided: Why does the devil try so hard to divide us? The first thing that marks creation from the beginning is God’s extraordinary love. The second thing that marks it is the movement of rational creatures away from this love, beginning with satan himself.  This diabolical contagion unfortunately spread from the fallen angels to all of humankind through our first parents. Biblically speaking, this created a tension in our lived experience here in time that demands choices be regularly made between good and evil, life and death, blessing and curse.  We become life-giving or death-dealing, persons of blessing, or ones who generate and function as conduits for curses. We choose what our life will express, and in turn, we reveal who we’re really following. “Diablo” means divider, one who throws himself across God’s work and his plans. Division is not just a consequence of the devil’s activity; it is his mode of operating.  It is who he is.  And this is concerning because everything the devil does is meant to counter God’s activity …

Most of us, when we think about growth in the spiritual life, focus on healing our wounds—specific memories of pain, regret, or trauma. That work is important. But there is something deeper that often goes unnoticed: not just our memories, but our memory itself needs healing. In the Christian understanding of the human person, the soul has three primary faculties: the intellect, the will, and the memory. We are used to hearing about the need to form our intellect and strengthen our will. But the memory—quiet, constant, and powerful—is often overlooked. Yet it plays a decisive role in our relationship with God. St. John of the Cross teaches that these three faculties are healed and elevated by the theological virtues. Faith purifies the intellect, allowing us to see reality as God sees it. Charity perfects the will, enabling us to love as God loves. And hope—perhaps the most neglected of the three—purifies the memory. That might sound surprising at first. What does hope have to do with memory? To understand this, we need to recognize …

Stories of apparitions, healings, and other extraordinary events have always stirred the imagination of believers and non-believers alike. Many people feel both drawn to these accounts and unsure how to respond. Why does the Church seem so careful—sometimes even skeptical—about such things, if she truly believes in miracles? The Church’s caution is not a denial of God’s power. It stems from a conviction that faith is grounded in Jesus Christ and the revelation already given, not in a constant stream of spectacular signs. Miracles have a real place in Catholic life, but it is limited and specific. The foundation of faith is God’s self‑revelation in Christ, which comes to us through Scripture, Tradition, and the sacramental life of the Church. Miracles as “signs” point to God, confirm the truth of the Gospel, and sometimes strengthen believers, but they are not the center of Christian life. If we build our faith primarily on signs and wonders, it becomes fragile. Whenever the extraordinary is absent—or later questioned—we risk discouragement or even collapse of belief. We want instead …

Of Microchips and Resurrection Every so often in the Gospel, Jesus asks an unsettling question.  Perhaps one of the most unsettling questions He asks is whether He will find faith upon the earth when He returns again. It’s a disturbing question because we have a hard time imagining a world where no one believes in God any longer.  What could possibly happen to create such a scenario?   It’s worth asking whether the prophecy about one of the marks of the end times, “the abomination of desolation,” refers primarily to the destruction of an external practice or place of worship or whether the real reference is to our own inner temple, the place where we abide with God interiorly?  What could have the potential to target and interfere with this connection on a massive scale? It’s not hard to posit possibilities in the light of the rapid development of AI. Artificial intelligence is becoming ubiquitous. And it’s here to stay. It will get bigger and bigger, becoming influential in ways we haven’t even begun to …

The greatest anxiety of our age often hides beneath more obvious fears about money, health, politics, or family. Many people can name what keeps them awake at night—but underneath, there is a quieter, deeper question: Does my life actually matter, and what is all this for? In the modern world, that question often takes three painful forms: “Do I really matter?” “Am I ultimately alone?” and “In the end, is all my suffering a waste?” An authentically Christian response has to meet each of these not just with ideas, but with a Person—with Christ Himself. 1. From “I don’t really matter” to Chosen, not accidental. Modern culture trains us to judge our worth based on productivity, usefulness, appearance, or others’ approval. When those standards fail—as they inevitably do—we may fall into the fear that we are simply replaceable, just another anonymous life in a crowded world. The Gospel offers a completely different message: you are willed, known, and wanted. Scripture does not portray human beings as accidents of biology or history. Instead, it shows each person …

Questions of Healing One of the deceptions in the modern search for healing is the subtle tendency to separate the grace for healing from the mystery of Redemption won for us in Christ.  This happens through an over- emphasis and dependence on programs and formulas that often end up placing the full burden for results outside the hands of the Divine Physician.  We have very small ideas about the true measure of damage sin does in our lives. The damage of sin reaches our spirit our soul, our emotions, our will, our understanding, our intellect, our relationships, our communities. It disrupts the proper object of our appetites, affections and desires. It destroys our confidence in God, in right and goodness and truth.  The effects of sin, even the smallest sin, are so far reaching, we can’t begin to imagine what is really needed to repair the damage, what is really needed for authentic healing.   One thing we discover quickly: it is impossible to heal ourselves or to be completely healed by others, though our mutual help goes …

One of the dangers of living in a culture so tolerant of every kind of self-expression and behavior is that the moral dimension of our own thoughts and actions becomes bleached out. We can eventually stop considering things from the perspective of whether they are good or evil, right or wrong, and instead consider whether we will offend another person if we say so. This is not an age where we want to lose the edge in our discernment. If we do, we can easily end up in dangerous positions, dangerous especially to our souls. One of the things that is more and more prominent is the number of people who become entangled in occult activities (especially witchcraft and New Age) without even recognizing it at first. This is because doors in the spiritual realm get opened. Certain evil spirits read that as an invitation. They respond by quietly suggesting and encouraging directions that lead to even deeper involvement.   Within the last 6 months, I’ve encountered at least four women who became involved online …

When Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden, the contrast between what they had lost and what they were left with must have been overwhelming.   Whether one looks at the beginning of history biblically or strictly from a scientific point of view, without the spiritual perspective, it’s reasonable to surmise that humankind’s first home outside Paradise would have been a cave.  Archaeologists have verified the authenticity of cave paintings dating back to prehistoric times, suggesting that caves were the first natural shelters for our ancestors. One can easily imagine that this “first” home would’ve been something providentially prepared by the elements. It offered protection, a place for rest, safety, solidarity with others, and, in general, space for regular human activities.  Though there were drawbacks, comfort was not the predominant issue for our early ancestors. Survival was the constant pressing demand. The concept of leisure was probably not entirely compatible with their existential reality. However, they were already engaged in primordial activities that, in our day and age, are often associated only with hobbies or leisure but …