Top Ten Things to Know about Advent!
The local radio stations are already playing Christmas music and everyone is already talking about the "Christmas" season--but it's not yet Christmas - this Sunday begins Advent, the season for preparing for Christmas.So what is Advent and why is it important? Advent is a time to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ. It has a quasi-penitential theme, and this can be a strong antidote against the consumerism of our nation and time.I was recently wondering about the origins of Advent and its history. So I did a little research and came up with the Top Ten Things You Need to Know about Advent:The firs

The Catholic Origins of the First Thanksgiving
This history books will tell you that the first Thanksgiving was celebrated by the pilgrims in 1621. Not true.An interesting bit of trivia is that the first American Thanksgiving was actually celebrated on September 8, 1565 in St. Augustine, Florida. The Native Americans and Spanish settlers held a feast and the Holy Mass was offered.A second similar "Thanksgiving" celebration occurred on American soil on April 30, 1598 in Texas when Don Juan de Oñate dec

Marian Apparitions in Egypt
This is a pretty interesting video about the apparition of the Blessed Virgin in Egypt. Anybody heard of this? The Coptic Orthodox Patriarch has approved it, for what it's worth.

St Augustine on Mary and our Becoming "His Mother"
This homily by Saint Augustine is from this morning's Office of Readings. If you ever wondered why Jesus calls his disciples "my mother" then check out this great explanation by Augustine. He shows how Mary was a greater as a disciple of Christ than as the mother of Christ - something quite profound:A sermon of St Augustine By faith she believed; by faith, conceived Stretching out his hand over his discipl

A Conversation with a Lutheran Friend on Justification
I'm having a friendly conversation with a Lutheran seminarian over at www.PaulisCatholic.com. The topic is justification (surprise!!!). Here's a recent response of mine to him:As a Catholic, I understand the Greek verb dikaio as juridical AND transformative. A sinner “becomes righteous” and this is why the Greek word was rightly translated as iustificatio—“making just.” I’m saying that a legal, declarative change is not merely what God does