My grandfather was an amazing storyteller. He was always a larger than life figure in my eyes as a boy and still is even as a grown man. He had this ability to mesmerize us grandkids with his stories of being a police officer in Atlanta, and his stories of his adventures with his friends. To this day, I have no idea if any of these stories he told actually happened! He…

In today’s Epistle Lesson from Romans, the Apostle Paul says: ” I appeal to you to take note of those who create dissensions and difficulties, in opposition to the doctrine which you have been taught; avoid them.” Romans 16:17-24 Have you ever noticed that the people who cause the most trouble in relationships are the most needy? They are the ones who seem to hurt the most, are embittered the most, and…

“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” (See Galatians 3 and 4) If you received Christian baptism, then you “have put on Christ” AND you…

It’s practically a parable in all cultures and nations. The story of the spoiled and privileged son, full of potential and promise, squanders his gifts because he sees himself entitled rather than blessed. And we know the story always ends the same. By the way, this principle of the dangers of great blessings being seen as entitlements is true of both physical and spiritual blessings. This is exactly what our Lord encountered…

Do you know what the Church calls Mary Magdalene? Her title is “Equal to the Apostles. This title is given to a few saints who, like the Apostles themselves, excelled in the witness and proclamation of the Good News of the Resurrection of Christ. After all, as St. Paul declares, “if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” 1 Corinthians 15:14 The Church places such…

The truth is we are all converts. Some of us were born into households where we learned at our earliest moments that the rhythm of the Faith was going to inform our lives. Others of us have these dramatic moments of confrontation with Faith that mark a specific time and place as the place where we came to Faith. But the truth is, we all have those kinds of moments scattered about…

“Who touched Me?” What? Lord, the whole crowd is pressing in to touch You, and you ask “Who touched Me?” Lord, it doesn’t make sense. Everybody is touching You. I imagine that is what most of the disciples were either thinking or saying when the Lord asked this question in a large crowd one day. In reality someone had touched Him, but she had touched Him in desperation, in faith. After all,…

God’s grace is never wasted. God’s patience is never exhausted. God’s love is never overcome by hatred and His mercy is never failing. Think of this, today if your behavior can exhaust God’s mercy and His love then you are more powerful than God. If your sin can finally “turn God against you” then you hold power over God. It simply isn’t possible, my dearest. In fact, all the sin ever committed…

Think of one (just one) foolish thing you did as a child. I remember one “project” I attempted as a single-digit aged kid. I thought it would be “fun” to paint the basement of our house! The problem was I didn’t have enough paint to do all the walls. I didn’t have the right paintbrush to do the job. And I didn’t have the “know-how” to do it right. Needless to say…

Sometimes the words of scripture are hard to understand. Do you remember the story of St. Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in the Book of Acts? Philip heard the eunuch reading a passage from Isaiah along the road so Philip asked him “Do you understand what you are reading?” But the man replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” Read the whole story in Acts 8:26-40. The fact is we will…