How can God die?I once asked a theologian friend to explain to me how it is possible that God, the Creator of the Universe, could die and still keep the world in existence. My friend told me it was possible because Jesus, a divine Person, is true God and true man. The Son of God died a human death, but the divinity itself did not die. Of course that is true, and I felt satisfied for a time. But this paradoxical moment of the God-man dying on the cross—so pregnant with meaning and mystery&m...

The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.The concept is tricky: our God is three, but is also one. I remember as a child when my mother explained the classic water-ice-steam analogy to me, describing something with essentially the same properties but that takes different forms. It didn’t exactly clarify things for me; I was left vaguely wondering if God manifested himself differently at different temperatures—in the desert, say, or in Antarctica.B...

Darkness begins to fall upon the earth as Mary Magdalene looks up into the face of Jesus hanging from the cross…struggling for breath…shuddering under the pain of the nails in hand and feet.This Jesus who had freed her, saved her, shown her mercy…She could no longer wash his feet with her tears or anoint his head with oil…She was about to lose the Light that had taken away her darkness. She watched his eyes, hoping for one last sign that he knew she was there…f...

There may have been no more exciting—and frightening!—time to be alive in Europe than on the eve of the invention of the printing press, with the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation already blowing winds of change through the Church. Perhaps it is precisely because of those winds howling outside that the young Thomas à Kempis (his name simply means Thomas from Kempis) wanted above all a quiet life. He was determined, it is said, that nothing would happen to him in his life...

Welcome to the Online Lenten Book Club!During these six weeks of Lent, we are reading and reflecting on the classic on prayer, Pray To Your Father in Secret by Jean Lafrance.  For more information about the book club, visit this blog post.  You can find Pray To Your Father in Secret at www.PaulineStore.com . Week 5, Chapter 4 - The Dialogue with GodYour real center of gravity is in adoration, in reaching ever upward. Too many people fall into the habi...

The “Save the Dates” and wedding invitations have probably started arriving in your mailbox. A sure sign that wedding season is about to begin! However, it isn’t all delicate envelopes and elegant fonts. It takes an especially careful attention to detail to get this precious mail to your doorstep. For the engaged couple, bridesmaid, groomsman, or other wedding planner type, knowing how to assemble these details and ensure they make it to the right place at the right time t...

I have many delightful memories of living in San Diego, at the corner of 5th and Cedar streets in the downtown area, between 1988 and 1995. And living there, just 30 minutes from Mexico, I also have my own exciting border-crossing story—though it might not be the kind you’re accustomed to hearing!The sun was not yet up, but Trinidad Keating was already knocking at our back door. We were expecting her, so I answered the door quietly and greeted her, then all four of the sisters and I ...

Welcome to the Online Lenten Book Club!During these six weeks of Lent, we are reading and reflecting on the classic on prayer, Pray To Your Father in Secret by Jean Lafrance. For more information about the book club, visit this blog post. Week 4, Chapter 3 - The Working Out of SalvationWe read Scripture to integrate Christ’s life into our own lives, not just to hear his story. Everything we do—reading, praying, working—is to become one with Christ. We don&rs...

Do you want to be happy? It seems an absurd question; everyone wants to be happy, right? But many people see happiness as a bluebird that comes and lights upon them and bestows joy without any effort on the person’s part. And yet it’s been the observation of many saints over the centuries that if you want to be happy, you have a big say in making it happen. And if you feel terribly unhappy, then that has something to do with you, too. Not with your actions, but with the sta...

God has asked his son to do the unthinkable: to offer himself up and submit to a death that he knew would take a long time and would be extremely agonizing. We have such a poignant image of Christ in Gethsemane, wrestling with his very human fear of pain, and begging his Father: Please, if it’s at all possible, don’t let this happen. And when it became clear that there would be no reprieve, Jesus accepted God’s will and did it.He’s been betrayed, shamed, scourged, even fo...