What should we do when faced with a crisis too big to handle? How do we get ourselves out of the depths of despair, a worst case scenario, an unexpected downturn, a sudden tragedy, a seemingly unsolvable dilemma, a grief that never seems to end? Often, there’s no way out but through, and as in all things, we must turn to God. “But I have turned to God! I’ve been praying and making sacrifices. I’ve been begging and pleading with God, but nothing seems to change. In fact, things are getting worse.” 

When I was a kid, my brother came home from Catholic summer camp singing a dirge that went like this: “Pray for the dead and the dead will pray for you; seems like they have nothing else to do.” 

We often think of faith as belief or trust, which it is, but have you ever thought of faith as endurance? I’m beginning to think endurance and perseverance are a big part of the faith picture. Let’s begin with this bracing statement: “When you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for trials.” Yikes! Why is that? It’s the mystery of the Cross. 

Is it okay to call God “Mother”? Well, what does God want to be addressed as, and how do we know what God wants? It’s all in the Bible. God has various titles in the Old Testament, but God’s “final word” was revealed to us by Jesus in the Gospels. 

Did you ever make an Hour of Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament and wonder if there was a more fruitful way?

The Shroud of Turin—venerated as the burial cloth of Jesus for centuries—has been vindicated.  Back in 1988 was big news that the Shroud had been carbon dated and the result was supposedly that the Shroud dated back to only the 1200s and was deemed a medieval fake. The findings were even printed in L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican’s newspaper. To many, it seemed conclusive (though no good explanation was offered as to how the image got on the cloth). But for many us, the so-called “science” felt off, and we continued to believe in the veracity of the Shroud. 

Have you ever been tempted to leave the Catholic Church? Don’t. Ever. For any reason. Why not? Because: *Extra ecclesiam nulla salus*, “There is no salvation outside the Catholic Church”.

In April 2019, when Notre Dame Cathedral was afire in Paris, I was on a cross-country drive. I had decided not to listen to the news, but rather to pray and think, so I was oblivious to the conflagration. As the kilometres sailed by, I became strangely obsessed with the thought that Western Catholics were starving for good religious art. I suddenly knew I was. 

A recent Sunday Gospel was about the puzzling “sin against the Holy Spirit.” Puzzling and terrifying because Jesus is clear about its consequence: this sin “will not be forgiven in this life or the next.” (Mark 3:20-25) How can an all-loving God, full of mercy, who will forgive our worse offences, also tell us there is such a thing as an unforgivable sin? Most of all, how can I make sure I never commit this sin?

Not long ago, I was presenting a Theology of the Body series at Emmanuel Reformed Church in Whitby, Ontario. I was teaching Catholics, but some elderly women from the Reformed congregation began attending the classes. One in particular was keen to understand what Catholics believe about many different issues. When she got to the topic of euthanasia, her reasoning went along utilitarian lines. “If people can no longer contribute to society, and they don’t have many more years in front of them anyway, it’s okay to choose to die a little sooner, isn’t it?”