“There is none [work] greater, none more salutary for the saving of souls and people in heaven,” Venerable Sister Mary Potter (1847-1913) wrote in her book, Devotion for the Dying: Mary’s Call to her Loving Children. Mary Potter was the youngest of five children from England. Her father abandoned the family, leaving for Australia, when she…
An atheist once told me that he had blasphemed against the Holy Spirit. He said it was the unforgivable sin so conversion would never be an option for him. “‘And whoever says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in…
“You really were the Savior? And I had you killed!” Imagine Pontius Pilate at the moment of his death. And all the soldiers that delighted in scourging and crucifying Jesus. The Jewish Sanhedrin who refused to consider that the Messiah was in their midst, must have been horrified when death revealed the truth. Imagine the…
Twelve years ago, a brief article in the Marian Helper magazine caught my attention. “My mother never gave up on me,” I read. “Even though I dropped out of high school, she never gave up on me, and now I’m becoming a priest.” That simple little story spoke volumes. I was on the lookout for…
Pedro Cumba’s first brush with death came in 1995 when a rival drug gang robbed him. “They pushed me down the basement steps and made me lay face down on the floor,” Cumba said. “He went to shoot me in the back of the head but the gun didn’t go off.” Pedro…
As many of my clients strove to overcome their addictions to drugs or alcohol, I always suggested they tap into a powerful source for recovery–God. Sure, some people did it without him, but not most. God could pick them up where they were at and carry them through the pain and struggles all…
If a picture is worth a thousand words, what do you suppose a video image is worth? What about a video image of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament? I oversee our religious community’s web site. I had the idea to provide a live image of our Eucharistic Adoration chapel which…
When my twelve-year-old son, Donnie became involved with drugs and alcohol, as far as I could tell, he was still the same obedient and kindhearted son he had always been. We had been close during his childhood but I failed to recognize the changes he was going through.
I came across an amazing marriage recovery story when I was working on the Amazing Grace for Married Couples book. A priest friend who heard of the title I was working on told me, “Oh, do I have a story for you!” He wasn’t kidding! Alcoholism, drugs, adultery, and then just when all seemed lost,…
Ron Keine refused to become one of those people who find religion in prison on the way to death row. No, he decided, repenting is for the ones who are here for a reason. I have done nothing wrong. Ron felt the justice system was a joke. “Justice was only a word that the court…