The Life of Virtue

It is not unlikely that a large majority of people who inhabit the modern world, and who make even a slight presence in the digital realm, have heard that Pope Francis has declared a Jubilee Year of Mercy.  The great jubilee year begins in six days, on December 8.  Based on the letter he wrote to announce this jubilee, Misericordiae Vultus (MV) , the Holy Father wants the Church and its members to ponder and exhibit the reality of God's mercy in a number of specific ways. While reading through the letter, I have begun to feel that Francis, as much as he has written to the universal Church, has written directly to me.  It seems that the subtitle, or the secondary motto, of the jubilee ought to be: "...because Derek needs it."  I have come to know and realize that this Year of Mercy is an opportune moment to experience the radical transformation of life that God offers.  So, I intend to immerse myself in learning, pondering, and displaying the Father's mer...

Those of you who read my blog may be aware of the "controversial" news headline about the pope marrying twenty couples this past Sunday, some of whom were "living in sin."  And so, the barrage of distortions and misinformation by the secular media continues.  Because of this headline, I received the following email. I have four children two in college recently, one in high school, and my youngest at [a local Catholic school] .  You'll find as your children grow up, they have some amazing questions/discussions, especially with social media.  I think we did a good job, our college children attend Mass, follow the Pope on twitter, and are great kids.  We are truly blessed.  What I find difficult is when the Pope is in the news purportedly supporting gay marriage, or as in yesterday's headlines marrying couples "living in sin."  I spent a long while trying to look into yesterday's news and found in the United Kingdom's news, that one couple...

This post is a follow-up to last week's post, "Cramming for the 'Final Exam.'"   As I finished that post, I realized that it does little good to exhort Catholic Christians to prepare well for the forthcoming judgment if they are not provided some direction for effective preparation.  The best teachers help their students prepare well for the exams that cover the content of the courses they teach.  While it would be pretentious to count myself among the best teachers of religious and spiritual things, the method works, so I'll employ it. Our world is inundated with media outlets of all types, from television to print to billboards to new digital media such as podcasts and internet video clips, and everything in between.  When it comes to the Catholic Church, and to Catholic beliefs and lifestyle, much of the media paints an errant picture, or at least a very incomplete picture.  Rare is a newspaper article, a popular book, or a segment on any round-the-...

The ensuing post has been inspired by the first half of Pope Francis's Lenten Message , which focuses on Christ's poverty.  I know: the first two days of these Lenten reflections are dealing with the virtues that are no fun...no fun at all.  Yet, if our goal during Lent is to be more like Christ, we must come to understand what it means to fast and become poor like Him. Poverty is the virtue by which  material possessions and selfish pride are cleared away so that Christ can enter any situation, and so that we can be brought to salvation by His grace.  The Holy Father remarks that "there is only one real kind of poverty: not living as children of God and brothers and sisters of Christ."  Our Heavenly Father never fails to meet any of our needs, including material needs, if we are willing to relinquish control to Him.  Further, without attachment to created goods and our own egos, human beings are much freer to enter into deep and meaningful relationships,...

C.S. Lewis, a great bard of the English language, once quipped, "If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don't recommend Christianity."  On a similar theme, in a tweet shortly before he resigned as Supreme Pontiff, Pope Emeritus Benedict wrote, "The world promises you comfort, but you were not made for comfort.  You were made for greatness."  In two pithy statements, these men captured one of Christianity's defining characteristics: it assaults a person's comfort zones.  Paradoxically, it is this assault on comfort that brings a person to the fullness of what God intends for him or her to be. A nice representation of the benefits of expanding one's comfort zone. If a person is comfortable while living Christianity, then she isn't living Christianity in a manner commensurate with the intentions of its Founder.  That's precisely because Christ always challenges us by pushing our boundaries.  He always attem...

On Friday, Pope Benedict XVI will no longer be the supreme pastor of the Church.  The Church and I will move forward, but we will never forget the blessings of having been part of the flock led by this spiritual shepherd.  So many individuals have been influenced and formed greatly by this holy and erudite man.  It has been a pleasure to hear his prayers and spiritual direction as well as to read his catechetical and theological works.  He has been a teacher, mentor, and something of a spiritual grandfather to many, including myself. Derek & his wife shake hands with Pope Benedict XVI (Feb. 22, 2006) It was seven years ago today that I returned from my honeymoon and pilgrimage to Italy.  During those travels, I had the great fortune to attend a papal audience, to look into the eyes of Pope Benedict XVI, and to shake his hand.  When my wife and I clasped our hands with his, we felt as though we were communicating with him.  Silently, underne...