Isn’t it amazing the way Scripture turns so many things upside down? The meek inherit the earth, while the proud are humbled and brought low. It’s only in dying that we find life. Those who are last become the first. Over and over again in Scripture, things are not what they seem, and the more time we spend reading the Bible, the more paradoxes we seem to find. More »

As I was growing up, my family could have said, with the disciples of John the Baptist whom Paul discovered at Ephesus, “We haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit” (Acts 19:2). More »

I remember seeing a billboard once that showed a graphic portrayal of Jesus suffering on the cross. Underneath was the caption “Be a priest like me.” It was a startling message for vocations. More »

The lottery jackpot had climbed to an astounding $365 million. All over the country, people tried to increase their odds of winning at least a piece of the pie by banding together and buying tickets in large quantities. More »

As the Carmelite monks chanted psalms in their church across the courtyard, the head cook labored in the monastery kitchen. There, against the background hiss of boiling water and the steady beat of his knife against the chopping block, stood a middle-aged man—a lay brother whose duties prevented him from joining the others in prayer. More »

“Life is just one big disappointment after another,” Therese thought as she trudged down the stairs to the campus post office. “Here I am, at my second-choice college. Here I am, with one of my horrible migraines. Here I am, a failure at pursuing a religious vocation. What’s next?” More »

While visiting a farm, I remember being asked to retrieve water from a spring nearby. I will never forget stepping down into a cool, dank cave, its walls dripping with moisture. The atmosphere, dark and mysterious, was so pervasive that the cave felt alive, like an extension of my skin. More »

At the Last Supper, Jesus summed up the whole of his life in an act that is inscribed in the great paschal blessing to God, an act that he lives as Son in thanksgiving to the Father for his immense love. More »