2020

You may already know that it was reading the Bible that led me to the Catholic Church. But there was another key part of my journey to the Catholic faith. You see, the Bible also led me to the Church Fathers.

Baptism drops the Spirit of the Holy One into our veins, but there is no fire where there is not matter to burn; asceticism is the cost of making us combustible, and that fire is a mystical one. Liturgy is ecstasy: going out of one’s self to abide in God. But killing our selflove requires ascetical fortitude. Mysticism is not a character trait that only some people have, like blue eyes or a quick temper. Neither is mysticism a feat accomplished by our own abilities, like writing a novel or playing the trombone. Mysticism is caused by grace, and grace abides in the Church, which is communion in the Holy Spirit, by whose dominion one can develop a life that is spiritual, begun when baptism infuses the supernatural graces of faith, hope, and love. 

Catholics are often criticized for the way we approach the Bible. These criticisms normally come from two directions. From one direction some Protestant Christians, who disagree with Catholic doctrine concerning tradition and with the Catholic approach to Scripture, charge the Church with neglecting Scripture.

The Bible is unique. No other work of writing has ever been so studied, so commented on, so debated. It has been a part of the Church from the beginning, and each generation continues to grapple with it.

In his recent Apostolic letter Aperuit Illis, Pope Francis established the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time as the Sunday of the Word of God. As we celebrate the inaugural feast on January 26, here are a few ways to follow Pope Francis’ call to make Scripture a part of everyday life throughout the new year. 

See highlights from the 2020 Priest Conference West.

In my role as the director of a silent hermitage retreat center, I am convinced that if there is one area where many of Christ’s followers neglect to imitate Him, it is in the regular practice of going away to a deserted place to spend time in silence with Our Creator. We imitate Him in other ways. We’re baptized. We participate in the re-presentation of the Lord’s Supper each Sunday. We receive Christ through His Word and the Eucharist. We practice charity, supporting others in need. But many, many of us fail to imitate Christ in the practice of withdrawing regularly as He did, to the desert, and as he invited his disciples to do as well.