Safe Haven

5. Well, yes, I'm excited.  The greatest quarterback of all time, joining his buddy, the greatest tight end of all time. Now, don't get me wrong: I admire Coach Belichick and the entire Patriots organization. I honestly do. But anyone is curious to see what ol' Tom Brady has left in the tank. He'll be 43 before they start. 4. I'm excited in that awkward way, among struggling people who think maybe tackle football isn't a good idea. 3. This stupid pandemic! It's awfully hard to gain experience teaching, when the schools are closed. 2. Meanwhile, if the Catholic schools don't hire me, I'm happy to go to the public schools. I shall preach among the Gentiles. [That's offensive.--ed.] Blame St. Paul, not me. 1. This stupid pandemic! Right now, the greatest tennis marvel of the last 22 years, Roger Federer, is just sitting at home, aging. It makes me so mad. I love him. No, seriously.

15 years ago today, Bryan Cross became a Catholic. And then, the rest of that immediate family did as well. I would not have become Catholic without Bryan and Carol, and the grace they came to me through them. It's not really about them, though. It's about God, and His mercy. Without prejudice to what is going on of great value in the other Christian communities, and communities in other religions, it sure seems like God is calling his children back to the Catholic Church. Granted, the Church's apologists have celebrated converts from day one. Also, the Protestant separations are particularly painful for us here in the West, but also for everyone united to the successor of Peter. I was just thinking that all of us will probably be joyfully stunned by the way God has used us to touch people with the good news of Jesus. In my mind, it was like when you're watching a football game, and they show a "coaching tree" that stems from a coach they want to praise. S...

I don't know what you are feeling, but I am feeling lost. This pandemic is intensifying the feelings of being superfluous, and even in the way of something, or someone. We tend to call the famous story, "the parable of the prodigal son," but as has been pointed out to me in numerous sermons since I was a very young adult, perhaps the heart of the story is the generosity of the father. I will not absolve myself of responsibility, but largely we are in a "far country" not of our own making. I have never felt as nostalgic as I do right now, but it seems different than nostalgia at other places and other times. I am longing for something very simple and very normal, for a life we knew and understood only months ago. I have no heart or courage for a culture war, with respect to what we ought to do; I only know that I don't think things can stay the same for much longer. I am a strong personality, with a well-defined sense of purpose. It seems as though that p...

5. Biden 2020: Not Completely Hopeless With Whites 4. Biden 2020: Like Family At The Holidays: You're Going, And That's Final 3. Biden 2020: The Midwest Is Not Just An NCAA Tourney Region 2. Biden 2020: My Twitter Will Be Cat Videos 1. Biden 2020: The Stuff I Forgot Is Better Than The Stuff He Says Intentionally

I read Ephesians this morning. I have to say, I don't necessarily feel like I'm seated in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus right now. And yet, I sense that I am indeed being lavished with grace. The only thing that the enemy of our souls can do is to try to convince us that Jesus made a mistake when he died on the cross for you and me. God shows his own love for us in this: that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. I'm not even going to quote it; maybe sometimes we need to read it in plain words, as if it were spoken by a friend, because it is and has been. I need the sacraments so badly. We had almost been in a habit of saying that we took them for granted, and then they were taken away. We found out that indeed we have taken them for granted. This quarantine stuff is getting to me. It's probably true that I don't like people that much, but this is a crazy level of isolation. The most foundational reality is that God's generous attitude towar...