Posted by Carol Johnson on 4/28/25
There are two themes on the minds of Catholics today: Divine Mercy and Pope Francis.
The Second Sunday of Easter was instituted as Divine Mercy Sunday by Pope St. John Paul II just a quarter of a century ago. The devotion to Divine Mercy dates to Poland, the birthplace ... Read More »
Posted by Carol Johnson on 4/20/25
The central theme of the Law of Moses and the writings of the Prophets in the Old Testament is that God is forgiving and merciful. These same sacred texts revealed that the full extent of God’s forgiveness was not definitive nor absolute for God’s people. There seemed to be ... Read More »
Posted by Carol Johnson on 4/20/25
On this most solemn Friday of the Lord’s Passion, I want to focus on the virtue of obedience to God, of which the Lord gives us the perfect example. The counterexample is Adam. Adam’s disobedience was original sin. St. Paul wrote to the Romans, “For just as through the ... Read More »
Posted by Carol Johnson on 4/20/25
Why do Catholics love the Eucharist so much? The answer is very simple: because this sacrament is the most beautiful thing that can happen to us in this world! And, it is available to us every single day! In the Eucharist, the Lord gives himself totally to us out ... Read More »
Posted by Carol Johnson on 4/14/25
In addition to saving the world through his suffering, the Lord’s suffering gave us an example of life. St. Thomas Aquinas taught that, "the cross exemplifies every virtue." So, if we want to learn to love, to have patience, to be humble, to be obedient to God, and to ... Read More »
Posted by Carol Johnson on 4/07/25
Out of natural curiosity, we would all like to know what the Lord wrote on the ground in the episode of the adulterous woman. The Pharisees and scribes were evil people. They must have secretly followed this woman for a while. They bring her into the presence of the ... Read More »
Posted by Carol Johnson on 3/31/25
At the Last Supper, the Lord speaks to his disciples about his heavenly Father. “From now on you know him and have seen him” (John 14:7). The Apostle Philip says to the Lord, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us” (John 14:8). The Lord ... Read More »
Posted by Carol Johnson on 3/23/25
Are our sufferings retribution for our guilt? The greater our guilt, the greater our suffering? Job's friends, in the famous Old Testament book, answered those questions with a resounding yes. The Lord, in today's Gospel reading, categorically says "no" to these beliefs. The Psalmist had already said, "God does ... Read More »
Posted by Carol Johnson on 3/17/25
In Abraham's time, covenants or formal agreements were made the way the Book of Genesis tells us today. An animal (usually a lamb or a calf) was sacrificed, split in half, and the two parts were placed facing each other. The two parties making the covenant passed through the ... Read More »
Posted by Carol Johnson on 3/10/25
We hear the Gospel of the Temptations of the Lord on the first Sunday of Lent every year. Lent follows the pattern of the forty days that the Lord was in the desert fasting. The Holy Spirit was the one who led the Lord to this retreat with the ... Read More »