Faith – Page 15 – Perpetual Adoration

February 7, 2015

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Breeding Like Rabbits

As you may know, a few weeks ago Pope Francis was criticized for making a statement about how Catholics are not required to breed like rabbits. I wasn’t planning on writing about the pope’s remark, but I’ve had some people bring it up for discussion, so I decided I would share my thoughts with you concerning the pope and his comment.

December 20, 2014

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A Special Christmas Gift

Earlier this month, I had a conversation with a judge who recently retired after serving as a state court judge for more than 20 years. For the purpose of this article, I’m going to call him “John.” John is in his early 60s, and during our conversation he asked me how many grandchildren I have. I told him that after adding three new grandsons last month, my wife and I have 10 grandchildren.

November 1, 2014

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An End-of-Life Experience

You may have heard about the incident a couple of weeks ago (October 22) in Ottawa, Canada, when a Canadian soldier was gunned down by a homegrown terrorist, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau. The soldier’s name was Corporal Nathan Cirillo, and at the time of the incident he was on duty as a ceremonial guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Canadian National War Memorial.

June 21, 2014

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Social Media and Marriage

There’s a new trend that’s been developing among couples who are getting married. They are signing prenuptial agreements that prohibit their partners from posting nude or embarrassing photos on the Internet. A prenuptial agreement has been traditionally defined as a written contract that is signed by a couple prior to marriage. The agreement provides that in the event of a divorce, the couple will be allowed to retain the property that each of them acquired during the marriage.

May 17, 2014

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Planting Seeds of Doubt

Earlier this year while I was at a church-related function, I ran into some relatives — a married couple — who are about 20 years older than I am. After we talked for short time, a priest (who is in his 60s and a friend of the couple) walked up to us and joined in the conversation.

May 10, 2014

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Too Tired To Care

Last weekend, Georgette and I attended two First Holy Communion Masses. The first Mass was on Saturday, and the second was on Sunday. One of the most refreshing experiences for me is to witness young, innocent seven-year-old children receiving our Lord for the first time. At that age, children are still bursting with energy, enthusiasm, and hope for the future, and they have not yet been infected with the poisons of cynicism and resentment.

April 19, 2014

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A Reason To Smile

About five years ago, I was attending a weekday Mass at a local church. Halfway through the Mass, two women in their sixties snuck in the side door of the church and ran over to the nearest pew. Both women were wearing gray sweatshirts. The way they scurried over to the pew reminded me of the animated mice you would see in a Disney movie — because the women were short, pudgy, cute, and grinning from ear to ear.

March 15, 2014

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The Queen of Martyrs

About 15 years ago, I met a couple whose 20-year-old daughter was instantly killed when her car was hit by a train. She died five minutes after she walked out of her parents’ home. She was on her way to class at Illinois Central College. When she left the house, her mother told her goodbye and told her that she looked beautiful.

March 1, 2014

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An Unplanned Interception

I’ve written before about how I broke my leg when I was a boy. The events leading up to my broken leg began during the summer of 1967, when I was 10 years old. While holding onto the end of an old rubber garden hose, I climbed the weeping willow tree in the back yard of my parents’ home. When I got about 20 feet high, I climbed out onto a thick branch and tied the end of the hose to the branch.