Humility, Humus, and Humiliations

When I was in the novitiate, each Monday we were assigned an act of humility. Of the four possible practices, the easiest was to pray Cardinal Merry del Val’s “Litany of Humility.” Some lines from this prayer are “From the desire of being honored, deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of suffering rebukes, deliver me, […]

Mary Calls Us to Lent

These days I am busy preparing to give a three-day parish mission on our Blessed Mother entitled “Mary Calls Us to Lent.” My aim is twofold: 1) to convince the parishioners to pray to Mary as their God-given loving mother and powerful intercessor and 2) to inspire them to imitate her as the first and […]

Squeezing through the Narrow Gate

Most people assume that they will spend eternity in heaven. Some of them might be like the Pharisee who prayed, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers. . . . I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.” This man thought he was right […]