“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:10) When my daughter says her bedtime prayers, she says the same thing every night. In fact, she repeats them so fast I can hardly keep up. I don’t think she realizes what she’s saying sometimes, but my family probably wonders the same thing about me when I say table grace. I rarely change a word of it. Do you realize what you’re saying […]

“‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’” (Matthew 14:29) In the late 1970’s, I vacationed frequently at Nags Head. I remember one summer in particular. Several of us decided to go deep-sea fishing in the Gulf Stream, which is not far from North Carolina’s Outer Banks and offers some of the finest fishing that a charter boat captain can muster. We awoke early that morning because we had to be at the dock by 5:00 AM. It was windy and our charter boat captain told […]

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” (1 Peter 3:15) My recent column about my daughter’s plight with anorexia angered one of my readers, enough so that she wrote a rather vitriolic letter to its editor. This was not your everyday run-of-the-mill reader either. […]

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) I had a friend telephone me a few years back. She had a close relative whom she thought had contracted a terminal illness. She was deeply concerned about his future and asked me, “Will a Catholic go to heaven?” As first blush I was caught a little off guard by her question because I am not that familiar with what Catholics believe. […]