Friday, December 14, 20180200
By Father John Bayer
Special to The Texas Catholic
In the span of about two weeks I received 15 cards encouraging me as a priest. One person, who signed herself as “Your spiritual mother,” wrote, “May you be strong against temptations. Take heart as we face the current scandals in the priesthood.” Another wrote, “To...
Wednesday, October 31, 20180253By Father John Bayer
Special to The Texas Catholic
I enjoy seeing religious wisdom vindicated by modern science. Let me tell you a brief story about myself.
A few years ago, I was basically crippled by food allergies and chronic pain in my feet, the latter apparently the result of an injury I sustained while exercising. Ever since...
Thursday, October 18, 20180563My friend Father Josh Whitfield of St. Rita Catholic Church recently wrote a fine Dallas Morning News op-ed in which he suggests that America is experiencing a political and cultural unraveling, both of which are symptoms of a more terrible spiritual malady.
Saturday, September 22, 20180226By Father Thomas Esposito
Special to The Texas Catholic
Almost every semester, I teach a course for freshmen at the University of Dallas entitled “Understanding the Bible,” though most students prefer the hipster nickname of “Under the Bible.” I do not believe that I will ever tire of teaching this introductory class. I’m...
Thursday, September 6, 20180194By Father John Bayer
Special to The Texas Catholic
I recently saw The Greatest Showman, which is an enjoyable movie-musical about the Barnum & Bailey Circus. The music and dancing are really fun, and the main moral of the story is one I wholeheartedly accept: happiness is found only in true love, and not in wealth, popularity or...
Saturday, August 25, 201801281>“Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am coming against these shepherds. I will take my sheep out of their hand and put a stop to their shepherding my flock, so that these shepherds will no longer pasture them. I will deliver my flock from their mouths so it will not become their food”
Friday, May 25, 20180447This year, on May 21, we celebrated a new feast, the “Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.” About three months ago, Pope Francis decreed that this feast, which since its creation in 1975 had been only a votive mass, should be celebrated by the whole Church every year on the Monday after Pentecost.
Friday, May 11, 20180427Two of the sacraments of initiation, Baptism and Confirmation, are one-time events in a Catholic’s life, not to be repeated again. They are certainly spiritual milestones, and the graces conferred through the signs of water, oil, and the laying on of hands grant the person receiving them a beautiful beginning to the life of faith. The...
Sunday, April 29, 20180216One of my favorite musicians, Audrey Assad, once suggested we should be praying “with” the martyrs and not just “for” them. In this way, she introduced a very beautiful song, “Even Unto Death,” which was inspired by the execution of 21 Coptic Christians in Libya in February, 2015. She says she wrote it “to adopt the prayers...
Wednesday, April 11, 20180387One of the great titles bestowed by the church upon Mary Magdalene is “the apostle to the apostles.” According to the Gospel of John, Mary, still sorrowful on “the first day of the week” (John 20:1), is the privileged recipient of the first Easter message that Jesus’ body no longer rests in the tomb. After racing to Simon Peter...
