The Pilgrimage of Faith and Christianity’s Unvanquished Hope

I recently accompanied a group of pilgrims from the Tatra Mountains of Poland to Warsaw for the Year of Faith.   Twenty years ago, the Pilgrim Pope came to celebrate World Youth Day in Denver and spent time in prayer in a retreat center, high up in the Rocky Mountains.  We decided that we would go to the mountains of Blessed John Paul II to pray and to thank God for the graces of those days... Read More

A mother’s plea… Why does God delay in answering my prayers? – Part II of II

Q: Dear Father John, Two of my college educated sons have been out of work for several years, fortunately both wives work. What happens typically is that our hopes get raised when they get called in for an interview, are asked to come back, and then another invitation follows for additional meetings. Then the news comes saying they chose someone else. The emotional roller-coaster is brutal. My... Read More

A mother’s plea… Why does God delay in answering my prayers? – Part I of II

Q: Dear Father John, Two of my college educated sons have been out of work for several years, fortunately both wives work. What happens typically is that our hopes get raised when they get called in for an interview, are asked to come back, and then another invitation follows for additional meetings. Then the news comes saying they chose someone else. The emotional roller-coaster is brutal. My... Read More

Struggling with suffering… – Part II of II

Q: Dear Father John, I really want to think of God as good but lately I have been struggling with all the suffering I see around me and in my own life. Where is God in all of this? In our first post in this two part series we reflected on suffering from a number of conceptual angles to try to orient our hearts in the right direction. Now we will discuss a few practical matters. Our faith is weak,... Read More

Struggling with suffering… – Part I of II

Q: Dear Father John, I really want to think of God as good but lately I have been struggling with all the suffering I see around me and in my own life. Where is God in all of this? A: Suffering and sorrow challenge our faith in God. They push us out of our spiritual comfort zone as we find ourselves asking: If God is all-powerful and all good, why doesn’t he just fix everything, why does he... Read More

I have been out of work and am struggling with discernment…

Q: Dear Father Edward, I have been out of work for a while. I know God is not in the employment business, nor is he that concerned with how we make a living. His concern is for our soul. That said, I’m told I will know God’s will … and that he is leading me to something just right for me. But how do we know the direction he’s leading us in? And how do we pray about this... Read More

Advent is a season of hope… What if there is little reason for hope?

Q: Dear Father John, Advent is usually a season of hope. But what about when there is little reason for hope? When life is far from joyful, how can we experience the true joy and peace of the Advent season?  Our family has suffered many losses this year and even my children are despairing at what a bad year it has been. My husband and I are separated with little hope of reconciliation, we lost... Read More