A Word to Enkindle
Conversion and gratitude on Thanksgiving Day
A Word to Enkindle, December 01, 2025
With Thanksgiving Day coming up, and given the social climate in our country, I am moved to reflect on the connection between love and criticism.
‘But deliver us from evil…’
A Word to Enkindle, November 10, 2025
The two petitions that conclude the “Our Father” prayer form a single sentence. “And lead us not into temptation” is inseparable from “but deliver us from evil,” according to faith as well as grammar. And just as the word “temptation” needed to be mined for deeper insights, so too does the word “evil.”
Finding God in the ecotone of faith and life
A Word to Enkindle, October 31, 2025
“Finding God in the ecotone of faith and life” by Fr. John for The Texas Catholic. As Catholics, how should we imagine our relationship with the world? We often talk about “walls” and “doors” and “bridges” to explain how the Church should either connect to the world for the sake of evangelizing it or separate […]
And lead us not into temptation
A Word to Enkindle, October 06, 2025
“And lead us not into temptation” by Fr. Thomas for Texas Catholic. In the last decade, the liturgical versions of the Our Father have been changed in both French and Italian to soften the apparent harshness of this petition. The French translation is now “Ne nous laisse pas entrer en tentation,” “Do not let us […]
‘The Benedict Option’
A Word to Enkindle, September 29, 2025
“‘The Benedict Option’” by Fr. John for The Texas Catholic. Rod Dreher’s “The Benedict Option” (2017) has been on my list of things to read for a long time. As a Cistercian monk rooted in the Benedictine tradition and apostolically engaged as a priest and teacher, I basically felt like it was required reading, given […]
And forgive us for our trespasses as we forgive…
A Word to Enkindle, September 08, 2025
“And forgive us for our trespasses as we forgive…” by Fr. Thomas for Texas Catholic. This petition is the most scandalous of them all. The verb tenses reveal the heart of the matter. A literal translation of Matthew’s version reads, “Forgive us our debts just as we have (already) forgiven those indebted to us” (Mt […]
Looking for signs of discernment
A Word to Enkindle, August 25, 2025
“Looking for signs of discernment” by Fr. John for The Texas Catholic. I recently read a book about discernment and the spiritual life that I’d recommend to just about anyone but especially to the young: Stacey Sumereau, “Adventure Awaits: How to Interpret Your Desires and Hear God’s Voice” (Ave Maria Press, 2025). It is short […]
‘Give us this day our daily bread’
A Word to Enkindle, July 27, 2025
“‘Give us this day our daily bread’” by Fr. Thomas for Texas Catholic. My ideal translation of this phrase would be “Give us our ‘supersubstantial’ bread today.” That would sound gloriously awkward at Mass, and ‘supersubstantial’ would be a liturgical tongue twister for children trying to say the word quickly five times in a row. […]
Freedom and the rise of contemporary gambling
A Word to Enkindle, June 09, 2025
“Freedom and the rise of contemporary gambling” by Fr. John for The Texas Catholic. Gambling is growing in our country — and quickly. My impression is that we have work to do to be informed about what is happening and to let ourselves be formed by what the Church teaches, lest so much happen without […]
Thy Kingdom Come
A Word to Enkindle, April 01, 2025
The more I reflect on the petitions of the Our Father, the more I’m convinced that I have no idea what I’m praying when I mumble those words multiple times every day.
The current object of my loving mystification is “Thy kingdom come.” In an effort to be slightly less intimidated by this vast and marvelous petition, I will arrange my musings as responses to the time-honored journalistic questions.