Let’s file this under “things I never thought I’d have to write about.” Several months ago I noticed a lump on my left triceps. I brought it up to my doctor and after looking at it and feeling it, he said it was a lipoma, a benign fatty tumor, and nothing to be...
Tom Ponchak
It’s A Great Time to be Catholic!
“Who knows—perhaps it was for a time like this that you became queen?” (Esther 4:14) The book Esther tells the story of a Jewish girl chosen for the harem of a Persian king because of her beauty. One of the king’s advisors harbors a deep hatred for the Jews and...
The Kingdom of God is Like…
When we consider the parables about the Kingdom of God they each provide a different perspective in a simple, yet deeply profound way. Take, for instance, the parables about the hidden treasure and pearl of great price. “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure...
A Marriage Made In Heaven
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “God himself is the author of marriage.” (CCC #1603) This means that the very idea of marriage has its origin in heaven, within the mind and will of our Father. It is from this divine source that marriage is given its...
Being Ordinary
Ordinary Time. It’s a deceptively boring label for the liturgical season we now find ourselves in. It’s not “special” like Advent, Christmas, Lent or Easter. There are no special, beloved Ordinary Time songs or decorations. No unique Ordinary Time traditions. It’s...
Something Old, Something New…
My wife, Lisa, and I are celebrating our twenty-fifth anniversary this month and I’m in a reflective mood. Twenty-five years is a long time, it’s a quarter of a century. I’ve spent more than half of my time on this earth as a married man and father (our oldest is a...
Rethinking the Beatitudes
I believe the beatitudes are a model or pattern for spiritual maturity with one building on another and ultimately looping back again in a continual path toward spiritual perfection. Rather than looking at them separately as if describing different types of people in...
Adoration and the Art of Waiting
“Are we there yet?” Anyone who’s ever traveled anywhere with children knows firsthand how impatient they become on the journey, and the farther the journey the harder the wait for the little ones. This is especially true when they have an idea of where they’re headed....
Who Are You?
There is a great temptation to find our identity in what we do, rather than who we are. We are conditioned to do it nearly automatically, as if it’s just second nature. We tie our identity to our jobs or our majors. Some people tie their identity to their sexuality....
From Humanae Vitae to Parkland
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Blessed Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae (On Human Life), the landmark document that upheld the Catholic Church’s rejection of artificial contraception as immoral. As modern papal documents go, Humanae Vitae is light...