
PETERSBOAT
COLUMN
The Just War Theory
The very idea of war can seem antithetical to Christianity since the Fifth Commandment is often translated, "You shall not kill." However, the text reads, "You shall not commit murder." Sometimes, killing is justified. Therefore, sometimes war is justified.
Big ol' Jet Airliner
"Father, no high school student wants to be a Saint." That's what the Assistant Principal said in response to my suggestion that we should consider adding a Senior Superlative to the Yearbook entitled, Most Likely to be a Saint. "Father, no high school student wants to be a Saint."
We Have Permission to Forgive
So how can I love God with my whole heart while also forgiving someone who has offended His creation? How can I offer friendship to an enemy while still remaining a friend to God? Do you see how that would be a problem?
"But surely some things can't be forgiven."
That’s what she said to me. I was a seminarian at the time, studying for the priesthood on pilgrimage to Israel with my classmates. We were visiting the campus of Bethlehem University, run by the De La Salle Christian Brothers.
How Grunge Music Prepared Me for the Priesthood
If you are of the older generation, you might think of the beatniks. They were unconventional. That's what Nirvana was for the 90's. Think of Led Zeppelin or the Doors in the 70's, or the punk rock Ramones of the 80's. In the 90's, we had grunge, which was just as non-conformist.
A Month Filled with Saints
It is the Rosary that ensures that we remain close to Jesus. When we pray the Rosary, the Blessed Mother gives us her heart with which to love her Son, her eyes with which to look at Him, and her hands with which to hold Him and to serve Him.
Same Wage, One Wage
The thief on the cross begs for heaven in the evening of life and still gets in. Dismas is his name. He’s Saint Dismas, actually. Saint?! What gives? This criminal cries out to Christ in the final hour of his miserable, displeasing life, and is consoled by the words, “This day, you will be with me in paradise.” But what about all of those people who tried to love God all their life long?