Author: Fr. Peter Kavanaugh

“Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me.”

This is the prayer of St. Patrick of Ireland. Several hundred years ago, a spoiled adolescent was captured by Irish slaves. In chains, poverty, and hunger, the boy turned to his only solace: prayer. Over time, his heart began to pray on autopilot. Through day and night, his lips uttered the name “Jesus.” He labored in the Name of Jesus. He ate in the Name of Jesus. He slept in the Name of Jesus. His whole life became the Name of Jesus. In this way, St. Patrick’s heart filled up with the divine joy Christ promises to all who pray in His Name.

Continue reading “The Pursuit of Joy”

“LORD, who shall dwell in thy tabernacle? or who shall rest upon thy holy hill? Even he that leadeth an uncorrupt life, and doeth the thing which is right, and speaketh the truth from his heart” (Psalm 15:1,2).

“Why is Transgender Identify on the Rise Among Teens?” A scientist asks this in an article on Psychology Today. Gender Dysphoria is real. A man or woman feels terrible anxiety about his or her biological sex. An impulse to live as the opposite sex becomes overwhelming, and this impulse is felt by more and more children in our local schools. What is a man? What is a woman? What is marriage and family? These are not abstract questions in a university school room. These are common issues ravishing the lives of ordinary people today. Where is the Holy Spirit in all this? How can we untangle ourselves from our mess in the 21st century?

Continue reading “The Holy Spirit & 21st Century Insanity”

“Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither” (C. S. Lewis).

The only life worth living is a life pursuing God. There is a lot of talk nowadays about saving the planet. Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and billionaire philanthropists have plans for ending poverty. Big government and big tech companies talk about protecting us from racism, disease, and death. There is a clamoring voice to build a man-made utopia. Where does the Christian stand in all this? Our search is different altogether. Our aim is not to seek utopia here and now, but to seek eternity with God.

Continue reading “What the Christian Has”

Sometimes obligation and legalism are very good things. What does it take to be happy and free? This is what we want. This is the motivation behind nearly everything we do. It is at the heart of our American nation, is it not? “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” were engraved in the Declaration of Independence and are forever since seared in our psyche. But how do we achieve this? What makes us happy and free? The Church has an altogether different answer the pop culture. The ticket to freedom and joy is simple: a heart of obedience.

Continue reading “Freedom in Rules and Obligation”

“If ye be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above” (Colossians 3:1).

Pascha takes far more work than Lent. Yes, it is tough giving up meat and wine for forty days. It is a strain examining one’s conscience, repenting from addictions, and embracing death to self. Yet, this is easy, compared to our work during Paschaltide: to lift up and keep one’s heart in paradise. It is the greater challenge to be in a constant state of gratitude and awe — to cherish God every moment of the day.

Continue reading “Cherishing God”

“Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen” 
(Matthew 28:6).

Christ is Risen! This is the phrase on our lips. What does it mean in our heart? It is Pascha, the forty day Pascha. What does this mean for us today, and tomorrow, and for each day of the feast? What does it mean to feast? We endeavor so zealously during Lent. Do we drop the zeal in Pascha? For forty days we labored in our fast. Now the Church urges us to labor in our feast. Now is our season for cherishing God and creation. Now is our invitation to learn to see through different glasses — to open our eyes and discover life as God intends it: one, resurrection banquet of rest, delight, and joy.

Continue reading “Resurrection Life: Stop and Delight”

Life is a preparation for death. Palm Sunday is a day of celebration, yet a celebration cast under the shadow of Golgotha. We pick up our palms and join Christ in jubilant procession, but this procession does not end today. It continues with each day of Holy Week. Before we reach Bright and Beautiful Pascha, our road leads us to Golgotha. We die to self before we live in Christ. Holy Week is a microcosm of life’s journey, into the valley of death, and out again in eternity.

Continue reading “Plunge into Death and Resurrection”

“They picked up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple” (John 8:59).

The Information Age is over. Some call it the “Shift Age,” and others, the “Experience Age.” Perhaps it is the Misinformation Age or the Post Truth Age. Such abundance of information exists, so much so that we all feel dizzy trying to sort through it all. But perhaps, our culture feels that it does not even matter any more. We are the makers of truth, the world exclaims. We are redefining reality, morality, and humanity. In all this frenzy, how can anyone know God? How can we know truth? There is only one way. We have to get in the habit of unplugging from the system, of taking Sabbaths, and retuning our hearts.

Continue reading “Rediscovering Sabbath: Our Need to Unplug”

“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?”

If the devil cannot make you sin, he will make you busy. Corrie Ten Boom gave this advice, the famous survivor of a Nazi concentration camp. In her experience, busyness was the great crippler of souls. Not only does busyness paralyze our health, it severs our relationship with God and one another. When Christ looked at his people in the valley, he saw that they were lacking bread. When Christ looks at his people in the modern world, he sees that we are lacking stillness. The solution is the same. If we really trust God, we will discover that each given day has all the time needed. Our hurry and our stress are delusion.

Continue reading “Addicted to Hurry”

“The Amish are not…against modern technology. We have simply chosen not to be controlled by it” (Amishman David Kline).

Western Pennsylvania is known for its amish communities. As you drive along the hill country, you see their quaint, white, farm homes, horse and buggies, and men, women, and children at work in antiquated clothes. The amish are an anomaly in America. On the one hand, we all envy them a little. Their simplicity in the bucolic countryside touches a part of everyone’s soul. On the other hand, they are the butt of our jokes. They do not fit in the American machine, with our fascination for speed, progress, entertainment, and consumerism. Our culture has changed so sharply, over the last century, that they now seem totally absurd. However one may feel about the amish, their culture testifies to one principle absolutely profound — a principle not only at the heart of Christianity, but a principle which is nearly completely lacking in mainstream Christianity:

They have chosen to live a lifestyle shaped and inspired by their faith, rather than a lifestyle shaped and molded by the world.

Continue reading “Push Back Against Culture”