Litany of Humility: A Prayer for a Beloved Sinner

Today's 11 a.m. Mass celebrant at our parish, Father Peter Cebulka, C.O., recommended we look up the Litany of Humility. Father Peter, who is chaplain of the Catholic Center at Rutgers, said he recommended the prayer to a student recently. Later, the young man texted him:  The student texted him: Litany of Humility. I love it. I hate it. 

Boy oh boy do I need this prayer. As Father Peter told us, we need to remember that we are beloved sinners. That is our identity. If we think too much about how we are beloved by God, we might fall into pride. If we focus too much on our sinful nature, we might never feel we can connect with the One who called us into being. 

If You Watch Nothing Else Today, Please Watch This

Those of you who are Catholic understand why I am crying as I witness the simplicity and humility and warmth of this man. Those of you who are not Catholic might be puzzled. We Catholics believe the Holy Father helps guide us to Christ, that he is one in a long line of men back to St. Peter, who lead the Church in this world. "It is, therefore, the Pope's role, as it was that of Peter, to guide the community of Christ's faithful, to safeguard them in the truth, and to confirm his brothers and sisters in the faith made possible in Jesus Christ." Fr. Kevin Beach

Self-Deception and The Messiest Room in My House

If you are like me, you have at least one room in your house that visitors never see. For me, that would be the master bedroom. Every horizontal surface, excepting our bed but including much of the floor, is cluttered - with books, an ironing board, clean laundry, a busted vacuum cleaner, manila file folders, you name it. When visitors come,  I simply close the door. 

My pastor, Fr. Jeff Calia, C.O., recently told me that if Christ were visiting, that's just the room He would want to see. In fact, He already knows all about it. 

A Survivor's Story: Life after 9/11 Comes with Obligations

By Greg Trevor

When the moment finally came – after nearly 10 years of waiting – I was so overwhelmed I couldn’t move.

I was falling asleep on the night of May 1, 2011, when my wife, Allison, walked into our bedroom, tapped me on the shoulder and said: “The president is about to go on TV. They got bin Laden and he’s dead.”

“Thank God,” I replied. I tried to get out of bed but couldn’t. The death of bin Laden brought back so many painful memories from surviving the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

At the Eye Doctor: Since When Is "I'm Sorry" So Hard to Say?

Since when did people start becoming unwilling to admit to mistakes or imperfections? Is this just a Jersey thing? I do know one mark of a Christian is the ability to apologize. I have my blind spots on this. Today, however, I was struck by how an entire office filled with professionals could not muster an apology.

Here's what happened: I had an appointment with a retina specialist this morning. My optometrist was concerned about a freckle she had found on my eye during a routine eye exam. I arrived at the waiting room a couple of minutes before my 8:50 a.m. appointment. I left the office more than four hours later, still not having had all the required tests. (The good news: the freckle is benign) The computer software for scanning my eye was unavailable. No one could tell me when it might arrive.