Average Catholic

Thank You for Reading This Blog

August 3, 2011

My dear friends, I’m sad to say that my blog is coming to an end with a final post on Monday, August 8. Loyola Press asked me to write this blog six months ago when my book Why Stay Catholic? came out. The idea was to draw attention to the book and continue the conversation [...]

Read the full article →

The Average Catholic Is Reading Joyce Rupp

July 25, 2011

Joyce Rupp has been one of the most popular authors of spiritual books since her first bestseller Fresh Bread. Her newest is Fragments of Your Ancient Name. People love to go to her talks and especially to talk with her when the formal talk is over. She is a tiny package of energy and grace. [...]

Read the full article →

What it Means to Be American

July 4, 2011

A Muslim cabbie in Manhattan picks up a rabbi at Grand Central Station. He drives him to the National Council of Churches on Riverside Drive, where the rabbi meets a Sister of Charity at the United Methodist Women’s office. They eat at a Hindi restaurant and talk business. This is not a joke. It’s what [...]

Read the full article →

The Average Catholic Is Reading Alice Camille

June 27, 2011

Here are 21 questions with another of my favorite authors, Alice Camille, full-time writer, retreat leader, popular speaker, and the kind of person you’d love to hang out with. Her books include A Book of Grace-Filled Days, Listening to God’s Word, and, with Joel Schorn, A Faith Interrupted: An Honest Conversation with Alienated Catholics. (With [...]

Read the full article →

The Average Catholic Likes to Laugh

June 20, 2011

Many human beings feel guilty about being alive. Catholics who have been over-taught about sin feel even more guilty. Then, if they’re lucky, they learn that we are all sinners, but God loves us anyway. Then they smile. If they are really blessed, someone teaches them that nothing can separate them from God, nothing, not [...]

Read the full article →

The Average Catholic and Sacraments with a Small s

June 13, 2011

A sacrament is an outward sign, instituted by Christ, to give grace. The Average Catholic cherishes the seven sacraments of the Church: Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Communion, Reconciliation, Marriage, Holy Orders, and the Anointing of the Sick. These are the Sacraments with a big S. There are also sacraments with a small s. We receive the [...]

Read the full article →

The Average Catholic and the Hierarchy

June 6, 2011

The average Catholic is not against the hierarchical structure of the Church. She just has enough confidence to feel that the Church would be better off if some of her ideas made their way to the top. As traditionally diagrammed—pope, bishops, priests, laity—the Church looks more like an organizational chart for a corporation than it [...]

Read the full article →

The Average Catholic and Sinners, Saints, and Fools

May 23, 2011

The average Catholic thinks the Church should throw a party for everybody—sinners, saints, and fools. She knows that dissent doesn’t kill families; disinterest does. In any healthy family, when a child dissents, you never hear the parent say, “You can’t come to the table and eat until you see things my way.” Even if a [...]

Read the full article →

The Average Catholic and Mary (Part Two)

May 16, 2011

Just like everyone else, whenever we have a need, Vickie and I pray. We hold hands, and one of us takes the lead. If it’s me I talk directly to God for both of us, sort of like: “Dear God, our worries about (fill in the blank) are killing us. Please help us to think [...]

Read the full article →

The Average Catholic and Mary (Part One)

May 9, 2011

In her beautiful book Mary, the poet Kathy Coffey reminds us how often Mary must have gazed into the face of her son. Did she look into her baby’s eyes and think as all mothers do, He has my eyes? Did his laughter ignite her joy? Did his resolve remind her of her purpose? Jesus [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries