Jesus returns to Cana, the place where water once became wine. A royal official approaches him with the most ancient of human prayers: the prayer of a parent for a sick child.
Jesus responds with a curious lament:
“Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”
The man does not argue theology. He simply pleads:
“Sir, come down before my child dies.”
Jesus answers with a sentence that seems almost careless in its simplicity:
“You may go; your son will live.”
The man believes the word spoken to him and begins the long journey home. And on the road—somewhere between doubt and hope—the miracle has already happened.
The same responsibility is also required of national legislators and supranational regulators, whose task it is to ensure respect for human dignity. Appropriate regulation can protect individuals from forming emotional attachments to chatbots and curb the spread of false, manipulative or misleading content, safeguarding the integrity of information as opposed to its deceptive simulation.
Since the Centennial pillar of Communion calls me to ensure respect for human dignity—am I thinking that Unless there is appropriate regulation to protect me from forming emotional attachments to chatbots and curb the spread of false, manipulative or misleading content that safeguards the integrity of information I take in I don’t have to consider on my own how I may use artificial intelligence for deceptive simulation?
2. Meditatio
I have what spiritual people politely call a Rule of Life and what less spiritual people might call a schedule that collapses regularly.
It includes daily Mass, the Divine Office, this Lectio Divina, praying the rosary while riding my airdyne bike and a food plan designed to restrain the particular enthusiasm I have for gluttony.
Like a good trellis, it supports my spiritual life—unless.
Unless spring break arrives. Unless the clocks change. Unless grandchildren appear with magnificent chaos. Unless dogs chew through hoses. Unless family gatherings multiply like loaves and fishes.
And this Monday morning I sit here trying to restart my rule of life, knowing that another unless is already scheduled for the weekend in the form of a family wedding in Miami.
The Gospel today suddenly makes my little domestic catastrophes look rather familiar.
Jesus says:
“Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”
But the royal official believes before he sees anything at all.
He begins the journey home with nothing but a sentence.
Which makes me suspect that faith is not something that eliminates the unless in life.
Help me to live faithfully in the midst of all the unless in my life.
When my schedules collapse, when my plans unravel, when the ordinary chaos of family life overwhelms my carefully crafted rules,
teach me to trust your word anyway.
Give me the faith of the royal official who believed before he saw.
And when I am tempted to wait for perfect conditions to follow you,
remind me that grace is often found not in perfect routines but on imperfect journeys.
Amen.
5. Actio — In Light of Laudato Si’ and Synodality
A good part of our genetic code is shared by many living beings. It follows that the fragmentation of knowledge and the isolation of bits of information can actually become a form of ignorance, unless they are integrated into a broader vision of reality.
This week I will practice synodality at home—listening patiently when life interrupts my plans. Rather than seeing family disruptions as obstacles to my spiritual rule, I will treat them as invitations to communion.
A gentle old melody about love that refuses to disappear despite uncertainty. Like the royal official walking home from Cana, sometimes we live on promises we cannot yet see fulfilled.
A story about a woman whose life stops abruptly when someone she loves descends into silence. It is a reminder that life often pauses in confusion—unless compassion steps in.
Move over, celebrity sightings…this is a Sacred Heart sighting! ❤️ Duane and Theresa are popping up in parishes everywhere, helping families put Christ at the heart of their homes and spreading devotion that’s anything but half-hearted. But wherever they go, they’re on fire for the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 🔥 In this episode, Duane and Theresa talk First Fridays, 12 powerful promises, and why enthroning your home might be the best “heart upgrade” you’ll ever make. Warning: Sacred Heart enthusiasm may be contagious. ❤️🔥
I struggle even to pronounce the word concupiscence, much less explain it. Fortunately, Joshua Correa manages both with admirable clarity in the latest episode of Spiritual Arms: Five Minutes for the Battle—and even explains why Lent, that season of spiritual combat, is actually his favorite time of year. Five minutes that make the battle make sense.
The Introverted Apostle: Small Group vs. Large Group Engagement Doosterhaus. Doisterhaus. Dusterhaus. However you pronounce it, Davlyn brought wisdom. 😄 Less noise and more depth in this week’s episode, Davlyn Duesterhaus unpacks introvert survival tips: start small, know your boundaries, make eye contact (occasionally), and why wholeness takes both introverts and extroverts. It’s not either/or…it’s both/and. Take a deep breath and say, “Okay, God, here we go!” ⛪😌 BONUS: We attempt to pronounce her name correctly.
My Story
Photo used by permission of Douglas Kirkland/Corbis via Getty Images
Memorial in the Grotto of St. Mary’s Cathedral. The inscription says: “In memory of the death of innocence of the victims of clergy sexual abuse. When innocence dies…a life stops. It is essential that we never forget.“
I was one of “the few” Bishop Zurek spoke of in this letter. He first posted it in August of 2019, and in response to my, “calling out all the more“, he kept reposting it atop the diocesan news page until December 11, 2019. There it remains to this day.
Fr. Ed Graff, brought here from Philadelphia by Bishop Matthiesen, was arrested in 2002 for sexually assaulting a minor and died later that year in jail. Despite the harm linked to his ministry, he was buried in an honored section of Llano Cemetery among our pioneering clergy — a decision that continues to wound survivors and raise hard questions for our diocese.
A tribute to Bishop Matthiesen—now a complex symbol in our diocesan history, erected by former priest John Salazar, whose later abuse conviction reminds us how painful chapters of the Church’s past must be faced honestly as we seek healing and communion.
Bishop Matthiesen, who rode the white horse of public activism even as he brought abusive priests into our diocese such as John Salazar—wounds that still mark us today. I spoke with him often, pleading with him to reconsider his “no regrets” about bringing those priests here…
Bishop Zurek, who told the Diocese of Amarillo he had “no facts” about the Philadelphia report even as Amarillo’s connection to that tragedy was headline news. When I continued to speak out, as Bishop Yanta had once urged me to do, he later wrote that I was not among the faithful and loyal disciples whom the Lord Jesus desires.
While we recognize your thoughtful suggestion for a renewed dialogue on Bishop Matthiesen, the present circumstances do not present an opportunity for it. I think it would foster division not dialogue. We remain confident in God’s providence and hopeful for what the future may bring.
