Human Dignity

Blood Father & Restoring Innocence (Spoiler Alert)

Posted on by Tony
By Tony Crescio Mel Gibson stars as John Link in the 2016 film, Blood Father, the story of a down-and-out, ex-con father looking for his estranged 17 year old daughter Lydia (Erin Moriarty).  We first join John in a church where he is attending an AA meeting on his birthday.  A happy occasion for most, John has had a rough go of it in life.  He has spent the last several years in prison for his involvement in the activity of a biker gang which he had been a part of in what he will refer to th...
More

Finding One Another in Beauty

Posted on by Tony
Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time: 9-4-16 Peace be with You, As we have seen the last several weeks, receiving pedagogical training from Jesus is challenging to say the very least.  At one and the same time we hear our Lord warning us of the difficulties that lie in wait for those who choose to follow him on the road he travels and of the peace and hope that a life of discipleship can bring.  The message we hear today is no less challenging, and in fact, marks a crossroads as we walk an...
More

A World Full of Neighbors

Posted on by Tony
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: 7-10-16 Peace be with You, Last week, we found ourselves being  sent out on mission by Jesus as His disciples to proclaim the gospel message to all peoples.  This week, we are given further instruction on what it means to  be a disciple in the parable of the Good Samaritan. The parable of the Good Samaritan springs from a question addressed to Jesus by a “scholar of the law,” who asks Jesus what ‘he must do to inherit eternal life?’  To this question, ...
More

Echoing Switchfoot

Posted on by Tony
By Tony Crescio Many of us who were coming of age in the early 2000’s remember the alternative rock band from San Diego, Switchfoot.  Though having a definite underlying Christian message to share, the band was able to cross-over into the mainstream with hits like Meant to Live and Dare you to Move among others.  In a sort of divine irony, these songs (the first in particular), gained popularity despite having a message that is far different than what we would normally hear in rock or pop son...
More

What Makes Us Human, Makes Us Beautiful

Posted on by Tony
            By Tony Crescio What is a human being?  I know, this sounds like a silly question, but take a moment and try to answer it.  If we take the prevailing knowledge of the day, we will get answers that are just as confused as the ones I receive from the students whom I present this question to.  A simple Google search for “human being” produces the dictionary definition of any individual of the genus Homo, especially of the species Ho...
More

Living Sermons

Posted on by Tony
            By Tony Crescio Preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.  So goes the saying often attributed to the Italian saint, Francis of Assisi.  Implied, of course, within this famous quote, is the idea that we have the ability to preach the gospel with the whole of our lives.  In a similar vein, St. Paul exhorted the church at Colossae to ‘do everything, whether in word or in deed, in the name of the Lord Jesus’ (3:17...
More