Yearly Archives: 2022

The New Adam (Romans 5)

December 13, 2022 / Michael Haverkamp

For if by that one person’s [Adam] transgression the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one person Jesus Christ overflow for the many… where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might

Leave a comment

The Faith of Abraham (Romans 4)

November 30, 2022 / Michael Haverkamp

Some time afterward, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Do not fear, Abram! I am your shield; I will make your reward very great. But Abram said, “Lord God, what can you give me, if I die childless and have only a servant of my household, Eliezer of

Leave a comment

“Justified by Faith” (Romans 3)

November 8, 2022 / Michael Haverkamp

I want to jump ahead in the Paul’s letter to the Romans a bit, to a remarkable section about sin in Chapter 7. Paul writes: What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate… So now it is

Leave a comment

“For I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel” (Romans 1-2)

October 25, 2022 / Michael Haverkamp

Paul’s letter to the Christian community in Rome is the first of his epistles in the New Testament canon, as well as the longest. Paul wrote the letter between 55-58 AD, most likely while staying in Corinth. (1) It is the fullest expression of his belief that while all have

Leave a comment

The Humorous Saint

October 11, 2022 / Michael Haverkamp

“Well brothers, when shall we begin to do some good?” Saint Philip Neri had such an impact in his day that he is remembered as the “Apostle of Rome.” He experienced a profound conversion at the age of 18 and devoted himself entirely to our Lord thereafter. The Holy Spirit

Leave a comment

Spiritual Needs

September 28, 2022 / Michael Haverkamp

At some stage of your education, you probably encountered Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Maslow depicted human needs as a pyramid, with our basic needs for food, shelter, safety and security as the base of the pyramid, our psychological needs for love, belonging and esteem in the middle, and our self-actualization

2 Comments

Despair

September 14, 2022 / Michael Haverkamp

Despair could be called the opposite of presumption. It may be more precise to call it the opposite of hope. In broad terms despair means no exit; our problems have no solution; our life has no meaning. In specific Christian terms, it is the belief that what we have done

Leave a comment

Presumption

August 31, 2022 / Michael Haverkamp

Many Christians, and some in the secular world, have heard of the seven deadly sins: pride, envy, wrath, sloth, avarice, gluttony and lust. I’d like to speak in this post and my next one about two deadly mindsets. The Catechism describes them as “sins against the virtue of hope” (CCC,

1 Comment

The Holy Trinity

August 16, 2022 / Michael Haverkamp

I love learning new things about God, and I love that there are always new things to learn. Father Michael Gaitley’s book, The ‘One Thing’ Is Three: How the Holy Trinity Explains Everything, gave me some new insights into the mystery of the Holy Trinity, and in particular, a proof

Leave a comment

No Communion Without Suffering

August 2, 2022 / Michael Haverkamp

In a fallen world there can be no communion without suffering. (1) God will not give us more suffering than we can handle. All that we need to do is accept His grace. Our suffering, united to the Lord’s Passion, will bring us into communion with Him. He suffered for

1 Comment

Catholic Charity

July 12, 2022 / Michael Haverkamp

In the year 361 A.D., Flavius Claudius Julianus became the new Roman emperor. A nephew of Constantine, he is known as Julian the Apostate, for he was the last pagan Roman emperor, and he desired to convert the people he ruled away from Christianity and back to the pagan beliefs

1 Comment

“These Little Ones”

June 21, 2022 / Michael Haverkamp

If the child is wanted, the parents share ultrasound pictures of the baby with their family and friends. “Here is his arm.” “Here are her legs.” “Look at his face.” “Look at her little nose!” The parents (often times) will tell if you if they’re having a boy or a

2 Comments

A Sign in the Heavens

June 7, 2022 / Michael Haverkamp

“But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” (Matthew 24:36) We do not know the day and hour when the Lord will return. Nor, for that matter, do we know the day and hour when we will depart

Leave a comment

That They May All Be One: John 17

May 24, 2022 / Michael Haverkamp

On the eve of his Passion, what did the Son ask of the Father? “Give glory to your son.” Through following the will of His Heavenly Father to the end on the cross, Jesus gives glory to His Father, and receives glory through His Resurrection. The Father raises Him up

1 Comment

John 17

May 10, 2022 / Michael Haverkamp

At this point in the discourse, Jesus no longer addresses his apostles. He prays to His Heavenly Father. In Luke’s gospel, the apostles ask Jesus to teach them to pray, and He teaches them the Our Father. But in this one chapter of John’s gospel, we are given the grace

Leave a comment

The Resurrection: Five Facts

April 16, 2022 / Michael Haverkamp

In The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus, scholars Gary Habermas and Michael Licona make a simple but elegant argument that Jesus truly rose from the dead. Their argument does not rely on acceptance of the divine inspiration of the Bible. Rather, their case rests upon five facts agreed to

Leave a comment

Complete forgiveness of sins

April 6, 2022 / Michael Haverkamp

“My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and a shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of

Leave a comment

John 16: “I have conquered the world”

March 30, 2022 / Michael Haverkamp

“But now I am going to the one who sent me, and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts. But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go,

Leave a comment

Abide in My Love: John 15

March 15, 2022 / Michael Haverkamp

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I

3 Comments

A Prayer for Ukraine

March 1, 2022 / Michael Haverkamp

In 1934, Saint Faustina prayed for her native country of Poland. She recorded her prayer, and the response of our Lord, in her diary, entry 286. I trust Saint Faustina will not mind if we offer this prayer for Ukraine today: “Most merciful Jesus, I beseech you through the intercession

Leave a comment