Author: Fr. John Waiss

Fr. John Waiss

Father John Waiss is the pastor of St. Mary of the Angels Church in Chicago, Illinois. He is also a member of Opus Dei, the prelature founded by St. Josemaria Escriva.

Sacred Covenant Signs

October 11, 2024October 8, 2024 Articles, Faith and Spirituality

Sacred Covenant Signs God not only uses praise and Scripture to reveal himself and his plan, he calls us to worship him with sacrifice (as we saw last week) and links our worship sacrifices to sacred covenant signs. These signs unite the individual to God and to his holy people—his family—just as a wedding ring […]

Prayer

September 24, 2024September 26, 2024 Articles, Faith and Spirituality

Prayer is a common way to worship God, where we invoke his help, ask for our needs, beseech him with supplications, and intercede for others. We see it first when Noah called down a blessing from God on his son Shem: “He also said, ‘Blessed by the LORD my God be Shem’” (Genesis 9:26). Moses […]

Dear Mom and Dad

September 4, 2024August 29, 2024 Articles, Family and Kids

We your children look up to you. Set an example for us by not using electronics so much. We need to see that it is possible not to be on the phone or tablet. When you tell me to get off my iPad or phone you should do the same. Kids use electronics too much, […]

Peace Through the Family

August 27, 2024August 26, 2024 Articles, Family and Kids

St. James wrote: “What causes wars, and what causes fighting among you? Is it not your passions that are at war in your members? You desire and do not have; so you kill. And you covet and cannot obtain; so you fight and wage war… You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, […]

Gaudete Et Exsultate

August 23, 2024August 22, 2024 Articles, Catechesis

I thought it would be worthwhile to return to Pope Francis’ wonderful Apostolic Exhortation On the Call to Holiness in Today’s World—Gaudete et Exsultate, because this should be the goal of each one of us, as well as for the whole Church: holiness means the happiness that comes from union with God that reaches its […]

Dear 4th Grader…

August 17, 2024August 14, 2024 Articles, Family and Kids

This is a letter written by the 5th-8th grade classes to the 4th grade class at St. Mary of the Angels. Dear 4th Grader: Don’t get a phone until you really need one. Phones can be very addicting. You can become so attached to your phone that you might not want to do anything else. […]

Love Forgives

July 12, 2024July 10, 2024 Articles, Catechesis

Blessed are the Merciful… and Peacemakers. Learning to forgive is key to happiness and holiness in relationships because it is key to peace. We best learn this very Christian response, which is never easy, in the family. As Pope Francis reminds us: When we have been offended or let down, forgiveness is possible and desirable, […]

Honoring Our Merciful Father

June 18, 2024June 17, 2024 Articles, Catechesis

We honor our parents not because they give us what we want but because they represent our merciful God who gives us his loving and life-giving Spirit: What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will […]

Suffering for Truth and Justice (Commandment 8)

June 17, 2024June 13, 2024 Articles, Catechesis

Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:10). Pope Francis notes: Unless we wish to sink into an obscure mediocrity, let us not long for an easy life, for “whoever would save his life will lose it” (Matthew 16:25). In living the Gospel, we cannot […]

Love Rejoices with Others

June 4, 2024May 31, 2024 Articles, Catechesis

In his famous discourse on love, St. Paul says that love “does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right” (1 Corinthians 13:6). Pope Francis comments on this: The expression chaírei epì te adikía has to do with a negativity lurking deep within a person’s heart. It is the toxic attitude of those who […]

Family Peace and Punishment

June 1, 2024May 28, 2024 Articles, Catechesis

Pope Francis reminds us that true love—essential for peace—“is not irritable” or easily provoked. [In St. Paul, irritable] refers to a violent reaction within, a hidden irritation that sets us on edge where others are concerned, as if they were troublesome or threatening and thus to be avoided. To nurture such interior hostility helps no […]

Love Excuses and Presumes Goodwill

May 30, 2024May 28, 2024 Articles, Faith and Spirituality

Blessed are the Merciful… and Peacemakers. How can you make peace in the world (or in the family, workplace, nation, etc.) if we are not merciful, especially if we hold on to resentments and hurts? As St. Paul reminds us, in his Canticle of Love, that love “is not irritable or resentful” (1 Corinthians 13:5). […]

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