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.
Jesus began his enlightening Sermon of the Mount with: “Blessed the person who…” This great Sermon, and all his teachings, is really about being happy. It is ... Read more
Christ summarizes the goal of Christian morality at the end of the Sermon of the Mount: “Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom ... Read more
A well-formed conscience enables us to discern God’s will and build up relationships of love for him and for his family on earth, the Church. It is not just ... Read more
Nobody likes rules, which seem like arbitrary directives instituted by people in power to control our lives. More appealing is St. Augustine’s often repeated adage: “Love and do what ... Read more
Good parents not only teach their children the house rules and laws, they teach them the reason behind them. God does the same with us by teaching us our ... Read more
Forming our conscience is key to living in Christ’s love, a “love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith,” moving us to “wage ... Read more
Sometimes doubts, uncertainty, and fears enter our heads, and we don’t know what to do. Forming our conscience responsibly includes developing the virtue of prudence, the habit of properly ... Read more
Some say: Ignorance is bliss. But they say this because they really want to do what they want to do. Only invincible ignorance excuses a person who has no ... Read more
The Church values God’s gift of conscience as the sacred place where God enlightens our path with the light of truth, the truth of the goodness and evil of ... Read more
On Pentecost the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles, stirring them to action. He doesn’t come by some momentary action but continues to manifest himself in our hearts in ... Read more
We are preparing for the feast of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit. Let’s do so praying that the whole Church—and each one of us—be open to his ... Read more
We classify an action by its object (its objective essence). When an action’s object is evil—such as murder, the killing of an innocent human being—it is morally evil to ... Read more