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.

Criteria of Christian Morality

July 25, 2023July 20, 2023 Articles, Faith and Spirituality

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 of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did […]

Love Transforms Rules into Beatitudes

July 19, 2023July 14, 2023 Articles, Catechesis

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 about avoiding sin, keeping ourselves unstained, but about showing our love for God in deeds, in everything we do and say. On Mount Horeb God gave […]

Love Goes Beyond Rules

July 12, 2023July 10, 2023 Articles, Catechesis

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 you want.” In fact, if you truly love then you don’t need rules or commandments, love itself will suffice. Think about it: does a newlywed bride […]

The Objective Dignity of Human Persons

July 4, 2023June 30, 2023 Articles, Catechesis

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 great dignity as human persons made in God’s image and likeness (Genesis 1:26). The web of relationships and interdependence into which we are born images the […]

The Divine Pedagogy

June 28, 2023June 26, 2023 Articles, Catechesis

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 the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have made shipwreck of their faith” (1 Timothy 1:5,18-19). To help us […]

Resolving Doubts and Uncertainty

June 19, 2023June 28, 2023 Articles, Faith and Spirituality

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 exercising the conscience, knowing when we can trust its formation, and the need to act on its judgments. A prudent conscience is like well-exercised muscles that […]

Forming Our Conscience in the Truth

June 12, 2023June 9, 2023 Articles, Faith and Spirituality

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 possibility of knowing the morality of an act. This is most common among children and very uneducated people. If… the ignorance is invincible, or the moral […]

Always Follow a Conscience Enlightened by Truth

June 6, 2023June 2, 2023 Articles, Catechesis

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 our actions. When we seek to follow God’s will, the light of truth shines upon the conscience. This is why we are obliged to follow certain […]

Conscience: The Truth Shall Set You Free

May 30, 2023May 25, 2023 Articles, Catechesis

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 various ways. One of those ways is his work in our conscience, moving us to choose good and avoid evil. Conscience is a wonderful gift whereby […]

Unforgivable Sins Against the Spirit

May 24, 2023May 19, 2023 Articles, Catechesis

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 inspiration. Our Lord’s mention of a sin that will not be forgiven and some find this disturbing: “Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will […]

What Actions Objectively Say

May 22, 2023May 18, 2023 Articles, Catechesis

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 do it. A particular choice can also be evil in its subjective dimension (motive or intention) or when circumstances (or accidents) make the choice evil. A […]

Becoming “Martyrs” to the Seven Deadly Sins

May 16, 2023May 16, 2023 Articles, Faith and Spirituality

“There are six things which the LORD hates, seven which are an abomination to him” (Proverbs 6:16). The seven deadly sins (or capital vices) are “works of the flesh”—temptations or habits—that directly lead to the kind of behaviors that “those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:21). The deadly […]

Bringing Christ to the world through the media

Latest Podcasts