Brad Bursa

A Theological Reflection on Writing “In the beginning was the Word (in Greek, Logos), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Thus begins John’s Prologue. What is this all about? What does it mean that the Word is in the beginning and why does this matter? The classical mind perceived the…

A Midsummer Reflection “Dad, can we play catch?” “…” [No response.] “Dad?” I was on my phone, busy with an inconsequential email. The older kids were at school and my wife had the baby at an appointment. It was just me and the boy, whose requests I’d been batting away all morning. I was distracted,…

Our actions are to be a glove of soft leather on the fingers of the Holy Spirit. As I’ve noted elsewhere, Venerable Madeleine Delbrêl was determined to relive Christ. Reliving Christ does not mean working for Christ. She didn’t want to be Jesus’ functionary. She didn’t want to be “used” by Jesus. No. She set…

Is there a spiritual core to this thing? Over the next several months, I intend to peel back the layers of parish consolidation (aka parish mergers) to consider the spiritual or theological underpinnings of such efforts. Namely, are there any? Is there a deeper core to these often painful realities that might serve as a…

It is Pentecost. Pentecost Sunday brings to mind fiery images of an Upper Room filled with wind and flame. The noise of a gale blowing through the window toppling whatever’s in its path. The din of confusion and surprise. Lights and sounds. The babbling of tongues. Excitement all around. Acts of the Apostles presents the…

On entering more deeply into Advent as a family. Parenting in Advent Parents, for their part, play a central role in shaping the experience of Advent for their children beyond the formal liturgy. Not surprisingly, living Advent in the home is a radically countercultural affair. To be sure, living Christian in the home is a…

An Advent Reflection from a Mexican Restaurant She flipped the lid off her burger and stared at it.  “This is not what I was expecting. What is this?” She reached down, picked up the patty, and held it in front of her, limp.  “What is this?” “That’s a hamburger,” I replied. “From the moment you…

One’s relationship with God is the most important thing. Prayer is the way to grow that relationship, because, simply put, prayer is conversation with God. In his little book, Appointment with God, Fr. Michael Scanlan says, “If we don’t pray I don’t think we can ever get our lives in order or accomplish all we…

A reflection on the importance of Advent in re-educating our culture. “It’s simply the way things are. We’re not really in control.” “What?” “We just think we’re in control,” my friend continued, “We’re not. Experiences like this remind us of the way things are.” He was commenting on my grumbling about how difficult it was…

We prioritize family dinner. With kids in sports, play, student council, and so forth, this means we might eat at 4:30pm one day and 7:00pm the next. Though we make sacrifices to eat together, being at table tends to provide some of the craziest times in our house.  The early Christians connected an actual dinner…