Br. Joseph Graziano, O.P., on Facing Maladies with a Realization of God's Presence

"How sad, how lack-luster a life he leads
Who delights to describe the death he sees.
How rotten be the heart of a brother
Who snivels ‘bout the rot in another!

"One thing we can know for certain about heaven is that this is not it.

"Anyone with eyes and ears knows well the incredible number of catastrophes, scandals, fights, wars, murders, and more insidious evils that the world teems with today. The media reeks of bad news, taking 'if it bleeds, it leads' to such a new height that the average local rag smells like a slaughterhouse. Of course, the major events are only symptoms of a deeper malady, one that eats away at our culture like leprosy or the plague.

"In light of all these concerns, which I by no means intend to downplay, we can be tempted to fall into negativity and complaining, pointing out in person or on some social platform only the worst of things, ignoring the beauty of culture to speak only of apocalyptic cultural trends, or focusing on the sins movies make, rather than their wins. Even if we do not go so far as to publish our opinions, we can tend to highlight in our own minds those things that go wrong in our lives."

In a recent commentary, Brother Joseph Graziano, O.P., reflected on the importance of pointing out maladies "so that people then see that they need the cure which Christ gave to His Church" and on the importance of firstly seeing "the good of the thing that may be flawed" and not despairing that God permits those imperfections.

To access Br. Joseph's complete post, please visit:

Dominicana: Stuck in the Molasses Swamp (21 AUG 18)