Father Ray Dobson’s Blog

DRAWN NOT DRAGGED The deepest humor of the Church is not found in jokes but in reversals.Again and again, Holy Scripture presents situations that appear hopeless.The younger son wastes everything and comes home in disgrace. Yet the father runs to meet him.A blind beggar becomes the one person who truly sees. Fishermen become apostles, evangelists,

Part II: The Saints were funnier than we think The saints understood something many of us forget: a person who takes God seriously does not need to take him/herself seriously.One of the most beloved stories concerns St. Lawrence.When Roman officials demanded the treasures of the Church, St. Lawrence gathered the poor and presented them before

DRAWN NOT DRAGGED Part I: Did God Invent Humour? Sometimes people are surprised when humor appears in Scripture.We imagine holiness as solemnity.We picture the Saints moving through life with furrowed brows and serious expressions.Yet when we open the Scriptures, we discover the unexpected.God frequently uses irony, exaggeration, reversal, and even ridicule to expose pride and

Known, yet loved There is a line I use to welcome visitors at Holy Trinity Clearview: “Around here, we will love you even though we know you, and we hope you will do the same for us.”People usually do a double-take when they hear it. Some laugh nervously. Others look genuinely confounded.Why? Because this exposes

The Shape of True Courage In a culture obsessed with noise, we often mistake bravado for courage.We imagine that the most courageous person in the room is the one shouting the loudest, winning the debate, or leading the charge into battle.But true pastoral courage looks radically different: rarely loud, and it is never self-serving.True courage

Drawn, not dragged Society increasingly looks to politics, welfare systems, and secular psychology to solve the deep ache of the human condition. We want a system to manage our behavior.The Church as the true hospital, and Christ as the Physician.Look at why fixing the exterior world (laws, handouts, signage) never satisfies the human heart. Contrast