Yesterday we reflected on four causes sorrow, that if prolonged can lead to depression. We should do all we can to change what is bad. However, if we cannot change our suffering, there is still a way forward; we can unite our suffering and sorrow to Christ. He uses it to bring us to transforming union with God, the goal of life and he uses it to save the souls of others. This is what led St. Paul to say “It makes me happy to suffer for you, as I am suffering now, and in my own body to do what I ...
Aug 13, 2019•23 min
Depression can be caused by suffering, pain and sorrow. Let’s recall the difference between evil and suffering. Evil is the absence of a good which should be present, in other words something is missing that should be there. Blindness is a physical evil since the person is missing sight. Vice is a moral evil since the person is missing virtue – the good actions and habits that result in happiness. Suffering is not evil. Suffering is a felt response to something perceived as evil. The purpose of ...
Aug 12, 2019•24 min
Prior to everyone on the planet having an I-phone ready to record, the only verification of any historical event were the eyewitness accounts. In 1 Corinthians chapter 15 Paul recounts the many eyewitnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus from dead.Some deny the Resurrection The disciples lied and stole Christ’s body to support their lie What if the disciples just made the whole thing up? What if the whole story of the Resurrection was a fabrication by the apostles? But the main problem with the De...
Aug 11, 2019•25 min
The third reason we believe Jesus is God and one of the most dramatic differences between Jesus and any other religious founder, is that Jesus said He was God. That’s right. The thirty-something carpenter’s son from a small town in Nazareth said he was the Eternal Creator of the Universe. He actually said, “Before Abraham was, I AM” (thus giving himself the name of the eternal, all-powerful creator of everything visible and invisible). This is the main reason the Jewish leaders wanted to Jesus p...
Aug 10, 2019•24 min
Before we get on a flight for which we have a reservation, we’re asked to show some form of ID. They want to make sure we’re who we say we are. Jesus Christ has his proof of identification as well. It’s not a photo ID; it’s his miracles. Jesus performs dozens of miracles, and he uses them as evidence that He’s who He says He is. He goes so far as to challenge people: “Believe in me because of the works that I do.” Here are a few remarkable but often overlooked characteristics of Jesus’ miracles:...
Aug 09, 2019•25 min
In your average Comparative Religions course at your run-of-the-mill college, Jesus Christ will be presented in a lineup of major religious founders. He’ll be there with the likes of Zoroaster, Buddha, Socrates, Confucius, Mohammed, Joseph Smith, and maybe Martin Luther. And the similarities between all these people will be emphasized. They were all persons of strong character, who presented a world-view and preached a moral system. Many suffered for their beliefs, and all of them urged people e...
Aug 08, 2019•24 min
Evil and sin are the enemies, not people.
Aug 07, 2019•23 min
The Feast of the Transfiguration (Matthew 16:24). The event of the Transfiguration is a Diamond placed within a setting of 5 predictions of the suffering of Jesus (16:21; 24; 17:9; 17:12; and 17:22). We just heard the first of the five predictions at the end of which Peter tries to stop Jesus and Jesus responds 'Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because the way you think is not God's way but man's.' Why does Jesus call Peter Satan? Because Peter what Satan is always trying to...
Aug 06, 2019•25 min
Today, August 5, is the Feast of Our Lady of the Snow. It commemorates a powerful intervention of the Mother of God in the world. In 352 AD, there was a Roman aristocrat named Giovanni. He and his wife, having no children, made a vow to donate their possessions to the Virgin Mary. They prayed that she might make known to them how they were to dispose of their property in her honor. Mary appeared to Giovanni in a dream on August 4 and told him to build a church on the site where he would find sno...
Aug 05, 2019•22 min
vil is evil and suffering can result from evil, but suffering is not evil. The purpose of pain and suffering can only be understood within the overall context of the purpose of the human person. The ultimate purpose of the human being is union with God. Suffering can be, is meant to be, something that moves us forward towards the divine destination, and it plays a crucial role at every stage of that journey. Pain and suffering can rouse us from our spiritual sloth and indifference so that we tak...
Aug 04, 2019•24 min
Our meditation yesterday and today has been adapted from the draft of a book called, the Morality of Drug Use by John Mark Miravalle The Purpose of Suffering and Pain Suffering itself is not an evil. Evil is evil. Evil is the problem. Evil – whether physical, psychological, or spiritual – is the thing to eliminate. Salvation from evil is the main objective of God. Salvation from suffering is not the goal. If it were, we would just create a government office that distributes freely morphine, opio...
Aug 03, 2019•24 min
Over the next few days, we will meditate on truths that I hope will begin to transform the way you see suffering and help you see the way that God sees our suffering. CCC 412 concludes the section on Original Sin by asking "Why did God not prevent the first man from sinning?" Evil exists because angels and humans abused their freedom. To prevent evil, it would be necessary for God to take away our freedom. But then we would not be persons, and we wouldn't be able to love. Love requires freedom, ...
Aug 02, 2019•22 min
As a consequence of original sin the powers of our soul have been wounded. Our passions, feelings and desires now propel us toward sin rather than toward God and our intellect has become darkened and confused while the will is weak. As a result, we desire and choose things that are not good for us, we sin, we turn away from God and toward the devil, even if unknowingly. (1 John 3:7-8, CCC 407). Even though Jesus conquered the devil by his death and Resurrection, tragically, people still choose s...
Aug 01, 2019•25 min
God created the world and humans in four-fold state of harmony Harmony or good relationship between God and mankind in which God literally dwelt in their souls as in a Temple Harmony between men and women – I have no idea what that could have been like so I can’t describe it. Harmony between Man and creation – there was no sickness, no disease, no natural disasters, no death for the human person – we were created immortal with all of creation serving us. Finally, there was a harmony within the h...
Jul 31, 2019•23 min
Today we meditate on the nature of the Fall and Original Sin Genesis 2:15-17 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die." The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil signifies the power to determine what is good and what is evil God alone has this po...
Jul 30, 2019•25 min
THE FALL OF THE ANGELS 391 Behind the disobedient choice of our first parents lurks a seductive voice, opposed to God, which makes them fall into death out of envy. Scripture and the Church's Tradition see in this being a fallen angel, called "Satan" or the "devil". The Church teaches that Satan was at first a good angel, made by God: "The devil and the other demons were indeed created naturally good by God, but they became evil by their own doing." 392 Scripture speaks of a sin of these angels....
Jul 29, 2019•23 min
Once Jesus was in a certain place praying, and when he had finished one of his disciples said, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’ He said to them…‘Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him in the middle of the night to say, “My friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine on his travels has just arrived at my house and I have nothing to offer him”; and the man answers from inside the house, “Do not bother me. The door is bolted now, and my children and I...
Jul 28, 2019•23 min
Responding to the Truth and Motivating Pursuit of the Good We have been meditating on the powers of our soul: the intellect, the free-will and the passions and their purpose. King Solomon had an amazing intellect, may be the smartest guy who ever lived. He also had a strong will – he got a lot accomplished. But his passions were totally out of control. Solomon never harnessed his passions and feelings which led him to be enslaved to his desire for power, wealth and women – 700 wives and 300 conc...
Jul 27, 2019•22 min
Today we reflect on what the soul needs to live. Just as the body needs food, water and oxygen to live, the soul needs reality. Specifically, the intellect needs to be nourished by reality in the form of truth and the will needs reality in the form of goodness. Without food and water, the body will die. Without reality in the form of truth and goodness, the soul begins to die from a sense that life is meaningless. The intellect receives reality in the form of truth. Therefore, the soul needs to ...
Jul 26, 2019•23 min
Matthew 20:17-28 Then the mother of James and John came with her sons to make a request of Jesus, and bowed low; and he said to her, ‘What is it you want?’ She said to him, ‘Promise that these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your kingdom.’ ‘You do not know what you are asking’ Jesus answered. ‘Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?’ They replied, ‘We can.’ ‘Very well,’ he said ‘you shall drink my cup, but as for seats at my right hand and my...
Jul 25, 2019•23 min
Yesterday we reflected in the creation of the invisible world and better understanding of the Angels. Today, the visible world and a better understand of who we are as human persons. CCC 355, 1700, As human persons we were created “in the image of God.” This means we were endowed with a spiritual and immortal soul… To have direction in life we need to know the purpose of the soul To know the purpose of the soul we need to know the purpose of the powers of the soul There are Three Powers of the S...
Jul 24, 2019•24 min
In the Creed we profess that we believe in God the Father, Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is visible and invisible. Well, what is the invisible? It is the spiritual creatures God has made, the Angels, one third of which rejected God, but that is for another time. These fallen angels became Satan and the demons. They were originally good angels who refused to love and serve God and share in His life. Angles and demons are a whole civilization of persons, pure spirits without bod...
Jul 23, 2019•24 min
Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? 309 If God the Father almighty, the Creator of the ordered and good world, cares for all his creatures, why does evil exist?... Why did God not create a world so perfect that no evil could exist in it? With infinite power God could always create something better. But with infinite wisdom and goodness God freely willed to create a world "in a state of journeying" towards its ultimate perfection…With physical good there exists also physical e...
Jul 22, 2019•22 min
Heaven is the goal of life. Heaven is transforming union with God. Why wait, why put it off? Nothing less than union with God can satisfy the deep longing of your heart. Five simple steps to achieve union with God: Do and accept the will of God; flee from sin; develop a deep friendship with Jesus; have a profound interior life; belong to Mary. If we want to be united to God, then we must strive to do His will in everything. But just saying I want to do the will of God is too general, too vague. ...
Jul 21, 2019•24 min
Thank you for joining us for our daily meditation!
Jul 20, 2019•22 min
If we respond to the Message of Our Lady we can change world events and save souls Mary is asking for Five things Faith and Conversion A greater faith in Jesus Christ as the one mediator to the Father Conversion flowing from a frequent reception of the Sacrament of reconciliation- at least once a month Consecration to Mary Accept Mary as your spiritual mother, Give yourself to her as her child, so that the Holy Spirit and Mary may form Jesus in you. Live the consecration -live in imitation of Je...
Jul 19, 2019•22 min
In the book the Ascent of Mt Carmel, St John of the Cross says “the ascent to God…lies in keeping the soul empty, naked and purified of every disordered desire. The only desire should be to fulfill the will of God and to carry the Cross of Christ.” The question for us is: are we doing the will of God; and are we carrying the cross? What criteria do we use to judge whether we are doing the will of God? Too often men measure their success or their impact based on their profession and their ability...
Jul 18, 2019•21 min
CCC 302 Creation has its own goodness and proper perfection, but it did not spring forth complete from the hands of the Creator. The universe was created "in a state of journeying" toward an ultimate perfection yet to be attained, to which God has destined it. We call "divine providence" the dispositions by which God guides all his creatures with wisdom and love to their ultimate end. One passage of Scripture captures the reality of Providence: Romans 8:28 All things work for good for those who ...
Jul 17, 2019•22 min
Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. What this is about and what it has to do with our lives is the theme of our meditation today. The Holy Spirit has a maternal mission to form Christ in you. The Holy Spirit carries out this maternal mission through Mary. When you turn to Mary, you are turning to the Holy Spirit that Christ may be formed in you. On July 28, 1935 Kolbe wrote: And what about the Holy Spirit? He is in the Immaculata…as the Son of God is in Jesus, but of course, with this ...
Jul 16, 2019•23 min
Where do we come from? Where are we going? What is the meaning of life? These are the questions taken up in CCC 282-301, the answers to which we will meditate upon today in the Rosary. The lie the devil has spread is that we do not come from an All-Good, All-Powerful and Loving Father. Instead, all the matter in the universe was smooshed into an incredibly hot, infinitely dense subatomic speck of matter. Then, resulting from random chance, the universe and human sprung into being and developed. ...
Jul 15, 2019•22 min
