In the Gospel of the Mass today, the Parable of the Prodigal Son, neither the younger nor the older son accepted what they were, sons of the Father. The younger rejected his sonship, wishing his Father dead to receive his inheritance and go and do as he pleased; the older son, by his own words, revealed his true conviction when he said to his father, “all these years I have slaved for you.” For some reason, neither could accept they were sons of the father. Maybe it was the deadly sin of acedia,...
Oct 12, 2019•25 min
As we saw in defining hope, for this virtue to be present the person must perceive heavenly happiness as a) something desirable and possible, and b) something not yet secure. If either of these two truths are lacking from a person’s outlook, hope will die. Hence there are two vices which are directly opposed to the second theological virtue: Despair and Presumption. The primary threat to hope is despair . Despair isn’t just a feeling of gloominess, or depression. It’s the refusal to strive after...
Oct 11, 2019•24 min
1817 Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, But we don’t desire heaven and we fear death because we fear heaven because we think all the good stuff to be done is here on earth and heaven is just rest, you know R.I.P. What will we do in Heaven? Let me suggest three things we will do in heaven: Understand our earthly life by God’s knowledge, share in all other human lives, and endless exploration into God and the New Universe Firs...
Oct 10, 2019•28 min
Recently we’ve meditated on the theological virtues of charity and faith, today hope. As we have discussed, faith reveals to us God’s supernatural plan for our lives. With faith we know that the ultimate purpose of each human person lies in the transforming union with God in this life and its fulfillment in Heaven. Once we have this knowledge, it’s time to begin working towards that objective. That’s where the theological virtue of hope enters the picture. Hope is the virtue whereby the individu...
Oct 09, 2019•24 min
(Luke 10:38-42). Jesus tells us in plain language: Only one thing is necessary, a deep friendship with Him; spending time alone with Him; talking to Him, listening to him in meditation, and just being with him in silence. If you ask anyone what the bare minimum amount of time for a good conversation with a friend over coffee or a beer unanimously they say at least 30 minutes. If we want a friendship with Jesus we should give Him no less every day. If we cannot, then we are addicts If we will not...
Oct 08, 2019•26 min
Today October 7, is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, originally the Feast of Our Lady of Victory, because when the victory comes it will come through the Rosary! Throughout the 1500s, the Muslim Ottoman Empire grew in strength, especially by means of its domination of the Mediterranean Sea. In 1571, their fleet of 300 ships was massed, just south of Greece, in the Gulf of Lepanto, poised to invade Europe and wipe out Christianity. Pope St. Pius V saw this danger looming on the horizon. In re...
Oct 07, 2019•23 min
Luke 17:5-10 The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’ The Lord replied, ‘Were your faith the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you. ‘Which of you, with a servant ploughing or minding sheep, would say to him when he returned from the fields, “Come and have your meal immediately”? Would he not be more likely to say, “Get my supper laid; make yourself tidy and wait on me while I eat and drink. You can eat ...
Oct 06, 2019•25 min
Be an apostle of the Rosary! Share this with others!
Oct 05, 2019•25 min
Today is the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. He wanted to be a warrior, a knight in battle, yes for his own glory, still he wanted to be a soldier. When he was a young man he had a dream that his home changed into a great palace filled with shields, armor, swords and banners – on all this war equipment glittered a red cross. As he wandered the halls a beautiful poorly-clad young woman appeared and clasped his hand tightly and said to him: “Francis, my beloved, all this is for you and for your co...
Oct 04, 2019•25 min
Since the 19th century this world welcomed, as though it is good news, what people call the death of God. Man, finally free, has become his own god. He can now enter on the way of progress with no inhibitions. According to those who rely completely on science, man is going to be able to resolve by himself all his problems, including the problem of war and even the problem of death. It is thought that there will be a scientific means found to overcome this final disaster which overtakes every hum...
Oct 03, 2019•23 min
Today we celebrate the reality that God has given each person a guardian Angel St. Faustina writes: When I entered the chapel for a moment that same evening, to thank God for all the graces He had bestowed on me in this house, suddenly God’s presence enveloped me. I felt like a child in the hands of the best of fathers, and I heard these words: Do not fear anything. I am always with you. His love penetrated my whole being. I felt I was entering into such close intimacy with Him that I cannot fin...
Oct 02, 2019•23 min
We are to live in reality and not according to illusions. What is reality? God is love. What are the Implications of the fact that God is love? The nature of love is to give itself as a gift to do what is good for others. So God creates the world and gives us his life at the beginning, on the cross, and in baptism. What more could we want? He makes us his children, and he is our Father. Our Father is All-Good: Trust him. Abandon yourself to him with audacious confidence. He can only do good for ...
Oct 01, 2019•23 min
1 Peter 5:8 Be calm but vigilant, because your enemy the devil is prowling round like a roaring lion, looking for someone to eat. In this spiritual battle the is a very important alliance between Mary, the Queen of the Universe and St. Michael the Archangel. The Book of Revelation 12 Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman, adorned with the sun, standing on the moon, and with the twelve stars on her head for a crown…Then a second sign appeared in the sky, a huge red dragon which had seven h...
Sep 30, 2019•26 min
The Devil is the absolute destroyer, his goal is to divide and conquer by turning man against God and man against man. The weapons he uses is to sow doubt in us toward God the Father and to sow fear, hatred and polarization between husbands and wives, families and nations. Look around and we see precisely this at every level. There are human actors but this is first and foremost a spiritual war fought between spiritual beings, God, angels and demons. St Paul describes this in Ephesians 6:10 If t...
Sep 29, 2019•24 min
Yesterday we celebrated the feast of St. Vincent DePaul. His life is a striking example of Divine Providence, the way God works all things for good for those who love him. Vincent lived from 1576-1660. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1600 but did not finish his studies until Oct 1604. When he graduated, he was saddled with a large student loan debt. Nothing changes right! In 1605 the good news reached him that a family friend had died and left him some money to pay for his debt for which he...
Sep 28, 2019•26 min
Divine Providence is the way God guides all things with Wisdom, Love and Power to reach the purpose for which he designed them. CCC 321 This is so liberating – see – last night I was feeling like a caged animal because I can’t exercise with this muscular skeletal problem that causes breathing issues – but I thought – sure I can do some simple exercises – so I did and it was simple – and it was dumb as…because I cant breathe today. Idiot, idiot, idiot…Why do I do such stupid things. Then I reflec...
Sep 27, 2019•23 min
We have been reflecting on Charity, the virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God. Our standard for charity towards those around us is God’s love. In fact, Christ explicitly gave us this standard, saying, “A new commandment I give you: love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34), that is, selflessly and sacrificially. Consequently, whether we have genuine charity for our neighbors depends on whether we’re willing to gi...
Sep 26, 2019•24 min
If Charity is to do something for the happiness of someone else, then what would please God, what would make Him happy? What matters most to God is the salvation of souls. This is what motivated Him to become one of us, suffer and die: God loves souls and wants to save them. If we want to do something for God, something for the love of Him, then we should do all we can to help Him save souls. And there are many simple things we can do for the love of God and for the salvation of souls. Each morn...
Sep 25, 2019•24 min
There are, St. Augustine tells us, two basic alternatives in this life: either we can love self to the point of forgetting God, or we can love God to the point of forgetting ourselves. The first choice results in the self-exclusion of heaven otherwise known as hell; the second – Heaven and eternal joy. How could a person choose hell? I mentioned this the other day but I want to build on it - Because of Original Sin we have a fallen human nature. Now, instead of our passions or feelings propellin...
Sep 24, 2019•22 min
From the earliest days of the Church the faithful had the habit of praying a series of Our Fathers, Hail Mary’s and Glory Be’s. St. Dominic was is unique in the way he used the Rosary as a powerful tool of evangelization. The great Dominican theologian, Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange writes: At the end of the 12th century southern France was ravaged by the Albigensian heresy – a heresy which denied the infinite goodness and power of God by admitting a principle of evil which was often victorious…It was a...
Sep 23, 2019•24 min
What prevents us from perfect Joy is Self-Reliance. When everything is going well, when we have it all under control, and there is no major crisis, we fall into the bad habit of self-reliance. We think, "I got this…" This is known as the deadly sin of Pride. Crisis. Then something happens which removes our apparent ability to control things Some examples include: Loss of health. loss of a spouse, problems at work, in marriage, or with a kid. This crisis can leave us dazed and bewildered. We can’...
Sep 22, 2019•25 min
We must begin with the distinction between hope and charity because I have hope and very little charity. Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of Heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the Holy Spirit. Hope is the desire for one’s own happiness. And since nothing in this world is perfect, lasting or enough, then our hope is the proper love of self that motivates us to do what...
Sep 21, 2019•23 min
Today and tomorrow we will reflect on the virtue of Charity because I do not understand it at all; even more, I don’t live charity toward God and neighbor. So here we go. The two chief characteristics of God’s love are selflessness and sacrifice . Consequently, in the virtue of Charity, our love must embody these two attributes. Of course, the fact that we must be selfless does not imply that we can never consider our own needs and desires. The virtue of hope is founded on fulfilling one’s own n...
Sep 20, 2019•24 min
We have reflected on the three powers of the soul: the intellect, will and passions . The passions are the God-given desires, feelings, or emotions designed to propel us toward what is good and away from what is evil. There are eleven fundamental passions: Love, desire, joy, hate, aversion, sorrow, hope, despair, fear, courage and anger. Because of Original Sin we have a fallen human nature. Now, instead of our feelings and desires propelling us toward good and away from evil they do just the op...
Sep 19, 2019•24 min
The connection between joy and the commandments is counter-intuitive to many people in modern culture. And yet that connection is laid out plainly in the Scriptures. The very first Psalm describes the just man as one to whom God’s law is delightful: “the law of the Lord is his joy he finds pleasure in the Law of God” (Psalm 1:2). Not his “obligation,” but his joy. Christ Himself reaffirms this connection for His disciples: “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have ...
Sep 18, 2019•24 min
Many of you know I have been suffering for 41/2 years an unexplainable muscular skeletal issue that affects my breathing. Today, I am worn out with it. So I have been reflecting on my need for the virtue of patience. The virtue of patience enables us to bear physical and moral sufferings without being overwhelmed by sorrow. If we suffer well our reward in heaven will immeasurably surpass the pain in this life but we may be in danger of losing our reward because we fail to exercise the virtue of ...
Sep 17, 2019•23 min
Joy is the response to something experienced as good, and it invites rest in that good. The final piece of knowledge we need for real joy is self-knowledge, namely, the knowledge that can provide the foundation for humility. In Joseph Pieper’s words, “Humility is man’s estimation of himself according to truth. And that is almost all there is to it.” Joy depends on our knowing the truth about ourselves, I think, for at least four reasons. Knowing who and what we are is helps us to: a) cultivate g...
Sep 16, 2019•23 min
Redemptive Suffering and the Sacrament of Anointing CCC 1499 By the sacred anointing of the sick and the prayer of the priests the whole Church commends those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord, that he may raise them up and save them. And indeed, she exhorts them to contribute to the good of the people of God by freely uniting themselves to the Passion and death of Christ. Romans 8:17, “If we are children (of God) we are heirs as well: heirs of God and coheirs with Christ, sharing ...
Sep 15, 2019•24 min
Thomas Aquinas wrote that the greatest of all pleasures consists in the contemplation of truth. Now every pleasure assuages pain as stated above: hence the contemplation of truth assuages pain or sorrow, and the more so the more perfectly one is a lover of wisdom. And therefore in the midst of tribulations men rejoice in the contemplation of Divine things and of future Happiness. So the act of careful reflection on ultimate truth is pleasing, and the truth God has revealed enhances that pleasure...
Sep 14, 2019•25 min
Things that bring true fulfillment we should do; things that leaves us empty, angry and full of anxiety, we should stop doing. The mind was made for truth like the stomach was made for food. And since the mind is higher than the stomach, the pleasure and satisfaction of knowing the truth should be higher than the satisfaction of having a full belly. Knowing the truth, grasping reality, seeing the big ideas that put everything in a new light – now there’s food for the soul! Think about the last t...
Sep 13, 2019•24 min
