JOY.
The greatest of presents this morning is His Presence.
DURING prayer this past week, I have been so distracted in my thoughts that I can barely pray a sentence without drifting away.
This evening, while meditating before the empty manger scene at the church, I cried out to the Lord for help and mercy. As quickly as a falling star, the words came to me:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit".
RESPECT for diversity and peoples is what the Christian faith teaches, no, demands. However, this does not mean “tolerance” of sin.’
…[our] vocation is to deliver the whole world from evil and to transform it in God: by prayer, by penance, by charity, and, above all, by mercy. —Thomas Merton, No Man is an Island
It is charity to not only clothe the naked, comfort the sick, and visit the prisoner, but to help one’s brother not to become naked, sick, or imprisoned to begin with. Hence, the Church’s mission is also to define that which is evil, so good may be chosen.
Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought. —POPE JOHN PAUL II
WHEN I’ve been free for a time from trials and temptations, I admit I’ve thought this was a sign of growing in holiness… at last, walking in the strides of Christ!
…Until the Father gently lowered my feet to the ground of tribulation. And again I realized that, on my own, I merely take baby steps, stumbling and losing my balance.
God doesn’t set me down because He no longer loves me, nor to abandon me. Rather, so I recognize that the greatest strides in the spiritual life are made, not leaping forward, but upward, back into His arms.
PEACE is a gift of the Holy Spirit,
contingent on neither the pleasure, nor suffering of the flesh. It is a fruit,
born in the depths of the spirit, just as a diamond is born
in
the
depths
of
the
earth…
far below either sunshine or rain.
THE intolerance of “tolerance!”
It is curious how those who accuse Christians of
hatred and intolerance
are often the most venomous in
tone and intent.
It is the most obvious—and easily over-looked
hypocrisy of our times.
The Legacy of JPII in Music
He is being called one of the greatest popes of all times. John Paul II has left an impression on the world.
And he has left an impression on Canadian singer/songwriter Mark Mallett, whose music continues to carry the spirit of John Paul II into the world.
“The eve we started pre-production on a new Rosary CD, JPII declared the “Year of the Rosary”. I couldn’t believe it!” says Mark from his home in Alberta, Canada. “We spent two years making what is perhaps the most unique Rosary CD ever.” Indeed, it has garnered rave reviews, selling thousands of copies around the world. Catholic author Carmen Marcoux calls it, “Rosary history in the making.”Continue reading
IT is an extraordinary day in Canada. Today, this country became the third in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. That is, the definition of marriage between a man and woman to the exclusion of all others, no longer exists. Marriage is now between two persons.
IN A GRIP OF FEAR
IT seems as though the world is gripped in fear.
Turn on the evening news, and it can be unnerving: war in the Mid-east, strange viruses threatening large populations, imminent terrorism, school shootings, office shootings, bizarre crimes, and the list goes on. For Christians, the list grows even larger as courts and governments continue to eradicate the freedom of religious belief and even prosecute defenders of the faith. Then there is the growing “tolerance” movement which is tolerant of everyone except, of course, orthodox Christians.
HOPELESS?
What can stop the world from plunging into the unknown darkness which threatens peace? Now that diplomacy has failed, what is left for us to do?
It seems almost hopeless. In fact, I have never heard Pope John Paul II speak in such grave terms as he has lately.