conversion

The Coming Prodigal Moment

Posted on by

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Friday of the First Week of Lent, February 27th, 2015

Liturgical texts here

The Prodigal Son 1888 by John Macallan Swan 1847-1910The Prodigal Son, by John Macallen Swan, 1888 (Tate Collection, London)

 

WHEN Jesus told the parable of the “prodigal son”, [1]cf. Luke 15:11-32 I believe He was also giving a prophetic vision of the end times. That is, a picture of how the the world would be welcomed into the Father’s house through Christ’s Sacrifice… but eventually reject Him again. That we would take our inheritance, that is, our free will, and over the centuries blow it on the kind of unbridled paganism we have today. Technology is the new golden calf.

Continue reading →

Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 cf. Luke 15:11-32

The Great Adventure

Posted on by

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Monday of the First Week of Lent, February 23rd, 2015

Liturgical texts here

 

IT is from a total and complete abandonment to God that something beautiful happens: all those securities and attachments that you clung desperately to, but leave in His hands, are exchanged for the supernatural life of God. It is hard to see from a human perspective. It often looks about as beautiful as a butterfly still in a cocoon. We see nothing but darkness; feel nothing but the old self; hear nothing but the echo of our weakness steadily ringing in our ears. And yet, if we persevere in this state of total surrender and trust before God, the extraordinary happens: we become co-workers with Christ.

Continue reading →

Planted by the Stream

Posted on by

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for March 20th, 2014
Thursday of the Second Week of Lent

Liturgical texts here

 

 

TWENTY years ago, my wife and I, both cradle-Catholics, were invited to a Baptist Sunday service by a friend of ours who was once a Catholic. We were amazed at all the young couples, the beautiful music, and the anointed sermon by the pastor. The outpouring of genuine kindness and welcoming touched something deep in our souls. [1]cf. My Personal Testimony

When we got into the car to leave, all I could think of was my own parish… weak music, weaker homilies, and even weaker participation by the congregation. Young couples our age? Practically extinct in the pews. Most painful was the sense of loneliness. I often left Mass feeling colder than when I walked in.

Continue reading →

Footnotes

The Prophecy at Rome – Part II

Posted on by

Paul VI with Ralph

Ralph Martin meeting with Pope Paul VI, 1973


IT is a powerful prophecy, given in the presence of Pope Paul VI, that resonates with the "sense of the faithful" in our days. In Episode 11 of Embracing Hope, Mark begins to examine sentence by sentence the prophecy given in Rome in 1975. To view the latest webcast, visit www.embracinghope.tv

Please read the important information below for all my readers…

 

Continue reading →