Aflame for Christ

Jesus Christ came to save souls. If we love Jesus, we also ought to be filled with a zeal for souls. Our Scripture gives us the mission: making disciples through prayer and fasting, invitation and explanation, and through the witness of our sacrifice.

The Washing of Feet on Holy Thursday, and the giving of the Eucharist at the Last Supper, highlight the two greatest virtues of the Christian life: charity and humility. They are the cornerstones of what we must practice, as Catholics, if we are to live like Christ!

Jesus returns and shows His wounds to His Apostles - because a scar shows that He has fought for us, and conquered. From that open wound in His Heart flows all the mercy that the world could ever need!

Perhaps the craziest thing we could ever believe is that a Man has risen from the dead. Yet, paradoxically, it is rational to believe it - and far more sane than believing in the empty promises that this world has to offer us!

At times, we will indignantly cry out to God, "What did I do to deserve this?" But today, we reflect: "What did I do that Jesus deserved this suffering?" And, in awe and wonder, think, "What did I do to deserve this mercy?" We could do nothing to deserve it - it is a free gift of love!

Tears ran down the Face of God. Does this not fill us with wonder? And yet - why did He weep? Precisely because He is human, He has a human heart that is grieved by the death of His friend, by the faithlessness of those around Him, and by the very necessity of death itself. And yet, as the Resurrection and the Life, He alone can wipe away tears and bring about hope and healing!

We use many candles in our Catholic Faith - at Easter, at our Baptism, at our death. But candles are even fitting during Lent because they show us how we are to live our Catholic faith during this holy time: by drawing close to the flame (prayer), by letting ourselves be consumed (fasting), and by giving off light (almsgiving). A Catholic ought to become like a candle this Lent!

This story of Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman is an intriguing one. It teaches us to think of spiritual realities rather than earthly ones; it teaches us how to give God true worship; and it shows us the infinite love of God even for the outcasts. Let's dive into this famous story from John 4 to see why it was necessary for Christ to encounter this woman...and change her life forever.

One of the greatest truths in the spiritual life is that the road to glory always leads through the Cross. But why is that? Can't it be any other way? Yet, in the Christian view, suffering isn't a tragedy but an act of love and detachment that God may be our all-in-all. So don't run from it, but embrace it...and keep your eyes fixed on the glory that awaits.

Cicero said that it was better to be, rather than to appear. Jesus says something similar in the Gospel - it is far more important to truly be a Christian rather than to appear to be one based on the ashes on our forehead. This Lent, make the resolution to take the steps necessary to actually become a follower of Jesus Christ through repentance of sins, Confession and Mass, and making Jesus the center of your life.

Today we conclude our three-week series on Christ's Rules for Happiness - the Beatitudes, as we look at the blessedness of being pure of heart, peacemakers, and persecuted for the sake of righteousness.

As we continue our discussion of Jesus' eight signposts of happiness (aka the Beatitudes), we ponder what it means to be meek, merciful, and to hunger and thirst for holiness!

Jesus gives us eight rules of happiness - the Beatitudes. These are not things that merely "happen" to us, but virtues that we can seek to cultivate. Hear how the first two Beatitudes can be lived out - that we may find a fulfilling life!

God became incarnate and left us an incarnate Church - His love comes through visible, tangible means in the Sacraments. This is one of the greatest antidotes to the digital world in which we all live - the fact that God uses "real-world" stuff to communicate His invisible grace in the Sacraments!

To love is to lay down your life for another. But you can't give what you don't have - so one must possess oneself in order to give oneself away. So many men are slaves to many things, though: lust, pride, pleasures, money. We need self-control, developed through self-denial, to break free from these types of slavery so that we experience the true freedom of Christ, which will allow us to give of ourselves to Him!

It's far easier to stay comfortable on your couch than to embark upon an arduous search for Truth. But the Magi did just that, realizing that their Zoroastrian faith, incomplete in itself, hinted to a richer and deeper fulfillment in Jesus Christ. So, too, we must be willing to search for how best to know and worship God - in the fullness of Truth in the Catholic Faith.

All parents want their kids to be safe and secure. But are we as concerned with our children's spiritual safety as we are about their spiritual safety? There is an Evil One who wants to corrupt the innocence and holiness of our children - how can we as parents and grandparents be the vanguard of protecting their precious souls, purchased by the Blood of the Lamb?