We should certainly ask ourselves where we are now, not only in terms of the fight against the virus, but also in terms of our spiritual response to the situation that we are facing all over the world.
Category: Faith & Life
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St Joseph and the Call to Holiness
Pope Francis holds up to us, the faithful, the life of St Joseph as a model for our own daily lives. Like him, we too are to bloom where we are planted, faithful to whatever is asked of us in each of our daily tasks and activities. If we are faithful in this way, we too will delight the heart of God and merit a holy death, with Jesus and Mary at our side. As it was for St Joseph, such a happy death will be for us the crown of a life well-lived-in love and fidelity to God.
BITE-SIZE THEOLOGY (163): What if married life becomes impossible?
The family is an image of the Blessed Trinity. It is an image of the life of mutual knowledge and mutual love between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This image is sacred. This is why the devil will do everything possible to destroy this sacred image, this life of mutual knowledge and mutual love. This is why husband, wife and children will have to use both human and supernatural resources to strengthen and to defend their family.
The face and the mask
We can reflect in front of a portrait upon the mask and the face. We are all often forced to wear a mask because we are afraid that our real face can be seen without protection, that face which is the mirror of the soul. Meditating in front of the paintings is a healthy exercise, I would say, almost spiritual.
Blessings in disguise
Through the Beatitudes, Jesus offers humanity the possibility to tap into the spiritual power of suffering by enlightening the darkness of the present with the light coming from God’s future.
Month of the Holy Family
The Catholic Church dedicates a special devotion for each month of the year. The month of January was dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus. For this month of February, the Church dedicates it to the Holy Family.
Lessons from the mystics for our time
Although mystical life has often been almost exclusively connected with extraordinary supernatural phenomena, in reality it is similar to spiritual/moral life, to a good Christian life, which begins with the presence of God’s grace (and the indwelling of the Blessed Trinity) in the soul and develops through the experiential realization of that loving presence.
Out of the depth, into true life
The depth of the human heart is a place full of unknown monsters and highly unpredictable. In spite of the advancement of psychology, the human heart and especially the unconscious, remain largely a mystery. It takes courage to venture into that realm, where our wounds and fragilities lie.
HEROES OF THE CATHOLIC FAITH IN THE EAST: João de Brito, the Saint of the humble (1)
To get closer to the Hindus, Father João de Brito started to walk with a bamboo staff, wore a reddish robe and put on wooden sandals. He tried to live like a Hindu, even in his behavior and eating habits. But without, however, failing to preach the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, São João de Brito won many hearts. These embraced faith in Christ with firmness and renewal of heart.
BITE-SIZE THEOLOGY (162): Who is the minister of the Sacrament of Matrimony?
This sacrament is unique in that the minister is not a deacon, or a priest, or a bishop, or even the Pope! The priest or deacon who officiates is only a witness. In Matrimony, man and woman are both the subjects (the ones who receive) and the ministers (the ones who carry out or execute) of the sacrament.