In the past liturgical year, how many sermons have we heard, and what have we actually put into practice? How do I most offend the Heart of Christ? Periodically, we have to take time to evaluate our spiritual progress. Will I actually hold myself accountable for the things which God is unceasingly asking me to stop doing?
Time belongs to God. It is not ours to do with as we wish. Time is meant to be used in the service of God and to save our immortal soul. We need much conversion with regards to how we think about time. This is why the Church gives us the Liturgical Year. Every day is focussed upon one of its three great cycles. Do you best to live according to the liturgical year. The better you do this, the more you draw upon the graces you need for salvation. As brief examples, consider how you view and live Septuagesima and [...]
God, and His infinite perfections, is always the starting point of our religion. For example, He always teaches us the truth. His patience and kindness is unfathomable. God bestows His graces so liberally; yet man remains terribly unappreciative. God is disposed to give us whatever we need, if we but turn to Him with faith. The more we become aware of how good God is, the more our hearts shall be inflamed with love for Him. So what are the obstacles to God’s word and grace taking root in our hearts? The devil. The weakness of our mind, heart, and will. [...]
Lent is a time to turn away from sin (convert!) and to turn to God. Christ asks of us our heart and that we follow Him. Now is a time to strive after a clean heart, that we may see God! Many people mistakenly think the Ten Commandments are merely a list of "thou shalt nots" and they fail to see how the Commandments also call us to practice virtue, to do good, to love our neighbor, and to love God. In fact, the Commandments are a wondrous expression of God's love and the most basic means by which we can [...]
Holy Mother Church grants us the liturgical time of Septuagesima to prepare for Lent. This is a time for conversion, conversion, conversion! Lent is a time, more than any other, to turn away from sin to God. God asks that we give Him our heart. If you want to know to what degree you love God, honestly assess how you use your time and your money. God further asks that we change our heart. Yet this is not easy, which is why people usually don't do it. We need the light of Christ to see sin - in the world and [...]
We have reason to rejoice in our Holy Mother: The Church and Our Lady. Mary is the perfect type of the Church. The miraculous tilma of Guadalupe points to numerous truths about the Church: She is divine, she is alive, Jesus lives in her, she is indestructible, she is sweet even as she corrects and reproves. We also recently celebrated Pope St. Damasus (+384), who battled an anti-pope, upheld the Sacred Scriptures, and condemned heresy. He defended the Person of Christ and His two natures. These truths dispel today's popular errors that animals may be resurrected, redeemed or have eternal souls.
