Aflame for Christ

Many people think that life is a mystery. Why are we here? Where are we going? Why do we suffer? How can we find happiness? But these questions that arise in our hearts deserve a rock-solid answer - through the interpretive lens of our Catholic Faith. We can know what this life is all about, because Christ came to reveal man to himself!

The early Church did not think that Faith was a Sunday-only thing. Rather, they lived every day in and through Christ - their work was an offering to the Lord, they attended to the daily prayers and "breaking of bread" (Eucharist), and enjoyed fellowship with other Christians. This is how all Christians are meant to live their lives - so what are some ways that our faith can become a lifestyle and not just a "part" of who we are?

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!

Throughout history, God has raised up a remnant from seeming disasters - whether it be the Fall of the Roman Empire (making space for Christendom), the Protestant Reformation (which helped purify the Church), or even our current day, when we are witnessing the eclipse of Western Civilization (yet God is still on the move!). This is true in history - and in our own life, when God can turn the biggest disasters into a true testament of His glory.

We often speak about "glorifying God", but what does that mean? It means that God's attributes are revealed in us - His holiness, wisdom, love, faithfulness. Christians are responsible for the good name of God - if we reflect Him, then He will be known and believed; if we do not live like Him, then unbelievers will have reason to persist in their unbelief. May Christians always live like Christ, the Man "fully alive", that all may see us and believe in Him!

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?

A monstrance is a golden vessel with a clear center meant to make God visible to the world. So it is with Christ - He is a window into the divine. But every Christian is called to become like a monstrance - a vessel with Christ at the center, revealing Him to the world.

Joseph is the quiet, little-known member of the Holy Family. Yet his virtues shine brightly as a witness to all Christians: virtues such as mercy, reverential awe, embracing his vocation, and prompt obedience. Hear how his example is worth meditating on for every Christian!

Every man is created in the image and likeness of God, Who is strength. As such, he is called to use his strength for laying down his life. Our world is full of men who are aggressive or passive, but strength is something different - it is an ability to protect, lead, defend, and provide for those under us - especially in the spiritual realm against the Evil One and sin.

The Christian Life lives between two feasts - the Feast of the Eucharist, commemorating the great work of our Redemption, and the Wedding Feast of the Lamb, when God returns victorious to destroy sin and death forever. Advent straddles both feasts - helping us celebrate what God has already done and looking forward to what God will do when He comes again in majesty!

An ancient and beloved prayed to Our Lady is the "Salve Regina" ("Hail, Holy Queen"). We pray it at the end of the Rosary and sing it at the end of the Liturgy of the Hours. But where does it come from? Who wrote it, and how is it borne out of tragedy - and still a prayer of hope and glory? Tune in to find out more about this powerful prayer!

We live in enemy-occupied territory - the Evil One has oppressed and enslaved us since the beginning of time. But a rescue mission is afoot - a Man has come in disguise, behind enemy lines, to rescue us by dying in our stead. Advent celebrates the beginning of this great sabotage, where our Enemy is defeated by his own tactics (by death), leading to our great liberation!

St. Jude lived a unique, unrepeatable life with both blessings and challenges: an Apostle, a missionary, a martyr. Your life, too, is unique and unrepeatable. As much as we may look at others with envy, we ought to embrace our own unique path to holiness and find God's Hand in both the blessings and the challenges - for we have an unrepeatable role to play in the Kingdom!

You may never have heard the name of Aleister Crowley, but you are certainly familiar with the one commandment of his religion "Thelema": "Do what you will." We see this "commandment" everywhere today, from how we approach religion to how we approach our daily lives. But Christ the King demands a different path: obedience to the life-giving commands of the Lord. Hear how we can overcome the legacy of Crowley through the authority and power of Christ the King!

How quickly does the glamour and pride of the world vanish! All the vanity, the riches, the fame of the world means nothing in light of eternity. This is a truth that should be pondered frequently by Christians: how the world as we know it is passing away.

Why do we build beautiful churches? Is it necessary since God is everywhere...and after all, shouldn't the Church be poor and simple? Ah, but beautiful Churches are important - they are a visual demonstration of our Faith, a foretaste of Heaven, and a powerful recognition that it houses God Almighty in the Holy Eucharist. Beautiful Churches glorify God, make incarnate our love for Him, and help us desire to be with Him!

November is the month dedicated to praying for all the holy souls in Purgatory. But what is Purgatory? Is it in the Bible? Why is it a great act of God's love? And how can we help the souls - and ourselves - with this difficult but graced time in the afterlife? All the questions you ever wanted to know about Purgatory!

All of us need friends. But the deepest kind of friendship, according to Aristotle, is the friendship of virtue - seeking holiness together. This means that our first and primary friendship must be with Jesus Christ, Who has already called us "friends"!

It is a great thing for God to perform a healing miracle for us. But it is an infinitely more important thing for God to heal our souls of sin, and give us spiritual health (aka holiness). Sometimes God will not do the physical miracle we want, because instead He wants to make us holy through our sufferings. Trust Him, whether we receive the gift we want or not, because He will always give us the graces we need.

"I love my faith," people say. But what to they mean by faith? Rituals and sentiment? The Catechism is clear on what faith means: believing in God, trusting His promises, and believing all He has revealed in Scripture and through His Church. All three are necessary if we are to have the saving faith that makes us pleasing to God!

Our media thrives on outrage. Most of it is silly, but outrage and anger are actually the proper responses to injustice in the world. Christians need to use healthy anger and outrage to motivate them both to prayer and to action.

Once Christ has changed our life, what is our response to the power of the Cross? Living the disciplines of discipleship - prayer, virtue, service and sacrifice, and offering our life to the Lord!

This feast celebrates when St. Helen discovered the Cross of Christ in the early 300s. But more than that, it celebrates all that Christ's Cross has done for us: paying back the debt we owed God but were unable to pay; showing us the depths of God's love for us; teaching us how to love; and giving meaning to our suffering and death. Blessed be the Holy Cross of Christ!

St. Paul discusses slavery in today's second reading. Although the Church has always officially been against slavery, sadly it is all too prevalent in today's world - both physical slavery and human trafficking, and also the spiritual slavery of addictions. How can we do our part to experience the freedom Christ has won for us, and help others do the same?

The virtue that God loves the most is humility, because it mirrors His own economy of salvation - a God Who humbled Himself to become man and die for us can only be received by people who are humble enough to accept Him. He continues to come to us in the Eucharist, a hidden humility to lift up the lowly!

We usually chafe at the idea of discipline, but it's vital to train well for the spiritual life. Due to Original Sin, we are not naturally inclined to love God - thus, we must be taught, through prayer and self-denial and generosity, how to learn to love. But this discipline is difficult, and many people choose not to engage in it - which is why Our Lord calls salvation "a narrow gate". We must not be afraid to train for the everlasting life to which we are called!

The spiritual life has, as its goal, union with God through grace. This union comes when we cooperate with God in purging our soul of sin, so that we can live like Him. This requires that we be a sign of contradiction to a world so often steeped in sin - but Jesus, the "inspirer and perfecter of our faith", has given us the strength to follow Him into everlasting life!

The Lord wants to give us incredible gifts, crowned with the gift of everlasting life. To prepare for such a gift, we have to give up anything that hinders His work in us. Do we even want to receive such a gift if it means giving up the things of this world?

Can a Christian desire to be rich? Let's take a look at a little-known, extremely wealthy saint to see how his riches were his pathway to Heaven, and not an obstacle!

The Our Father is the very cornerstone of how to pray. Taught to us by God Himself, it sums up our relationship with Him. Dive into the words of the Lord's Prayer to find out what it means, and how to pray it well!

Christ came to save souls. But He allows us to participate in that amazing mission, through His grace and mercy - and eternal souls are truly dependent upon our faithfulness to Christ. Tune in to find the three ways we are called to cooperate with God in saving souls.

Any reputable historian can tell you that the Catholic Church has been the most influential organization in shaping Western Civilization. Much of what is good about our modern world has its roots in our Catholic Faith. Today, we discuss four ways in which the Catholic Church has changed the world!

Our faith is full of mysteries - the Trinity, the Cross, predestination vs. free will, the Eucharist, the problem of evil. But is "mystery" just a cop-out - a code word for "stop asking questions"? No! Mystery is necessary in faith because we worship a God who is infinite and unlimited, while our human minds are very finite and limited. Just as we cannot fit the ocean into a bucket, so we cannot fully comprehend the ways of God in our small minds. But this does not mean we should cease trying - let us always contemplate with love the mysteries of God, that we may discover His glories for eternity!

Many great stories feature the hero receiving a mystical gift with special powers, enabling him to overcome all obstacles. We, too, have received the mystical gift of the Holy Spirit, to aid us in our choices and in our needs - if only we employ this Divine Helper!

From the beginning of time until now, the blood of the innocent cries out - when will You bring your justice? When will You right the wrongs? The whole Church, then, longs for the day when Christ returns in glory to bring about an end to the persecution, oppression, and evil that mankind has fallen into - let us be prepared to love Him!