There is a famous sculpture in the Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome known as the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa. It was so titled because it was inspired by a mystical experience in the life of the saint. Also known as the Transverberation of Saint Teresa, it depicts the saint in ecstasy while an angel thrusts a dart of love into her heart. Here is an account of St. Teresa’s experience when an angel pierced her heart with... Read more
One of the most painful things we could ever experience is to have a broken heart. It can come from the loss of a loved one, the betrayal of a friend, or the separation from that special someone in our lives. This world is not one where we can continuously live in happiness. It’s that place where we often get hurt, and where the very people we loved could be the ones who would make us suffer most. How do... Read more
Many attempts have been made trying to predict the end of the world. When will the apocalypse come? Are we living in the end times? Should we fear for all the judgments and tribulations written in the Book of Revelation? Some thought that the end could come in the year 2012, the end of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, otherwise known as the Mayan calendar. Some associated it with the possible failure of technology in the year 2000 or the... Read more
Sometimes, we can have all the wrong ideas about heaven. We visualize a stereotypical image of people floating on clouds, playing harps and singing their praises all day. We see ourselves walking on streets of gold and doing nothing much. In fact, we may even think heaven to be a boring place. Why is it that we can picture hell better than we could ever imagine heaven? Perhaps we can easily imagine what a life of pain is like. We... Read more
It used to be so simple to be a single Christian. St. Paul even had this very beautiful advice in one of his letters: “I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman or girl is anxious about the affairs of the... Read more
“It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end… because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing… this shadow. Even darkness must pass.” – J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings Have you ever experienced... Read more
Have you ever felt so much pain that you wondered how you’d ever make it through? In the midst of all your suffering, how do you find hope? How do you bear your pain? How do you carry your cross without losing sight of heaven? “My child, life on earth is a struggle indeed; a great struggle for My kingdom. But fear not, because you are not alone. I am always supporting you, so lean on Me as you struggle,... Read more
With the current progress in science and artificial intelligence, I often read about predictions that would extend the lifespan of a person. Diseases will be treated. Death will be delayed. And human beings can live even up to one thousand years on earth! Can all of these be true? Or do such things only enable us to forget the truth about death and dying? It is God who has set our limited lifespan after the fall. We were made for... Read more
“Have I sinned the unforgivable sin? What if I committed a mortal sin and I did not know it? Why do I feel as though I need to confess my sins again?” If you have ever asked those questions, you may be suffering from scrupulosity. What is Scrupulosity? Scrupulosity can be defined as is seeing sin where there is no sin. It is not knowing where to draw the line between what is pleasing and offending to God. Scrupulous people... Read more
If there is anything wrong with how Christianity is sometimes preached today, perhaps it is stripping away the rest and solace that can only be found in Jesus Christ. The Unappealing Image of Religion To an unbeliever, the Christian faith may seem nothing more than a rigid set of rules. It’s an antiquated belief that is simply boring, tiresome and unpalatable. It preaches them a standard of holiness they can never live up to. It asks them to carry heavy... Read more
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