Everyone’s faith journey is different. Some are raised Catholic and some, like myself, convert. Those stories of conversion are a testament to the richness of the Catholic faith. Leah Libresco’s is not your ordinary conversion story. Leah came to the faith after spending years as an atheist. Not just any atheist, mind you. Leah is a fellow Patheos blogger who just so happened to start her blogging career when she was an atheist. On her blog Unequally Yoked, Leah was... Read more
Why not choose death? If heaven is so great, why don’t you just kill yourself now? St. Justin Martyr explains to his pagan persecutors that God doesn’t work that way. God made us for a reason; the time of our death is not our will, but his. But someone might say, “Then why don’t you all just go and kill yourselves, and pass over to your God right away, and not bother us anymore?” I’ll tell you why we don’t... Read more
This time around publisher St. Joseph Communications sponsors the media giveaway. One lucky winner will receive a copy of The End: The Book of Revelation 12 CD set and study guide by Dr. Scott and Kimberly Hahn (you can read my review here). I use Rafflecopter to run my giveaways which makes it simple for you and me! Enter below. The contest starts at midnight tonight EST and will end 12AM EST 6/16 with a winner being announced later that day. a Rafflecopter giveaway Read more
Share in the sufferings of the martyrs The historian Eusebius tells the story of a young girl, a holy virgin in Tyre, who came to speak with the Christians about to be martyred. The enraged governor arrested her and subjected her to hideous tortures—but she still stood firm. Because this girl had endured this severe punishment and the combs without a word, and still survived, he again commanded her to offer sacrifice. She then raised her lips and opened her... Read more
I was afforded the opportunty to review another CD set from St. Joseph’s Communications. Before I proceed, if you have not looked into their massive catalog of 900 resources you should. Visit their site at http://saintjoe.net/. This week I’m reviewing The End: The Book of Revelation, A Scott Hahn Bible Study. This particular set comes in at 12 CDs roughly 1 hour in length each. Suffice it to say this is not a quick overview of Revelation, this is a... Read more
Know the resurrection by the proofs God didn’t just tell us that the resurrection would happen, says Aphrahat. He has proved that he can raise the dead by numerous resurrections in history, witnessed by reliable witnesses. And it was not only in words, dear friends, that God said, “I make the dead live,” but also in deeds he showed it to us by many testimonies, so that we might have no hesitation in believing it. He showed it beforehand plainly;... Read more
PETE: Being a convert to Catholicism myself, I enjoy hearing conversion stories of others. Can you share your own conversion story with those who have not read your book yet? SHAUN MCAFEE: Sure, and thanks for asking. My journey began small. I knew little of Catholics but thought they were cool because they had incense, candles, real wine, shorter services, robes, and even footrests (which later I found to be kneelers). Haha. That ignorance took me into my early 20s... Read more
Make light of what is mortal The historian Eusebius records the last words of Agapius, a martyr who had been brought to the stadium to be murdered for the crowd’s entertainment. If they expected him to plead for his life, they were disappointed: Agapius instead tells the audience that they should all disregard what is mortal to gain an eternal Kingdom. When they had led the martyr Agapius around in the stadium, they asked him in the first place if... Read more
Death is transformed into sleep Why is it important that Christ’s body was laid in a new tomb, one that had never been used? St. Cyril of Alexandria suggests that it symbolizes the completely new path to paradise (a word that originally meant an enclosed garden) that Christ is mapping out for us. They took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place... Read more
Learn from nature that we are immortal Without being taught, says St. Hilary of Poitiers, we know that we are immortal. Nature teaches us that we were made for greater things than merely satisfying our earthly appetites. I believe that the mass of mankind have rejected from themselves and censured in others this acquiescence in a thoughtless animal life, for no other reason than that nature herself has taught them that it is unworthy of humanity to believe that they... Read more
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