How to treat your guests St. Cyril of Alexandria has some advice for those who might entertain wandering monks, or any other stranger who comes by. Don’t try to impress them with a magnificent feast: be grateful to them for coming, and give them just as much as they need to take care of their hunger. But if you do open your house to them, meet them cheerfully, and quick- ly, and as their equals—and not so much as if... Read more
Review by Julie Abell “How can you, as a Catholic, explain what the Church teaches about the relationship between science and faith?” That is the question scientist, writer, and scholar Stacy A. Trasancos chose to answer in her book titled Particles of Faith: A Catholic Guide to Navigating Science. I picked up this book because I needed a little navigating! I am not a scientist, but as a home school mom I have had years of re-learning science in order... Read more
Make your house Christ’s hotel Abraham, says St. John Chrysostom, didn’t know he was receiving Christ and the angels—he just welcomed three strangers. But we do know that every time we welcome strangers, we’re welcoming Christ. What’s our excuse for not welcoming them? Abraham welcomed the strangers into his own home. His wife acted as a servant—and treated the guests as the masters. He didn’t know he was receiving Christ. He didn’t know he was receiving angels. If he had known, he would... Read more
Entertaining angels “Some have entertained angels unawares”: the only way to do that, says St. John Chrysostom, is to show hospitality to the poor and insignificant. In entertaining them, we may entertain angels, and we certainly entertain Christ himself. It is worthwhile to ask this here: Why did the rich man see Lazarus, not in company with any other of the just, but in the bosom of Abraham? Abraham was hospitable; the rich man saw Lazarus there as a rebuke to... Read more
Kevin Lowry is a convert to Catholicism and the son of a former Presbyterian minister. He and his wife Kathi met at Franciscan University, where they discovered the richness and beauty of the faith. After spending time as spiritual nomads, the couple met Scott and Kimberly Hahn, and faced the inevitable. They entered the Catholic Church at Easter Vigil, 1992. Kevin and Kathi have eight children and live in the Columbus, Ohio area. Kevin was with a large CPA firm... Read more
Imitate Abraham’s hospitality St. John Chrysostom tells his flock to look actively for opportunities to help strangers or foreigners in need—not only for the benefit of the strangers, but even more for their own benefit. By seeking out strangers, Abraham entertained angels. The patriarch didn’t know that he was entertaining angels, but he entertained them. We should be ashamed of ourselves! There he was sitting at midday in a foreign land, where he had no property, not so much as to... Read more
When angels speak, God speaks When one of God’s messengers speaks, says St. Augustine, the words come from God himself. Angels do not announce anything but what God wills them to announce. When the clerk proclaims the words of the judge, it is not usually written in the record, “The clerk said this and this,” but “The judge said this and this.” When Abraham’s son was ordered to be sacrificed, this is what we read: “After these things God tested Abraham, and... Read more
God gave us and the angels free will St. Justin Martyr says that God gave us and the angels free will so that we could choose righteousness. God, who is omniscient, knows ahead of time that some of his creatures will choose evil, but that does not mean he created them for evil. Their own wills have acted freely in choosing it. God wanted human beings and angels to follow his will. So he resolved to create them free to do... Read more
This week we have another TWO titles to give away! One lucky winner will receive a copy of How God Hauled Me Kicking and Screaming Into the Catholic Church by Kevin Lowry, sponsored by Our Sunday Visitor (you can read my review here) and one copy of These Beautiful Bones by Emily Stimpson, sponsored by Emmaus Road Publishing (you can read Mishele’s review here). I use Rafflecopter to run my giveaways which makes it simple for you and me! Enter below.... Read more
The devil has free will – and so have we God made Satan good, says St. John of Damascus. He fell into evil by his own free choice, not because of the nature God gave him. And we also have free will. The devil can attack us with temptations, but he never has the power to overwhelm us unless we give it to him. Out of those angelic powers, the one who was set over the earthly realm to guard the... Read more
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