As 2023 comes to an end, let’s pause to reflect and review. This year has been a beginning for this column. Not being a full year, I’d like to review a short list of articles here at Formed by a Flame. Then I’ll discuss a plan for going forward. Top Articles Review at Formed by a Flame Top Article by Most Views – “Little Blue” “Little Blue” by Jacob Collier – an Accidental Ode to Mary? This article has had... Read more
Happy All Saints Day! This All Saints Day, I’m going to think of my top 11 Saints that I’d like to ask for prayers. Like a starting line up of a football team, these will be my go-to intercessors for this month of November. 11. St. Andrew Despite St. Andrew being my name saint, I rarely think of him until recently. This All Saints Day, I’m choosing Andrew to intercede for us because he was the first apostle to notice... Read more
You may have heard of Lectio Divina, but what about Audio Divina? What if you took the same steps of Lectio Divina, or “divine reading” and applied it elsewhere in your life as another way to hear God in your life? Why Practice Audio Divina As a missionary, my team and I would sometimes share music with eachother with the purpose of praying with the lyrics. We called it “Radio Divina”, but to make the jump from reading (lectio) to... Read more
This week, I stumbled across the latest release from Jacob Collier featuring Brandi Carlile, “Little Blue”. Jacob is always impressive musically, but I was mostly struck by the lyrics in this song. Although it’s likely accidental, I was amazed to hear a beautiful tribute to Mary. Jacob Collier’s Music If you are not familiar with Jacob Collier, you should look up his many YouTube videos. He is a young grammy winning multi instrumentalist known for wild reharmonization of classic songs.... Read more
In my last post, I briefly mentioned the physicality of the Catholic faith, including receiving the sacraments. This reminded me of all the ways we show love with the 5 Love Languages – physical touch being only one of them. So this week I thought I’d lay out some ways we can give and receive love from God following the 5 Love Languages. What are the 5 Love Languages? If you haven’t already heard of them, the 5 Love Languages... Read more
Lionel Messi’s arrival in the United States has been drawing a lot of new attention to soccer in America. Soccer is regularly referred to as the “the beautiful game”. Like other forms of beauty, the appeal of the sport is hard to explain. It is better observed. If I had to try to explain the beauty in soccer, it’d be simplicity, precision, and intentionality. Intentionality is the Goal Beauty in the Sport An embarrassing own goal or open net counts... Read more
The idea of home is a theme that God has very clearly been encouraging me to reflect on – for our Church, our family, and in our hearts. Recent events inspired this reflection on John 19:27. What does it mean when Jesus gives Mary to John as his Mother? If we are to imitate John, what does it mean to take Mary into our home? New Homes in Life For background, here are the events: a church fire, a new... Read more
Genealogy has been on my mind a lot the past few months. Isn’t it fascinating that so many people had to be involved for each of us to exist? I mean, with exponential growth, you only have to go back seven generations to have 128 people. Each of those individuals had to make the decisions that they made in order to lead to you! Every one of the thousands of ancestors before you has played an important role in your life... Read more
This August we have two full moons – a reminder that we celebrate Mary, who like the moon points us to the Sun. There may not be any secular holidays in August, but for Catholics this month is full of celebrating. In addition to a full lineup of Saints (starting with Alphonsus Liguori), it is also a month that we celebrate Mary – twice! How convenient, that August has two full moons, and the second will be what they call... Read more
A couple weeks ago, I reflected on how the Lord’s Prayer hinges on forgiveness. This week, in honor of the Feast of Saint Alphonsus de Liguori (August 1st), I’d like to pause to think about the line, “Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven” (Matt. 6:10). St. Alphonsus de Liguori St. Alphonsus de Liguori was an incredible man. He was a gifted mind that gave up his life as a lawyer to serve the Church. He... Read more
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