When we pursue holiness, we are tempted to think of ourselves as being better than we really are. Pride develops, and through that pride, become unruly towards others, trying to force them to comply with our whims. While some people might do so, those who do not receive our wrath. We become vindictive, thinking they deserve every kind of punishment which we can give them because they do not recognize our greatness. We become so absorbed by ourselves that lose... Read more
Competition can be good for us, but only if we use it to make ourselves better. If we use it to undermine someone else, to dishonor them, to make them ashamed, then we turn away from the good which is possible with competition. Trying to be the best we can be should also serve to make others the best they can be. Competition is communal in nature. It requires us to consider more than ourselves. When competition is used to... Read more
Catholics have long experienced the charge of being pagans because of the similarity between some Catholic practice or teaching with a pagan practice or teaching. Moreover, because Catholics have a history of looking at, examining, and actually adapting pagan thought, transforming it as is necessary to be compatible with Christianity, critics believe they have sufficient grounds for making their charge stick. But then, those critics turn on each other, and start accusing each other of being contaminated by pagan thought... Read more
“Woe to you, when all men speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets” (Lk. 6:26 RSV). Not everyone who has a good reputation is unworthy of that reputation. The saints often were recognized for their saintliness while they lived. Their reputation matched their actions. What set many of the saints apart from others who also had a good reputation, but did not deserve it, is that the saints were not so concerned with what... Read more
Bede, in his homilies, reminds us of a few ways we can encounter the presence of Jesus in our lives: By the frequent occurrence of his bodily manifestations our Lord wished to show, as I have said, that he is present by his divinity in every place to the desires of those who are good. He appeared at the tomb to those who were grieving; he will also be present to us when we are salutarily saddened at recalling his... Read more
When Jesus encountered two demoniacs, they recognized Jesus and asked him what he was going to do with them: And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” (Matt. 8:28-29 RSV).... Read more
Pope St. Paul VI, addressing a group of United States Congressmen in the bi-centennial year of 1976, indicated that their service was to follow the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, that is, they were to defend life and promote true liberty and happiness for all the people of the United States: By the sacred trust committed to you by the people, and in loyalty to your very Declaration of Independence, you have been called to the service of defending... Read more
When we overcome some temptation, when we are victorious against sin, we must be careful. We must not let our victory in that battle be the foundation for our spiritual defeat. We must not become proud of what we have done. We must be humble. Pride is one of the root spiritual poisons; it turn us away from the good by becoming too attached to what we have already made of ourselves instead of allowing us to cast it all... Read more
Sts. Peter and Paul, two great Apostles, were both men who, over the course of their lives, found themselves being transformed by Christ. By the time of their martyrdom, they were ready for it; they had truly died to themselves, to their selfish desires, and so had cut themselves off from all external attachments which could get in the way of their love for Christ. At the end, they were truly ready to die for Christ, for they knew, they... Read more
Jesus, before the crucifixion, prayed for the church: When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify thy Son that the Son may glorify thee, since thou hast given him power over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom thou hast given him. And this is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. I glorified thee... Read more
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