The rich often think that their wealth gives them the right to do anything they want. They think everything in the world is based upon money, and so, everyone and everything has its price. They hate those who do not live within their system, those who have a morality which does not place money as the highest good. While, to be sure, society has made it so that many are willing to sell themselves short for money, there are those... Read more
Those who have a message to sell will engage typical marketing tactics. They will try to get their audience to believe what they have to offer will be the answer to some if not all their problems. To get it, all someone needs to do is pay for it. They might give a small sample of what is being offered, but if they do, it is what they believe is enough to get their audience’s attention, making them want more.... Read more
Humility should play an important part in how we act. We should not be prideful, exalting ourselves at the expense of others. We should not look at ourselves as number one, superior to all others. We certainly should not place our extravagant wants and desires above the needs of others. Humility has us avoid all such arrogance. Scripture tells us to “Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look... Read more
Mary, like all of us, is a created being. She is “of earth,” like the rest of humanity. Similarly, like us, there was a time in which she went “back to the earth,” that is, there was a time when she died and was placed in a tomb. “She was earth by her mortality and she went into the earth by her death.” [1] Yes, Mary is the Mother of God; she gave birth to the one who came from... Read more
Grace perfects nature because what makes a given nature what it is, is some element of grace. Whatever grace which is later provided to it renews, sustains, and adds to what was initially given. The same, to be sure, is true of existence as well. Both nature and existence come from grace, and are able to be added to or enhanced by grace. Thus, our given nature, our human nature, is good, pure, and undefiled in and of itself, because... Read more
Food is what we take into ourselves for nourishment, that is, it is what we consume in order to receive the nutrients we need to maintain our life. The more we live, the more we grow, the more energy we use, the more food we will need. When we eat, we take something which is outside ourselves and find a way to incorporate into our bodies. The process is imperfect. It is very wasteful. We have to take the life... Read more
Lumen Gentium says that Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church, that is, within the institutional church which was established at the beginning of Christian history. This means there is a distinction between the “Church of Christ” and the “Catholic Church.” They should not be understood as univocal, that is, the “Church of Christ” should not be understood only as the “Catholic Church,” though the Catholic Church should always be seen as participating in and having the Church of... Read more
While everyone is called to embrace some forms of self-discipline to help fight off and overcome the influence of various bad habits in their lives, a few are called to pursue that as their life mission, to represent the good of self-discipline through a life of asceticism. This is what the monastic calling is about. People are called to it so that they can serve as special signs of the kingdom of God to the world, showing everyone a unique... Read more
The Transfiguration is one of the most important events in Christ’s earthly ministry. At it, Jesus presented his eternal glory as a great overshadowing light to three chosen disciples, Peter, James, and John. That light is the eternal light of grace, the light which Jesus always had with him, though it was not always apparent, because he had emptied himself of it in relation to his humanity. Jesus demonstrated to Peter, James, and John, that glory, preparing them for the... Read more
St. Albert the Great, explaining the significance and value of the eucharist, said that we must receive it as a gift of grace. The eucharist is not something we earn. We certainly cannot do anything which would make us worthy, that is, equal, to all that is contained within it. When we partake of it, we receive Christ, and in and through Christ, we receive all the grace Christ which offers us for our salvation and sanctification (and deification): He... Read more
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