25 And that is what the soldiers did. Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. – John 19:25-27 NRSV Mary Our Mother The... Read more
Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries. 2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. I do not even judge myself. 4 I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the... Read more
Something crazy happened a couple weeks ago. In the middle of a worldwide pandemic, my wife and I made the decision to quit my job. Crazy right! For what reason though? I Quit But I Am Moving On Over the past few years we have been blessed to have my wife stay home with the kids. This was very difficult as she was successful at her career, but with four kids it was the best option. During this seven year... Read more
Sometimes we think that persecution of Christians is something that only happened at the beginning of the church. The fact is that the period in which we now live has the most Christian persecution in history. Many Christians march to martyrdom today, and it is more than you may think. Christian persecution has increased 20% in just the last two years. Worldwide 260 million Christians face persecution for their faith. 260 million! Yet this huge number of people are widely... Read more
If the Trinity is of such vital important to the faith and to the Christian life, what did the testimony of the patristic fathers have to say about it? This question is asked because it is a question asked by some skeptics of the Trinity. While the Faith is explained in a plain and direct manner in the first centuries, the substance of the mystery is rightly shown in the following centuries. The testimony of the church fathers regarding the... Read more
There are many things that may come to an individual’s mind when it comes to sacred scripture. Some may ask why there are so many translations. Some may wonder if the Bible as we know it fell from the sky at Pentecost. However many have questions on why we have the New Testament books we have. For sure it was long and arduous process, but it was one guided by the Holy Spirit and the church. New Testament Books Have... Read more
The Cathars are another famous sect in history that denied the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The Cathars were dualists as they believed in One god who was evil, and another that was good. The movement was essentially a revived type of Gnosticism as physical matter was also deemed evil. Cathars And Gnostic Roots They denied that Jesus ever had a human body, and as result they would deny that the Eucharist was the body and blood of... Read more
“You cannot become a saint without becoming a human being first.” -St. Charbel Makhlouf, on sainthood, “Love is a Radiant Light”. Sainthood Is The Goal I was struck by this quote over the course of my spiritual readings. Such power and depth packed into one little sentence! In this piece I hope to unpack some of my thoughts behind this saying and its greater significance in our road to sainthood. To become a saint is our great goal in this... Read more
I was once a freemason. Freemasonry was something I became interested in when I wasn’t taking my faith seriously. It offered something I had been looking for such as friendship, a social life, and of course the teachings were interesting. However, when I started taking the faith seriously, I realized that freemasonry just is not compatible with the Catholic faith. Freemasonry has Always Been Banned by the Church On March 26 I had the opportunity to appear on Gary Michuta’s Hands... Read more
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the Lord God[a] is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.- Isaiah 12:2-3 NRSV Trust In The Lord Sometimes I am at awe with the timeliness of the Mass readings. Take a look around at the events of the world. Last week there was huge explosion in Lebanon. The world is dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. On top... Read more
Select your answer to see how you score.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In