Growing in the Theological Virtues – Emotion, Desire and Human Love (Charity)
The Theological Virtues are like muscles. We receive them from God. But we have to exercise them to keep them and to strengthen them. Human love doesn’t just happen to us. We need to consciously strengthen it and nurture it. What role do emotions and desires play in human love? Are the theological virtues related…
Read MoreGrowing in the Theological Virtues – Are You Following the Greatest Commandments?
“Meanwhile these three remain: faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love.” Charity is the greatest of the theological virtues. The theological virtues of hope and faith are at the service of the theological virtue of charity. The very purpose ofthe theological virtues of hope – to teach us to trust –…
Read MoreCatholic Spiritual Growth Requires Faith Community!
In this spiritual growth tutorial on practical prayer, we have seen how important it is to focus our spiritual growth and prayer on our personal relationship with God. We then discussed why we need to continue to learn about our faith so we can grow in intimacy with God. In this article we’re going to…
Read MoreFour Elements of Catholic Spirituality That Will Bring You Fulfillment
Once you have started getting control of your time, you are ready to work on the second foundational Key to Spiritual Growth – developing a habit of spirituality. While I have been a Catholic my whole life, I really rediscovered Catholic spirituality when I took my master’s degree in theology. The Institute for Pastoral Theology (at the…
Read MoreWhy Virtues are the Secret to Transforming Your Life
Could the secret to the life transformation you seek lie in the depths of ancient Catholic teaching? Yes! The ancient Catholic teaching on good moral habits can be life-changing! Character development is a very important part of Catholic spiritual growth – becoming who God created us to be. None of us are really satisfied with…
Read MoreA Walk Through the New Mass Translation
Dr. Edward Sri, Professor of Scripture and Theology at the Augustine Institute, provides a fascinating explanation of the new English translation of the Mass which will soon be put into practice. This is truly a great opportunity for Catholics to enter more deeply into the biblical and theological richness found in the liturgy, and to…
Read MoreThe Seven Days of Creation
Debates surrounding the Creation story typically focus on whether or not the Biblical account of creation coincides with a scientific understanding of the origins of the world. Such a focus loses the point of the first stories of Genesis. These stories are not written as scientific accounts, and were never understood as such even by…
Read MoreMoses – God Teaches His People How to Love
The promises of the covenant with Abraham were to unfold through history. As his descendents grew, God took care of them. He sent Joseph to Egypt through the jealousy of his brothers to help the Hebrew people survive a great famine. While in Egypt, Abraham’s descendents did indeed multiply. They grew so numerous that the…
Read MoreNoah – a Beautiful Promise of the Covenant
Noah’s flood is another story that is often caricatured into a children’s story. Yet, the story of the Flood is filled with meaning. The Flood shows what happens when humanity chooses to live without God’s limits. God’s law establishes order in the universe, and in the human heart. When God removed His limits from Creation,…
Read MoreThe Fall – the Covenant Broken but Not Destroyed
Adam and Eve broke the covenantal relationship of love with God. However, the broken covenant did not mean that God stopped loving us. From the very beginning of the Fall God’s love is revealed as mercy. For example, it is a plausible understanding of the Genesis story that God gave Adam and Eve the chance…
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