Posts Tagged ‘love’
Christian Love: Why Selfishness and “Stinking Thinking” Make Us Miserable
Christian love is the key of Catholic spirituality. Our first calling is to love God with our whole hearts, mind and soul and to love our neighbor as ourselves. But it’s too easy to relegate love to a broad, vapid sense of well-being while still remaining selfish and self-centered at heart. My “favorite flavor” of…
Read MoreGrowing in the Theological Virtues: So What is True Human Love Anyway?
OK, so what is true human love? Which Greek idea of love best fits the human heart? Many would say Philios, which isn’t a bad answer. After all, the Greeks called Philios the highest form of human love, right? Others would say that after Jesus, Agape is the best fit for the human heart. That’s…
Read MoreGrowing in the Theological Virtues – Fully Understanding Human Love (Charity)
English speakers are at a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to fully understanding human love. Our language only admits to one kind of love. When I teach young people about sexuality, love and chastity I illustrate this point by telling them: I love chocolate. I love my truck. I love my wife. Then…
Read MoreGrowing in the Theological Virtues: to Love as Jesus Loves (Charity)
The theological virtues empower us to have a relationship with God. But they do this by building on human nature with the supernatural gifts of grace. So far we have explored human aspects of love. Eros, storge, and philios are human forms of love. Grace strengthens these types of love. But this last form of…
Read MoreFaith to Friendship – Made for Relationship
Christian Friendship is incredibly important to growing in our Catholic faith. We are made for relationship. But we are also made with free will. Let’s use our free will to CHOOSE to make our friendships the best that they can be, and let’s ask the Holy Spirit what our souls need to learn in the…
Read MoreGrowing in the Theological Virtues – Human Love & Friendship (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. In this article we continue to answer what role emotions and desires play in human…
Read MoreGrowing 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 MoreChristian Friendship – Do We Choose Our Friends?
“It is by chance that we met, by choice that we became friends.” — Henri Nouwen Two ancient pearls of wisdom seem to contradict each other. On the one hand, we hear that we should choose our friends wisely. On the other hand, there is a general belief that we don’t choose our friends.…
Read MoreSocial Skills – Don’t Let Selfishness Destroy Your Relationship (Danger!)
Cultivating and nurturing good Christian friendship is an important part of Catholic spiritual growth. To be truly effective at nourishing our friendships, we need to be aware of the influences and attitudes that can damage our relationships. This is one of the social skills we need to develop in all of our relationships. Selfishness is…
Read MoreRealize the Adventure of Your Faith – Live Your Mission!
The final concern that came through the client survey has to do – directly or indirectly – with Catholic evangelization. Many of you were concerned about loved ones – often grown children – who are no longer living the faith. It looks like you are trying some wonderful things to win their hearts back to God’s…
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