Rebuild Your Inner Abbey
Growing in Theological Virtues: Love and God’s Family (Charity)
“Meanwhile these three remain: faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love.” Charity is the greatest of the theological virtues. Hope and faith are at the service of charity. The very purpose of hope – to teach us to trust – and of faith – to give us intimacy – is to…
Read MoreThe Role of Asceticism in Modern Spirituality
“Asceticism? Isn’t that like wearing hair shirts and whipping and punishing yourself? Does the Church still teach that?” Questions like this are common when you start using traditional terms for things like the Lenten sacrifice. I love questions like this because they offer a beautiful opportunity to help people rediscover the deeper meaning of ancient…
Read MoreDaily Reading: Show us, O Lord, your kindness
Today’s Readings for the Holy Mass Today’s readings in the Holy Mass pull together the readings from Sunday and from yesterday. In today’s first reading, the prophet Micah continues the theme of God shepherding His people, focusing this time on God’s love and forgiveness. The psalm continues the theme of love and forgiveness, proclaiming, Restore…
Read MoreLean Into Peace (Video)
Peace is not weakness, but strength that comes from trusting God. Lean into the Fruit of the Holy Spirit of Peace by increasing your trust. Read the complete reflection here.
Read MoreLean Into Self Control
The lack of self-control has been in the news. Riots in the street because a sports team lost (or won) the championship. More riots because a court case didn’t go the expected direction. Road Rage Social media nastiness Ridicule that has replaced intellectual debate in the public square It seems our culture no longer values…
Read MoreLean Into Patience
The history of transportation shows us an important truth about humanity. Human beings are not patient. The primary goal of “advancements” in transportation is to get us where we want to go faster. If you think about it, there could have been other goals. A goal of accessibility would have led to greater development of…
Read MoreLean Into Kindness
You are busy walking through the city, your head lowered as you read the latest news on your phone. You happen to look up to see a young man scurrying ahead to open the door for a woman. The woman’s arms are laden with bags while she tries to navigate the stroller holding a small…
Read MoreLean Into Gentleness
Lean Into Gentleness A burly man sat during the children’s Mass Christmas performance. Tattoos painted his arms, neck and face so much you couldn’t see his skin color. His face was battle-scarred from too many back-alley fights. He locked his arms across his chest. As the performance commenced the countenance on his face changed. His…
Read MoreLean Into Faithfulness
The theological virtue of faith is defined as “trust that what God has revealed about Himself is true.” The trust of faith leads to a deeper intimacy with the three Persons of the Holy Trinity. Once we trust that God wants us to know Him, we can open our hearts to knowing Him more deeply.…
Read MoreLean Into Love
Spirit inspired love is not dependent on events, people or things. While our culture defines love as strong feelings, the Holy Spirit lads us to love that is deeper. God wants us to really love Him – through our choices, through our actions, through our thoughts and through our feelings – to such an extent…
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