Love is also the richest source of the meaning of suffering, which always remains a mystery: we are conscious of the insufficiency and inadequacy of our explanations. Christ causes us to enter into the mystery and to discover the “why” of suffering, as far as we are capable of grasping the sublimity of divine love (John Paul II, Salvifici Doloris §13) More…
Category Archives: New Evangelization
An Advent Resource from Fr John Bartunek 9
Reblogged from Roman Catholic Spiritual Direction
Bringing Christ into the World 19
Still Haven’t Joined Twitter Yet? Here’s Why You Should 5
If you’re already on Twitter, you can drop all those phony papal accounts you’re following..
93K followers and counting… I’ll bet we can break 1M today
Pope Benedict XVI is officially on Twitter!
We proclaim your death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again! 9
First Sunday of Advent Reflection
Image from the Deacon’s Bench: Click on image to read his homily for today
A friend asked me the other day why the Church no longer regards Advent as a penitential season, like Lent. “It still is a penitential season,” I told him, “but the focus of Advent is different than the focus of Lent.” More…
Advent in 2 Minutes… 14
Still Not Seeing the Reason for the Season? Here’s Why. 15
I have nothing against supporting companies that support Christmas and I have nothing against boycotts. But I have to ask, in doing so, what are we supporting / boycotting?
Could it not just be the commercialization of Christmas?
More…
Apologetic Wednesday: Are Beliefs the Result of Where One Is Born? 3
Great post! Reduces the atheis’s futile arguments to the absurd and places the burden of proof back on them, where it belongs.
Christian families raise Christian children. Muslim families have Muslim children (or at least they better be or it is serious trouble). If you are born in India then you are a Hindu. If you are born in America you are a Christian, in Arabia a Muslim, on a university campus an atheist. That is how it works, right? That is what Richard Dawkins suggests. He states in the God Delusion, “If you are religious at all it is overwhelmingly probable that your religion is that of your parents. If you were born in Arkansas and you think Christianity is true and Islam false, knowing full well that you would think the opposite if you had been born in Afghanistan, you are the victim of childhood indoctrination.”
Are beliefs overwhelmingly determined by ones’ family of origin, geographic location, and social influences? Or should we take it even further and add a…
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Dialogue with an Atheist 3
As you may well know, I tend to get sucked into discussions with atheists from time to time. Some of these discussions are more logical and friendly than others are.
On this particular occasion, I was asked what were the minimal criteria for being a Christian. I made a list of simple requirements, which were approved by several believers and atheists. One objection came from one of the atheists, who said, “I’m surprised to see that you think belief in creation is a requirement.”
I instantly thoughout that this requirement should be an obvious one… So let’s see where he’s going with this. More…
Non-Denominational: Can You Be A Christian and Denouce Religion? 21
Have you read the book, The Shack, by William P. Young?
Not Shaquille O’Neal
The Shack is a compelling story about the grieving and healing process of a shattered man after the tragic loss of his 6 year old daughter. The book makes some strong points about having a personal relationship with God, by taking a rather unconventional approach. You have to let your imagination run a little wild in order to appreciate this book.
For example, More…
Biltrix 