The joy of conversion, Christian community, and the Catholic faith
Imagine you are standing on a hill overlooking your parish on a Sunday morning. You know the names of many of the people you see coming to Mass. Others you recognize without knowing their names. A few more are strangers to you. Then you notice a bridge here and another one over there joining different...
1 Kings 3:5, 7-12; Ps 119:57, 72, 76-77, 127-130; Romans 8:28-30; Matthew 13:44-52 In the first reading young King Solomon, Kind David’s son, begged God for wisdom and understanding to care for the people of Israel. We could ask God also for wisdom and understanding to help the church grow in our parishes and diocese....
Acts 1:12-14; Ps 27:1, 4, 7-8; 1 Peter 4:13-16; John 17:1-11a OR Ascension: Acts 1:1-11; Ps 47:2-3, 6-9; Ephesians 1:17-23. Option 2: Hebrews 9:24-28, 10:19-22; Matthew 28:16-20 Most states in our country transferred the Ascension from last Thursday to this Sunday except six states. Since these reflections are for an international audience on JoyAlive.net, I...
Jesus, our Bridegroom, went all in out of love for us, to bring us all into his Church where his kingdom “already exists and will be fulfilled at the end of time. The kingdom has come in the person of Christ and grows mysteriously in the hearts of those incorporated into him, until its full…manifestation”...
Isaiah 66:10-14c; Ps 66:1-7, 16, 20; Galatians 6:14-18; Luke 10:1-12, 17-20 May you and your families have a very safe and blessed 4th of July. Also, please pray a daily Chaplet of Divine Mercy for the conversion and safety of Our Nation and the conversion of all the terrorists. The chaplet only takes 5 minutes....
Proverbs 8:22-31; Ps 8:4-9; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15 Last week we celebrated the third major element of our faith, Pentecost, the coming and empowerment of God’s Holy Spirit to continue his salvation work. This Spirit guides us to Jesus, who takes us to our Father. The entire church prayed for and celebrated his coming....
God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work, (2 Corinthians 9:8). Grace is powerful, plentiful, essential and effective. Through the gift of faith, we receive this unearned, undeserved gift of God’s love manifested in...