The joy of conversion, Christian community, and the Catholic faith
At the Catholic Men’s Conference in Boston in 2010, Andy LaVallee met Jim Caviezel, not knowing he portrayed Jesus in The Passion of Christ. Jim dared Andy to go with him to Medjugorje, an obscure, poor village in Croatia. For more than thirty years, it has been alleged that the Virgin Mary has been appearing...
Click on these links to enjoy this week’s highlights on JoyAlive.net: Ten reasons to stop beating yourself up: Ten reasons to stop beating yourself up From New Evangelizers: The Praying Mantis New Evangelizers: The Praying Mantis From Father Bob Hilz, TOR: Friars Corner: Am I committed to be in Jesus, the true vine? Friars Corner:...
Forgiveness happens when you surrender your natural desire for revenge. Reconciliation is the tranquility that results from right order.–St. Augustine I’m big on forgiveness to ward off revenge. I can eventually forgive anyone—except myself! How do I forgive myself for my angry outbursts against those I love dearly? For the little acts of revenge I...
Isaiah 5:1-7; Ps 80:9, 12-16, 19-20; Philippians 4:6-9; Matthew 21:33-43 Holy Spirit, please guide us to your truth, vision and clarity. God created the world good and gave it to the first humans that he put in his beautiful and productive garden. Yet the sneaky snake told the first lie and took Adam and Even...
Acts 2:14, 22-33; Ps 16:1-2, 5, 7-10; 1 Peter 1:17-21; Luke 24:13-35 For me, this is the second most beautiful and powerful story about Easter Sunday. The first reading today is Peter’s sermon to the Jews who had gathered around the Upper Room at Pentecost. One hundred and twenty apostles and disciples broke out of...
1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13; Ps 23:1-6; Ephesians 5:8-11; John 9:1-41 Each day Jesus gives us a new “snapshot” of himself. We see this at daily Mass and in the Prayer of Christians, what we call the Divine Office. In these past Lenten Sundays, we are seeing Jesus redirecting human life. First, we saw Jesus...
General audience: God's justice is mercy Vatican City, 3 February 2016 (VIS) – The relationship between mercy and justice, in the light of the Sacred Scriptures, was the theme of Pope Francis' catechesis in this Wednesday's general audience, which took place in St. Peter's Square and was attended by more than ten thousand people. "The...