Pondering/Reflection
Ponder with Paul, beneath the surface.
Why Sacraments?
The gift of eternal life through divine grace is a spiritual gift. Yet, it was originally presented to mankind in physical form as the fruit of the tree of life (Gn 2:9). Why would God feed his earthly image (humans) divine spiritual life through a material object? Because our nature is both material and spiritual. […]... Read More
When Reality Challenges Your World View
The most uncomfortable place a person can be is in the midst of cognitive dissonance. A person’s view of reality is challenged by reality itself, which attacks one’s fundamental beliefs and sense of identity. There are three ways to respond to this internal crisis: 1) dig deeper with your will despite contrary evidence your mind […]... Read More
What Does It Mean that the Church is One?
I was a baby, now I’m an adult. I was an adolescent, and will be (God willing) a senior citizen. There are certain things in me that change, and others that stay the same. Scholastic philosophy calls this the difference between what is accidental and essential. What is essential remains the same from my conception […]... Read More
Why the Luminous Mysteries?
Some Catholics may be a bit leery of the Luminous mysteries, since they were promulgated late in history (by Pope St. JPII), and that their addition causes a symbolic disparity with the ‘150’ psalms. Nonetheless, there are many riches that can be mined by meditating on the Luminous mysteries. Here are just a few examples […]... Read More
Why Can’t We See God?
If God exists, why won’t He allow us to see Him? This is a common thought of those who struggle with faith. It stems from both a sincere yearning and a theological ignorance. Two basic reasons we cannot see God: a) He is pure Spirit. He can’t be seen through physical eyes. His essence transcends […]... Read More
Atheism and the Uncaused Cause
If I were an atheist, I would probably reject big-bang cosmology, which assumes the universe had a beginning, and opt for the universe being eternal. However, I’d also know in my conscience how intellectually untenable that is. Since it’s demonstrated through observation and assessment that every object in the matter-space-time continuum has a cause, it’s […]... Read More
Does Love of God Exclude Fear of God?
I recently read about a journalist’s interview with a former Christian evangelist who recently served time in prison for immoral criminal behavior. He has since genuinely repented. A very important point of exchange came here: Interviewer: “At what point did you stop loving God?” Former evangelist: “I never stopped loving God. I stopped fearing God.” […]... Read More
The Underutilized Gift That Would End Abortion
There are three levels of horror with regard to abortion, the first two are the most common: Sensual. You see a baby in latter stages of gestation and recoil at the idea of abortion. Religious. Your faith holds that abortion is wrong, and you horror at so many violations of the fifth Commandment killing little […]... Read More
Worship and Sex are Fundamentally Linked
Today’s first reading in Acts 15 was on the council of Jerusalem, where Church authority declared Gentile converts must follow four fundamental ordinances. Three were about idolatry and one about marriage. Their exhortation concludes: “If you keep free of these you will do what is right” (Acts 15:29). I find it interesting that they mention […]... Read More
Avoiding Divorce through Faith and the Word
Divorce is often the result of a constant battle of the wills. What might be the remedy to this ailment? Scripture speaks of two important acts of faith, which can greatly impact one’s worldview and stave off marital rupture: 1. God’s will must always be top priority over one’s desires in all decision-making (Mt 6:33). […]... Read More
E.T. Life and Christian Faith
There’s been a lot of chatter lately about whether there’s extra-terrestrial life in the universe. . Here are a few data points to consider: . • This question has never been divinely revealed, since God revealed only what is necessary for salvation. Nor can reason conclude definitively. • While the vastness of the universe is […]... Read More
The True Double Standard
Is there a double standard between the sexes? Of course there is, as there should be. But it’s not in what the world means by ‘double-standard’. What the world means is that it’s more acceptable for one sex to sin than the other (as if that’s advantageous); and that’s ‘not fair’. The double-standard that is […]... Read More
Masc. and Fem. Psychological Approaches to Love
More on the masc. and fem. psychological approaches to life and love. C.S. Lewis once captured its spirit in Screwtape Letters with the following quote: “To a woman, unselfishness means taking trouble for others; to a man it means not giving trouble to others… the woman thinks of doing good deeds and the man of […]... Read More
Will the Secular Media Try to Make a Monster of Leo XIV?
The Luciferian media was able to create a false caricature of Benedict XVI due to his good pre-papal work as CDF director, and could magnify Francis’ ambiguous paradoxical messages into Leftist ideological dogma. Interestingly, however, they found it more difficult to create a monster out of John Paul II. My hope is that the legacy […]... Read More
The Senses, Heart, and Mind
The senses perceive what is temporal and transient. The heart is unsatisfied with this because it’s oriented to the eternal and unchanging. The mind can follow logical principles from the physical to the metaphysical, knowing all things temporary and transient are grounded in the eternal and unchanging. Faith bridges the divine and human, enabling the […]... Read More
Happy Annunciation/Incarnation Day! The universe will never be the same
Happy Feast of the Annunciation, when the eternal second Person of the Trinity entered His creation as a tiny human embryo. A spiritual ‘earthquake’ has ensued throughout the universe... Read More
Tri-Fold Temptations, Conquered by Christ
Today’s gospel has Jesus overcoming the tri-fold temptations relating to the body, the world, and the soul (Lk 4:3-13), which, as the new Adam, canceled out the tri-fold temptations leading to original sin: “The woman saw it “was good for food [the body], pleasing to the eyes [the world], and desirable for gaining wisdom [the […]... Read More