So today’s Gospel gives us the story of Jesus walking on water and how Peter had the courage to get out of the boat and walk on water, too–until he stopped trusting Jesus. Peter’s initial success and then subsequent failure prompted me to reflect today upon the many times that I have done the same thing in my own life. Where I am going along just fine, but then I get distracted by the storm or the waves or the leaky boat or the people around me, and I doubt. And then I become frightened by the prospect of what […]
Christian living
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So yesterday as I shared how the Harry Potter series can help in cultivating a life of Christian virtue, I made mention that the best stories prepare us to engage more fully with the Story. How is that the case? Because the more we prepare our hearts and minds, the better able we can dive into the essence, purpose and meaning of the Story found in Sacred Scripture and discover all four of its Senses. And when we experience all four senses, we prepare our heart and mind to receive the fullness of the Word. So what are these four […]
One of my profound joys is the reading of a phenomenal story. Especially if it is one that echoes the Story, and thereby the very reading, it has the potential to transform the mind and heart of the reader. A definite example of this kind of story is the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. It will be the 20th anniversary of the release of the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, next month. Unfortunately, due to the change in the title of the first book in the seven book series, many people came to understand, […]
Today, I had the “joy” of dealing with moving stuff out of our basement crawl space in anticipation of workers coming on Monday to take care of some water issues. As I was moving FAR too many boxes of Christmas decorations, storage trunks, bike gear, and other assorted flotsam of life, I reflected that it was apparently time for me to simplify again. I say again, because part of the spiritual battle is to constantly be checking to make sure that my priorities are in order and that the things of this world are not distracting me from what is […]
Several posts ago, I shared the 4 Simple Steps to Holiness. Today, I am going to focus upon Step 3–Growing in Virtue each Day. The beginning of growth in virtue comes from a place of humility and understanding of oneself. This self-knowledge needs to be well-formed in light of Scripture and Church teaching so that we may honestly see our predominant weaknesses and then be able to cultivate the virtues necessary to overcome those weaknesses. The struggle to know oneself is a great challenge, but there are two parts that we need to be attentive–both our human formation and our […]
Yesterday and today, I had the privilege of spending time in conversation with candidates from our parish who are preparing to receive the sacrament of Confirmation in a couple of weeks during their “Exit Interviews.” The interviews have a two-fold purpose: 1) to allow the candidates an opportunity to share their Discipleship Assessment and Plan of Life which lays out how they intend to continue to live out their life of discipleship after they are confirmed; and 2) to share their experiences of discovering Christ in the midst of performing corporal and spiritual works of mercy during their preparation. It’s […]
In my work as a Spiritual mentor, many times I am asked “How can I grow closer to God and become a better person?” I am very straightforward (too much so, according to my family! LOL), and I will respond that while being a better person is great, our goal should be nothing less than holiness, sainthood. And then I share the following 4 simple steps to help them accomplish that goal: Step 1–Daily Prayer and Meditation Spending time each day in prayer and meditation with our Lord is fundamental to becoming a saint. Unless we are having intimate conversations […]