fbpx

Tagged: Grace

Neo-Pelagianism in the Sacristy

Our Holy Father Francis has written two exhortations, Evangelii Gaudium (2013) and Gaudete et Exultate (2018), that warn against two of the most pervasive and corrosive heresies in the 2,000 years of the Church: Neo-Pelagianism and Gnosticism. The pope, sensing...

Neo-Pelagianism in the Sacristy

Any bit of contrition

Always lost for words, I never knew what to say to God as I tried to focus my attention on him at Sunday Mass. I admit that I did not always find Mass interesting. I attended every week mostly out...

Any bit of contrition

Sometimes our prayers seem to go unheard

During his Wednesday Audience this week, as a part of his ongoing catechesis on prayer, Pope Francis confronted one of the most difficult questions that face Christians: “if God is Father, why does He not listen to us? He who...

Sometimes our prayers seem to go unheard

“On the occasion of the current world epidemic”

On March 20, the Holy See Press Office announced that the Apostolic Penitentiary had established a series of plenary indulgences during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. These indulgences include: Plenary indulgences for COVID-19 patients who watch Mass online during the ongoing...

“On the occasion of the current world epidemic”

Love, even when it’s difficult

On the day he found out he had an aggressive form of leukemia, my father received the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time in 53 years. Many faith traditions place an emphasis on atoning for wrong done. In the...

Love, even when it’s difficult

On Today’s Blessed Marian Feast

Earlier today, my mother, Patricia Lewis, passed away at home after a long illness. She was surrounded by family and friends when she drew her last breath. Just before her final moments, my brother and I sang the first two...

On Today’s Blessed Marian Feast

The Church of Discomfort

Those who grew up without access to the internet, cell phones, or a host of screens on demand are familiar with the experience of boredom in a way that many young people today are not. Long ago we would whine...

The Church of Discomfort

“My power is made perfect in weakness”

When the Church takes up someone’s cause for sainthood, one of the things they look for is heroic virtue. Drawing from Pope Benedict XIV and St. Thomas Aquinas, the Catholic Encyclopedia defines “heroic virtue” as “…a habit of good conduct...

“My power is made perfect in weakness”