Every human being is basically blind to their own faults and sin. There are many reasons we cannot seem to die to self and enjoy communion with God – psychological reasons, inherited sin, pride, the tendency to control and other self-defeating behaviours. However, I think the biggest barrier to receiving the Love of God is…… Continue reading How To Win the War Against Sin
Tag: Christ
Art of the Ressurection
Catholics are more focused on the Passion than on Pentecost while Pentecostals are more focused on, well, the Resurrection and Pentecost. Although we are in a Liturgical season of joy, there are still more pins of the Crucified Christ than of the Resurrected Christ on Pinterest’s Catholic sites. When people think of a Catholic saint, the…… Continue reading Art of the Ressurection
Refusing to Play Games
I do not want to die, only to discover I was playing society’s games, games which were dependant on the time and place I was born, rules which changed constantly. I do not want to be so caught up in work, business, squabbles about doctrine and ritual, that I lose sight of Truth. How devastating…… Continue reading Refusing to Play Games
DUNG-COLOURED GLASSES
Ah, we love to make fun of those in love, the young and the naive who view the world through rose-colored glasses. But what about the rest of us, those of us who wear dung-colored glasses? We should chuckle just as loudly when we realize this tendency to see darkly. When I am miserable, nothing,…… Continue reading DUNG-COLOURED GLASSES
The Catholic Prayer of Silence
The words prayer and contemplation intimidate many people but the reality is that prayer is simple, so simple that it eludes many adults, Relax. Be Quiet. Breathe in Deeply. Enjoy the silence. Connect and listen. Sometimes we need to simply cease our activity, live in the moment and breathe. This is reality. When the Spirit…… Continue reading The Catholic Prayer of Silence
7QT Friday: If Love is our True Destiny
Again, just like yesterday, the Church reminds us that Jesus was born as an infant to bring man back to the heart of God. So she chooses honour the man called the Beloved Disciple today during the Christmas season. St. John the Evangelist, John in Hebrew, Yôḥānān, means “Yahweh is gracious”. If Love is our true destiny,…… Continue reading 7QT Friday: If Love is our True Destiny
Born of the Light of God: The Art of Ron DiCianni
I love Ron DiCianni’s work, especially Simeon’s Moment. DiCianni has a unique ability to capture the inner essence of the light of the Holy Spirit in a manner that is vibrant and realistic, not sentimental or sappy. His paintings evoke tangible joy in the viewer; this is a unique gift that I want to share…… Continue reading Born of the Light of God: The Art of Ron DiCianni
Are you Stealing Christ’s Job?
In the Old Testament, the Azazel goat, translated as scapegoat, was one of two goats chosen for a ceremony on The Day of Atonement. The first goat was sacrifice but a priest would lay hands on the second goat and symbolically transfer all the sin and guilt of the community on to this animal. The…… Continue reading Are you Stealing Christ’s Job?
“Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway?”
“Every Knee Shall Bow” Philippians 2:10 by Gaye Frances Willard This is one of the most heart warming paintings of Christ in the manger with a kneeling Sanata. Gaye Francis captures on Santa’s face is intriguing because it expresses a combination of personal humility and revereance for the infant Jesus with a touch of pain. Perhaps it…… Continue reading “Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway?”
All HE Needs
We tend to rush around during Advent to get everything done before Christmas but the Church calls us to stand still in our hearts, waiting in silence, listening for the voice of God. Word sensed interiorly: You think you are building my Church With all your hectic activity. BUT You are…… Continue reading All HE Needs
Advent Wreath Linkup
Our Advent Wreath this year is a not actually a wreath at all but simply a pile of cedar branches, encircling four Advent candles with a simple carving of Mary praying, carved by a dear friend. A bit unusual but fitting because Advent is a time of waiting in prayer and in simplicity for the…… Continue reading Advent Wreath Linkup
Advent Prayers of the Heart, For the Heart
ADVENT PRAYER God of power and mercy, open our hearts in welcome. Remove the things that hinder us from receiving Christ with joy, so that we may share his wisdom and become one with him when…… Continue reading Advent Prayers of the Heart, For the Heart
7QT Friday: On Being Pregnant During Advent
# 1. Advent is a special time for pregnant women; two of my pregnancies were during Advent. One baby was born on Christmas Eve and my youngest on Jan. 7, still in the Christmas season. We had just moved to our farm 19 years ago and the children attended a small Catholic school with 10…… Continue reading 7QT Friday: On Being Pregnant During Advent
Advent Wreath Prayers
There is no better way to prepare our hearts to receive Christ than to light the candles of the Advent wreath every evening in the weeks leading up to Christmas.The Catholic Church understand the power of symbols and the physical act of lighting candles and saying short prayers really does open our spiritual selves to…… Continue reading Advent Wreath Prayers
Shattered and Renewed
I want to live in CHRIST, COMPLETELY TRANSFORMED. I DO NOT WANT TO SIMPLY PLAY CHRISTIAN GAMES.
Pushed to My Limits
First of all Jen, it is not Thanksgiving in Canada; we celebrated 6 weeks ago, so I am free to write. I write short stories for ReadWave. After four of my stories were posted on a parenting theme page, the editor asked me if I could write about moments when mothering pushed me to my limits,…… Continue reading Pushed to My Limits
Self-Important Humility
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” -Ephesians 2:8,9 When many Christians think of humility and sanctity, they often think of ascetic fasting and the heroic acts of the saints but these…… Continue reading Self-Important Humility
Without Mary
Without Mary we do not really understand what it means to be a disciple, a member of his Church. Without Mary we do not really understand what it means to be a human person. Without Mary we do not really understand what it means to be a creature. And because of all that, Without Mary…… Continue reading Without Mary
7QT Friday: Cancer and Prayer
Both my husband I received the Sacrament of the Sick for the first time in our lives. 6 days ago. This morning, Michael is undergoing surgery to remove a very small lesion. It well be simply scraped off the bladder wall. The surgeon caught the malignancy in the earliest possible stage but it is still a…… Continue reading 7QT Friday: Cancer and Prayer
joy of nine9 