Theology & Love for God – Faith seeking understanding
Are knowledge and virtue independent? Bernard of Clairvaux reminds us that without profound faith in God, nourished by prayer and contemplation, theological studies run the risk of becoming an empty intellectual exercise.
Theology & Love for God – The Origin of Theology
Initially, Theology aimed at cultivating the love of God and the desire for heavenly things in souls. It can therefore be described as “meditation, prayer, a song of praise and impels us to sincere conversion.”
God Embroiders Straight with Crooked Lines
Once plain and smooth, the fabric is now embellished with beautiful, carefully crafted designs. Looking at the reverse side, however, we find an intricate tangle of lines…
Heaven is for those who confide!
When temptations seem unrelenting, the trials of life threaten to destroy us and God seemingly does not hear our prayers, it is time for confidence in Providence. Navigating the tempestuous Sea of Tiberias with its angry waves, the disciples of Jesus fought to reach Capernaum in the black of night. They were experienced fishermen, they […]
Should the Church keep up with the Times?
The rigorous truths of religion are at variance with the spirit of the world. Should Catholics adapt to the latter’s demands, or does their mission demand something different? In His first instructions after the Resurrection, Our Lord sent the Apostles to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and […]
How to discern a true Apostle of Jesus Christ
To be an apostle is a vocation that extends to all times and places. But how can we differentiate between the true and the false apostle? The Second Letter to the Corinthians offers us some valuable criteria. To be an apostle is not something exclusive to the early period of the Church, but rather a […]
Living Monstrances
Our gaze does not perceive the crystal of the monstrance, but passes through it to adore God hidden under the species of bread. Does this fact have a higher symbolism? A faint light inside the sacred enclosure invites us to intimacy with God, in recollection and prayer. It comes not from the large basilica, but […]
Persecuting the Persecutors of Padre Pio
At the side of the wonderworker Franciscan with the stigmata, Providence deigned to place a disciple who would defend his rights, so often violated by the internal and external enemies of the Church. Perhaps there was no place in the Europe of 1919 that surpassed Gargano in peace and tranquillity, a promontory which harmonized both […]
The Trial of Our Lord Jesus Christ- The Encounter Between Two Pontiffs
In one of the most momentous scenes in history, the transient pontiff meets the Eternal Pontiff; the high priest of the Old Law meets the High Priest of the New Covenant; a christ meets the Christ; the prefigure meets its fulfillment. Turning the pages of the Gospels, we are moved when we contemplate the marvels […]
The Importance of a Good Examination of Conscience
Just like a garden, the spiritual life requires continual care, for defects can spring up in the most hidden recesses and in the most unexpected ways, choking the flowers and fruits of virtue that God wants to cultivate within us.