The Life of Virtue

Relax! It is more of rhetorical question than anything else. For the last three years or so (since I was received into the full communion of the Catholic Church), I have thought about writing a deep reflection of the Lord's Prayer. Carlos, the Man on a Quest, beat me to it . His insights in his latest blog post are quite poignant, and very accurate. We do breeze through the prayer as though it were only another milestone between breakfast and the NFL game that afternoon. We do fail to hang on every word and think about what we really are asking. We fail to recognize that there is a huge difference between "Th" and "M;" between "Thy will" and "My will." All too often, the people praying the Lord's prayer replace the former with the latter (figuratively, of course). A most difficult task it is to be sincere when asking that God's will be done in every situation. Yet, that is what Our Lord expected when He gave this prayer to His ...

Any legitimate scholar of the Catholic Church's history must acknowledge that the same institution receives unfavorable treatment from secular, and even religious, historians. There are two possible reasons for this. Those authors and commentators have quite possibly distorted or omitted verifiable facts in order to paint the Spotless Bride of Christ in a not-so-benevolent light. A more likely scenario, however, is that these men and women have fallen victim to errant and incomplete information. In either case, faithful Catholics (and even non-Catholics) never have the opportunity to understand the beautiful, rich history of the first two Christian millennia. Thomas E. Woods, Jr.'s most recent book, How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization , aims at correcting this grievous error. Indeed, Woods' text of 225 pages proves to readers that the substantial contribution of the Church to Western culture has "gone relatively unnoticed" for several centuries...

The Most Reverend Giuseppe Bertoni, the Bishop of Gubio, Italy and secretary of the Italian bishops' conference, is the latest in a long line of shepherds to decry the greatest danger to our Church in the modern era, secularism. The report from Catholic World News says that the efforts of secularists and nihilists "undermine respect for the sanctity of life and the bonds of marriage." For several days the moral state of humanity has been on my mind and heart. After much thought, discussion, and prayer, the conclusion I have reached is thus: human beings, who are generally good and moral people, have fallen victim to a good feeling. What is that good feeling? Sinners (an inclusive term) feel good when someone validates their lifestyle and wrongdoings. People simply hate to think that they are wrong, that their actions cause harm to any other person. Moreover, humans have an innate need for acceptance. So, when a theologian or philosopher posits a theory that denies ...

As many of you may have heard, Dr. Francis Beckwith has returned home to the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. He and his family should be commended for their right reason, and especially for their courage. As evidenced by some of the derogatory comments left about his conversion story , they will doubtlessly face much persecution from evangelical Protestants in weeks, months, and years to come. Only with a lot of prayer and an abundance of love will the hearts of those naysayers be truly converted. Let us continue to pray for those who have returned to, or have been received into, the Catholic Church recently. God Bless.

Several other bloggers have mentioned this story, and I'm a bit behind the curve, as usual. But, I couldn't resist writing about the connection I made in my mind. In the eighteenth chapter of Matthew's Gospel account, Jesus told His disciples that they must "become like children" to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Do you suppose He was talking about this child ? What would our faith, and even our culture, look like if we all had faith like him? Pray that all believers will constantly remember to meet the Lord with the faith of a child. God Bless.

I read the following passage of Thomas A Kempis's Imitation of Christ as I sat before the Blessed Sacrament today: Lord, how I long for the joy of inward peace, that peace enjoyed by Your chosed children, who are nourished by You in the light of Your consolation. O Lord, if You infuse Your peace and holy joy, my soul shall be full of melody and sing Your praises. The passage really was like the voice of God reminding me that my life has recently been full of anxiety about my family, my schedule, my money, and my future. He told me ever so gently that only His Son can provide the peace that kept me awake deep into last night. Without Him, I have no peace. I only hope that I will remember this passage the next time those anxieties creep into my head and heart. Pray that Christ's peace will fall upon all who need respite from an anxious world. God Bless.

Indeed, I decided to change the title of this regular feature because I can't seem to find enough time each week to write. So... I was led to this week's word by the amazing prayer experiences I have had in recent days. My prayer life seems to be blossoming as I have refrained from "busy" prayer. Instead of constantly reading and talking, I have been making much more time to listen to what the Lord is saying to me. I already feel a difference. Alas, I have digressed. The Catholic Word of the Month is ORATORY . Fr. Alfred McBride writes: "Based on the Latin word for 'prayer,' the term...refers to a prayer room or chapel." The most famous creator and user of oratories in Church history was St. Philip Neri, a holy man who lived in Rome during the 16th century. However, oratories don't have to be famous to be useful. We should all strive to find or create an oratory that can be our own. One person might use the chapel at the local parish; ano...