Personhood
“We can speak of “human nature,” but it does not exist as a thing-in-itself. Human nature is only revealed in the uniqueness of a human person.” (Father Stephen Freeman) “The Lord Who rose from the dead in order to make us participants in His eternal life showed mercy throughout His earthly ministry to people who suffered from death and disease in the world as we know it. In doing so, He provided signs of His fulfillment and restoration of the human person in the image and li
Prayer Life
“...you don’t have to be a monk or nun on a deserted island to have contemplative prayer in your life. It is something all believers should ask God to give them in their prayer life.” (Father David L. Fontes, PsyD) “The other Sunday, a friend of mine who is a pastor took an informal survey of his congregation during the homily. “How many of you struggle with your prayer life?” he asked. Every hand in this parish of nearly three hundred shot up! The priest admitted that prayer
Distortion
“Jesus realized the legal experts of His day had distorted the meaning of God’s Law. They had forgotten God’s mercy and grace toward human beings when He made provision for the Sabbath. For the sake of ultra-piety, they had become insensitive to the purpose of God and to the sufferings of humanity. I can identify with the legalists of Jesus’ day. I am comfortable with rules, and I am very capable of using them—either for my own benefit or as a club against others. I find it e
Self-Reliance
“This unique reality that constitutes our true self, is, in its most foundational aspect, a gift. We never “create ourselves”…We are not the makers of our own reality. There is such a wonderful liberation in this when we begin to truly understand it. We do not bring ourselves into existence, nor do we form and create our world. Our present reality is not the result of some chain of decisions and consequences. Such naive reductionism (often posited by many religious people) si