"The Catholic Faith is not about myths or legends, symbols or literary devices. It’s about an encounter so overwhelming that you want to tell the whole world. It is an encounter with Jesus Christ." We're thrilled about the Fall 2013 release of "Catholicism: The New Evangelization." Watch some clips and share with friends today!
The Catholic Faith is not about myths or legends, symbols or literary devices. It’s about an encounter so overwhelming that you want to tell the whole world.
It is an encounter with Jesus Christ.
Throughout history, the call of Christ has sent people to the corners of the earth with a message of great joy — a message that has built civilizations, inspired cultures, and even sent some to prisons and others to their graves.
We have the same call. That is evangelization...
The turkey is all carcass and the pie long polished off, yet we still linger on that one element of this holiday passed — the gratitude — and hope to bring it with us every day. Father Steve Grunow shared his reflection on those who gave so much asking for so little both with Patheos.com, and in turn with us, today.
I believe that it was the 20th-century theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar who described holiness as a quality by which one would disappear into the mission of the Church. This insight strikes me as right. Saints do not set about their mission with a publicity strategy in mind. Some saints do become famous, even in the face of their best efforts to resist, but no saint is looking for celebrity status. By the time their image is unfurled on the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica, the saint has long since moved on and receives no personal benefit from all the accolades. Their heart was always set on greater things anyway. If during their life on earth someone might have complimented them on their apparent holiness they would likely have dismissed such claims. Saints are the ones who have little appreciation for how much they manifest Christ. I think that they are so enamored of how the Lord reveals his divine life in others, that they have little time for seeing him in their own image.
Saints will accept our gratitude and even our praise, but they will never keep these for themselves. They give all that to Christ. It is one of the ways that they decrease as the Lord increases...