Words are very powerful, they can heal or they can destroy. How many of us go through life with words that destroy: “You are no good”, “Why can’t you be like your sister”, and “Believe me, you will be nobody in this life”. On the other hand, there are also words that heal, “I love…
Category: Church Traditions
The Art of Warfare
There is a book entitled, The Art of War which is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the 5th century BC, and is attributed to the famous military strategist Sun Tzu (“Master Sun”). The book is about conflict knowledge and tactics revolving around several key concepts, including: In the world that we live in, we must remember that…
Sins of the Ancestors
“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” The Jews of Jesus’ time asked this question because of many realities: The response of Christ: “Neither he or his parents sinned”. In other words, this is a case that is not due to sinfulness or generational curses, but rather that it…
The Road to Holiness
It is the desire of every Christian to walk the path to holiness. To do so, the Church has given some “dos and don’ts” in this journey. Jesus often reminds us that more than from the outside, what really matters is what is on the inside. One such example is when Jesus tells of the…
Authority
When Jesus founded the Church there were two things he assured: First, that even the gates of the netherworld will not prevail against it. Second, the Church was assured of authority; whatever you bound on earth will be bound in heaven. Whatever you lose on earth will be lost in heaven. What is authority? Authority…
Mary Mother of The Church
There is a saying, “Without a mother, there is no life”. It is the mother’s womb that takes care of us for nine months and throughout our lives, the mother continues to care for us. Even if we reach 50, 60, or even 70 years old, in the eyes of a mother, we are still…
The Unseen
Editor’s Note: This was a homily for a newly ordained group entering the priesthood. We have included it, as the words pertain to all of us, and as a reminder to continue to pray for all of our priests. I have been a priest for 18 years and if there is one thing that has…
Caring for Others
There is a saying that a good story can change our lives. In fact, when we were children, stories were a gateway to understanding the world and learning things. We learned values and lessons through stories. That is why Jesus used stories, as he was an excellent storyteller. Among the many lessons: In the Gospel, we…
A God for All
One sad reality of humanity is that we tend to congregate among people we think we belong to. There is always the desire for exclusivity. Suddenly even in the Matters of faith, there is also exclusivity. In the Old Testament, Naaman was in need of healing but he felt initially that he should be treated…
Temptation
Someone once said, “Opportunity only knocks once, but temptation knocks all the time.” Yes, in our desire to be happy, in our desire to find what we are looking for, in our desire to love and be loved, we look at the answers in the wrong places, persons, and things. As a result, we fall…
3 Ways 2 Your 1 God 