God's love is shockingly good!

My friend and brother in Christ, Chad, who’s currently studying for the priesthood, sent me along this brief reflection from Hans von Balthasar, a Catholic theologian who lived 1905-1988:

"The first thing that must strike a non-Christian about the Christian's faith is that it obviously presumes far too much. It is too good to be true: the mystery of being, revealed as absolute love, condescending to wash his creatures' feet, and even their souls, taking upon himself all the confusion of guilt, all the God-directed hatred, all the accusations showered upon him with cudgels, all the disbelief that arrogantly covers up what he had revealed, all the mocking hostility that once and for all nailed down his inconceivable movement of self-abasement - in order to pardon his creature, before himself and the world."

I read this again today and I am so thankful for theologians like Balthasar that, in two sentences, can come close to capturing Jesus’ supreme love for humanity.

-snip-

And this was exactly the message of this past week’s Discovering Christ course. It focused on how Jesus came to reveal the love of God the Father. It was a good session for me – but I’ve heard it many times and it was time for a real-life lesson in His very personal love for me...

So I’m all excited to go camping on Saturday afternoon/evening – to meet up with my close friends out in Western MD for an evening and a day out in God’s creation.  My friend joined me as we attempted to rendezvous with them.  

Until my car broke down :(  Not cool at all. In fact standing on the side of Rt. 70 in the early evening in the summer sun – looking over an overheated car was anything but cool.  

We pray for Jesus to heal the car.  Nope. But provision does come:

1. My wife, coincidentally, is heading the same direction with a friend that evening. The moment I call, they pass us by... Go to a gas station, get antifreeze and deliver to us.
2. This ends up not working. My car doesn’t get healed...
3. Then a tow truck suddenly shows up as my wife pulls away to pick up another broken down car 50 yds behind me. We appeal to the guy to help, he calls the other customer (whose car had been out there for over a week), and asks if his car can be delayed so he can help us... We wait... Yes!  So we get an immediate tow.  I tell the tow driver He’s “answered prayer”
4. We show up at a local car shop – which closes at 6pm – it is 8:30pm – everything looks open though. I go up to the front, it is locked. A guy comes out and decides to help me – he is very gracious - and has me come in the side door to get everything settled... At which point I see a sign on the wall, “quote of the day, ‘with God nothing is impossible.’” Awesome :)
5. Rings me up, no problem, I tell the two car mechanics, they are “answered prayer” and the Lord is looking out for me
6. Sunday, I find out, my car might be shot... Though I find out more later today... Pretty upsetting as it is my beloved 1989 chevy cavalier station wagon from my grandfather... The Floydmobile.  
7. Sunday evening my parents unexpectedly take my wife and I out to dinner- nice – and tell me we’re getting a very generous posthumous wedding gift ($) from my grandmother by the end of the week.  Wow, again, I know in my heart His very personal love.
   

This was just an amazing 48hrs where I got to see God does care about the particulars of my life, His love is very personal, and is watching over me. And even if my 89’ cavalier doesn’t resurrect I know He did - for me. And that is pretty amazing. Thank you Lord Jesus.

Has God shown you His personal love for you lately?

Discovering Christ--Third Week

Last Thursday we held the third session of Discovering Christ. Dave gave the talk, "What Did Jesus Come to Reveal?" We had about 60 or so people come, including new people, which was wonderful. I think it all went really, really well. My small group had a great discussion after Dave's talk and of course, the service team continued their great work by providing yet another fabulous dinner. :-)

Personally, the talk (which was about God's unfailing love) was pretty meaningful to me. Over the past few years I've struggled with understanding the crucifixtion, why Jesus died such a brutal death.

On Thursday night, during Dave's talk, it hit me. Dave was saying that God loves us and will forgive even our worst sins if we repent. And I realized that, in my own life, it's hurt to forgive those who have hurt me--even more so when they're people I love. So it all made sense: God, who loves us a billion times more than we could fathom, demonstrated on the cross how much it hurts Him when we sin.

I know, it's pretty basic. But it's fantastic that it finally clicked.

So Discovering Christ can have an impact on both participants and leaders, seekers and committed Christians.

Pretty cool to see the ways God works.

Here are some pictures from last week:




Guests eating dinner at the Friary.




Waiting for the talk to begin.




Pete kicking off the evening.




The beautiful dining room we hold dinner and the talk each week.

Christianity in Dialogue with the World

Dave sent this article to the staff at ChristLife the other day, and I found it pretty interesting. Peter Kreeft, a philosophy professor at Boston College and a Christian apologist, works from a logical perspective as he writes about 12 common beliefs that Christians come in contact with when they share their faith with others. The essay, “The Uniqueness of Christianity,” deserves to be read in its entirety, but here are a few key passages:

The objection is not that Christianity is not true but that it is not the truth; not that it is a false religion but that it is only a religion...This is the single most common objection to the Faith today, for “today” worships not God but equality. It fears being right where others are wrong more than it fears being wrong. It worships democracy and resent the fact that God is an absolute monarch.

This really is at the heart of it. Democracy is more comfortable than monarchy. At least in democratic societies, we can claim a vote, claim to have a little bit of power. If God is King, if Christianity is the truth, then we’re entirely dependant on Him.

It’s a lot more comfortable to think of religion as a journey in which we can take whatever highway we please and still reach God in the end. We get to be driver’s seat. We get to be in control. However, as Kreeft explains,

Christianity is not a system of man’s search for God but a story of God’s search for man. True religion is not like a cloud of incense wafting up from special spirits into the nostrils of a waiting God, but like a Father’s hand thrust downward to rescue the fallen.

That’s the message that we have to convey: that while God is an absolute monarch, King of the Universe, Lord of Lords, he is also Father, Abba, a Person to be loved and a Person who so loved the world that He gave His only son (John 3:16). That Son told us that He is the Way and the Truth and the Life and that all must go through Him to get to the Father (John 14:6).

Of course, as Kreeft points out, the exclusivity of this message tends to rub some people the wrong way. And he answers objections in this vein, like “It fosters religious imperialism to insist that your way is the only way,” and “All religions are the same, deep down.” While going through each of his responses would take more words than a reasonable blog post, I’d like to close with his reply to the belief “All God expects of us is sincerity.”

How do you know what God expects of us? Have you listened to God's revelation? Isn't it dangerous to assume without question or doubt that God must do exactly what you would do if you were God? Suppose sincerity were not enough; suppose truth was needed too…
The…implicit assumption here is that there is no objective truth in religion, only subjective sincerity, so that no one can ever be both sincere and wrong… True sincerity wants to know the truth.

As these objections are obstacles that we must overcome in the new evangelization, it’s great to have Kreeft’s essay as a resource for simple answers to some common questions.

May the Holy Spirit make us truly sincere and grow in our desire to know the Truth, which is Christ.

Getting to know the other intern!

Since you’ll be hearing a lot from me over the next couple months as one of two interns at ChristLife, I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Maria and I’m a rising sophomore in college. After spending my first year at Mount St. Mary’s, I’ll be headed to Carroll Community this fall, sticking with my double major in English and Communications. What can I say? I hate math more than I love writing, so I’m staying far away from numbers.

I may be younger than expected, considering most kids during their first year on the search don’t land internships as great as ChristLife, so I find myself blessed to be here this summer. I combine communication skills (through things like podcasts and blogs—like this one!) with my faith—what could be better?

Born and raised in a devout, Irish-Italian Catholic family of nine, I’ve always had a deep love for my faith. I remember being offended, even as a little girl, when people assumed I went to mass, said my prayers, read my Bible, and practiced my faith merely because my parents brought me up that way. Of course Mom and Dad have influenced my faith life, but we all have a choice with religion (thank you, God, for free will!) and I chose to truly delve into my faith and follow God.

I’m doing the best I can to reflect my faith in my personal life, serving as a witness to others especially of my generation. Actions preach without words, and I’ve even been able to bring a couple friends back to the faith.

In that sense, I guess I’ve already done some evangelizing in my short 18 years. I love bringing people closer to God; I’ve never classified it as “evangelizing,” but that’s what it essentially is. Being here at ChristLife has helped me realize the large number of people who are still seeking God. I just want to be able to aid them in finding Him. I’m excited to have that opportunity with ChristLife this summer.


God bless!

Last night we held the second installment of our Discovering Christ series. Turnout was even better than last week; about 60 young adults gathered for dinner, discussion and the talk, "Why Does Jesus Matter?"

It was my first experience with Discovering Christ, and I thought the evening went really well. The other people in my small group were very enthusiastic and it seemed that the message had touched their hearts. I'm looking forward to next week.

Here are a few pics from last night:

Small group leaders and helpers meet in the library to prepare.

Our wonderful volunteers cooking a delicious dinner.

Father Arnold giving the talk, "Why Does Jesus Matter?"

Hi from the new intern

As the newest intern here at ChristLife, I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Brittany and I just graduated (three days ago!) from Ohio University with a degree in journalism and a second major in Russian, which, naturally, have prepared me very well for work in the new evangelization.

I kid. Unless, of course, any Russians show up to Discovering Christ tomorrow night. Which would be awesome.

But actually, I think journalism is a great basis for evangelization, because journalism is all about asking questions and being tenacious enough to find answers. I kind of researched myself into a deeper faith.

Like many people of my generation, I had a general Catholic upbringing. I did 8 years of CCD, made my First Holy Communion and Confirmation. My family celebrated St. Nick’s feast day every December 6 and ate mac ‘n’ cheese or pierogis on Lenten Fridays. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t believe in God. But my faith was pretty basic. In high school, I could name the seven sacraments, but I’d have struggled to explain what a sacrament is.

Then I went to college. While I had grown up in a kind of Catholic enclave—the Diocese of Youngstown boasts over a hundred parishes—OU was different. For the first time in my life, I was being challenged by evangelicals (I love their passion for the Lord!) for what I believed and why.

God meets us where we are and knows exactly what buttons to push. For me, He knew the best way to get me interested was to make me mad. So He sent me a guy who was firmly convinced that Catholics needed evangelizing, which irritated me enough that I decided I was going to prove him wrong.

And so I read the Bible on my own for the first time in my life. I scoured the Internet for information on why Catholics honor Mary and what exactly transubstantiation is and why we have a pope. I read Scott Hahn and Christopher West. Pope John Paul II’s theology of the body rocked my world.

I learned a lot—most importantly, the depths of my ignorance. And within a few months, I was no longer reading and researching in order to prove someone wrong—I was doing it for me, for my own spiritual growth.

Because I’ve come down this path, I’m really excited about being involved in the new evangelization. There are so many more people like me out there—they’ve grown up with some basic knowledge of the faith, been baptized and confirmed, but their faith hasn’t really been nurtured beyond that.

So I’m blessed to be here this summer at ChristLife and very much looking forward to doing my part.

God bless you all.

The first night of Discovering Christ

Well, I thought last night went superb... My guess is we had somewhere around 45 or so young adults - with a good healthy service team of probably 25 people to serve dinner, setup, cleanup, etc.

It was lots of fun and I can't wait till next week! Here are couple pics from the night:

Me (left) loading tables, Maria (intern), and Jean (our wonderful plant/artistic person!)

Phil R from Wired Different Media with a priceless face prior to the start

A few minutes before dinner begins

Fr. Arnold with a guest talking during dinner

peanuts

Love it :)

ChristLife will be stocking this "evangelism" book this Fall! :)

Hat tip: Fr. Mike at Intentional Disciples

"the Church" and "the mission"

The Pope is calling upon "the Church" to have a "change of mentality" about its identity. Two days ago at a conference in Rome he said, "There is still a tendency to unilaterally identify the Church with the hierarchy, forgetting the common responsibility, the common mission" of all the baptized. He continued, "In Christ, we become really the People of God," which, he affirmed, means everyone, "from the Pope to the last child." More on this at ZENIT. A brief video reporting on the conference can be seen below:

Unfortunately its seems that the "clergy" - "laity" divide that reached a height in previous generations (known as clericalism) - still maintains a hold on mentality of much of the Church (both clergy and laity alike).

Post Vatican II there was a shift upon emphasizing the laity - but the Church was a bit confused about how to do this and what to do - and there was a movement to highlight "laity" in pastoral ministry (lay participation in the apostolate of the hierarchy) - which tended to liberalize certain essential truths about the ministerial priesthood - rather than emphasize the "apostolate of the laity" - which is the laity's commitment to evangelization.

Two important articles on this:

• What Should the Laity be Doing?
  This article, excerpted from Russell Shaw's book Catholic Laity in the Mission of the Church, discusses various ineffective attempts in incorporating the laity into the Church's mission and offers valuable insight into how laity can revitalize the Church in the future.


• What is the lay apostolate?
  This brief article explains what the lay apostolate is and why it is essential to the new evangelization. Following the article are several useful links on the apostolate.

What has your experience been? What do you like about what the Pope is saying? What challenges you?

Discovering Christ!

Blessed be God! With the help of a friend, Phil Rosensteel of Wired Different Media, we produced the following video that shares what Discovering Christ is and are plans to video produce it this summer:

I hope you enjoyed this video. Please consider committing to pray for us and to making a donation to the cause of the Gospel! Thank you!

We also produced second video - based on the same video shoot - that is shorter and ends before the appeal about evangelizing, the video production, and interceding. This version is an "invitation" for young adults we are inviting to this summer's course!

Steadfast in purpose. An amazing example!

Recently while prayerfully reading Acts chapter 11:19-26, I was struck, once again, by the early church's missionary zeal.

It is the account of those who were scattered because of the persecution in Jerusalem and how they continued to witness to Jesus as Lord! They weren't silenced or intimidated by the persecution.They couldn't stop talking about this good news of what God had done in Jesus of Nazareth who was raised from the dead. Some of those who were evangelizing began to share with non-Jews, Greeks, about the Lord Jesus. As a result many came to believe! The Church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to Antioch to see what was happening and to help build up the new believers. When he saw the grace of God evident in the lives of those who believed, he was glad. Barnabas then exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord and steadfast in purpose (vs 23). I felt like that was a word for me and for those of us who serve in and our friends of ChristLife. It is a good word, isn't it? Something we all want in our walk with the Lord Jesus. To be faithful to him and absolutely steadfast in our purpose.

While in Michigan last week presenting a mission for two parishes, the pastor of St. Therese's shared a YouTube video that really illustrates faithfulness and steadfastness in purpose. Take a look and give thanks to the Lord for this man! You may not feel called to do what he did, but the key point that all of us should admire is his steadfastness in doing what he was called to do!

May we all have such passion to make the Lord known to others! May each of us be steadfast in purpose.

Believe Again A. N. Wilson Returns to the Faith

This is a great article from Breakpoint with Chuck Colson.

Two decades ago, A. N. Wilson wrote a critically acclaimed biography of C.S. Lewis. This and some other of his writings led some Christians to hope that Wilson might become what Alan Jacobs once called “that figure for whom so many have been waiting for so long, The Next C. S. Lewis.”

It therefore came as a surprise and a disappointment when Wilson publicly repudiated his Christian faith a few years later and became a mocker of Christianity.

Yet, this past Easter, in the U.K.’s Daily Mail, Wilson was urging British Christians not be cowed by “sneering” and “self-satisfied” critics like Richard Dawkins.

A. N. Wilson, you see, has returned to the faith. Why? In large measure because of the strongest evidence for the truth of the Gospel—that is, its impact on people’s lives.
Wilson wrote that in his “young manhood,” he “began to wonder how much of the Easter story [he] accepted.” By his thirties, he had lost all religious belief.

Why? He attributes it to growing up in a culture that was increasingly and “overwhelmingly secular and anti-religious.” To his “shame,” he says, he went along with the cultural tide. He felt that Christian faith was “uncool” and “unsexy.”

Wilson didn’t stop at what he calls this “playground attitude”: he “began to rail against Christianity” and wrote a book that described Jesus as a “messianic prophet who had . . . truly failed, and died.”

Yet on Palm Sunday just a few weeks ago, Wilson reported that he “heard the Gospel being chanted,” and could assent to it “with complete simplicity.” Sometime in the past 5 years, he went from writing a book about a failed messianic prophet to believing that Jesus had risen from the dead.

Again, the question is “why?” Part of the reason was that atheism and atheists in his words, “[miss] out on some very basic experiences of life.” He described listening to Bach or reading the works of Christian authors and realizing that their “perception of life was deeper, wiser, more rounded than [his] own.” seeing the world through the eyes of faith is “much more interesting” he said, than the alternatives.

Then there was the low esteem in which Darwinism holds man. The people who insist that we are “simply anthropoid apes” can’t account for something as basic as language. The “existence of language,” love and music, to name but a few, convinced Wilson that we are “spiritual beings.” For Wilson, they prove that “the religion of the incarnation, asserting that God made humanity in His image, and continually restores humanity in His image, is simply true.”

Then there’s what he regards the “an even stronger argument”: “the way that Christian faith transforms individual lives.” From “Bonhoeffer’s serenity before he was hanged” to the person next to you at church, Christians bear witness to the truth of Christianity and that as a “working blueprint for life” and “template against which to measure experience, it fits.”

I couldn’t put it any better. Welcome home, Mr. Wilson. It’s great to have you back.

Copyright (c) 2008 Prison Fellowship

The Primacy of Grace

Well, it's a beautifully warm morning here in the western parts of Howard County, MD. Driving out to work today with the windows down, driving west past all of the bumper to bumper eastbound, citybound traffic made me very thankful for ChristLife's remote location in the cornfields west of Ellicott City.

I've been "running" the last few days with a lot of ministry and life activities. My wife is now five months pregnant - a very exciting time! Though this 90+ degree heat in April isn't too welcome.

Every time I mention Ally's due date - at the end of August - to mothers, they all pity her/us for a mid-summer - never can get cool enough - third trimester.

Anyway, with my wife's help, this past Sunday night ChristLife and the Newman Club concluded Spring 09's Following Christ course... A very awesome course building upon the foundation of Discovering Christ, with lots of people deepening or renewing their commitment to Christ as Catholic Christians and (re)learning the bare essentials of our faith - something, unfortunately, many never hear of - discipleship; importance of daily private prayer; reading Scripture as the Word of God; listening to God guide us; the charisms of the Holy Spirit; the importance of the sacraments for a disciple; we are at war (really!)- the world, the flesh, and the devil; and evangelization. All of these talks in the context of passionate praise and worship, small groups, and fellowship. Here's most of the group that went through the course:

This course combined with lots of developments with the summer 09 young adult Discovering Christ course (lots of very exciting info coming soon - especially if you are signed up for our eupdates) - make it a very busy time for us! Not to mention, the boss, Dave is out of town in MI doing a two parish mission right now on Jesus and evangelization.

So, this morning prayer was extra good... In that, I'm tired and really in need of God. Prayer wasn't a "religious routine" but as necessary as drinking cool water on a hot day in the desert. Yeah buddy.

In these times I'm reminded of an excellent section from an Apostolic Letter by Pope John Paul II, Novo Millennio Ineunte. Read this slowly and digest, especially if you are a "Martha" from the Gospel who found herself very good at "being busy" in "serving the Lord" but neglected the "unum necessarium," the "one thing necessary," intimacy with Jesus. This section is called the primacy of grace:

38. If in the planning that awaits us we commit ourselves more confidently to a pastoral activity that gives personal and communal prayer its proper place, we shall be observing an essential principle of the Christian view of life: the primacy of grace. There is a temptation which perennially besets every spiritual journey and pastoral work: that of thinking that the results depend on our ability to act and to plan. God of course asks us really to cooperate with his grace, and therefore invites us to invest all our resources of intelligence and energy in serving the cause of the Kingdom. But it is fatal to forget that "without Christ we can do nothing" (cf. Jn 15:5).

It is prayer which roots us in this truth. It constantly reminds us of the primacy of Christ and, in union with him, the primacy of the interior life and of holiness. When this principle is not respected, is it any wonder that pastoral plans come to nothing and leave us with a disheartening sense of frustration? We then share the experience of the disciples in the Gospel story of the miraculous catch of fish: "We have toiled all night and caught nothing" (Lk 5:5). This is the moment of faith, of prayer, of conversation with God, in order to open our hearts to the tide of grace and allow the word of Christ to pass through us in all its power: Duc in altum! On that occasion, it was Peter who spoke the word of faith: "At your word I will let down the nets" (ibid.). As this millennium begins, allow the Successor of Peter to invite the whole Church to make this act of faith,which expresses itself in a renewed commitment to prayer.

A great invitation to deeper conversion, by a wonderful, saintly, courageous man who lived the primacy of grace.

How does this invitation to enter the primacy of grace stir you? Do you find yourself more often in the primacy of self and busyness?

Jesus I love you and thank you for everything!

Reaching Men for Jesus Christ

Well, if you're on the East Coast today, chances are that you are enjoying some fantastic spring weather. It's gorgeous here in Maryland.

Though, don't be fooled by this picture, that isn't MD, but on top of a mountain in NC. A awesome spot called Linville Gorge.

What does this have to do with living for Jesus Christ?

Well, something I've enjoyed for much of my life is going with guys on backpacking trips to the mountains. In recent years, once God grabbed a hold of my life and set me free in His Son, I've enjoyed the trips even more.

Almost like if you're at a famous museum and you're looking at a masterpiece, and you announce to the group, "I know the artist who created this personally."

Well we know the incredible God whose creative, divine mind thought all of this up!

--

One thing I believe God is teaching me is to "create space" where He can act and bring His love and truth and freedom. So, if I'm at the grocery store and I mutter a "hello" and that's it as far as my interaction with the clerk, well, God won't have as much "space" to work with.

The outdoors have always been a "space" where God seems to work. Especially among guy friends that I go with. Good conversations, shared meals, fellowship, mutual enjoying of beauty and great weather, and praying - all seem to create "space" where He works.

Well, two friends and fellow brothers in Jesus Christ, who've started a full-time Catholic men's apostolate called the King's Men, are creating such a "space" this June. It's going to be a gigantic outdoor experiential weekend for men, called Into the Wild. It looks pretty awesome.

So, check it out. It's happening, June 4-7, in the wilderness of PA. The weekend will focus on growing as men and experiencing the outdoors, etc. There will be opportunity for mass, etc. But it isn't exclusively for Catholics/Christians - which I think is a good thing to create space for God to work.

Let every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!

On the Day of Atonement,the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people, the high priest, carrying the blood of the sacrifice would enter the holiest part of the Temple. Once a year he would pass through the temple curtain and enter the Holy of Holies and there he would pronounce the name of God. The name consisted of four letters and was so sacred that it was never spoken at any other time or place. The Jews would substitute the name, Adonai, which means ‘Lord’, when saying the divine name. When the High Priest spoke the holy name, it made God present; and atoned for the sins of the nation of Israel.

This holy week, as Christians, we celebrate The Great Atonement (Heb.4:14;9:12) with the death of Jesus the Messiah, not only for the sins of Israel, but for ‘the sins of the whole world’(1John2:2; Romans 3:25).

St. Paul sharing a hymn of praise of the early church that existed before he wrote his letters tell us:

Christ humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the Name which is above every name,

St Paul does not use the divine name rather he uses Adonai (in Greek Kyrios, Dominus in Latin, and Lord in English). He goes on to tell us:

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2: 8-11

By using the word Lord, St Paul means exactly the name that means God! This is the incredible truth of our faith! Jesus is the ‘I AM’. He is the everlasting almighty God. He has 'all authority and all power.' (Matt.28:18-20).

After the first Easter the proclamation, “Jesus is Lord!” took the place of the proclamation that our Lord made, “The Kingdom of God is at hand!” The early disciples were telling everyone that, ‘Jesus is risen, He is the Messiah, He is Lord!’ They were telling the most incredibly good news that Jesus, the King was at hand and, He is the Lord!

This was the heart of the good news! It is what is called the kerygma, the basic Gospel message. In these words are the power and authority of God that transforms lives as nothing else can. For those who have come to know the truth of this profound self -revelation of God it is revolutionary and imparts a confidence in what He can do through our proclamation. It elevates our faith in the Lord Jesus present among us in the Holy Spirit to save and continue his mission of redemption.

This proclamation, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ is like a buried treasure that must be uncovered and restored to the rightful place of prominence in our preaching and in our sharing with others. Yet currently it is a point of spiritual warfare and there is great resistance within the church to embrace the simplicity and humility that this proclamation calls us to. St. Paul tells us, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel!” (Rom. 1:16). We too must not be ashamed of the kerygma. For, “it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith…”(Rom 1:16b)

St Paul tells us, ‘every knee shall bow.’ That is the posture we need to have if we are to proclaim the essential gospel, that ‘Jesus Christ is Lord.’ It is a call to humility, and it is a call to obedience to God.

This Holy week, let’s seek the Lordship of Christ for our personal lives, families and friends, and reflect on his great mercy displayed at Calvary for sinners like you and me! Let us like the early Christians proclaim the joy of Easter, He is risen, Jesus is Lord!

If you have never asked Jesus to be the Lord of your life, of your everything, ask Him. Tell Him you want to surrender your entire life to his Lordship. Ask him to come as your God to lead you!

Ralph Martin and Personal Prayer

Yesterday I had lunch with a dear friend of mine, Ralph Martin. It is always special to have time with Ralph, we've know each other for 38 years! Ralph lives in Ann Arbor Michigan so we don't get to see much of each other, but recently he has been finishing up his Licentiate in Sacred Theology in Washington, D.C. So Ralph drove up to get a chance to see our ChristLife offices and for some time to catch up with each other.

Back in 1971 I attended a workshop on Union with God in

Prayer, that Ralph was presenting. That workshop inspired and instructed me how to begin the discipline of a daily personal prayer life that continues right up till this morning! Ralph has written two incredible books on prayer: Hungry for God- Practical Help in Personal Prayer and, The Fulfillment of All Desire.

I want to encourage anyone who would like to establish a daily personal prayer life, which is so crucial to living as a Christian, to get hold of Hungry for God. It will be life changing.

An exciting few days...

Well, it's been a while since I blogged. But I thought I would share some great news. First off, my wife, Ally, and I went on a retreat this weekend with the Catholic Campus Ministry at UMBC, as part of our Following Christ course. This is the second component in our evangelization process of Discover, Follow, and Share. It was a fantastic time with 20 or so young adults - all at different places on the spiritual journey. We were so blessed to help serve them and lead them closer to Jesus Christ! Here are a few pictures from the retreat:


The location, Fatima House, rural PA is a restored barn and several houses from the 1800s - very cool spot. Lay conscerated people served us, provided hospitality, and really covered us with their intercession.


Here I am about to eat my superb dessert at our final lunch - ice cream with strawberries - yum :)

Here are three of our leaders (L-R): Vincenzo, Ejiofor, & Miguel

Here's the whole crew that went on the retreat.

So, it was a fantastic time- many of the young adults renewed their commitment to Jesus Christ, went to confession, & enjoyed the fellowship of one another. Two priests, Fr. Richard Gray, MSA, and Fr. Andrew Carr, a Redemptorist priest, led us through the weekend, sharing their lives with us and the sacraments.

-snip-

Another amazing experience was this morning, when my wife and Ally went for her second sonogram. We're having a .... (drum roll please) a girl!! Praise Him!

Funny, so there's a nun where Ally works (a Catholic school) who predicted from the beginning - it would be a girl... Then others chimed in and we had all sorts of predictions. Well, I was praying... really just talking out loud to our Father last week and I felt a slight impression in my heart- "it's a girl" - I held on to that... Well, it was right! Thank you Lord!

Watching our little girl on the sonogram machine was quite an amazing thing... You just get this deep "wow" feeling... Almost a transcendent moment.

Anyway, in the spirit of this... I watched the other week this awesome 2 minute clip from National Geographic on a new 4D sonogram... Which I think is the best argument for being "pro-life." Not sure if NG intended that - but its amazing.

Then, finally, one more awesome clip my brother Andrew shared with me the other day, with the subject line, "funny... I bet you can't wait." It's four hours in the life of a ninth month old baby sped up to 2 minutes. A delightful video. I wish I had half the energy. I can't wait :)

More Funny Videos

Thinking like Christ

He became to us a reproof of our thoughts; the very sight of him is a burden to us because his manner of life is unlike that of others, and his ways are strange…Thus they reasoned, but they were led astray, for their wickedness blinded them, and they did not know the secret purposes of God. Wisdom 2: 15,21-22

Have this mind among yourselves, which was in Christ Jesus, who… humbled himself and became obedient unto death. Philippians 2:5, 8b

The first passage above is from the book of Wisdom written around 200 B.C. You really have to read the whole chapter- it is a remarkable prophecy of Christ’s suffering, death and rising. But it also is a testimony to how different God’s ways are from our ways of thinking apart from him.

And that reality has been challenging me in recent weeks during my times praying over Scripture. The Lord wants to renew our ways of thinking about everything! Take as one example Jesus’ question and teaching to the disciples found in Matthew 16:13-27. Jesus asks, “Who do you say I am?” Peter responds by the revelation of God, “You are Christ, the Son of the living God.” The Lord then goes on to explain his mission as Messiah and how he will suffer, die and be raised on the third day. Pete got the revelation that Jesus was Messiah, but when it came to the revelation of His mission, he could not comprehend how that had to do with Jesus, in fact he also would have feared what that would mean for him as lead disciple! I imagine Peter thinking to himself, “If you Lord, who are Christ, are to suffer and die, then what about me your follower?! Jesus in fact went on to say, "if anyone would come after him, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

Like Peter, I recognize within myself patterns of thinking that are not yet subject to the Lordship of Christ. Thoughts that essentially continue to preserve my self life. Thinking that is not consistent with what I profess. Just like Peter, I can say by the grace of God, “Jesus, you are the Christ, the Son of God!” But when he tells me that his mission also requires, death to self, I recognize areas of my mind that clearly are resistant to Him and need renewal! I want to say, God forbid!-just like Peter.

The Lord wants us to be his witnesses from the inside out. Like the passage from wisdom, he wants our manner of life to be unlike others, because we are growing in oneness with the Lord.

Some practical ways to co-operate with the Holy Spirit transforming our thinking

The good news is that the Lord knows exactly where we don’t have the mind of Christ and wants to transform our minds by the renewal of his Holy Spirit within us! (Romans 12:2). He is for you and He is the one who can change your mind!

In order for this to occcur it means hanging out with the Lord in daily personal prayer and Scripture.

It means being with Church as we celebrate the Liturgy and receiving his Word and His Body and Blood.

He wants to break strongholds of our thinking by his divine power (2 Cor. 10:4-6). That means if there are areas where evil spirits are influencing our thinking, we have authority in our Lord Jesus to renounce and give up fellowshipping with those patterns of thinking.

For our part he wants us to surrender to him. We need to talk to him daily and make a practice of surrendering to his leadership of my entire life. We can ask for his light to reveal the darkness within and to then renounce thought patterns that are not consistent with who He is and who we are. It is also wonderful that we can take advantage of the sacrament of reconciliation for more power to hold firm in our resolutions to draw closer to the Lord!

One last thing, St Paul’s exhortation to have the mind of Christ is spoken to Christians, the church and not just to ‘me and Jesus.’ A very important support to being a disciple of Jesus today is having some brothers or sisters who you can fully reveal yourself to. Trusted Christians who you can share and pray with, and turn to in times of trouble and times of joy. As we share with others with the desire to live for Christ, his light works through to transform us, and bring us more completely into the image of Christ, being fully who you were made to be in Him.

Jesus wants to teach us his ways that are not of this world, but which turn the world upside down and right side up, so that we see things as they really are, and can offer others more of his fullness of life which we are increasingly living!

How do you get to heaven?

Lots of people, Christians and those of other religions or no religious belief at all, believe in heaven. Fewer people seem to believe in hell or at least don’t want to think about it. And now days many don’t seem to give much thought to how you get to one place or the other.

Christ talked about the existence of both frequently, and urged everyone to do what was necessary to go to heaven. As Christians our reason for believing in the existence of heaven and hell is because we believe in Him and He believed in them!

Back in the 1970’s I taught religion at a Jesuit boys high school. At some point during the courses I taught I would ask the question, “When you die what is the reason for getting to go to heaven?” I almost always got the same answers: Because I was good, I didn’t hurt anyone, I was sincere. Rarely was Jesus mentioned as the answer. Many of the students had received Catholic education throughout their schooling yet did not understand what Christ Jesus had to do with eternal life.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except by me.” (John 14:6) He also said, “eternal life is this to know you the only true God, an Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:3)

The Church teaches, “By his death and Resurrection, Jesus Christ has “opened heaven to us. The life of the blessed consists in the full and perfect possession of the fruits of the redemption accomplished by Christ. He makes partners in his heavenly glorification those who have believed in him and remain faithful to his will. Heaven is the blessed community of all who are perfectly incorporated into him.” Check it out in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), 1027

The essential answer for our getting to go to heaven is, Christ. Jesus has “opened heaven to us.” He is the way we can be eternally with God. By his death and resurrection Jesus accomplished what we in and of ourselves could not accomplish - our redemption. It is the love of God made manifest on the cross, bearing our sins, granting us forgiveness and through the Spirit entry into relationship with God. It is God’s initiative, not ours that allows us this access to eternal joy with the Trinity and all of the saints and angels! The Father wants us to be with Him eternally and through the Son has made the way for us be with them, happily ever after! It is our responsibility to respond to this grace of God with faith doing his will in our daily lives.

Let me make one comment on hell. Hell is the consequence of our free will. We can choose it for ourselves. God does not cast anyone into hell against his will. If we truly are creatures with free will then we have the capacity to say no to a loving Creator. That is essentially what hell is. Eternal separation from the One who loves us so much that he allows us to choose to be with Him, or not. Take a look in the CCC, 1033-1037.

The Church also teaches that even those who have not baptized and responded with faith in Christ may be saved (under the impulse of grace) who “sincerely seek God and strive to do his will can also be saved without Baptism (Baptism of desire).” CCC,1258-1261. It is a mystery and thank God He is the judge of all and not me or you! It is not our responsibility to judge who is or isn’t going to heaven when they die.

Our responsibility is to pray for salvation for everyone and to be witnesses of the eternal life that begins here and now in knowing the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (See John 17:3 noted above). What is important for those of us who know Christ and are seeking to do his will, is to graciously be available to share the good news of what God has done in Jesus our Lord so that all might have fullness of life here and eternal happiness in heaven! After all, if we believe in a heaven and hell we certainly want to help others to be in heaven and to know the way to get there!

St. Boniface

Thanks to ZENIT news, here’s a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave yesterday at the general audience in St. Peter's Square.  It is an inspiring story of apostolic zeal & courage:

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On St. Boniface
"His Ardent Zeal for the Gospel Always Impresses Me"

Dear brothers and sisters:

Today we pause to consider a great missionary of the 8th century, who spread Christianity in Central Europe, precisely in my homeland as well: St. Boniface, who has been recorded in history as the "apostle of the Germans."

We have not a little information about his life, thanks to the diligence of his biographers: He was born to an Anglo Saxon family in Wessex around the year 675 and was baptized with the name Winfred. He joined the monastery very young, attracted by the monastic ideal. Possessing notable intellectual capacities, he seemed headed toward a tranquil and brilliant career as a scholar: He was a professor of Latin grammar, wrote a few treatises and also composed some poems in Latin.

Ordained a priest at close to 30 years of age, he felt called to the apostolate among the pagans of the continent. Great Britain, his land, evangelized just 100 years before by the Benedictines guided by St. Augustine, manifested a faith that was so solid and a charity that was so ardent that it sent missionaries to Central Europe to announce there the Gospel. In 716, Winfred, with some companions, headed to Friesland (in present day Holland), but he clashed with the opposition of the local leader and the attempt at evangelization failed.

Having returned to his homeland, he didn't lose his zest and two years later, he went to Rome to speak with Pope Gregory II and to receive direction. The Pope, according to a biographer's account, received him "with a smiling face and a gaze full of kindness," and in the following days, had with him "important discussions" (Willibaldo, Vita S. Bonifatii, ed. Levison, pp. 13-14). And finally, after having given him the new name of Boniface, he entrusted him with official letters and the mission to preach the Gospel among the peoples of Germany.

Comforted and sustained by the support of the Pope, Boniface got to work in the preaching of the Gospel in those regions, fighting against the pagan cults and strengthening the bases of Christian and human morality. With a great sense of duty, he wrote in one of his letters: "We are firm in the fight in the day of the Lord, because days of affliction and misery have arrived ... We are not muted dogs, nor tacit observers, nor mercenaries who flee before the wolves. We are instead diligent pastors who watch over the flock of Christ, who announce to important persons and normal ones, to the rich and the poor, the will of God ... in opportune moments and inopportune ones ... " (Epistulae, 3,352.354: MGH).

With his tireless activity, with his organizational gifts, with his flexible and amiable character despite its firmness, Boniface obtained great results. The Pope then "declared that he wanted to confer on him episcopal dignity, so that with greater determination he could thus correct and return to the path of truth those who were mistaken, feel that he was supported by the greater authority of the apostolic dignity, and would be more accepted by everyone in the office of preaching since all the more for this reason it seemed he had been ordained by the apostolic prelate" (Otloho, Vita S. Bonifatii, ed. Levison, lib. I, p. 127).

It was the Supreme Pontiff himself who consecrated him "regional bishop" -- that is, for all of Germany, and Boniface revived his apostolic efforts in the territories entrusted to him and extended his action as well to the Church of Gaul. With great prudence, he restored ecclesiastical discipline, convoked various synods to ensure the authority of the sacred canons, and reinforced the necessary communion with the Roman Pontiff, a point that he carried especially in his heart. The successors of Pope Gregory II also held him in most high consideration: Gregory III named him archbishop of all the Germanic tribes, sent him the pallium and gave him the faculty to organize the ecclesiastical hierarchy in those regions (cf. Epist. 28: S. Bonifatii Epistulae, ed. Tangl, Berolini 1916). Pope Zachary confirmed him in his post and praised his work (cf. Epist. 51, 57, 58, 60, 68, 77, 80, 86, 87, 89: op. cit.). And Pope Stephen III, recently elected, received from him a letter in which he expressed his filial attention (cf. Epist. 108: op. cit.).

The great bishop, besides this work of evangelization and organization of the Church through the foundation of dioceses and the celebration of synods, did not fail to favor the foundation of various monasteries, masculine and feminine, so that they would be like a lighthouse to irradiate the faith and human and Christian culture in the territory. From the Benedictine cenobites of his homeland, he had called men and women monks who lent a most valuable and precious service in the task of announcing the Gospel and spreading the human sciences and arts among the populations.

He considered in fact that the work for the Gospel should be also work for a true human culture. Above all the monastery of Fulda -- founded around 743 -- was the heart and center of the irradiation of the spirituality and the religious culture: There the monks, in prayer, in work and in penance, endeavored to tend toward sanctity; they formed themselves in the study of sacred and secular disciplines, preparing themselves for the announcement of the Gospel, to be missionaries. Therefore thanks to Boniface, to his men and women monks -- the women too had a very important part in this work of evangelization -- this human culture also flourished, which is inseparable from the faith and reveals its beauty.

Boniface himself has left us significant intellectual works -- above all his copious collection of letters, wherein the pastoral letters alternate with official letters and those of a private nature, which reveal social events and above all his rich human temperament and deep faith. He composed as well a treatise of "Ars grammatica," in which he explained the declinations, verbs and syntax of Latin, but which for him was also an instrument to spread the faith and the culture. Attributed to him as well is an "Ars metrica," that is, an introduction to how to make poetry, and various poetic compositions, and finally, a collection of 165 sermons.

Though he was already advanced in years -- he was close to 80 -- he prepared himself for a new evangelizing mission: With some 50 monks, he returned to Friesland, where he had begun his work. Almost as a foretelling of his imminent death, alluding to the journey of life, he wrote to his disciple and successor in the See of Mainz, Bishop Lullus: "I want to complete the aim of this trip, I cannot in any way renounce the desire to depart. The day of my end is near and the time of my death draws near; leaving the mortal remains, I will rise to the eternal reward. But you, most dear son, ceaselessly call the people from the labyrinth of error, complete the construction of the already begun basilica of Fulda, and there you will place my body grown old with long years of life" (Willibaldo, Vita S. Bonifatii, ed. cit., p. 46).

While he was beginning the celebration of Mass in Dokkum (in present day North Holland), on June 5, 754, he was assaulted by a band of pagans. Placing himself at the front with a serene face, he "prohibited his [companions] to fight, saying: "Cease, sons, to combat, abandon the war, because the testimony of Scripture warns us not to return evil for evil, but good for evil. This is the day awaited for some time, the time of our end has arrived. Courage in the Lord!" (ibid. pp. 49-50).

Those were his last words before falling beneath the blows of his aggressors. The remains of the bishop-martyr were taken to the monastery of Fulda, where he received a dignified burial. Already one of his first biographers described him with this affirmation: "The holy Bishop Boniface can be called the father of all the inhabitants of Germany, because he was the first to engender them in Christ with the word of his holy preaching; he confirmed them with his example and finally gave his life for them, greater love than this cannot be given" (Otloho, Vita S. Bonifatii, ed. cit., lib. I, p. 158).

After centuries, what message can we take from the teaching and the prodigious activity of this great missionary and martyr? A first point is evident to one who approaches Boniface: the centrality of the Word of God, lived and interpreted in the faith of the Church, a Word that he lived, preached and gave testimony to unto the supreme gift of himself in martyrdom. He was so impassioned by the Word of God that he felt the urgency and the duty of taking it to others, even at his personal risk. Upon it, he supported his faith, the spreading of which he had solemnly made a pledge to in the moment of his episcopal consecration: "I integrally profess the purity of the holy Catholic faith and with the help of God, I want to remain in the unity of this faith, in which without any doubt is all of the salvation of Christians" (Epist. 12, in S. Bonifatii Epistolae, ed. cit., p. 29).

The second obvious point, a very important one, which emerges from the life of Boniface is his faithful communion with the Apostolic See, which was a firm and central point in his missionary work. He always conserved that communion as a rule of his mission and he left it almost as a testament. In a letter to Pope Zachary, he affirmed: "I never fail to invite and to submit to the obedience of the Apostolic See those who want to remain in the Catholic faith and in the unity of the Roman Church and all those that in this mission God gives me as listeners and disciples" (Epist. 50: in ibid. p. 81).

A fruit of this determination was the firm spirit of cohesion around the Successor of Peter that Boniface transmitted to the Churches in his mission territory, uniting England, Germany and France with Rome and contributing in such a determinant way to plant the Christian roots of Europe that they have produced fecund fruits in successive centuries.

For a third characteristic that Boniface draws to our attention: He promoted the encounter between the Roman-Christian culture and the Germanic culture. He knew in fact that to humanize and evangelize the culture was an integral part of his mission as a bishop. Transmitting the ancient patrimony of Christian values, he implanted in the German peoples a new style of life that was more human, thanks to which the inalienable rights of the person were better respected. As an authentic son of St. Benedict, he knew how to unite prayer and work (manual and intellectual), pen and plow.

The valiant testimony of Boniface is an invitation for all of us to welcome in our life the Word of God as an essential point of reference, to passionately love the Church, to feel that we are co-responsible for its future, to seek unity around the Successor of Peter. At the same time, he reminds us that Christianity, favoring the spreading of culture, promotes the progress of man. It falls to us, then, to measure up to a patrimony that is so prestigious and make it bear fruit for the good of the generations to come.

His ardent zeal for the Gospel always impresses me: At 40 years old, he leaves a beautiful and fruitful monastic life, the life of a monk and a professor, to announce the Gospel to the simple, to the barbarians; at 80 years of age, once again, he goes to a zone where he foresaw his martyrdom. Comparing this ardent faith of his, this zeal for the Gospel, to our faith so often lukewarm and bureaucratic, we see that we have to renew our faith and how to do it, so as to give as a gift to our times the precious pearl of the Gospel.

**

The two underlined parts above most impressed me.  This guy had such incredible zeal for the Gospel & courage in the face of martyrdom.  I know he and the “cloud of witnesses” are cheering for us and praying for us now as we endeavor to follow in their courageous footsteps.

Finally, the humble comments of the Pope at the end about his/our own lukewarm and bureaucratic faith, are great to hear – because I know in my own life when I realize how weak I am and how much I want to be renewed – these are the moments I relinquish my spiritual pride and cry out to God my Father, “renew me, make me stronger in my weakness, make me courageous, I want to be all yours! Amen!”

What about you?  Does the life of St. Boniface inspire you? How so?  Comment below.