“the devil preys upon our human weaknesses by exploiting our differences” The Holy Sepulcher Since the 18th century the Church of the Holy Sepulcher has been managed jointly by a complex system of “zones” governed by six different Christian denominations, Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox,Continue Reading
Spiritual Blindness “Master, I want to see.” In 1995 Dr. Oliver Sacks released his book, “An Anthropologist on Mars.” In this book he recounts the stories of seven people suffering from various neurological conditions. One of the cases concerned a man named Virgil. Virgil had been blind since early childhood.Continue Reading
“Suffering and pain is a reality of existence. “ The psalmist tells us that the lifespan of man is seventy years, or eighty for those who are strong, and most of these are emptiness and pain. Our Lord promised us that following Him would not bring us comfort and easeContinue Reading
We often hear that money is the root of all evil, but is it? Lawrence of Arabia In the 1962 film “Lawrence of Arabia,” British Lieutenant T.E. Lawrence is sent to Arabia to serve as a liaison between the Arabs and the British in their fight against the Turks. TheContinue Reading
“Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.” There was a time when the majority of people believed in objective standards. That is not to say they agreed on everything, they didn’t. Bu they did agree that somethings were simply right or wrong. Several polls in recent yearsContinue Reading
“The ‘Little Way’ of St. Therese is a way of consecrating our most mundane and ordinary tasks to God, whether it is washing clothes or opening a door for another or saving a starfish” Saving Starfish One night a violent storm blew in from the sea and stranded thousands ofContinue Reading
“When we accept the Kingdom of God into our hearts, we accept self-denial. We no longer do things according to our will; we give ourselves completely over to the will of God.” The Old Man’s Son An elderly man lay dying in a hospital. He had suffered a heartContinue Reading
“To be sacred or holy, means to be set apart. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that we remove ourselves from the world.” The Desert Fathers were hermits that withdrew from the world to focus on the contemplation of God and deny themselves every worldly comfort. One day, one of theseContinue Reading
“the Gospel must first be preached to all nations.” Emperor Valens From the beginning, Christians have suffered persecution in one form or another. But that persecution does not always come from the outside, sometimes it comes from within. In A.D. 364, Flavius Julius Valens Augustus, known to history as Valens,Continue Reading
“St. James illustrates for us two paths of spirituality that we must keep in balance.” Two Monks Two monks were traveling through a forest on foot, making their way back to their monastery. Recent rains had made the rivers and streams swollen with fast moving currents. As they approached oneContinue Reading