I WANT to give a message of hope—tremendous hope. I continue to receive letters in which readers are despairing as they watch the continual decline and exponential decay of society around them. We hurt because the world is in a downward spiral into a darkness unparalleled in history. We feel pangs because it reminds us that this is not our home, but Heaven is. So listen again to Jesus:
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. (Matthew 5:6)
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Thursday, August 27th, 2015
Memorial of St. Monica
Liturgical texts here
“STAY AWAKE!” Those are the opening words in today’s Gospel. “For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.”
First published October 5th, 2006.
WITH my writings of late on the Pope, the Catholic Church, the Blessed Mother, and the understanding of how divine truth flows, not through personal interpretation, but through the teaching authority of Jesus, I received the expected emails and criticisms from non-Catholics (or rather, ex-Catholics). They have interpreted my defence of the hierarchy, established by Christ Himself, to mean that I do not have a personal relationship with Jesus; that somehow I believe I am saved, not by Jesus, but by the Pope or a bishop; that I am not filled with the Spirit, but an institutional “spirit” that has left me blind and bereft of salvation.
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Wednesday, August 19th, 2015
Opt. Memorial of St. John Eudes
Liturgical texts here
IT is palpable: the body of Christ is tired. There are so many loads that many are carrying in this hour. For one, our own sins and the myriad temptations we face in a highly consumerist, sensual, and compulsive society. There is also the apprehension and anxiety about what the Great Storm has yet to bring. And then there are all the personal trials, most notably, family divisions, financial strain, sickness, and fatigue of the daily grind. All of these can begin to pile up, crushing and smothering and defusing the flame of God’s love that has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Tuesday, August 11th, 2015
Memorial of St. Clare
Liturgical texts here
PERHAPS the deepest trial many are experiencing today is the temptation to believe that prayer is futile, that God neither hears nor answers their prayers. To succumb to this temptation is the beginning of the shipwreck of one’s faith…
