
Sometimes we have it in our mind that we need to offer the Lord a perfect gift of ourselves if it's going to count for something. Aware of our various attachments and imperfections, we put off making the gift until such time as we are in a position to make a more pleasing sacrifice. My counsel to you is to offer what you have at present, even if it's imperfect. Because that's the git you actually have and that's the gift in which the Lord actually delights : )
I just got back from five weeks of preaching and travels which took me to Australia and Italy. I have been super encouraged by what I have seen in these days, especially by the interest in the faith and the desire on the part of young people to follow the Lord Jesus. It might just be that the tide of secularization is turning in the developed world.
Working on an entire album of lofi music. Here's one of those songs. Album should drop next week. THEN, a couple of weeks after that we hope to have our 24/7 stream up and running.
THE ERROR OF ARIUS ABOUT THE INCARNATION
In their eagerness to proclaim the unity of God and man in Christ, some heretics went to the opposite extreme and taught that not only was there one person, but also a single nature, in God and man. This error took its rise from Arius. To defend his position that those scriptural passages where Christ is represented as being inferior to the Father, must refer to the Son of God Himself, regarded in His assuming nature, Arius taught that in Christ there is no other soul than the Word of God who, he maintained, took the place of the soul in Christ’s body. Thus when Christ says, in John 14:28, “The Father is greater than I,” or when He is introduced as praying or as being sad, such matters are to be referred to the very nature of the Son of God. If this were so, the union of God’s Son with man would be effected not only in the person, but also in the nature. For, as we know, the unity of human nature arises from the union of soul and body.
The...
RESTORATION OF MAN BY GOD THROUGH THE INCARNATION
We indicated above that the reparation of human nature could not be effected either by Adam or by any other purely human being. For no individual man ever occupied a position of pre-eminence over the whole of nature; nor can any mere man be the cause of grace. The same reasoning shows that not even an angel could be the author of man’s restoration. An angel cannot be the cause of grace, just as he cannot be man’s recompense with regard to the ultimate perfection of beatitude, to which man was to be recalled. In this matter of beatitude angels and men are on a footing of equality. Nothing remains, therefore, but that such restoration could be effected by God alone.
But if God had decided to restore man solely by an act of His will and power, the order of divine justice would not have been observed. justice demands satisfaction for sin. But God cannot render satisfaction, just as He cannot merit. Such a service pertains to one who ...
I don’t talk much on here. I probably overshare random things I see, hear, or read. As a fairly recent convert with no practicing Catholic family and a small local Catholic Community, I am super grateful for this community ✝️❤️🙏
Glory to God! We have almost 30 men in our exodus fraternity. And one of our brothers went to confession for the first time in a very long time. Beyond excited for him.
Please pray for all the parishioners and students at this church
https://www.newson6.com/story/68af14582dfe56b3249cd4d0/south-minneapolis-incident-august-27-2025
Hey everyone!
Beginning September 4th, our Locals community will enter into 33 days of spiritual preparation for total consecration to Jesus through Mary.
We will conclude together on October 7th, the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.
Here’s how it will unfold on Locals:
- We will be guided by Fr. Boniface Hicks’ beautiful book, The Fruit of Her Womb: 33-Day Preparation for Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary. (I’ve received special permission from the publisher to share it with Locals members.)
- A daily meditation and prayer will be posted each day for the 33 days.
- To accompany us, Fr. Boniface will provide several exclusive videos recorded just for Locals, offering guidance and encouragement along the way.
This is an opportunity to consecrate—or renew your consecration—to Jesus through Mary in the company of a prayerful community, with the wisdom of a priest who has written deeply on this devotion.
Mark your calendar: We begin September 4th.
You can purchase a copy of the book here: https://www.amazon.com/33-Day-Preparation-Total-Consecration-Through/dp/1644138409
In essence, the priest leads the faithful to announce what is true and to renounce what is false.
For the purposes of this article we’ll begin with the questions that invite annunciations. He asks:
"Do you believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth?"
"Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered death and was buried, rose again from the dead and is seated at the right hand of the Father?"
"Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?"
In responding “I do” to these questions, we are in a very real sense aligning ourselves with reality. While emotions may be present, they don’t need to be. Simply stating our agreement with the way things are is enough.
Prior to the above questions are a series of questions which invite renunciation:
"Do you renounce sin, so as to live in the freedom of the children of God?"
"Do you renounce the lure of evil, so that sin may have no mastery over you?"
"Do you renounce Satan, the author and prince of sin?"
In responding “I do” to these questions, we are renouncing, repudiating, what is false.
To those who may attend Holy Mass once or twice a year they may be surprised to discover just how seriously the Church takes the reality of the Devil and spiritual warfare. But anyone somewhat familiar with the Scriptures and the consistent teaching of the Church would not be. Here I could dump a multitude of Scriptural verses proving my point, but one will suffice. From the first letter of St. Peter:
"Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world."
And now for the main point of this article: Just as it is beneficial to regularly align ourselves with what is true (say through an act of faith), it is also beneficial to regularly repudiate, and disassociate with, what is false.
And given that our lives are situated squarely within a world at war. A world which “lies in the power of the evil one.” in which demonic forces are seeking to blind us to the things of God (2 Cor. 4:4). This is something we are going to be needing to do in one form or another on a daily basis. Multiple times a day.
Let me offer a personal anecdote that will illustrate this. I was about to interview someone on a topic that I knew would get blowback from the Demonic realm. I was going on a walk praying my rosary before my guest arrived. While I was walking I slowly became aware of a sort of oppressive force. I felt sad and restricted, somehow. Anxious. I’m not sure how long I was feeling that way, but at any rate I didn’t become conscious of it until that moment. I stopped walking and tried to sum up what I was experiencing in a word. It clicked. intimidation. That’s was it. I felt intimidated. And so I said the following prayer:
There is a lot going on. We are confused about many things. Embarrassed that we are confused. Pretend not to be. Have a few soundbites we can rely on when the conversation turns to Trump or the state of the Church or what is going on in Israel and Gaza or the AI revolution. We hope they don’t press us because we know enough to answer two or three questions before they will hit bedrock and we will have nothing.
All of this can lead us to believe the lie that life is complicated. And since we cannot figure it out, we should either quit, or numb, or pretend, or run ourselves ragged trying to understand everything we think we should understand.
And yet life is simple. Very, very simple. There is very little to figure out.
Love what is good. Hate what is evil. But how? When I have willingly habituated myself to do the opposite. Pray. Repent. Keep turning away from distractions. Don’t hate yourself for failing. Hope in the good God who is better than you think He is. Who cares for you more than you think He does.
What are your duties? Do them with joy and attention. Don’t hate yourself when you fail at this. Pray. Repent. Have a sense of humor about your littleness. You are incredibly loved after all, remember?
Turn away from what is useless and petty and vulgar and think about what is excellent.
Say “Your will be done” 100 times a day, especially when things are bad or seem meaningless. Your headache. Your bad night sleep. The house you can’t seem to get around to tidying.
Be patient and gentle with stupid people who can’t seem to make themselves love or want to love what is good, yourself first and foremost.
Jesus, help me want to want to love you. Help me want to want to hate anything opposed to you or your kingdom.