Hope Is Hearts In Heaven, Not Heads In Clouds
Desire for things we do not yet fully possess drives so much of our lives. Even when we ask one another, “How are you?” the detailed answers tend not toward what we are in the current moment, but what we “will be” after something else is achieved and reached. “Fine,” we say, “I’m almost done with this big project and then I ca...
Nothing Good Is Good Enough
by Chris Fernandez Jason Craig’s Article What’s Wrong with the ‘Pursuit of Happiness,’ from the 2nd Sunday in OT is applicable here, and a good reference. This article clarifies what consists in true happiness: Freedom for the Good. “To be happy is to seek God and virtue in relation to the order of grace.” Jason quotes Aquinas in e...
Don’t Shoot For The Stars. Shoot For Heaven
The historic timing of Jesus’ coming was not random. He came, as Scripture puts it, “in the fullness of time” (Gal. 4:4). What does that mean and why might God have chosen that time over others? Let’s put it into a broader context. The moment of Our Lord’s coming was when many currents of world history were coming together, specificall...
Two Ways We Sin Against Hope
In the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (known to many as “the Byzantine Liturgy,” and is one of the most ancient rites in the world) there are litanies that ask for God’s help in a variety of our affairs as men. The response the people sing together after each petition is “Lord have mercy.” Here’s some of those prayers: For f...
Hope, The Virtue of Easter
Jonathan, Jack, Kevin “By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” -Luke 1:78-79 When I was in seminary my favorite liturgical celebration of the whole year was the Easter vigil. I love all the sym...
Blessed Are They Who Mourn: How I’m Responding to Grandpa’s Death
*Since this article was written, Sean’s grandfather has passed. Please pause and pray for his soul. Today I had what may very well have been my last conversation with my beloved “Grampa.” He is 90 years old, in the advanced stages of cancer, and has declined extremely rapidly in the course of just a few weeks. The doctors say it’s ...
Let’s Talk About Sex: Moral Decay and Hope
Pope Benedict XVI once famously wrote: “What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too...” The Holy Father’s wise statement was made in the context of allowing for wider use of the Traditional Latin Mass, although his words can be applied more broadly. This maxim is nowhere more evident than in the shamefully fla...