Monthly Archives: April 2020

There’s No Place Like Home

26 Sunday Apr 2020

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shutterstock_Online Date Night

“There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.” In the classic movie, The Wizard of OZ, these magical words transported Dorothy back to her home in Kansas.

If you are like us, sheltering in place for the past several weeks may have left you muttering something like “Any place but home. Any place but home!”

So, if you are feeling stressed, anxious, worried, short on patience or frustrated with your spouse and children, we recommend going on a date with your spouse! That’s right going on a date with your spouse can actually help you de-stress and strengthen your marriage.

A report entitled The Date Night Opportunity[1], concluded that there are at least five ways date nights may foster stronger marriages: communication, novelty, eros, commitment, and de-stress. Here is a quick summary of those benefits:

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An Ocean of Mercy

19 Sunday Apr 2020

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Divine Mercy mosaic

You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us.[1]

We are living in unprecedented times. We are faced with a global pandemic the likes of which the world has not experienced in a century. Stay-in-place orders are common in most areas of the United States. Schools and businesses are closed. Parents are struggling with schooling children while working from home themselves. Tensions are rising and patience is wearing thin. Despair and hopelessness are at all-time highs. And with churches unable to celebrate Mass, the domestic church has become the norm for families.

In the midst of all this, today the Church celebrates Divine Mercy Sunday. St. Maria Faustina Kowalska was a Polish nun who experienced apparitions of Jesus. She recorded these apparitions and messages from Jesus in a detailed diary. Her diary records 14 occasions when Jesus requested that a Feast of Mercy (Divine Mercy Sunday) be observed. Here is one of those messages…

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Confronting Gluttony

12 Sunday Apr 2020

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Blessed are the Persecuted

Praised be Jesus Christ! He is risen! Jesus has conquered sin and death so that we may have abundant life with Him in heaven for all eternity. Thanks be to God for this most wonderful gift!

This Lent we have taken a journey through the Cardinal Virtues, the Seven Deadly Sins, and the Seven Beatitudes. Today we will look at the last Deadly Sin of gluttony.

Gluttony consumes an excessive amount of worldly goods, be it food or alcohol. Contrast this with being persecuted which is being deprived of even basic necessities to sustain life. While gluttony is certainly not the greatest of the deadly sins, when combined with avarice and lust, it perpetuates the illusion that our emptiness can be filled with things of the world.[1]

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Confronting Lust

10 Friday Apr 2020

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Pure in Heart

On this Good Friday, we are nearing the end of our journey through The Seven Deadly Sins and the Seven Beatitudes. On this day, Jesus bore excruciating pain and death on the Cross to free us from slavery to sin. Thank Him today for the free gift of salvation. Isaiah prophesied about the Suffering Servant, Jesus, whose mission was to free us from sin and death…

But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

We have discussed the Deadly Sins of pride, avarice, envy, anger, and sloth. Today we will look at the Deadly Sin of lust and on Easter Sunday, we will conclude this study with the Deadly Sin of gluttony.

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Confronting Sloth

05 Sunday Apr 2020

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Righteousness

Previously, we have addressed the Deadly Sins of pride, avarice, envy, and anger. This week, we will look at the antidote to the Deadly Sin of sloth. We are not talking about the slow-moving mammals which spend their days hanging upside down in the trees of the tropical rain forests of South and Central America. Sloth is defined by St. Thomas Aquinas as “‘sorrow about spiritual good’, or joylessness when faced with God as our supreme joy.”[1]

Sloth is a sin against charity, one of the three theological virtues, which directs our hearts toward God. “Faith, hope, and charity are our spiritual glue,” says Peter Kreeft. “Whatever dissolves this glue is mortally sinful; whatever can remove faith, hope, and charity can kill God’s life in our soul. And sloth does just that.”[2] Sloth robs us of our thirst for God, our desire for Him as our ultimate good. A slothful person stops seeking God, complacent in the matters of the faith. In response to God’s offer of eternal salvation and friendship with Him, sloth says, “I’m good. Thanks, but no thanks.”

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