by The Face of Grace Project | Mar 16, 2021 | Across the Ages
‘Lorica’ is personal body armor. God is the Catholic’s armor. St. Patrick wrote the Lorica for his protection against the Druids. For this reason, it is commonly prayed for spiritual warfare. The Lorica’s power is that it is a profession of Faith: the Trinitarian God, Christ the Son, the Holy Spirit through the Communion of Saints, God’s transcendence throughout creation, His omnipresence and omnipotence. If you are looking for ‘conversation starters’ in your mental prayer, consider making this a meditation.
by The Face of Grace Project | Mar 14, 2021 | Presence
It’s finally here: Laetare Sunday, the day we push the proverbial pause button on Lent and shout “rejoice”! We have made it half-way through Lent and survived the hungry belly-rumbles and headaches from fasting. Somehow barbequed steaks are more irresistible on meatless Fridays, and you might even secretly have been musing the notion of stealing one of your kid’s cookies out of their lunchbox! All were resisted, and there is hope to continue this success forward for the short time left before Easter.
by The Face of Grace Project | Mar 9, 2021 | Presence
Once in a while God graces me with a day where everything connects from rising till sleep. On one such day, my Ugandan student (an NGO manager in Haiti) wrote about his own growth in leadership. He spoke of growing up in a war-torn environment, surrounded by suffering. The impact of scarcity upon his loved ones, the heavy injustices laid upon them by unscrupulous leaders, the joblessness and subsequent hopelessness.
“Having realized that leaders are not actually born but they are developed through rigorous training and experience, I looked at myself in a mirror and said “If God has not put limitation on you, who are you to limit yourself?”.
by The Face of Grace Project | Mar 3, 2021 | Presence
The third week of Lent begins and the ‘giving up’ may be tougher than planned! Giving up social media, taking on cold showers, perhaps learning to play board games again…hopefully Lent will bring a change in lifestyle that is life-changing. Our lifestyle conditions both our bodies and our psyche to conform to the media, entertainment, technology, food, and whatever else we take in. We instead want our humanity to conform to Christ.
Satan knows this, of course. He will work extra hard to stop you. A saint once asked Jesus why he permitted the enemy to attack her. Jesus responded that it gave opportunity for Him to rescue her.
by The Face of Grace Project | Feb 27, 2021 | Presence
I recall the decade of the 80’s working long hours, then coming home to sit on the couch watching TV all night. And the gluttony of snacking on just ‘a few’ chips but munching until the dip was gone, too tired to stop. I can also recall what it feels like to rely solely upon my own self-discipline: very limiting.
That was the decade I quit going to mass. I didn’t intend to quit. I just procrastinated each weekend for 11 years or so. But even under the weight of that sinfulness, there was still a little piece of something inside me that said I needed more discipline simply because it was the right thing to do. I hadn’t stopped talking with God; I simply quit visiting Him.
