by The Face of Grace Project | May 6, 2020 | Life, Work and the World
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the US suffered epidemic loneliness, depression, anxiety and suicide. We were arguably the worst-prepared for crisis of any previous generation in our history. When we help individuals to foster their relationship with our Triune God, a true relationship in which they take these hidden scars to Jesus to be brought up into His own five wounds, their healing will be the healing of our society. He is the only answer, and by duty we have obligation to make Him known to others.
by The Face of Grace Project | Apr 29, 2020 | Presence
We are told at the end of time there will be a sort of trial in the Judgement Day: the chaff will be separated from the wheat (Mt 3:12). In the interim, our current times of trial serve as a type of ‘test run’, showing us which we are becoming: the chaff or the wheat. With the pandemic shutdowns and worldwide economic crisis, we have been given a tremendous opportunity for a ‘pre-test’. We have been cut almost completely from our old lifestyle. This includes suffering the loss of daily sacraments and rightly-ordered fellowship. This also includes cutting the bonds that tie us to our earthly attachments, none of which have true importance. For most, it left us feeling as if we have been freefalling without grounding.
The question is: in that freefall, have I been grasping onto the chord of Fidelity or struggling to grasp onto as many of my old attachments as I can wiggle onto my 10 fingers and 10 toes?
by The Face of Grace Project | Mar 25, 2020 | Presence
On the Annunciation of Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, the angel Gabriel stayed with Mary long enough to ensure she understood everything he had said. Then he left. She had made a commitment that she couldn’t truly understand as a mere human, and then in a moment she was left alone to go forward living it.
How often have I too felt alone on the journey?
by The Face of Grace Project | Mar 18, 2020 | Life, Work and the World
Fear of the unknown is an instinctive reaction of self-preservation. There is no doubt it comes from our own psyche and often is inflamed by the enemy. Thus, fear is legitimate but never of God. It is opportunity to turn to God and follow Him, trusting He has a personal plan for our providence.
by The Face of Grace Project | Feb 22, 2020 | Presence
Ash Wednesday is already upon us! Lent is a season of restoration. That may sound odd, because we all know it is a time of atonement. But what is the goal of atonement? The restoration of God’s love within us that has been blocked or kicked out by our errant ways. If we think of Lent in this way, it gives the fuller purpose to our practices of giving up what is bad or unnecessary and taking on new healthy ways of living and thinking.
The question begs…what does God desire to restore?
