by The Face of Grace Project | Aug 23, 2020 | Presence
Our soul is like the face of a cliff face. Our wounds are the crevices that give the fingertip space to the enemy to hold onto us. And that’s all he needs. Sometimes the smaller crevices run the deepest too. That is why the answer to any distress or conflict, whether spiritual or non-spiritual, is always our relationship with God. The pain of love far surpasses the pain we cling to in our hearts. This letting go, per St. Francis de Sales, is how we become “the instrument of our martyrdom”.
by The Face of Grace Project | Aug 16, 2020 | Life, Work and the World
Reflecting upon marriage and families, it became clear that when couples divorce, they give up on Hope. At some point, their own natural optimism isn’t sufficient to sustain the marriage. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the US was in epidemics of depression, anxiety and loneliness. Suicide was the 2nd highest killer of our youth and young adults. A significant number of depressed teens said they had no adult in the home to talk to. Meanwhile divorce rates ranges from 40-80% depending upon the population and cohabitation—lack of commitment altogether—is on the rise. While some sort of family unit remains, family unity risks extinction.
Many people are currently in despair having ‘hoped’ to regain their pre-pandemic lifestyle. Yet with all this said, do we really want to return to our old way of living?
by The Face of Grace Project | Aug 12, 2020 | Presence
Devotional prayers are a beautiful part of Catholic heritage and culture. These provide us the words to express our deepest heart-felt emotions. These can also be a great launch into meditation for building relationship with God. There is risk, however, that the devotions themselves might become the subject of our adoration and not God. In recent history, this was a spiritual illness throughout the Church that unfortunately influenced the later rejection of devotions altogether. Just praying in the name of Him isn’t the same as knowing Him.
by The Face of Grace Project | Aug 9, 2020 | Presence
A Catholic dignitary and Japanese ambassador were in conversation. Referring to the horrors occurring in the world, the ambassador told him it is the fault of the Catholics. The Catholic dignitary inquired as to why, and the Japanese ambassador explained that Jesus’ mother Mary had told us if we prayed, this (WWII and other violence) wouldn’t happen. The Catholic responded pointing out that peace was the responsibility of the whole world, to which the ambassador said “But Mary didn’t come to the Buddhists. She didn’t come to the Hindus. She didn’t come to the Muslims. She didn’t come to the Jews. She came to you Catholics, so you have the responsibility.”
It used to be generally considered that the Catholic church developed moral reasoning for the western world. If we don’t bring it back into society, who will?
by The Face of Grace Project | Aug 5, 2020 | Presence
Reading Matthew’s gospel chapter 15:21-28, we are given to ponder the mother of the possessed daughter. For this Canaanite woman, according to human reasoning she was destined to a miserable eternity. She was not one of ‘them’, not of Shem’s line, the holy ones. She was the lowest of the low. That, however, was the identity laid upon her from birth by humankind.
What identity has the world laid upon me? Am I ready to permit God to show me my real self?
