Aflame for Christ

In so many cultures, love is shown through food. So when our Good Shepherd wants to show His love for us, He gives us His Body and Blood - the most precious Gift in the universe. Yet with such a priceless gift, how often do we fill our hunger with the junk food of the world when His Banquet awaits us?

When Jesus rises from the dead, it isn't "life-as-usual" - He has reached a whole new way of being human. Likewise, He wants to raise us up to a higher way of life, becoming New Creations in Him. His breath, His Spirit, and His mercy are the ways in which He refashions us into His Likeness after sin has disfigured us!

The grave has an insatiable appetite - it forever consumes men and women without hope of release. Throughout the centuries, philosophers and wise men have sought to make sense of the mystery of death - but none could conquer it...until a Man comes in disguise to defeat the ancient dragon that has held us bound. He wins the battle in a most unexpected way - by being consumed by death, He conquers d...

To celebrate Passover recalls the mighty deeds that God had worked to bring His people out of slavery into freedom. But there is a deeper, more ancient bondage which has held us bound since the beginning of time. We needed another Passover Lamb, slain for us, to set us free from this bondage - and we mystically participate in this freedom every time we make present the Sacrifice of Calvary in the...

The Jews were awaiting a Messiah like David - the King who brought about an earthly reign of justice. How surprised they were, then, when their Messiah stood before them wearing a crown of thorns and rejected by men. Likewise, we all want to love Jesus when He promises us the joys of Heaven - do we love Him when He leads us to the Cross?

We are in the month dedicated to St. Joseph, the silent yet strong father of Jesus Christ. Let's look at some aspects of what makes him truly amazing, and how his holy characteristics can impact and change our lives!

It's easy to make excuses in the spiritual life, especially in Lent. Even the Pharisees made excuses for their lack of faith in the Gospel. But when we consider the lavish invitation that God is offering us and the amazing ways He has shown His love, we ought to put away our excuses and make resolution to follow Him with our whole heart!

When Jesus asks the Samaritan woman for a drink, He is thirsting for more than ordinary water. Rather, He burns with an unquenchable thirst for her love, for her soul. As our world grows more apathetic towards the Lord, His thirst continues to grow. How can we quench the burning thirst of Jesus?

To be "awesome" means to be full of awe, wonder, astonishment at something. And this is never more true than in the Transfiguration, when the Apostles fell on their faces, trembling, in the presence of the Awesome One. We, too, know by faith that Jesus is among us - how do we reverence His Name, His plans, and His Eucharistic Body and Blood?

Concluding our discussion from two weeks ago, Fr. Joseph expounds upon the final two parts of the Good News of Jesus Christ: that although we had turned away from Him through sin, His death reconciled us to God so that we can now live with Him through faith.

Jesus tells us to be perfect...but I thought no one was perfect! Rather, Christ tells us to live out our destiny as sons and daughters of the Most High God. We may look ordinary, but we have a noble calling and a dignity that far surpasses all the riches and honors of this earth. Tune in to hear how this dignity is lived out!

We hear that term a lot - the Good News of Jesus Christ. But what does it mean? What is the "Good News" that He has come to bring us? Tune in for Part 1 of the core message of the Gospel - that God loves us, and that we have turned our backs on Him through sin!

Salt was much more than a flavoring in Jesus' day - it also preserved food from corruption. So, when Jesus calls us the salt, He is saying that we have the role of living so radically for Him that the lives of Christians prevent the world from falling into utter ruin. Will you - and I - be the salt that saves our country and our world?

The Chosen People delighted in their unique relationship with God - and Jesus Christ came to form a new Chosen People, the Catholic Church. Built not on 12 tribes but on 12 Apostles, the Church is not just a gathering of believers but a mystical extension of Christ's life on earth. Tune in to hear how our Faith traces its connection back to the Twelve!

Ordinary Time is not "boring time" - rather, it is a time to focus on the Universal Call to Holiness. Every baptized Christian has the duty to seek the fullness of perfection and holiness by living a life in union with Jesus Christ. It doesn't require anything extraordinary, just your ordinary life lived for Him! Tune in to hear some myths about holiness debunked, and find out how to live holiness...

How did the Magi learn that there would be a Messiah in Israel? Because of a seemingly-unconnected tragedy in Israel's history, six hundred years earlier! History is not just a series of events and battles, philosophies and cultures - rather, it is the unfolding of God's providential plan for the salvation of souls and the restoration of all things in Christ. What role do you and I play in this ma...

Mary is known by many beautiful titles. Today, Fr. Joseph will discuss two of them: Tower of David and Gate of Heaven. How does Mary perfectly fulfill God's promises to David? And how is She the perfect connection between Heaven and Earth? Maria, ora pro nobis!

The birth of Jesus is a visual reminder of the depths of God's love for us. But this love demands a response - will you give Him love for love?

This past week we remembered one of the darkest days in recent memory: the 10th anniversary of the Sandy Hook school shooting. Many people asked, "Where is God?" in the midst of such an unspeakable tragedy. Can we believe in a God Who is Emmanuel (God-With-Us) when there is true evil in the world? Hear Fr. Joseph's testimony of how Emmanuel sustained him in the face of this grim tragedy...and how...

We often hear that Advent is a time of waiting - but waiting for what? Christ already came two thousand years ago...but we are still waiting for His final victory over darkness, sin, and death. While we wait for Him, we should wait upon Him - attentive to His every prompting, ready to do His will!

Every Christmas, we pray for peace on earth - then why do we still see divisions and animosity? Because we have not yet made our peace with God! Only when we are reconciled to Jesus Christ, Who Himself is the reconciliation between God and humanity, will we ever find peace in our hearts, our homes, and our world.

Many saints became saints through the positive influence of their friends! How can we develop good Christian friendships in our modern world? Listen to hear the nature of friendship, how Jesus wants to be our Closest Friend, and how a friendship with Him will lead to enriching friendships with others!

The Kingdom of Christ is a Kingdom of light, life, and love...but it requires self-denial, sacrifice, and embracing the Cross to dwell in such a Kingdom - values that stand in opposition to the Kingdom of the World. Which Kingdom commands your loyalty?

We spend much of our lives working - we go to our job, we come home and we take care of the kids or fix up the house. Some see work as a drudgery, while others find their identity in their work. But what is the Christian view of work? Jesus Himself spend 30 years as an ordinary laborer, sanctifying work for all time...how can your work make you holy?

We are surrounded by passing blessings - the goodness of family and friends, the beauty of nature, the delights of pleasure. But as good as these things are, they are only a foretaste of the everlasting joys that await those who love Christ. Tune in to hear how you can use the created world rightly, in anticipation of the uncreated bliss of God's eternal presence!