Living and Proclaiming the Joy of the Gospel This department begins with a series focused on the insights of St. Teresa of Avila into the joy and desire to evangelize which comes from communion with God. In this first article, the author shows how St. Teresa was a woman of deep joy, who was responsive to her profound desire for God, which was a divine gift in itself. 2015 is the five-hundredth anniversary of the birth of St. Teresa of Avila. [1] This is a time of thanksgiving for the whole Church because St. Teresa, as a doctor of the... Read more
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Articles Under: Saints and Holy Men & Women
None of the apostles seems to have the slightest interest in perpetuating his own memory. Their whole being was centered on their Master, Christ, and on spreading the Good News that everlasting life was to be found through a personal commitment to Him. [i] +++ In the past few issues of The Sower , I have looked at the apostles as catechetical saints. Of course they are obviously catechists, personally chosen and sent by Christ to evangelize the world. I usually pray about which saint I will write about and then I do some research. Repeatedly Simon and Jude came... Read more
When he was 16, the future Pope Francis visited a church before celebrating Student’s Day, a national holiday in Argentina. Something very profound happened to him. “For me, this was an experience of encounter: I found that Someone was waiting for me. Yet I do not know what happened. I can’t remember. I do not know why that particular priest was there, whom I did not know, or why I felt this desire to confess. But the truth is that Someone was waiting for me. He had been waiting for me for some time. After making my confession, I felt... Read more
[In Andrew’s crucifixion], as can be seen, is a very profound Christian spirituality. It does not view the Cross as an instrument of torture but rather as the incomparable means for perfect configuration to the Redeemer, to the grain of wheat that fell into the earth. Here we have a very important lesson to learn: our own crosses acquire value if we consider them and accept them as a part of the Cross of Christ, if a reflection of his light illuminates them. It is by that Cross alone that our sufferings too are ennobled and acquire their true meaning... Read more
Time magazine may have named both Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II “Man of the Year” during their respective pontificates, but this April 27, 2014—the day on which the Church celebrates Jesus’ Divine Mercy—the Church will proclaim that these holy men are saints for all time ! These two popes of the 20 th century certainly provide us with stellar examples of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Pope John XXIII is often noted for his jolliness and his ability to make people laugh. This is true; however, he is not being canonized simply... Read more
“But who do you say that I am?” (Mt 16:15). Only the faith proclaimed by Peter, and with him by the Church in every age, truly goes to the heart, and touches the depth of the mystery: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt 16:16). How had Peter come to this faith? And what is asked of us, if we wish to follow in his footsteps with ever greater conviction? Matthew gives us an enlightening insight in the words with which Jesus accepts Peter’s confession: “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my... Read more
The ‘realization’ of the Christian ideal in Newman’s sense is but another name for a continual effort for the renewal of personal and community life in the spirit of the Gospel and in accordance with the just demands of the present moment of history. ‘Realizing’ our Christian vocation means, in Newman’s view, making the truths of our faith a living reality, full of practical consequences for daily life; it means becoming true followers of Christ. And, in the lofty and arduous task to which this Holy Year urgently calls us, the thought and example of John Henry Newman bring a... Read more
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Six years ago we gathered in this Square to celebrate the funeral of Pope John Paul II. Our grief at his loss was deep, but even greater was our sense of an immense grace which embraced Rome and the whole world: a grace which was in some way the fruit of my beloved predecessor's entire life, and especially of his witness in suffering. Even then we perceived the fragrance of his sanctity, and in any number of ways God's People showed their veneration for him. For this reason, with all due respect for the Church's canonical... Read more
George Weigel’s second volume of John Paul II’s biography is entitled: The End and the Beginning. In the book’s penultimate chapter he reviews Karol Wojtyla’s life through ‘the prism of the three theological virtues’. 1 By divine symmetry, John Paul II’s General Audience reflections commences where his predecessor, John Paul I, concluded his teaching, on the first three ‘lamps’ of Sanctification’ as John XXXIII called them: Faith, Hope and Charity. The triple grace of baptism Weigel speaks of the threads of John Paul II’s life as being woven into a tapestry of ‘ongoing’ intellectual, moral, psychological and emotional conversion. Through... Read more
An Image for the Faithful We raced from the Mexico City airport, threw our bags in the hotel room, and ran to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe before it closed for the evening. As I stood before the breathtaking image before me I felt…nothing. I could not believe it. I love Our Lady of Guadalupe! I have her picture in my bedroom! Why did I not feel anything as I stood before the actual image? Part of the answer is that she was familiar; I did have her picture in my bedroom, and in my office, and in... Read more