The story of the prodigal son is one of my favorite parables. I love how Jesus provides the example of the father’s immense generosity, compassion and mercy to teach us about who God really is.
Archives for February 2024
Lent, Fasting and Abstinence For Catholics Part 3
Fasting and Abstinence. Are they important? Are they necessary? The Church, as a caring mother, is providing us a specific means and season for completing acts of penance, such as fasting and abstinence. Her goal is to see to it that her children attain eternal life. Her precept on fasting, then, is for our spiritual benefit.
Finding the Truth in Jesus Christ
St. Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologiae, citing Isaac Israeli ben Solomon, said “veritas est adaequatio rei et intellectus” which means “truth is the equation of thought and thing.” It is crucial to be able to say “the truth is outside of me, it does not depend on me; and all I’m doing is discovering it, not making it.
Lent, Fasting, and Abstinence Part 2: The Benefits of Fasting According to St. Thomas Aquinas
The spiritual benefits of fasting are many. Not only is it an excellent means of engaging in penance, as Christians are required to do, but it confers other benefits such as helping to build self-mastery, the control of the soul over the desires of the flesh.
Go With Jesus Into the Desert
We all struggle with disordered appetites and unconverted ways of thinking and living. We also demonstrate in our daily lives a lack of charity in our relationships with others.