Posts Tagged
December 2023
Before Christ
What does the Church believe happened to the souls of those who lived before Christ? Many presume that those souls who lived before Jesus had no opportunity to attain heaven, but the Catholic Church teaches that salvation is a gift from God offered to all people. Those who lived before …
What Gives You Pause in Your Faith?
I ran two whole miles yesterday. That doesn’t sound like a lot, so let’s call it 10,560 feet; and I ran them all without stopping. This is huge for me, not because I’ve never been the athletic type, but because, by God’s grace, I’m recognizing more frequently my fear of …
Disinterested Giving in Truman Capote’s “A Christmas Memory”
In his January 16, 1980, general audience, Pope St. John Paul II noted that the second creation account in Genesis affirms two essential truths about the human person. The first is that the human is the only creature that God “willed for its own sake.” All other created things are …
Out and About in the Archdiocese for December 2023
1) An Evening with the Priests The Dayton faithful celebrated an evening in October to “get to know” the priest faculty and seminarians at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology. Pictured: L-R seated: Debbie Danis, Justin Hanks, Jack Adam, Carol Adam; L-R: standing: Father Adam Berning, Dr. …
Las Guadalupanas Draws Women to Our Blessed Mother
by April Deocariza After Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego in 1531, nearly nine million indigenous people in Mexico converted to the Catholic faith, and she became the patroness of the unborn and the Americas. Nearly 500 years later, Our Lady’s influence and intercession remain, felt even 2,000 …
Love in Action through Families of Parishes
God is love. In this simple conviction is the vast mystery that when we experience love in our lives or deliver it out into the world, we find ourselves steeped in the very presence of God. We often feel this most intensely with those closest to us: spouses, children and …
Iron Hands, Giant Hearts
Even for the greatest saints, people can be challenging to work and live with. Why else would God command us to “love one another?” While we can live with “iron sharpening iron” as some distant concept, when our souls are being grazed by the willpower, hearts and intellects of others, …
Seek the Lord for December 2023
On Christmas morning, in the opening prayer of the Mass at Dawn, we ask God to allow the light of faith, which radiates from the incarnate Word, to shine through in our deeds. This prayer reminds us of a beautiful truth: the gift of our faith is not something we …
Pope Francis Prayer Intentions for December 2023
For persons with disabilities We pray that people living with disabilities may be at the center of attention in society, and that institutions may offer inclusive programs which value their active participation.