Spiritual Direction and Evangelization In the Holy Father’s latest Apostolic Exhortation “Joy of the Gospel” (Evangelii Gaudium) he takes time to remind us of spiritual accompaniment as a key part of evangelization (see paragraphs number 169 to 172). Pope Francis begins by noting the paradox of modern culture: on the one hand, people suffer from
Even though she died in 1309, Saint Angela of Foligno helps us appreciate the enlightenment that can come from a life of penance. It was a time not unlike our own. Epicureanism was destroying society even as great saints attempted to help their contemporaries see that there is so much more than the short-term pleasures
Saint Angela di Foligno and St. Elisabeth of the Trinity One of the influences on the thought and spirituality of Saint Elisabeth of the Trinity was a Third Order Franciscan widow from the beginning of the 14th Century, Angela di Foligno. Pope Francis has just included this master of theology in the Calendar of
In our last post we considered the power of God’s love as the ground of married love. In this post, we will ponder the divine love which looks on marriage with resurrected eyes and delve deeper into the kind of prayer faithful marriage requires. Resurrected Eyes. The Gospels invite us to contemplate all marriage, even
In the last post, we looked at St. Hildegard’s vision in which hell is at war with marriage. In this war, human cleverness and resourcefulness are of limited value. Only God can hold together what He has joined. In this post, we will ponder the power of God’s love as the ground of married love.
Venerable Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan exhorted the faithful while he was in prison, “If you desire peace, you will have to fight continuously.” This constant struggle is true not only for the heart but also for the sacredness of marriage. Our culture has come to despise the faithful love of husband and wife.
In our last post, we introduced Saint John of Avila’s teaching in his lifetime project Audi, Filia. To help us understand how important it is for us to order our lives to the silence of prayer, Saint John of Avila tells us about the dark languages of this world that can lead us astray. He
St John of Avila’s master work in the spiritual life is Audi, Filia or Listen, O Daughter. This treatise for Sancha Carrillo, one of his penitents, was started while he was imprisoned by the Inquisition. He continued to develop and revise the original text for more than thirty years. In fact, the final revisions were
Peacemaking A troubled reader writes… “Although I am a convert to Catholicism, I am sad and offended that the Catholics would forget what Jesus would do with regards to breaking bread with any of his children. I too am a Eucharistic Minister and I would never turn anyone down from breaking bread with their fellow
A troubled reader writes… “Although I am a convert to Catholicism, I am sad and offended that the Catholics would forget what Jesus would do with regards to breaking bread with any of his children. I too am a Eucharistic Minister and I would never turn anyone down from breaking bread with their fellow man
