In Mary’s body, we see the total gift of God’s grace in raising and glorifying our lowly bodies to that “lofty goal” unattainable by our own efforts. All the evil which eats up our bodies—our diseases, discomforts, lusts, and addictions—will be trampled upon not by abandoning the body, but by glorifying it. As a child, [...]
Vivaldi's music draws our attention to divine mysteries unknown to Socrates, overlooked by the Scribes and Pharisees, and difficult even for Christ’s disciples to grasp. It offers us valuable assistance as we advance virtue by virtue to the brightness of the saints, pointing us to the sources of heavenly aid without which even the mightiest [...]
The “Paradiso” has much to tell us about happiness, the perfection of the intellect, the nature of true freedom, the flourishing of community, the role of love in education, and the profound connection that the good and the true have to beauty. “For we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2 The focus [...]
Robert Lazu Kmita's "The Ultimate Quest" is a mystery story in the truest sense of the word. Confessing that the quest for the location of Paradise is not merely physical but is “theological-metaphysical”, he seeks clues from those who endeavour to read Genesis literally and those who read it allegorically, mystically, and symbolically. Many moons [...]
Are we “on a pilgrimage to heaven,” or are we preparing a worthy place for God to dwell? In his new book, N.T. Wright argues that postmortem destiny is not central to the New Testament’s message. The good news that Jesus came to proclaim does not concern an “afterlife” as popularly understood, but rather the [...]
Your very hands, once folded peacefully beneath the earth, will once again be vigorously poised up high to the praise of God. And in that eternal moment of sharing God’s perfect victory, we can even enjoy a most glorious high five with our triumphant Savior, our Lord, and our friend. After straining your whole being [...]
In a world of spoiled children, indigent adults, victim complainers, and entitled brats of all ages, the one who accepts responsibility for himself will have the tools for high self-esteem, achievement, and success in every area of life. I was five years old when I “got saved”. We had been to the Sunday evening service [...]
How, exactly, does the Church propose to bring Christ to the world, demonstrating His presence among men in order that she might then transport them home to Heaven? Let us try to imagine a Church filled with Christ, overflowing with His presence and power. Not too difficult, is it? Is that not the customary, immemorial even, [...]
The Second Coming is of course closely connected to the doctrine of God’s kingdom. To believe in Jesus’ New Advent is to believe that he is the true king, that he will return to take his rightful place as ruler of the world, setting everything right again and governing a heavenized earth in justice and [...]
Grace alone determines whether we go to Heaven or Hell. But our good works determine whether we go through purgation or not, en route to Heaven. November 2 is the feast of All Souls. The point of the day is to remember those who have gone before us—but not necessarily the saints (those in Heaven). [...]
To be poor in spirit is to acknowledge our creatureliness and our radical dependency on God, who loves us and wants our happiness. The Beatitudes all have a similar structure—but upon close review one of them is quite different! Most Beatitudes promise a future blessing to reward a present suffering, except for the first Beatitude in both Matthew’s (Matt 5:3-12) and [...]
I am frequently surprised when Christians speak as if civilization and life on this earth is going to continue in perpetuity. Are we not living and striving for another and better life—one conditioned, it’s true, by what we do here in this earthly city? My basic outlook on life could be characterized thus: pessimistic about [...]
This city, this Promised Land, this Banquet, is what all those who love God long for, and in order to see it, we must always be ready, like the virgins with the lamps, for God to break in and re-adjust our imaginative visions, our unexamined assumptions, our paradigms, to align with who He is, the [...]
The Ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven stuns the human mind. It is a terrific display of the glory, grandeur, and majesty of God’s power. The eternal Son of God, having taken on the flesh of humanity, now ascends to the heavenly throne to sit at the right hand of the Father. Jesus enters the [...]