Aflame for Christ

We all know how to "say prayers" but what does it mean to pray? Prayer is nothing else but a conversation with God. Every conversation involves speaking - we speak to God through Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. We listen to God through the Scriptures, music, the liturgy, and in many other ways. Today we dive into the basics of prayer - how to have a real relationship with the God Who loves you!

We live in a post-Christian society, one whose values are frequently in opposition to the Kingdom of Christ. What are some of the cultural philosophies that set themselves against Christ, and how will His Kingdom begin to reign in our minds, our families, and our world?

A Christian should be ready, at all times, to do four things: to pray, to share our faith, to do an act of charity, and to die.

Are you ready for all four? Most of us would hesitate to say we're ready to die. But it is coming for all, without exception. How do we prepare well for this most critical moment in our life, so that we can face it without fear but with confidence in the Mercy of God?

Tune in to hear how best to prepare for the inevitable: the moment of death.

Love wants to give - as Pope St. John Paul II said, "Love is self-gift." But all we can offer God is so, so small. Luckily when it is united to Jesus' phenomenal self-offering on the Cross and united to Our Lady's love, our tiny gift becomes multiplied and purified, fit for the King!

Love must be free for it to be authentic. Then how can God command us to love Him? He does so because loving Him is our happiness! We do not always "feel" loving towards God - so how do we love Him if we don't feel it? It's simple - we choose to love Him. If we go all-in and choose Him above all else, we will eventually feel His presence, all in His good time.

As children of the King, we have a royal dignity that makes us like God. Sin, then, is beneath our dignity - eating from a dumpster while eternal glory awaits. The saints realized this - they knew who they were, and Whose they were - and lived out of this dignity!

Jesus mysteriously promises, in the Book of Revelation, that those who win the victory "will receive a new name". Our dear St. Jude has a name that could have associated him with the most infamous person in human history - Judas Iscariot. But through his faith in Christ, St. Jude did not allow such an association to keep him down. He was able to live out a new name: Apostle, Martyr, Saint. Jesus Christ can also take your names, the ones we carry with shame, and transform them by His grace!

The dignity of human life is not merely physical - as a body/soul unity, we must care for both parts. In fact, the body is meant to be given away in love - in this, we find the fulfillment of the human person. How are we supposed to care for both body AND soul, and which one should have primacy?

The mark of a truly civilized society is how it cares for the most vulnerable. Our society does not excel in this, in large part because we have lost the understanding of human beings made in the Image and Likeness of God. In this election year, when so many human dignity issues are at stake, let us consider our obligation to care for the most vulnerable among us - as we seek to build a truly Christian society.

As we begin Respect Life Month, we will begin a three-week series about the gift of human life. Today we begin with the insights of Pope St. John Paul II about human dignity, equality, and the sacredness of human life - and how it is applicable to our world today.