Camino de Fe

Through out history many brothers and sisters of our Christian family have spent much effort on trying to guess the end times.  So many times has the world been predicted to end and yet none of them have been true.  Many brothers and sisters have looked to scripture to try to explain and predict the end times sometimes causing a great anxiety among the people of God.  But what does scripture actually say about the end times? In the Gospel of St. Mark chapter 13, Jesus says to his disciples, ""In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.   "And then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds' with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky. Heaven and eart...

1. " The 'door of faith' (Acts 14:22) is always open for us, ushering us into the life of communion with God and offering entry into his church when the word of God is proclaimed and the heart allows itself to be transformed by grace"  To enter through the "door of faith" is the start of a life long journey which begins with baptism (cf. Rom 6:4) which allows us to address God as Father and it ends with passage into eternal life, "to profess faith in the Trinity is to believe in one God who is love (cf. 1 Jn 4:8). Faith is the "door" that leads mankind to a sincere relationship with God.  Through this relationship with God, one is offered entry into the church through the transforming power of his word being proclaimed and received by a willing heart.  Once one enters through that "door of faith", that one begins a life long journey which begins with baptism, is sustained through the sacraments instituted by Christ in which and thr...

This evening I read an article about a former nun who left her religious community after 20 years of service.  She left for many reasons that she states but it all comes down to disobedience.  There have been many religious people who have left their communities because of a lack of obedience to their superiors.  I read in that same article that no where in the scripture does it say that we must be obedient.  Of course that is in error.  There are many scripture passages that deal with obedience. "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you." - Hebrews 13-17 St. Paul tells the Hebrews that they must be obedient to those who have rule over them.  The big point in this passage is "for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account".  Powerful words about those who are to oversee...

Today I was watching two YouTube videos of Baptist ministers who were preaching against the Catholic Church.  Then I began to read comments that many people had made in regards to these videos.  One thing that stands out to me the most is how wrong these ministers are in their preaching.  They preach what they think the Catholic Church teaches and the truth is that what they preach is not what our Church teaches. On one video there is a Baptist Minister who has a statue of St. Therese of Lisieux  and calls it Mary.  He then begins to speak how Catholic worship the statue and how the statue is thought to have special powers.  Then to prove his point that the statue does nothing he destroys it with a hammer.  How sad that he believes that Catholic's worship statues.  Statues are not for worship they are to point us in the direction of Heaven.  Every Saint that lived, and that were proclaimed a Saint by the church, is because they lived virtuou...

Well I have returned to seminary this week. So far I have enjoyed every moment of it. I was received with great joy. Many of my seminary brothers were very happy to have me back after being away ill. So many of them assured me of their prayers during my time of illness. Prayer is so powerful. I believe that thanks to their prayers and the grace of God, I have made a full recovery and am able to return to my studies and further discernment to the priesthood of Jesus Christ. I feel that this time of illness has only deepened my fidelity to God. He has been so good to me and I am very grateful. Last year I went to Washington D.C. for March for Life with the Diocese of Baton Rouge. There I met many people. Well come to find out one of the young men that went with us is now here at the seminary with me. He told me that he and the youth group he was with had me in their prayers as well. What a humbling experience to have so many people praying for me all around the country....

It has been almost 3 months since I was released from the hospital after being quite sick with encephalitis. The road to recovery was very long, I was in the hospital for 3 months and remember very little of it. It was rough but during my time in the hospital I had many people praying for me. What I learned from this time of being ill is that God is always faithful and good. The doctors told my parents that my recovery was a miracle because it took them a long time to figure out what was wrong with me. But once they found what it was they were able to quickly cure me. I thank God for his grace of health now. After this long road of recovery I am going to return to seminary this August. I am so happy that I am being allowed to return to my studies and formation towards the Priesthood of Jesus Christ. This past three days I spent with my brother seminarians at our convocation. It was great to be with them once again and to feel the great support and love they have given ...