Camino de Fe

Recently I have been reading and hearing all of these comments about how the Roman Catholic Church will fall soon because of all the scandal it has gone through in very recent times. Last night I heard a report from a, what I have come to recognize, conspiracy news network, that the Pope, the Queen of England and the Prime Minister of Canada, have all been summoned to appear in an International court for the crimes committed by their people.  The ITCCS, which claims that they are a common law court, has put it upon themselves to run trial on the Pope, the Queen of England and the Prime Minister of Canada for "crimes of genocide".  However, I have yet to find anything that even assures them of having any kind of political or juridical power outside of their organization.  As a matter of fact, the themselves are breaking the laws like their founder Kevin D. Annett says, " with enough resolve, and numbers, and by not playing by their rules."  So, not ...

        A woman whose husband died six months before Christmas, sat down to write out a Christmas card to a close friend. This is what she said: “Some say to me, ‘This first Christmas without your husband will be hard for you.’ It will be, of course. But without Christmas, my life would be impossible.”       At the time of her husband’s death, that woman thought that God had turned out the light. But then came the Christmas Message to remind her that God had reached out and turned on the light for all time and for all people.       Today we celebrate the birth of the messenger from heaven.  In the gospel today we read that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be.”  Christ was always present with God.  He was there at the very foundation of the world.  Jesu...

Brothers and sisters, We are close to Christmas.  In just a few days we will be entering into the Christmas season.  The word of God is seeking to open our hearts to the mystery which we celebrate each year. Today in our Catholic faith we celebrate the 4th week of advent.  It is during the 4th week of Advent that we finally arrive at the greatest celebration of all history, the celebration of the Birth of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.  Through the birth of such a great redeemer the light of the world was turned on and remains on. It is during this week that our focus is turned to the historical Jesus.  It is of great importance to us as Christians to understand that the coming of Jesus was foretold. In the first reading from the prophet Micah, we are reminded of the promise that God made to all humanity; the promise of a shepherd that was coming from humble beginnings.  During the time that Micah wrote this passage, the world was a complete me...

Gaudete! Rejoice! The scriptures on this Sunday take a different proclamation.  Instead of calling us to repent and turn to God, they call us to rejoice in the Lord. Zephaniah says Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!"  St. Paul says, "Rejoice in the Lord always.  I shall say it again: Rejoice!"  Joy seems to be lacking in our world today because of all the darkness we face daily.  Just this past week, in Connecticut, we heard of the tragic murder of innocent children and adults at the hands of an ill person.  Every day we hear of the constant struggle of Christians losing their lives to violence and persecution.  Respect for life from conception to natural death is always in the front lines, some say we should respect life and others that it should be a choice.  When we drive around town, we see homeless and hungry people looking for assistance....

5. This year of faith is of great importance because it "will assist all the faithful to profess the true faith and its correct interpretation".  Celebrating this year 50 years later shows that all is alive and well.  It allows us to see the grace from the council and a guide for now.  This council, if interpreted correctly could be very powerful for renewal. 6. Renewal is not only offered through the work of the council but also by the lives of the faithful in the world.  Christians are called to corrugate the word of truth.  Jesus came to offer himself for the salvation of mankind yet the church continues to clasp sinners to her bosom and calls all to the path of penance and renewal.  The church, even through persecution, continues to proclaim the cross and death of Christ.  Through the power of the risen Lord the church is strengthened to overcome all suffering, both within and without, in patience and in love. This year of faith is a summo...

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...