"We are travellers…not yet in our native land" – St. Augustine
“Prepare for great battles. Know that you are now on a great stage where all heaven and earth are watching you. Fight like a knight, so that I can reward you. Do not be unduly fearful, because you are not alone.”
― Maria Faustina Kowalska, Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul
We will spend the remaining episodes of Book III, we will be looking at the theological virtues. Today we begin with Christian love, also known as “charity”…
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Episode 22: “Charity” (Download)
Be still, my soul, The Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently, The cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God, to order and provide.
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul, Thy best they heavenly Friend.
Through thorny ways, Leads to a joyful end.
Be still, my soul, thy God doth undertake.
To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake.
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul, the waves and wind still know.
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.
In You I rest, In You I found my hope.
In You I trust, You never let me go.
I place my life within Your hands alone.
Be still, my soul.
Be still, my soul, the hour is hastening on.
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone.
Sorrow forgot, Love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul, when change and tears are past.
All safe and blessed, we shall meet at last.
Be still, my soul x3
Just before Easter, I posted an article written by one of my friends on her one-year anniversary entering the Catholic Church. Now that we reach the end of the Easter Octave, here is another article which she wrote shortly before entering back in 2017…
As the Easter season quickly approaches and thousands of adults around the world prepare for the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and First Holy Communion), I thought it would be an appropriate time to explain why a person converts to the Catholic Church.
Of course, with hundreds of faith traditions and spiritual experiences, there could be hundreds of reasons, but I want to give you the top seven reasons why I left my life-long Protestant faith to become a member of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church (although that may describe it right there ☺).
1. Silence
I list this reason first because it was one of the first aspects of the Church that drew me in. When I refer to silence, I simultaneously refer to the feeling of peace within a soul. We live in a chaotic world, a world of incessant noise, a world pulling us in so many directions we sometimes don’t know which way is up. These noises and distractions make our souls crazy; our souls are crying out for inner peace, to just slow down and let God fill us in the silence.
When I first began attending Mass about two years ago, this phrase jumped out at me again and again, “Jesus said to his disciples, My peace I leave with you; My peace I give you.” How our souls yearn for this peace! Imagine how different our lives would be if we consistently let God give us His peace. One of the ways Catholics allow Christ to do this is in adoration. To kneel before the Blessed Sacrament and simply allow the silence to infiltrate our whole being is such an incredible gift; to allow the noises and distractions of the world fade away as we worship God in the quiet stillness of the Church. It feeds our hungry souls. And amongst our busy lives, God reminds us: “The Lord will fight for you; you have only to be still.” (Exodus 14:14)
I think St. Augustine perfectly described our yearning for the peace of God when he said, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds rest in thee.”
Today I gave a talk on a retreat entitled “Jesus In Disguise”, where I look at the different ways in which we can encounter God behind the veil of the ordinary. The audio is available below:
Jesus in Disguise (Download)
Last week I was in San Antonio giving my “Entrepreneurial Faith” talk to the YCP chapter there.
“Entrepreneurial Faith” (Download)
Q&A (Download)
— Questions —
• You’re an British Catholic. How is that possible?!
• What did you read which led you back into the Catholic Faith?
• How can I put the gift of writing to the service of the Church?
(Just as I was about the answer this question, there was a thunderclap outside!)