"We are travellers…not yet in our native land" – St. Augustine
Today is the Feast Day of St. Anthony of Padua. St. Anthony is the 13th Century Saint who is the patron of finding lost articles. He’s also one of the several Saints in history known as the “Hammer of Heretics”. Here’s the best the Internet has to offer…
Since I got to speak about my favourite Pope today… What has Pope Benedict been doing recently?
In the Diocese of San Diego we’ve had various “Mega”-themed events. It all began with “Mega Mass”, then “Mega Adoration” and then “Mega Rosary”. We even had something akin to a “Mega Bible Study” at the end of my Theology On Tap talk.
Why have “Mega” events? Well, we Christians often need to be reminded that we are part of something much larger than ourselves. We need to be reminded that the Church is far bigger than just our local parish or our local Bible study.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. – 1 Peter 2:9
This idea has been brought home to me at several points in my life, but the one which sticks out to me is when I traveled to Australia in 2002 and visited Hillsong church in Sydney. If you’ve never been, it’s absolutely massive. It was quite something to be surrounded by a couple of thousand Christians singing praise to God.
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, …crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!”
– Revelation 7:6-10