What is the deepest meaning of being a Catholic? It is being a disciple of Jesus. This is what JPII, who always referred to Mary as the first disciple of Christ, called the ‘Marian profile’ of the faith. Mary, he …
Continue readingAuthor Archives: Joey McCoy
We think the gospel is the ABCs of the Christian life. “Of course, Jesus died for my sins – now, let me take it from here.” No. We need to hear the gospel time after time, year after year, because …
Continue readingThe Christian story (Creation à Fall à Israel à Jesus à Kingdom/Church/Restoration) is the story of God’s initiative, action and accomplishments. The narrative is “God saves us” – in every thing, in every way. We are not spectators, but we …
Continue readingWhat is the Christian view of the human person? Who are we? What is our ultimate potential, our destiny, our shape? What does it mean to be an excellent human being? The last great master of Western Christendom before the …
Continue readingWe all need a stable identity. The question, “Who am I?”, even if it can’t be ultimately answered in life, must be able to sink into fertile soil. We need a name. This is, in almost everyway, the fundamental battleground …
Continue readingThis is from the Foreword to one of Thomas Merton’s last books, Contemplative Prayer: There is a line in William Blake that says that “we are put on earth for a little space that we may learn to bear the …
Continue readingYou don’t have to read very much of the Bible to realize the central importance of idols. The basic flow of the Old Testament is: 1) God makes a covenant with his people, 2) the people of God commit spiritual …
Continue readingThe opposite of faith is not doubt, but unbelief. The mental unrest of doubt is natural to faith. Trials of doubt can be a kind of suffering that can purify and intensify our faith. Like a shadow reveals the presence …
Continue readingAs a Church whose popularity and place at the cultural table have weakened, we are generally afraid to talk about sin nowadays. It does bring up a genuine problem. Never before has a human culture been so isolated. Technology has …
Continue readingBear one another’s burdens. (Galatians 6:2) What are the burdens that people in our community, Church, and family walk around with? They are myriad and unique to each individual. In some way or another every one is walking around with …
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