What is Grace?

September 29, 2023 by 2 Comments
A Production of the Ultimate Christian Podcast Network.

St. Francis

We celebrate St. Francis on October 4. He was the founder of the Franciscan Order and embraced the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The prayer below is a favorite of mine!

Prayer before the Crucifix

Most High, glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my heart and give me true faith, certain hope, and perfect charity, sense and knowledge, Lord, that I may carry out
Your holy and true command. Amen.

Grace

  • underserved gift or help freely and lovingly provided by God, but above all the utterly basic gift of being saved in Christ through faith, a grace that God wishes to give all human beings
  • Brings us new birth and gift of the Holy Spirit
  • Makes us a new creation
  • Transforms human nature
  • Anticipates a future in heaven

from A Concise Dictionary of Theology, O’Collins and Farrugia, S.J.

What does a parking lot have to do with grace? Listen and you’ll find out!

Types of Grace

  • Sacramental – the graces we receive through the sacraments
  • Efficacious – Grace offered by God and freely accepted
  • Sanctifying or Habitual – being made holy by the Holy Spirit, always with us; God sharing his divine life with us
  • Actual – a specific grace supplied for a particular need or reason
  • Special – also called charisms, which we are given to help build up the Church

Why do we need Grace?

  • it helps us respond to God’s call to be his
  • It gives us an awareness of sin and the ability to avoid it
  • to live out our daily life, as each of us is individually called to do
  • Takes our natural gifts, makes them more usable and to the service of God and others

What are the effects of Grace?

HOLINESS! And we all want to be a bit holier, right?

This week, pray St. Francis’ prayer above.

Interested in having me speak to your group? Let me know; I’d love to come in person or virtually!

 

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The Courage of St. Catherine of Siena

April 29, 2022 by Leave a Comment
A Production of the Ultimate Christian Podcast Network.

About Catherine

Catherine of Siena was born in Siena, Italy in 1347. She was a twin but her sister died shortly after birth. The following year the Black Death entered Siena.

She had a vision of Jesus as a young child and from then knew she wanted to give her life to God and renew the Church.

She took a vow of virginity and cut her hair; her desire was to avoid marriage.

In 1363 she joins the Mantelatte, a lay Dominican order of women in Siena.

Bold and Courageous

She wrote to Popes and civil leaders, telling them to do what was right and necessary to fix the problems in the Church and community. She ministered to the sick and dying. A story I tell in the audio is about her helping a man who is to be executed.

Her Writings

We have letters, prayers and her most well know, THe Dialogue of Catherine of Siena. The Dialogue is a series of conversations between God and Catherine while she was in a deep prayer state.

Pray Catherine’s prayer to the Holy Spirit when you find yourself falling into despair.

 

 

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A Saint for today, St. Maximilian Kolbe

August 14, 2020 by 2 Comments
A Production of the Ultimate Christian Podcast Network.

Who was Maximilian Kolbe?

He was a Polish Franciscan priest born in 1894. He entered the seminary and began studying in 1910 and in 1918 was ordained a priest. While in seminary he formed a group with 6 other men called the Militia Immaculata, an organization devoted to being an instrument of Mary, our Blessed Mother.

Why Mary?

As a young boy, he had a great devotion to Mary. He asked her, “What will become of me?” after his mother asked him the question. Maximilian had a vision in which Mary held out 2 crowns, one white for purity; the other red for martyrdom and asked which he chose. He chose both.

His life

As a priest, he worked in Poland and Japan. He founded a magazine, Knights of the Immaculata; two monasteries, one near Warsaw the other in Nagasaki. When WWII broke out he continued to work spreading the Gospel. He was considered a threat, was arrested in 1941 and sent to Auschwitz.

His death

A prisoner had escaped from the camp and as punishment, 10 men were randomly chosen to die by starvation. One man, called out when chosen, that he had children and a wife and could he be spared. The guards were indifferent but then Fr. Kolbe said he would take his place. So he did. After 3 weeks, 4 men had not yet died so they were given an injection of carbolic acid. Maximilian was one of those men. He died on the eve of a great Marian feast, The Assumption of the Blessed Virgen Mary.

Not Lukewarm Challenge

This week, when you feel indifferent or weighed down by life, pray the Hail Mary and ask Mary to help you.

Hail Mary,  Full of Grace,  The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.

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St. Catherine of Siena

April 24, 2020 by Leave a Comment
A Production of the Ultimate Christian Podcast Network.

I think of saints as my friends. Let me introduce you to my friends, Catherine of Siena. Born in Siena, Italy in 1347 she was one of 25 children, though only 13 lived. In fact, she was a twin but her sister died as an infant. As a child, Catherine was considered a sweet and lovable girl who enjoyed being with others and doing good things. When she was 6 years old she had a vision of Jesus blessing her from heaven.  After that, she became more patient and devoted to praying. She realized she wanted to devote her life to God and not marry. This created tension in the family and CathWoman Doctor of the Churcherine’s mother punished her by having her act as the servant in the home, hoping this would get Catherine to change her mind. It didn’t. In fact, she used this time to go into her “inner cell of self-knowledge” and learn the virtue of humility.

Her writings

Catherine was not literate, which was common at that time. Instead, she has secretaries who wrote as she dictated. We have over 350 of her letters, prayers and her great work, The Dialogue, which is a record of her conversation with God during her mystical experiences.

Her life

Catherine died in Rome in 1380; was canonized in 1461 by Pope Pius II and made a Doctor of the Chruch by Pope Paul VI in 1970. She is one of 4 women saints to hold that honor.

She has much wisdom for us now though she lived over 650 years ago. One point she makes is one I ponder often: she says that knowledge of God leads to love of God, the more we know Him, the more we love Him, and that loving and serving God is what will lead us to loving and serving others. As God said to her, “I take delight in few words and many works.”

 

the not lukewarm challenge

 

This is a mighty quote on prayer from God to Catherine, “Prayer is a weapon with which you can defend yourself against every enemy. If you hold it with love’s hand and the arm of free choice, this weapon, with the light of holy faith, will be your defense.”  This week, when life overwhelms you or you are not sure what to do next, run to prayer. It will help you no matter what is happening.

 

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