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Attitude in Adversity Today's Scripture “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:5, NIV) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria There’s an old saying, “attitude determines altitude.” In other words, a positive, faith-filled attitude will cause you to rise higher in life, but a negative, self-defeated attitude will only drag you down. When we face adversity, our attitude affects the outcome. Are we going to treat people right even when we’re being mistreated? Are we going to stay full of joy even when the bottom falls out? So many people get all...

His Temptation and Ours " We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin —Hebrews 4:15 " Until we are born again, the only kind of temptation we understand is the kind mentioned in James 1:14, “Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” But through regeneration we are lifted into another realm where there are other temptations to face, namely, the kind of temptations our Lord faced. The temptations of Jesus had no appeal to...

September 18, 2014Thursday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 1 Cor 15:1-11 I am reminding you, brothers and sisters,of the Gospel I preached to you,which you indeed received and in which you also stand.Through it you are also being saved,if you hold fast to the word I preached to you,unless you believed in vain.For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures;that he was buried;that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures;that he appeared to...

Be a Prisoner of Hope Today's Scripture “Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.” (Zechariah 9:12, NIV) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria When things get difficult, it’s easy to want to give up. It’s easy to get down and discouraged. But, that’s not God’s plan for us. God wants us to be so full of hope, so full of expectancy that we just can’t help believing for the best. He wants us to be prisoners of hope! When you’re a prisoner of something, it’s...

Is There Good in Temptation? " No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man . . . —1 Corinthians 10:13 " The word temptation has come to mean something bad to us today, but we tend to use the word in the wrong way. Temptation itself is not sin; it is something we are bound to face simply by virtue of being human. Not to be tempted would mean that we were already so shameful that we would be beneath contempt. Yet many of us suffer from temptations we should never have to suffer, simply...

Islam as a world religion didnÂ’t burst onto the world scene until the 7th century AD. But in the 14 plus centuries since, it has played a major role in world affairs, as a foil to the Judeo Christian world, and a scourge on India, the Levant, Persia, Southern Asia, much of Africa, the Caucasus, and even part of China. Many have forgotten that Islam menaced Europe as late as the 17th century when the siege of Vienna ended. It was as recent as early in the last century that the Caliphate of Sunni Islam finally collapsed, after Ottoman Turkey...

Pope Francis, with his open-mindedness and more humanist approach to Catholicism reportedly promoted that the Virgin Mary should be at the second Holy Trinity, even putting her at Godhead level. Pope Francis recently attended the morning mass for the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows on Sept. 15 at Casa Santa Marta. He preached on how the Virgin Mary "learned, obeyed and suffered at the foot of the cross," according to the Vatican Radio."Even the Mother, 'the New Eve', as Paul himself calls her, in order to participate in her Son's journey, learned, suffered and obeyed. And thus she becomes Mother,"...

September 17, 2014Wednesday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time   Reading 1 1 Cor 12:31-13:13 Brothers and sisters:Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts. But I shall show you a still more excellent way. If I speak in human and angelic tonguesbut do not have love,I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.And if I have the gift of prophecyand comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge;if I have all faith so as to move mountains,but do not have love, I am nothing.If I give away everything I own,and if I hand my body over so that I may...

When the Intensity Gets Turned Up Today's Scripture “Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather and deliver us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.” (1 Chronicles 16:35, ESV) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria Whenever life gets difficult and it seems like the intensity has been turned up, that’s a sign you are closer to your victory. When those lies are bombarding your mind, when you’re tempted to get discouraged or feel like throwing in the towel, that’s not the time to back down. That’s...

Praying to God in Secret " hen you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place . . . —Matthew 6:6 " The primary thought in the area of religion is— keep your eyes on God, not on people. Your motivation should not be the desire to be known as a praying person. Find an inner room in which to pray where no one even knows you are praying, shut the door, and talk to God in secret. Have no motivation other than to know...

September 16, 2014Memorial of Saints Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs    Reading 1 1 Cor 12:12-14, 27-31a Brothers and sisters:As a body is one though it has many parts,and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,so also Christ.For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body,whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,and we were all given to drink of one Spirit. Now the body is not a single part, but many. Now you are Christ’s Body, and individually parts of it.Some people God has designated in the Churchto be, first, Apostles;...

God has always existed, and He was perfectly fine without man. He always was, is and will always be. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were already having a good time together. Everything they do is good and fulfilling, and so they didn't need man in order to be complete. Nevertheless, God chose to create man and, through worship, allow him to get in on the joy. Man tends to think in wrong ways about this entire arrangement. Man is prone to assume that it's all about him. How foolish of man. It's always been about God, and...

September 15, 2014Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows    Reading 1 1 Cor 11:17-26, 33 Brothers and sisters:In giving this instruction, I do not praise the factthat your meetings are doing more harm than good.First of all, I hear that when you meet as a Churchthere are divisions among you,and to a degree I believe it;there have to be factions among youin order that also those who are approved among youmay become known.When you meet in one place, then,it is not to eat the Lord’s supper,for in eating, each one goes ahead with his own supper,and one goes hungry...

Arguments or Obedience " . . . the simplicity that is in Christ. —2 Corinthians 11:3 " Simplicity is the secret to seeing things clearly. A saint does not think clearly until a long time passes, but a saint ought to see clearly without any difficulty. You cannot think through spiritual confusion to make things clear; to make things clear, you must obey. In intellectual matters you can think things out, but in spiritual matters you will only think yourself into further wandering thoughts and more confusion. If there is something in your life upon which God has put...

In the post-Summorum world, the ancient Roman Rite can no longer be considered forbidden, dubious, marginal, or obsolete. It enjoys equal rights of citizenship with the Novus Ordo: two forms of the Roman Rite—one called Ordinary because most recently promulgated and more widely used, the other called Extraordinary, the usus antiquior, deserving respect for its venerable use—with each able to be freely celebrated by any priest of the Roman Rite, no special permission needed. One would think that, as a gesture of reconciliation at the heart of the Church, the two forms would be flourishing side by side, with Catholics...

September 14, 2014Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross    Reading 1 Nm 21:4b-9 With their patience worn out by the journey,the people complained against God and Moses,“Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert,where there is no food or water?We are disgusted with this wretched food!” In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents,which bit the people so that many of them died.Then the people came to Moses and said,“We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you.Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us.”So Moses prayed for...

After Surrender— Then What? " I have finished the work which You have given Me to do —John 17:4 " True surrender is not simply surrender of our external life but surrender of our will— and once that is done, surrender is complete. The greatest crisis we ever face is the surrender of our will. Yet God never forces a person’s will into surrender, and He never begs. He patiently waits until that person willingly yields to Him. And once that battle has been fought, it never needs to be fought again.Surrender for Deliverance. “Come to Me . ....

September 13, 2014Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church    Reading 1 1 Cor 10:14-22 My beloved ones, avoid idolatry.I am speaking as to sensible people;judge for yourselves what I am saying.The cup of blessing that we bless,is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ?The bread that we break,is it not a participation in the Body of Christ?Because the loaf of bread is one,we, though many, are one Body,for we all partake of the one loaf. Look at Israel according to the flesh;are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar?So...

Ascend Today's Scripture “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.” (Psalm 24:3–5, NKJV) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria You were meant to rise high in heavenly places. You were meant to stand with God above the cares of this life. But notice that this verse tells us that in order to...

Going Through Spiritual Confusion " Jesus answered and said, ’You do not know what you ask’ —Matthew 20:22 " There are times in your spiritual life when there is confusion, and the way out of it is not simply to say that you should not be confused. It is not a matter of right and wrong, but a matter of God taking you through a way that you temporarily do not understand. And it is only by going through the spiritual confusion that you will come to the understanding of what God wants for you.The Shrouding of His Friendship...