Reflections of a beloved son

When we allow God to enter our hearts He will fill it with love and all the graces we need. St. Stephen was "filled with grace and power" because he allowed God to enter into his heart. And through him others came to know Jesus and His Father. But not without persecution and hardship. Doing good will not always be pain-free. But it will always make a difference in someone's life. Your act of charity can move people to conversion, heal wounds, and restore brokenness. Let God work through you.

In the Spiritual Exercises , St. Ignatius of Loyola teaches of the “Two Standards.”   One is the Standard of Christ and the other is the Standard of the enemy.   We are confronted with the choice to either stand with the army of Christ or with the army of the enemy and his lies.   In St. Luke’s Gospel Jesus says to His disciples one “cannot serve both God and mammon” (Lk. 16:13).   At face value, of course the choice is clear—we ought to stand with the army of Christ and to serve God.   But, when it comes down to making the decision and actually living out that decision day in and day out, is it as clear and easy?   Do our actions and choices make that decision obvious?   Everyday we are given numerous opportunities to choose.   If someone does an act of uncharity, do I return one?   Or do I even think about saying or doing anything back that would be uncharitable? You may ask yourself how does this relate to either serving God or ...

When people in authority asks us to do something, we either comply because we know if we don't, we will get in trouble or we do it because we believe what they are saying or asking of us is truly for our good.  The Fourth Commandment - "Honor your father and mother" is extended to teachers and other persons in authority.  We must respect and honor our elders and listen to what they have to say, but we must make a decision whether what they are saying is congruent and consistent with what God may be telling us and if what they say point to the true, good, and beautiful.  We are not called to just blindly follow and do whatever persons in authority tell us or ask of us - we must discern it and bring it to prayer.   In the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 5:27-33), the Apostles were again found preaching the Good News and telling people about Jesus and the authority figures said to them: "We gave you strict orders, did we not, to stop teaching in that name."  An...