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Christian Hope: How to Find It When Life Feels Heavy
Hope can feel difficult to find when life is uncertain. Financial struggles, health challenges, broken relationships, and unexpected disappointments can leave us feeling discouraged and weary. Yet Christian hope is different from wishful thinking. It is not simply hoping that circumstances improve. Christian hope is the confident expectation that God is faithful, present, and working even when we cannot see the outcome.
The foundation of Christian hope is not our situation—it is Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him.” Notice that God is described as the God of hope. Hope originates with Him. When our own strength runs out, God’s faithfulness remains.
So how do we find hope when we feel overwhelmed?
Remember God’s Promises
Continue readingDivine Mercy Chaplet to Music with Kayser Swiday
The message of The Divine Mercy is simple. It is that God loves us – all of us. And, He wants us to recognize that His mercy is greater than our sins, so that we will call upon Him with trust, receive His mercy, and let it flow through us to others. Thus, all will come to share His joy.
What Should I Do For Lent?
Resources For Spiritual Growth This Lent & Beyond!
Stay Sober And Alert – Scripture Verse to Combate the Devil for Catholics.
How to Have Thanksgiving in the Midst of Adversity
Praying for our Beloved Dead
“It is the will of Him Who sent Me that I should lose nothing of what He has given Me.” —John 6:39
The Church is “the pillar and bulwark of truth” (1 Tm 3:15). Jesus Himself founded the Church to be His Body (e.g. Eph 1:22-23), and He gave her the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Mt 16:19). Therefore, the universal Church will always faithfully proclaim the Lord’s will and always rightly interpret His Word.
For two thousand years, the Church throughout the world has authoritatively taught that we should pray for our brothers and sisters in purgatory so that they will be purified as soon as possible and enter heaven. The Church teaches: “From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1032). “Our prayer for them is capable not only of helping them, but also of making their intercession for us effective” (Catechism, 958).
How Satan Uses Fear Against Us
“I say to you who are My friends: Do not be afraid.” —Luke 12:4
God’s grace continues to be lavishly poured out on us to free us to love Him with all our hearts. In that love, we have the power to transform the world. However, Satan tries to block our reception of God’s grace and love. He does this by tempting us to sin, and he manipulates us into sinning in many ways, especially through fear. Therefore, the Lord commands 365 times in the Bible: “Do not be afraid” (see Lk 12:4).
Continue readingWhy Doesn’t Jesus Heal Everyone? Or Does He?
In the Gospel passage, LUKE 18:35-43, we see Jesus’ mercy toward the blind man as a hallmark of his ministry. But does God heal everyone? And if not why? This is a question I have asked, and many others who read this blog, watch my YouTube Channel and listen to my podcast have asked me over the past 10 years, and many have asked, throughout time. If you are struggling with this question, this reflection may give you an insight into God’s plan.
Below is the story of Jesus healing the blind man.
Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar Near Jericho (LUKE 18:35-43)
As he [Jesus} approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When the blind man heard a crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” Then he shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Those who were in front sternly ordered the blind man to be quiet; but he shouted even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stood still and ordered the blind man to be brought to him; and when he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said, “Lord, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.” Immediately the blind man regained his sight and followed Jesus, glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, praised God.
Jesus comes as healer, savior, inaugurator of the kingdom. He is the embodiment of hope. Jesus wanted to connect human suffering to the very source of life and health. The energy of God pours through Jesus to the needy.
Now back to the question, why doesn’t Jesus simply cure everyone, then? The answer is obviously wrapped up in the mystery of God’s will, but the important point is this: Jesus is healer in many senses, but ultimately in the sense that he heals us from sin and death, not only physical maladies. What appears historically in Jesus is an eschatological anticipation, a hint and foreshadowing of what is coming in God’s time and in God’s way.
Continue readingBlue Butterfly and Christian Renewal
2 Corinthians 5:17 says
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” This verse highlights the radical change that occurs when someone accepts Christ.
God shows us many things through His creation. Jesus often told stories using nature and everyday occurrences to teach his followers about His love for us and His Father’s will.
A blue butterfly represents hope, joy and peace. While there is not a direct scriptural reference to butterflies, butterflies’ natural life cycle involves a transformation from caterpillar to a butterfly.
The message to all of God’s people is God wants to transform each person into that which He created them for. God created each person with a specific purpose in mind. Each person has great potential to be transformed with God’s grace into that person that God desires for them.
2 Corinthians 3:18 says
.”And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” This verse focuses on the progressive nature of transformation, where believers are gradually changed into the likeness of Christ.
We become new creations in Christ once we become a believer in Him. We can continue a renewal process by renewing our minds by reading God’s word and receiving the sacraments.