Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Man cannot transform himself into a holy being. As my Irish grandmother would say,  "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear."  In other words, only Christ can transform us into His image and draw us into the heart of His Father. Stealing Christ's Job Although we don't really understand what we are doing when we tackle sanctity like a chore, we are basically trying to save ourselves with our religious works. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.  ( Ephesians 2:8,9 ) When religious practices are not motivated by love and humility but fueled by pride, they damage our intimacy with God. In fact, self-appointed spiritual disciplines that are  not  inspired and empowered by the Holy Spirit are self-centered, not God-centered. To put this thought in more shocking terms, when we try to perfect ourselves we are stealing Christ's job o...

The recent ruling by the Supreme Court on the legal state of marriage has reverberated across the country. People cannot stop talking about it and the conversations are often heated. A seismic shift has taken place in our culture. It caught me unprepared for the personal storm of confusion and fear that I would experience as a result. Facing the inevitable KatLevPhoto fear of rejection, Flickr Creative Commons Christians are facing a “brave new world.” Confrontation is now inevitable; I cannot avoid it no matter how uncomfortable it makes me feel. I have to be clear as to what I think and how I feel and learn how to express it both firmly and in love, as Jesus would do. Confession These recent events have revealed in broad daylight what had been concealed in the shadows of my soul: I am a weak-kneed, timid Christian, locked in the tyrannical grip of caring about what others think of me. My instinct to self-protect causes me to hide away my faith and avoid discuss...

Jesus never argued or debated the faith, so why should we? You can read the rest at Being Catholic ... Really .