You can learn a lot about people by stalking their social media or asking their friends about them, but you can’t actually get to know someone until you spend time with him or her. The saints are no different — they’re not people to be observed from afar, but holy pals we can actually have a relationship with.
Regardless of your exposure to all of these things, the fact of the matter is that our Church is sitting in a moment of great darkness revealed, which means we’re living on the hinge of unprecedented renewal in the Church.
So often we can be tempted to wait for the future or wish away the present moment, but that’s where the Father is. He is with us here and now, loving us, drawing us into Himself.
In reality, most people don’t have a clear plan on how to deal with conflict and drama. Despite this, Christ is calling us to tackle our problems with Him in mind. So what does this look like?
With tears running down my face, I felt for the first time every wound and every scar I had been numb to for so long. It all hit me — I was not OK.
God bestowed you with a wide range of emotions. Despite what a good chunk of popular culture today might suggest, it simply isn’t human to avoid the feelings that aren’t so great all the time.
Sure, striving to be better, that’s part of it. But the other part is never forgetting that you and I -- just as we are -- are also enough.
Being a man isn’t just about abstaining from bad things, it’s about intentionally acting for the good. It is about coming to know your passions, joys, sorrows, fears, weaknesses, and strengths then integrating them into serving God, women, and other men.
Loving others as Christ prescribes does not entail an intimate and personal relationship with everyone we meet, nor does it require us to spend copious amounts of time with them. However, Christ speaks to us in Matthew 5:44-45 when He professes, “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.”
