Degrees Of Glory

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross is a Catholic Feast day that brings due attention to the Holy Cross on which our Lord and Savior achieved our reconciliation with the Father. In this Feast, we gaze upon the Cross less as an instrument of suffering and torture (while this is still certainly true), but more on the healing and reconciliation it brings.

Pope Leo XIV addressed a group of French Catholic politicians recently on pilgrimage to the Vatican. He had many good words of advice for them, while he also offered some challenges for them relating to a tendency he sees in many Catholic politicians to separate their faith life from their public life.

A lot of folks, even some Catholics, have an erroneous idea about what the Church actually teaches about the Communion of the Saints. We do not go to the Saints INSTEAD of Jesus, but we call upon them in ADDITION to Jesus and THROUGH the Body of Christ.

When the Bible uses the word KNOW, it speaks of a level of intimacy reserved for our absolute closest relationships. To know Jesus is to living in a relationship of divine intimacy with him. It is not enough to know about Jesus, we must know him intimately. And he in return knows us intimately.

A lot of Catholics know at least a little about the process for those who who wish to be baptized Catholic or come into Full Communion with the Catholic Church. It is a process formerly known as RCIA, but is now OCIA. However, we can all do a little better job of evangelization by inviting people into the process, people we are in relationship with, our friends and family.

There is an interesting Catholic Tradition that speaks of degrees of glory in heaven. But, many folks might be confused by this concept, especially when we view it through an earthly lens.

Pope Leo, in a recent Angelus address to the faithful, spoke about the prayer that Jesus Himself taught us, what has become known as the Our Father. The Pope beautifully reflected on the importance of the prayer, how the Father loves us and gives us everything we need, but also the responsibility we have to serve and forgive others.

On the 100th anniversary of the famous Scopes Trial in Tennessee that gained national attention dealing with teaching the Theory of Evolution in schools, many folks may still wonder exactly what the Catholic Church teaches about Evolution and Creation.

The Holy Father, Pope Leo, recently addressed attendees of the 5th World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. His brief address was filled with messages of Jubilee, wisdom, worth, and most of all, hope...hope for the elderly and wisdom for the young.

The devotion of the wearing of the Brown Scapular, while popular among Catholics, is shrouded in mystery for many. Under the patronage of Mary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, it is actually an ancient devotion with Old Testament roots leading to its founding in the middle ages.