At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. God tests us to draw us closer to him. The devil tempts us to draw...
Tomorrow we enter into the penitential season of Lent once more. We begin our yearly pilgrimage journey to the celebration of the Pascal mysteries of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Often in...
By spiritaflame 9:26 AM Thought of the Day
"If we have received good from the hand of the Lord, why should we not endure evil?" These words were spoken by Job in the Old Testament in the midst of tragedies and...
"We all have our secrets: thoughts, memories, feelings that we keep to ourselves. Often we think, 'If people knew what I feel or think, they would not love me.' These carefully kept secrets...
"Hear me declare with boldness, I am a Christian." (St. Polycarp) Even at the very end of his life, as he was facing death by fire, St Polycarp declared his identity in Christ....
Homily for the Eight Sunday of the Year A Sometimes the words of the scriptures sound too good to be true. We have heard promises before from others and were disappointed, often hurt,...
"The Christian has learned to read all things with eyes informed by Easter, with the eyes of the risen Lord." (Pope Francis) What does he mean? Before Easter there was the darkness of...
Reflection on Scripture Eighth Sunday of the Year Gospel A
By spiritaflame 1:34 PM Reading ReflectionsJesus said to his disciples: "No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God...
."The best penance is to have patience with the sorrows God permits. A very good penance is to dedicate oneself to fulfill the duties of everyday with exactitude and to study and work...
Information Lenten Retreat
By spiritaflame 2:02 PM InformationINFORMATION: I will be doing a Lenten Retreat at Lumen Christi Retreat Center in Houma, La. It will begin the evening of March 31, 2017 and conclude April 2 at noon. The Theme...
"To be able to enjoy fully the many good things the world has to offer, we must be detached from them. To be detached does not mean to be indifferent or uninterested. It...
Reflection on Scripture Seventh Sunday of Year Gospel A
By spiritaflame 12:02 PM Reading ReflectionsJesus said to his disciples: "You have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one...
A brother came to visit Abba Macarius the Egyptian and said to him: “Abba, give me a word, that I may be saved.” So the old man said: “Go to the cemetery and...
“There is within us a fundamental dis-ease, an unquenchable fire that renders us incapable, in this life, of ever coming to full peace. This desire lies at the center of our lives, in...
"Often we want to be somewhere other than where we are, or even to be someone other than who we are. We tend to compare ourselves constantly with others and wonder why we...
"The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find...
"Consolation is a beautiful word. It means 'to be' (con-) 'with the lonely one' (solus). To offer consolation is one of the most important ways to care. Life is so full of pain,...
"We can't be seated Christians, nor status quo Christians, nor stationary Christians. We must be courageous Christians who are on the move, always taking up the journey to seek the Lord’s face. Our...
Homily Sixth Sunday of the Year A
By spiritaflame 10:47 AM HomilyHomily: Sixth Sunday of the Year A In the first reading, the prophet reminds us that God has given us free will to choose life or death, good or evil, lasting fire or...
"It is not hard to obey when we love the one whom we obey."(St Ignatius of Loyola) This was the witness Jesus gives us in his total obedience to the Father even to...
Jesus said to his disciples: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. The law and the prophets...
“As two pieces of wax fused together make one, so he who receives Holy Communion is so united with Christ that Christ is in him and he is in Christ” (St. Cyril of...
"We often confuse unconditional love with unconditional approval. God loves us without conditions but does not approve of every human behavior. God doesn't approve of betrayal, violence, hatred, suspicion, and all other expressions...
"Ask Christ to help you become happy. I obey Christ. After Christ's example, I forgive my persecutors. I do not hate them. I ask God to have pity on all, and I hope...
"The Scriptures are shallow enough for a babe to come and drink without fear of drowning and deep enough for theologians to swim in without ever reaching the bottom...Ignorance of the scriptures is...
Homily Fifth Sunday of the Year A
By spiritaflame 11:24 AM HomilyTo be a Christian is to be a public person. Many people are public or in the public eye but their Christianity is hidden. Some people feel that one’s faith is a private...
"Because he himself was tested through what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested." (Heb 2:18) in becoming man the Son of God took on our nature. Except...
INFORMATION: FEBRUARY'S MEN'S MASS SATURDAY FEBRUARY 4, 2017 107 ALBANY DR HOUMA, LA 70306 7:30AM FELLOWSHIP AFTERWARDS BRING A FRIEND ...
"To look back is helpful, and indeed necessary, to purify our memory; but to be fixated on the past, lingering over the memory of wrongs done and endured, and judging in merely human...
