//The Blessed One – YouTube – 5/28/2024//
https://www.youtube.com/@TheBlessedOne-jq3cy
Minute Meditation – Love Conquers Sin
It was because Christ was the perfect adorer of God, the perfect bridge between creatures and the Creator, that he could bridge the gap created by sin. Sin was not first in God’s intentions; but because we sinned, when God does come among us as Jesus Christ, his perfect adoration ends up being his perfect sacrifice.
He didn’t come to repair sin, he came to be the firstborn perfect creature; but because we sinned, he showed us just how great is God’s love: God not only becomes one of us, but he dies with and for us and made peace “through the blood of his cross.”
—from the book Nourishing Love: A Franciscan Celebration of Mary
by Murray Bodo, OFM
Love Conquers Sin | Franciscan Media
Minute Meditation – God’s Playful Spirit
What if our relationship with God is as simple but as joyful and sweet as spending the day playing with our grandchildren? We are delighted with their every tentative move, questioning eyes, captivating smiles, out-of-left-field antics, half-blurted syllables. Before someone hauls me before the Inquisition for heretical ideas, may I offer the scenario of the third joyful mystery, the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ? The three Wise Men traveled from afar, guided by the bright star, anticipating the once-in-a-lifetime meeting with the promised Messiah.
At the end of their long and harrowing journey, there was Jesus, asleep in the manger—a beautiful, gentle, innocent baby.
Our loving God will do anything to gladden our hearts. Anything to make our day. Surely, God will happily play with us, as Christ did with his earthly parents, Mary and Joseph. Can we open our hearts, “become like children” (Mt 18:3), and allow God to play with us?
—from the blog “At Play in the Fields of the Lord“
by Ed Gamboa, MD
God’s Playful Spirit | Franciscan Media
Theology of the Body – Session One – From the Beginning
This video is one installment of a 4-part series on the Theology of the Body presented by Fr. Mike. For free access to the entire series, please visit https://www.ascensionpress.com/tobtalk/
If the deepest secret of God is that God is love, and he made you in his image and likeness, then what’s the deepest secret about you? You are made for love. What does it mean to be human? What was God’s original plan for humanity? For relationships? For marriage? For sex? Why is the body important? In these four lessons, Fr. Mike leans into the teachings of St. John Paul II and Christopher West, unpacking the mysteries of the human heart, the human body, and relationships. In this first lesson, we learn about the origins of the Theology of the Body, what it means, and why what we do with our bodies matters. We are taken back to the beginning in Genesis Chapters 1-3, the creation of Adam and Eve. Despite their differences as male and female, we discover how they were equal in terms of dignity yet complementary in their differences.
This series is brought to you for free by Fr. Mike’s local ministry, bulldogCatholic. This series is worth more than $80, but bulldogCatholic is providing it free of cost to you. Please donate to support their mission! https://bulldogcatholic.org/seeds-of-…
If this information is as fascinating to you as it is to us, you can dive deeper with Christopher West and the @TheologyoftheBodyInstitute
Theology of the Body – Session Two – Adultery in the Heart
This video is one installment of a 4-part series on the Theology of the Body presented by Fr. Mike. For free access to the entire series, please visit https://www.ascensionpress.com/tobtalk/
“But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:28
Sin has broken the world for men and women. Because of sin, our relationships with God, with each other, and even in our own hearts are broken. But as Fr. Mike encourages us during this second lesson, Jesus is on our side. He came to redeem our ethos and give us a new heart. The Theology of the Body highlights the fact that in the beginning, a broken world did not exist. In the beginning, we were free to love and be loved fully. But now, for men and women, that freedom has often become twisted in our hearts. We can find ourselves desiring to use another person. If you find yourself in circumstances where you have fallen in these areas, remember that it’s not just about discipline or grit. Above all, it’s about grace. If you fall, just keep praying. If you fall, fall into the confessional. And if you feel empty, fill yourself with Jesus in the Eucharist.
This series is brought to you for free by Fr. Mike’s local ministry, bulldogCatholic. This series is worth more than $80, but bulldogCatholic is providing it free of cost to you. Please donate to support their mission! https://bulldogcatholic.org/seeds-of-…
If this information is as fascinating to you as it is to us, you can dive deeper with Christopher West and the @TheologyoftheBodyInstitute
Theology of the Body – Session Three – Language of the Body
This video is one installment of a 4-part series on the Theology of the Body presented by Fr. Mike. For free access to the entire series, please visit https://www.ascensionpress.com/tobtalk/
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” John 13:34
The word “love” can often be overused and undervalued. In this third lesson of the Theology of the Body Crash Course, Fr. Mike outlines love. He explains the four different kinds of love, the four marks of God’s love, and how the body intrinsically has a language in and of itself. To be made in God’s image and likeness means that he made us to love like him. To love as he loves involves the four kinds of love: storge, eros, philia, and agapé. Within those four kinds of love, we find four markers of God’s love:
1. It is always free
2. It is always total
3. It is always faithful
4. It is always fruitful
Our body has a language, and we are constantly saying something. Speaking the language of the body takes time and practice, but it’s worth it. Why? Because we will be speaking the language for the purpose for which we were created: love. This series is brought to you for free by Fr. Mike’s local ministry, bulldogCatholic.
This series is worth more than $80, but bulldogCatholic is providing it free of cost to you. Please donate to support their mission! https://bulldogcatholic.org/seeds-of-…
If this information is as fascinating to you as it is to us, you can dive deeper with Christopher West and the @TheologyoftheBodyInstitute