I Take Off the Mask

“ To be really great in little things, to be truly noble and heroic in the insipid details of everyday life, is a virtue so rare as to be worthy of canonization.” – Harriet Beecher Stowe “We rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope: and hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts…”  — Romans 5:2–5, WEBBE It is said that in order to follow Christ, we must take up our own cross.  If Jesus suffered, then we must suffer, too. If He has shown self-sacrifice as the way to love, then we must also learn how to make that sacrifice. I must admit, however, that those words seem more beautiful and glorious to me when they’re far away,  when they’re only theories I need to hear, not when painful and actual suffering happens to me or to my loved ones. I must admit also that many times, the sacrifice ...

It’s been a year since the pandemic forced everyone out of normalcy.  Many people have been hit hard, some losing their source of income, and some losing the very ones they love. When I think about what I have left compared to others around me, I can’t help but feel I’ve been spared of difficulties I couldn’t even begin to imagine. It doesn’t mean, however, that my heart doesn’t ache for all the things I’ve lost.  I know that only God’s grace has kept me from being crippled by anxiety. It is only God’s grace that has allowed me to carry on. My life is simple.  I’m not rich enough to enjoy the luxuries of always going out of the country. I don’t socialize much either, and so I won’t be missing parties or concerts or other events that other people do. Yet in my own life, there are some things I miss. I miss the freedom to go out of the house whenever I want to.  Not that I’d get very far. But that I know I could at least visit my favorite bookstore or simply go to Church and light a cand...

“Never permit your soul to be sad and live in bitterness of spirit or scrupulous fear, since He who loved it and died to give it life is so good, so sweet, so amiable.” -St. Francis de Sales I’m currently listening to The Bible in a Year podcast (with Fr. Mike Schmitz), and I can’t help but be reminded of the many ways we can be afraid of God, especially in the Old Testament.  It’s in the Old Testament where we hear about plagues and wars and punishments for people’s sins. It’s in the Old Testament where we can feel as though God is always angry with His people. It’s sometimes hard to reconcile this with the message of mercy and forgiveness that we see in the New Testament.  And sometimes many of us can even wonder whether God has changed.  Did He? Was He more forgiving when He finally revealed Himself to Jesus? But Scripture itself tells us that God does not change and that He is the same now as He had always been.  If therefore, we note any change in Him, it may be a change in our pe...

I’ve often wondered what makes evil so attractive to people.  Why is it that when someone spreads a false message that lures men to eventual ruin, many quickly believe it rather than detest it? Perhaps it’s because evil is able to disguise itself, it takes some bit of beauty and truth to hide that little seed of evil within.  And people take it not thinking of the evil but allowing themselves to be seduced with the outward appearance of goodness. We want to believe we’re choosing what’s good even if we are actually taking the wrong path. We tend to forget that little evil, thinking it would go away and that it wouldn’t cause us or others much harm. What we fail to consider is that evil grows.  From that little seed of darkness, great evil grows and consumes everything along the way. It is  hard to preach what’s good because people tend to veer away from difficult things .  We don’t want to be told we’re doing something wrong.  We don’t want to be restricted. Evil is seductive because i...