Jeanie Hannaman

By Fr. Nnamdi Moneme, OMV, Catholic Exchange - The following words from Dom Lorenzo Scupoli’s spiritual classic, The Spiritual Combat, merit some deep reflection: It must be observed that it is not sufficient to desire, or even to execute what is most pleasing to God. It is also requisite to desire and to perform our actions under the influence of His grace, and out of a willingness to please Him... These words lay down the conditions for our actions to merit any supernatural reward. It implies that it is not enough for us to merely perform good acts! We must also be moved by divine grace and perform these acts, without any selfish motive, but for the greater glory of God.

By Sean Fitzpatrick, Crisis Magazine - St. Augustine wrote in his Confessions: “The happy life is this—to rejoice to thee, in thee, and for thee.” Rejoice and be glad. Strive to be happy even today, even now. Even this may one day, perhaps, be a joy to remember. St. Thomas Aquinas called happiness the end of life; still, there are ends in life. Again, from Æneas to his comrades: “Even here, the world is a world of tears and the burdens of mortality touch the heart.” Though loss is inescapable, there is also a sense in which things do not change or even diminish—in the heart of Christ, all things are made new. “Dismiss your fears,” Æneas concludes, and so should we.