Aflame for Christ

Aflame 120 - Human Life, Part 3 - The Spiritual Life

The dignity of human life is not merely physical - as a body/soul unity, we must care for both parts. In fact, the body is meant to be given away in love - in this, we find the fulfillment of the human person. How are we supposed to care for both body AND soul, and which one should have primacy?

Aflame 119 - Human Life Part 2 - Care for the Most Vulnerable

The mark of a truly civilized society is how it cares for the most vulnerable. Our society does not excel in this, in large part because we have lost the understanding of human beings made in the Image and Likeness of God. In this election year, when so many human dignity issues are at stake, let us consider our obligation to care for the most vulnerable among us - as we seek to build a truly Christian society.

Aflame 118 - Human Life, Part 1

As we begin Respect Life Month, we will begin a three-week series about the gift of human life. Today we begin with the insights of Pope St. John Paul II about human dignity, equality, and the sacredness of human life - and how it is applicable to our world today.

Aflame 117 - Innocence Regained

This world thinks very poorly of innocence, and often mocks the idea that we shouldn't taste every evil that presents itself. But Christ makes it clear in the Gospels that innocence is a prerequisite for Heaven. What is innocence, how does it differ from naivete, and how do we cultivate it in our lives and in the lives of our kids and grandkids? Innocence - the great gift of choosing the good!

Aflame 116 - The Art of Overcoming Envy

All of our readings this weekend feature the theme of envy: "sorrow at another's good fortune." Today we discuss when envy is good and when it is bad, and three profound antidotes to such a deadly sin, so that we can live lives of joy and peace!

Aflame 115 - Things That Go Together

Like salt and pepper, lightning and thunder, Romeo and Juliet, so Faith and Works should always go together. St. James puts it best when he describes a "living faith" - a firm belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior, which is then lived out in lives of holiness. But a living faith often includes the Cross, which is what makes it so challenging!

Aflame 114 - Assumption Homily - Body on Earth, Soul in Heaven

When Mary lived on earth, her mind and soul were already in Heaven - desiring God, living holiness. Because of how her desire for God consumed her entire being, it is fitting that her immaculate body would partake of the divine life of Heaven that she so ardently longed for. We, too, while we live on earth, can live with our hearts in Heaven - so to be prepared for our own bodily resurrection at the end of time!

Aflame 113 - Welcome Home

The radical claim of Christianity is that, through grace, we become adopted sons and daughters of God. But so many of us struggle with family wounds, loneliness, and the alienation of sin. If so, this consoling message of God's Fatherhood should give us courage - we have a good Father in Heaven, a new family in the Catholic Church, and the grace to live as a new creation!