Rare is the individual who is a brilliant mathematician and a brilliant philosopher, but Blaise Pascal was such a man. Pascal was a pioneer in the development of probability theory (if you’re watching a sporting event and there’s a graphic on the screen of each’s team probability to win, you
Chapter 14 of Paul’s epistle to the Romans isn’t easy to understand. It’s not a passage that comes up frequently in the cycle of Church readings. What is Paul saying to his audience? And what is the Holy Spirit telling us today? Welcome anyone who is weak in faith, but not
Paul concludes chapter 13 of his letter to the Romans by making two points that are essential to a virtuous Christian life: Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; you shall not
Hence I ask, did they [the Israelites] stumble so as to fall? Of course not! But through their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make them jealous. Now if their transgression is enrichment for the world, and if their diminished number is enrichment for the Gentiles, how
“We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) Paul can pack a lot of punch and lot insight into one verse of his letters. He does it often in his letter to the Romans, not
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. For the scripture says, “No one
For if by that one person’s [Adam] transgression the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one person Jesus Christ overflow for the many… where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might
Some time afterward, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Do not fear, Abram! I am your shield; I will make your reward very great. But Abram said, “Lord God, what can you give me, if I die childless and have only a servant of my household, Eliezer of
Despair could be called the opposite of presumption. It may be more precise to call it the opposite of hope. In broad terms despair means no exit; our problems have no solution; our life has no meaning. In specific Christian terms, it is the belief that what we have done
Many Christians, and some in the secular world, have heard of the seven deadly sins: pride, envy, wrath, sloth, avarice, gluttony and lust. I’d like to speak in this post and my next one about two deadly mindsets. The Catechism describes them as “sins against the virtue of hope” (CCC,
On August 15 we celebrate Mary’s glorious assumption, body and soul, into Heaven. What is Heaven like? Heaven is a communion of love. It is a love that unites the Father, Son and Holy Spirit with those who trusted in His mercy and took up their cross. It is hard
Controversy over predestination led to wars and schisms during the Protestant Reformation. For Catholics today, it may feel like a daunting topic best avoided. It wasn’t something I understood well until a priest explained it in a simple way in a homily. The Church’s teaching on predestination boils down to
Many Catholics have heard of and made the First Fridays devotion that comes from a promise Jesus made to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque. Other Catholics know of the first Saturdays devotion that Mary revealed to Saint Lucia dos Santos. And many Catholics know of neither of these devotions. So what
If our salvation hinges on our acceptance of Jesus, what about souls who never heard of Jesus? Here’s what the Church teaches: “Those also can attain to salvation who through no fault of their own do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, yet sincerely seek God and
It may seem too good to be true that a last minute appeal to God’s mercy could work. But God’s mercy is in fact so good and so true that it does work, and we see it work in the Gospel of Luke: Now one of the criminals hanging there
In reflecting on salvation, I would be remiss if I didn’t speak about mortal sin. For just as we are saved by our faith in the Lord Jesus, we can lose our friendship with Jesus by committing a mortal sin and failing to repent. Any sin demonstrates a lack of
Are you saved? You may have been asked this question before. You may have thought about it. I hope you will. The consequences of our actions in this life resonate for eternity. For those who are Catholic like I am, you may be asking the related question, what does the