St. Emile roman
catholic  church

Life and Death, Good and Evil

"Concupiscence isn’t washed away at our baptism along with Original Sin.  It remains with us from conception until death.  Just as gravity constantly pulls you towards the earth, and it takes effort and strength to move your body against gravity, so it is in the moral life.  Concupiscence is a sort of 'moral gravity' that constantly pulls us down towards sin.  Wisdom helps us to recognize that we’re being pulled down.  But divine love strengthens us to strive against its pull."

Read more from Fr. Thomas Hoisington of the Archdiocese of Wichita.

How Lent Reminds Us We Can Never Repay God

"Lent is not about evening things out with God. Since our prayers and sacrifices add nothing to God’s greatness or happiness, they are not primarily for his benefit, but rather for our own. Lent helps us recognize what we owe God, but even beyond that, it is about preparing for the celebration of Christ’s supreme act of charity in suffering his Passion and death for our salvation."

Read more from the Dominicans of the Province of St. Joseph at the Word on Fire blog.

Abolishing and Fulfilling

"There is a difference between building a home and building a house. There is a difference between being faithful to a spouse and simply staying married to the same person. There is a difference between being a good driver and never having an accident.

There is a similar difference between upholding laws and fulfilling the law."

Read more from Fr. Dermot Morrin, O.P. at Torch.

"The Book of Sirach emphasised that the law sets a choice before us. 'Man has life and death before him; whichever a man likes better will be given him.' Fidelity to the law was never a matter of outward compliance. It was the choice of life or death. Jesus, as the Way, the Truth and the Life, is the fulfilment of that law."

Read more of Why Jesus Came to Complete the Law, Not Abolish It by Bishop David McGough at the Catholic Herald.

How We Give Hell a Chance

"We’re accustomed to thinking of Hell in negative terms, as the fiery furnace Jesus describes as the 'fires of Gehenna.' Gehenna was initially where some of the kings of Judah sacrificed their children by fire to appease the demon Moloch. What goes around comes around. ... So we tell ourselves: Relax. For us, Hell may not be that fiery furnace, unless we sacrificed our children to demons."

Read more from Fr. Jerry J. Pokorsky at The Catholic Thing.