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When it comes down to it, happiness and holiness are about acting from love of God and neighbor, not from fear of suffering and failure. By having children, you become that much more like the God of love who took the risk of creating you in his love, and then giving you the freedom to return his love or not. To be happy, you have to take risks. But know that God is with you along the whole journey.Here is my last word: the best advice I can give you on keeping your kids Catholic or helping …

One of the objections to the Christian faith that most impacts people on an emotional level is the problem of evil: if God is good, why would he allow evil to exist? This objection gains its power because we all experience evils in life. Type of Evil:Philosophers and theologians divide evil into two types.-Moral evil occurs when people perform immoral acts (i.e., sins). Adultery is an example of moral evil.-Physical evil occurs when people suffer, whether or not that suffering was caused by sin. …

Before we get into the text of Acts, there are two very important questions that must be asked and that are often overlooked in this discussion: “Who wrote the Book of Acts?” And, “Why is that important?”Well, the first question has an easy answer: “St. Luke wrote the Book of Acts.” It was basically a “part II” picking up where his Gospel leaves off.But the second question is the more important question for our purpose: “Why is this important?”It’s important because we know from Scripture that S …

As the Christian faith spread, its members encountered new challenges, and the early Church began to develop an extensive apologetic literature, directed both externally—to non-Christians—and internally—to deal with apologetic issues among those professing to be Christian. Early Apologists and their Critics: Beginning in the second century, a group of Christian authors known specifically as “apologists” began to appear. They also had critics. One of the most prominent second century apologists w …

Earlier in my priesthood, I served as the vicar of vocations for my diocese, working extensively with young adults. In this way, I came to have a deep appreciation for the younger generation. Even as they struggled with entitlement, loss of purpose, and other such things, they also showed a genuine love for and desire to serve others, especially the suffering. In particular, what stood out for me was the deep esteem that those younger people had for their grandparents. They enjoyed being with th …