The annual Care Package Drive for the Honor Our Heroes Committee is well under way for the fifth year in a row. What started as a small idea has slowly flourished into a service project of massive proportions and a permanent ministry at Prince of Peace Catholic Community in Plano.
Faith
A recent graduate of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, Edith Torres Monzón arrived at the Diocese of Dallas in July to serve as the associate director of Outreach and Diversity Office of Youth, Young Adult and Campus Ministries.
We have all experienced moments of varying emotions — some sad, some happy. Humans have different ways of handling or showing emotions, and being emotional is not always a negative thing. In fact, I feel that emotions bring out our humanity, and we must not be shy or afraid to show emotion even as we try to control outbursts of excessive and negative emotions.
To know oneself is a gift and a grace that allows Christians to properly discern between feelings and convictions, Pope Francis said. During his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square Oct. 5, the pope said that knowing oneself requires “patient soul-searching” and the awareness of one’s “way of acting, of the feelings that dwell within us.”
Over a three-day period, representatives from 34 parishes, schools and religious organizations throughout the Diocese of Dallas had the opportunity to focus on the future of youth ministry in the Catholic Church thanks to a Summit offered by the Diocese of Dallas Office of Youth, Young Adult and Campus Ministries.
Jesus never abandons, coerces or blackmails anyone when they stray, rather, he patiently waits and is “our greatest and most faithful friend,” Pope Francis said.
One of the most laudable questions I receive is about how to discern God’s will. A decision is easy to make when the choice is between something right and something wrong. But a decision can be difficult when the choice is between two goods and I have to discover the specific will God has for me. I recently read a great book on this topic, and I want to share its theses. The book is “Discerning the Will of God: An Ignatian Guide to Christian Decision Making” by Father Timothy Gallagher.
Close to 200 bishops at the beginning of their ministries in dioceses and eparchies around the world met Pope Francis Sept. 19 at the end of a week of conferences.
Grace is defined as an unmerited favor we receive from God. It’s freely given through God’s benevolence, and God bestows His grace upon anyone He chooses. By our creation as God’s children, every human is potentially a recipient of God’s grace, especially those who draw closer to Him.
When I was reflecting on what to write for this column, I thought of the story of the Good Samaritan as narrated in the Gospel of Luke 10:25-37. But the term “missionary culture” kept popping into my head. I had no idea what a missionary culture would be in this context, and I haven’t heard or read about it before. But with further reflection and prayer I concluded that I could come to a new definition of the term “missionary culture” in light of the inspiration I was receiving. I wish to share with you the product of my reflection on what I understand “missionary culture” to mean in the context of the parable of the Good Samaritan.