Fr. Christian Mathis | October 29, 2011
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal.6:2). The legalist is not interested in lifting burdens. Instead, he adds to the burdens of others (Acts 15:10). This was one of the sins that the Master severely condemned: “They [the Pharisees] bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s [...]
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Tags: burdens, David Olford, fetters, forgiveness, legalism, pastors, Pharisees, preaching, Sacred Scripture, Stephen Olford, The Bible
Fr. Christian Mathis | October 1, 2011
Several friends have recommended my watching the video above which was created by Ray Comfort. Mr. Comfort makes the claim that his conversations with several young people, both on and off camera, caused them to re-evaluate their views when it comes to abortion and embrace a pro-life ethic. After watching the video, I’m not so [...]
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Tags: 180, A Vow of Conversation, abortion, Adolf Hitler, conversion, courage, forgiveness, heaven, hell, judgement, Macrina Walker, mercy, morality, Nazi Germany, pro-choice, pro-life, Ray Comfort, redemption, The Holocaust, violence
Fr. Christian Mathis | September 11, 2011
Peter approached Jesus and asked him, ”Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the [...]
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Tags: 9/11, anger, forgiveness, Gospel of Matthew, Jim O'Brien, love, mercy, Osama Bin Laden, Sirach, Sue Paulus, terrorism, TJ Paulus, wrath
Fr. Christian Mathis | September 7, 2011
Last night, as I walked up the the aisle towards the confessional, I caught something out of the corner of my eye that made me smile. A young woman was sitting in a pew, phone in hand, preparing for the sacrament with the now famous confession app. Besides on my own phone, it is the [...]
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Tags: confession, confession app, failure, forgiveness, happiness, mercy, Reconciliation, Sacraments, sin
Fr. Christian Mathis | August 28, 2011
A holy man who had seen someone in the act of committing a sin wept bitterly and said, “He today, and I tomorrow. In truth, even if someone commits sin in your presence, do not judge him, but consider yourself a worse sinner than he.” -from the Sayings of the Desert Fathers Last night I recalled this [...]
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Tags: desert spirituality, forgiveness, Fr. Richard Armstrong, judgement, mercy, St. Moses the Ethiopian
Fr. Christian Mathis | March 18, 2011
There are two pictures that have been on the wall of my office since my first trip to El Salvador in 2001. The first is of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the second is of the four American churchwomen who were killed in 1980, the same year Romero was assassinated. They are there as a reminder [...]
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Tags: Archbishop Oscar Romero, Chalatenango, El Salvador, forgiveness, Ita Ford, Lent, Maura Clark, NPH, war