The expanding heart that casts out fear

The expanding heart that casts out fear

St. Benedict concludes the Prologue of his Rule for monks with an uplifting exhortation: “Do not be daunted immediately by fear and run away from the road that leads to salvation. It is bound to be narrow at the outset. But as we progress in this way of life and in faith, we shall run on the path of God’s commandments, our hearts expanding with the inexpressible delight of love.” For Benedict, the monastic life is a school in which the monks, who graduate only at death, never cease learning how to love the Lord. The relentless rigors of work and prayer stretch the heart, pushing it outward and generating an ever-greater capacity to love and be loved.

The expanding heart that casts out fear

Awaken the sleeping Lord in your boat!

Near the end of March 2020, the peoples of virtually all nations were enduring the first of many months of enforced isolation and the specter of sickness caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. At that precise moment, Pope Francis organized a worldwide hour of adoration, and offered the suffering faithful a sorely needed word of hope.

Renewing the joyful gift of Catholic schools

On synodality and the ‘listening church’

On synodality and the ‘listening church’ by Fr. John for The Texas Catholic. You’ve likely heard that Bishop Burns called for a diocesan synod. You’ve probably also heard that Pope Francis called for the Church to reflect on “synodality” as the very “path … which God...