By Teresa Lee

Why is the fundamental difference of the conception of grace between Catholics and Protestants crucial to understand?

Introduction Catholic and Protestant reformers of the 16th century disagree about man’s justification, namely, how grace, the gift of God won by Jesus’ sacrifice, works on the human soul[1]. Protestants believe grace covers up but does not remove sin. Luther sees “human nature or soul as dung-covered snow, so grace covers up our ugliness.” Catholics…

Faith and Reason

My husband and I had a debate a while back about the need for philosophy when studying theology. Or rather, whether one needs philosophy to understand God and His plan for us. He argued that both are necessary, while I naively professed that theology alone was adequate (based on the philosophy majors that I encountered in…

Feast of the Miraculous Medal (Nov 27)

November 27 marks the feast of the Miraculous Medal (MM). I started wearing my first MM in May 2015 after my first Marian consecration and it has accompanied me throughout my stay in the U.S. where I received the biggest miracle of my Life -> 👧🏻. I was diagnosed with hormonal imbalance when I was 14…

Suffering well

I have a goddaughter who has a limited lifespan and I recently learned that a relative has Stage 4 cancer. To the world, it seems that any suffering is a tragedy and such news would be met with pity and horror. Without downplaying the gravity of such life situations, I would like to add that…

Eucharistic Congress 2017: Brandon Vogt on bringing lapsed Catholics to Church

We attended the Atlanta Eucharistic Congress today, for the second year running. Father Donald Calloway was the most prolific speaker last year. He captivated us with his powerful conversion story (thanks to Mother Mary) while pacing the stage and waving a rosary in hand. Enigmatic. Charismatic! This year’s highlight is a priest of the…

Discernment to be a priest

Takeaways from a farewell dinner with a dear friend who is completing his Ph.D. and embarking on priesthood: (1) the importance of a Marian devotion as a way to Jesus; (2) when you ask God for direction, He’ll give you clear signals but you must exercise fortitude to follow His will; (3) fast when discerning…

How can I become holy?

I have been randomly surfing YouTube to unwind and was prompted to watch this hidden gem — a video by Father Mike Schmitz of Ascension Presents on Padre Pio’s Secret to Holiness. This caught my eye as I first knew of Padre Pio after reading his autobiography as a teenager. He could fly! Bilocate! Had…

Retreat takeaways

Love and faith: ‘How well have I loved and trusted God over the year?’ God is impassable Sin: The fall of Adam and Eve is an act of sedation. They basically told God, ‘I don’t need you’, and this is the heart of all sin. Baptism: Baptism is the undoing of the original sin of…

My second woman’s silent retreat

1. Service I have always been rather entitled, so I found our chaplain’s personal sharing that he spends all his time in adoration offering up his students to God, very inspiring to say the least. His actual point was that it is unhealthy to do so as God loves him too, so he needs to…

Why contraception is a bad idea

I attended a talk today as part of a Theology of the Body series. A couple shared about what contraception means to them within the confines of their marriage. They used contraception prior to their understanding of the Catholic Church’ teaching and they stopped using contraception after they understood the beauty and wisdom of the…

How to make an effective Lenten resolution

Our chaplain shared today that Lent is about giving up ONE THING that impedes our spiritual growth. Instead, we should target something that is currently stopping us from growing in holiness. He advocates daily adoration, even if it is only for a minute; or a daily rosary.