Author Archives: anastaziejoy

“I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.” (John 15:15) Jesus calls his disciples, us, his friends, and in doing so he offers insight into one of the essentialContinue reading “Friendship”

“Within you is my true home,” this line, closing out Psalm 87, refers to Jerusalem, the city of the living God. It is offered as comfort for the Jewish people who were dispersed throughout the pagan world and who longed for their homeland, to be in the place where God dwells. As I prepare toContinue reading “Home”

“But they soon forgot all he had done; they had no patience with his plan.” Psalm 106:3 This Psalm is speaking of the people of Israel who have just been rescued from oppression in Egypt, who saw signs and wonders, but who are now complaining in the desert, distrustful of God’s ability to bring themContinue reading “Recall what God has done”

Jesus Christ is risen from the dead! This is the good news. This is the life-changing, earth-shattering good news, the gospel message to be proclaimed to all the world. In the beginning, God, who is a person, God, not some cosmic force or natural process, but the God who Is, and is Love itself, createdContinue reading “Resurrection Joy”

There is a scene in C.S. Lewis’s novel, “Peralandra,” (part of his Space Trilogy) in which one of the characters talks about receiving a gift not directly from God but through the hands of several others. He says, “All is gift. I am Oyarsa not by His gift alone but by our foster mother’s, notContinue reading “Intercessory Prayer: Enriching the Gift”

The solemn season of Lent begins each year with Ash Wednesday. It is a season in which the Church exhorts us to pray, fast, and give alms. These practices are not arbitrary, rather they are drawn from Sacred Scripture (see Matt 6: 1-18), and they aim towards our conversion. During these forty days we areContinue reading “Repent and Believe in the Gospel”

After the Fall of the Roman Empire, Christianity, which had become entangled with the Empire, began to spread throughout the various barbarian tribes that populated Europe at the time. Missionary activity was vibrant for the next several hundred years, spreading the gospel message from region to region. The Church has been blessed by many greatContinue reading “Saints Cyril and Methodius”

A recent conversation with a weary young woman who just finished serving as a missionary leader got me thinking, once again, about the importance of balance in our lives lived well for the Lord. One of the main questions that occurred to me after this conversation was, “why is this struggle so common?”  I hadContinue reading “The Importance of Saying No”

“And Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.” Luke 2:19 During his homily this Christmas Eve, our priest invited us to take time to ponder the great gift of Emmanuel, God with us. Ponder is a beautifully rich word. It means to hold onto a thought, to consider it, reflect on it,Continue reading “Pondering like Mary”

Advent is a rich liturgical season, in which there are many aspects worthy of contemplation. We are invited to consider the surpassing love of God who became man, the baby Jesus who came to redeem us, we are directed to look with hope to His glorious Second Coming. We rejoice in the truth that HeContinue reading “Advent with Mary”