Great first episode for what I hope will be a long long long series!!!

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After listening to all the audio files available out there of Professor Kreeft, I now turn to his many wittings. This quote is from his lesson on prayer. Much common sense, something that seems to be missing in the world today.

The major obstacle in most of our lives to just saying yes to prayer, the most popular and powerful excuse we give for not praying, or not praying more, or not praying regularly, is that we have no time.

The only effective answer to that excuse, I find, is a kind of murder. You have to kill something, you have to say no to something else, in order to make time to pray. Of course, you will never find time to pray, you have to make time to pray. And that means unmaking something else. The only way to install the tenant of prayer in the apartment building of your life is to evict some other tenant from those premises that prayer will occupy. Few of us have any empty rooms available.

Peter Kreeft from Lesson One in Prayer

How privileged and exalted a thing it is to be a father - it images God himself. If children do not have a good image of their earthly father to start from, it will be much harder for them to come to know God as a loving heavenly Father. Saint Augustine had a very bad relationship with his father, and he could not bring himself to address God as Father for a long time. Every father is a priest, like it or not, a good one or a bad one, mediating an image of God to his children.

Peter Kreeft, Fundamentals of the Faith

It is a great responsibility that God has given each one of us who are fathers. Our kids are first of all His children, for all eternity. The greatest and most important job each one of us has is to raise our kids to love their Heavenly Father. We do this in our actions. Great responsibility.

Saint Joseph Pray for us!

The bus is an interesting place. I often find that when I'm reading a Christian book, people notice me and sometimes start talking to me. One time I've been reading "Salvation is from the Jews" by Roy H. Schoeman and several people started talking to me and asking me questions about the book and its contents.

I often get asked if I am a Christian and what my book is about. Sometimes people tell me to watch what I'm reading, they do this as they hand me a little pamphlet which tells me what to do to be a good Christian. It's interesting to see what these pamphlets contain. Each denomination has its own idea of what is required to be "saved". I sometimes wonder what would happen if two Christians of different denominations met on a bus and exchanged each other's pamphlets. Which one is right? Will they both point to the same bible and try to argue their case?

The question of authority has always been an important one for me in my faith journey. Very early on I realized that the doctrine of "bible alone" does not make any sense at all, and is in fact not found anywhere in the bible. The bible doesn't tell us what books belong in it. (Not counting the index, of course, since that is not part of the bible. heh.) Why do we include books like Gospel of St. John and not Gospel of St. Thomas? Questions like that cannot be truly answered by any "bible only" Christian. The answer, however, is very simple and biblical. It is not the bible that is the pillar and foundation of truth is it the Church of God, just like St. Paul says in 1 Tim. 3:15.

It was the Church which is guided by the Holy Spirit who decided which books of the bible are inspired and which are not. This is an extremely important point, because if anyone accepts the authority of the bible, they must accept the authority of the Church, and to accept that is to stop being a "bible only" Christian. The Church was entrusted the mission to evangelize the entire world. It does this by its sacraments and its teachings found both in the bible and its living Tradition (2 Thess. 2:15, 1 Cor. 11:2).

Perhaps next time I'm handed a little pamphlet I will in return give the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It is a bit bigger, it has more content, all of it food for the soul. The biggest reason why I am Catholic is because it is the only Church who has the authority from Christ. Authority I believe before I believe anything in the bible. With St. Augustine I say If you should find someone who does not yet believe in the gospel, what would you [Mani] answer him when he says, ‘I do not believe’? Indeed, I would not believe in the gospel myself if the authority of the Catholic Church did not move me to do so

"O fire that ever burns and is never consumed, enkindle me! O Light that shineth ever and is never veiled, illumine me! Oh! if I could only burn with Your flame, O sacred fire! How gently You burn; how wonderful it is to be enkindled by You! Woe to those who do not burn with Your love! Woe to those who are not illumined by You, O true Light that enlighteneth every man, O Light that filleth the world with Your brightness!

"I give You thanks, who illumine me and deliver me, for You have enlightened me and I have known You. Late have I known You, O ancient Truth; late have I known You, O eternal Truth! You were in the light and I was in darkness, and I did not know You, for I had no light without You, and within You, there is no light!"

St. Augustine, Confessions

"O Lord Jesus Christ, how good, blissful and desirable it is to feel the violence of Your love! Ah! enlighten my heart every day with the rays of this love, dissipate the darkness of my mind, illuminate the secret places in my heart, strengthen and inflame my intellect, and rejoice and fortify my soul! Oh! how tender is Your mercy, how great and sweet Your love, O Lord Jesus Christ. You lavish Your love to be enjoyed by those who love none but You, and who think of nothing buy You! Loving us first, You invite us to love You; You delight us and draw us, so great is the power of Your love. Nothing invites us, nothing delights and attracts us more than this kind attention of love; the heart, which at first was torpid, feels itself inflamed; and the heart that is fervent, when it knows it is loved and has been loved by You, it becomes still more ardent.

"O most loving Lord Jesus Christ, although You have loved me inexpressibly, I, a wicked sinner, enclosing in my bosom a heart of stone and iron, have not recognized Your burning love; and even though I desired Your affection, I did not want to love You. Deign, then, to come to my aid, O most merciful Lord Jesus Christ, and by the violence of Your most sweet love, force my rebellious soul to love You, so that I may serve You in peace and attain the unending life of love"

Ven. R. Giordano