Tags : Ministry

Conflict with God

Conflict with God

A Story by Bishop R. Joseph Owles


The most common sin I see, and sometimes fall victim to, is the thought that a relationship with God is easier than any other relationship. And ..
God Using Profanity

God Using Profanity

A Story by Bishop R. Joseph Owles


The "s" word does appear in this essay/story
Saints--What Makes Them Holy

Saints--What Makes Them Holy

A Story by Bishop R. Joseph Owles


Saints refuse to live in the world as it is, but rather, they choose to live in the world as it should be, showing the world what it could be. Most pe..
THE RULE OF THE ORDER OF SAINTS--Preamble

THE RULE OF THE ORDER OF SAINTS--Preamble

A Story by Bishop R. Joseph Owles


It is neither pride, nor vanity, dear children, that compels any of us to strive for sainthood. Even if the initial desire to reach sainthood was at ..
Lent: Day Eleven

Lent: Day Eleven

A Story by Bishop R. Joseph Owles


If I have been following through with all that I said I could do to enact humility, then I have spent the last week-and-a-half saying and doing things..
Lent–Day Five:

Lent–Day Five:

A Story by Bishop R. Joseph Owles


I know that I said yesterday was the fifth day of Lent, but I was suffering from a stupid attack. Sundays don’t count as part of Lent, which is ..
Lent: First Sunday

Lent: First Sunday

A Story by Bishop R. Joseph Owles


One of the most frustrating things I experienced as a child, as a teen, as a young adult, and even in seminary, was that the Church kept telling m..
Lent: Day Four

Lent: Day Four

A Story by Bishop R. Joseph Owles


St. Benedict gives us the allegory of Jacobs Ladder as a model for humility (see Day Three). The first rung of that ladder, or the first step towa..
Lent: Day Three

Lent: Day Three

A Story by Bishop R. Joseph Owles


Yesterday I admitted that I often lack humility, and that I was using Lent as an opportunity to focus on humility and hopefully become more humble..
Lent– Day Two

Lent– Day Two

A Story by Bishop R. Joseph Owles


I can often lack in humility. So I am using Lent this year as an opportunity to grow in humility. But, for all the reasons I explained yesterday, ..
Lent: Day One

Lent: Day One

A Story by Bishop R. Joseph Owles


So for the next forty days�"and Sundays which don’t count as Lent�"I’ll be posting short posts for Spiritual Dir..
True Prayer Leads to Action

True Prayer Leads to Action

A Story by Bishop R. Joseph Owles


"Love is found in deeds rather than in words," at least that's what St. Ignatius tells me. St. Gregory the Great seems to agree because he tells m..
Why Does God Give Us Commandments?

Why Does God Give Us Commandments?

A Story by Bishop R. Joseph Owles


If we are God's Children, then we are heirs to God's power and God's Kingdom. We are princes and princesses waiting to rule. Though we are princ..
Lent: Day Six

Lent: Day Six

A Story by Bishop R. Joseph Owles


Every time I fail, it’s because I sacrificed what I want for what I want in the moment. Which brings me to St. Benedict’s second step towa..
Lent: Day Seven

Lent: Day Seven

A Story by Bishop R. Joseph Owles


A couple of years ago I was about to start my morning class, when I received an email from my supervisor at the time, telling me I had to use some boo..
Lent: Day Eight

Lent: Day Eight

A Story by Bishop R. Joseph Owles


When I was a young child, my mother said two things to me that offended me: The first was she told me that she thought the Beatles never should have m..
Lent: Day Nine

Lent: Day Nine

A Story by Bishop R. Joseph Owles


It feels like a month ago, but it’s only been a little over a week, when I thought about what humility is, and defined it in part as “an h..
Lent: Day Ten

Lent: Day Ten

A Story by Bishop R. Joseph Owles


I don’t believe that everything that happens is God’s will"I never have. I guess I understand in theory how people assume that. If God is ..
Lent: Day Twelve

Lent: Day Twelve

A Story by Bishop R. Joseph Owles


St. Benedict’s eighth step to humility is:The eighth degree of humility is, when a monk does nothing but what is sanctioned by the common rule o..
Lent: Day Thirteen

Lent: Day Thirteen

A Story by Bishop R. Joseph Owles


The ninth step of humility, according to St. Benedict, is:when a monk refrains from speaking, and does not speak until he is asked; for the Scripture ..