E Concepts Blog

If someone were to ask me what I think is the biggest single problem facing the Catholic Church today, I would answer that it is the widespread loss of faith in Our Lord’s Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. When you receive Holy Communion, the priest presents the sacred Host and says, “The Body of Christ,” and you say, “Amen.” That word “amen” is not just a ritualistic response but an affirmation of the truth of the priest’s declaration. When you say “amen,” you are acknowledging before God that you believe that what you are receiving is, in fact, of the Body and Blood of Christ hidden under the appearances of bread and wine. You are affirming that in the Holy Eucharist you receive Jesus Christ’s Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. The Holy Eucharist is the greatest of the seven sacraments because in it we are receiving not just the grace of Jesus Christ, but Jesus Christ Himself . The Eucharist is “the source and summit of Christian life.” As Archbishop Sheen was fond of saying, ...

The twisted journeys that words take before they reach our modern ears are often signposts, pointing to the Divine gift that is human language. Etymology shows us a dusting of grace in even the most familiar of words. Observe the path the word “Lent” took to reach us here, at the dawn of the 21st century; look at the tidings of hope God tucked into its history. “Lent” comes most recently from the Middle English word lencten, meaning “springtime”, a fitting and obvious association. But look further, and you see that the word has much older, deeper roots in an ancient Germanic word langitinaz , which means “long days”.  The “long days” in question were the lengthening daylight we all look forward to with the arrival of the vernal equinox. Lent is a penitential season, centered around an imitation of Christ. The Catechism states that “By the solemn forty days of Lent the Church unites herself each year to the mystery of Jesus in the desert.” (CCC 540). During Lent, we are invited ...

Too many today are like travelers without a map or GPS. Not so with us! We know that we are created by the hands of a loving God to praise Him, reverence Him, love Him, and serve Him; and by means of that, to save our immortal soul. Furthermore, we know that all God created is good and that we are called not to  abuse creation,  but to  use it properly.  With all of this as our rock solid philosophical and theological foundation (Mt 7: 24-29), we are now ready to plunge into St. Ignatius’ concept of  Holy Indifference. Word Clarification Right off the bat it must be stated that the concept of  Holy Indifference  does not mean apathy, inertia, spiritual-anemia, or a “ whatever”  attitude of life. Quite the contrary! For Saint Ignatius the concept of  Holy Indifference  really means a total openness to discovering God’s will in our lives and carrying it out to the fullest extent possible. Nothing more nor less! In other words, we want...

“Let nothing disturb you, nothing cause you fear. All things pass; God is unchanging. patience obtains all. Whoever has God needs nothing else; God alone suffices.” ~St. Theresa of Avila, from  Saintly Solutions to Life’s Common Problems

Porphyrius was born around 347 in Thessalonica. He spent five years in the Scete desert in Egypt and then went to live in a cave near the Jordan. Despite poor health, he would go often to meditate at the site of Christ’s Resurrection. Once while visiting the site, he met Mark, who later became a deacon and Porphyrius’ biographer. Porphyrius sent Mark to his native home of Thessalonica to sell the property that he (Porphyrius) owned there. After selling the property, Mark, acting on the instructions of Porphyrius, distributed the monies among the monasteries of Egypt and to the poor in the area. Porphyrius was ordained a priest in the year 392 and received a relic of the Holy Cross as a gift. In 395 he was made Bishop of Gaza, which had a very small Christian community. The majority of the population there was pagan. The pagans were very hostile to the Christians, so Porphyrius repeatedly asked the emperor to destroy the pagan temples and to protect the Christian community. Finally th...

Vatican treasurer, the third most senior Catholic in the world, convicted on five charges in Australian court case • Follow live updates on the reaction to Cardinal George Pell’s conviction • Five times guilty: how Pell’s past caught up with him • Journalists accused of breaking suppression order may face jail Cardinal George Pell, once the third most powerful man in the Vatican and Australia’s most senior Catholic, has been found guilty of child sexual abuse after a trial in Melbourne. A jury delivered the unanimous verdict on 11 December in Melbourne’s county court, but the result was subject to a suppression order and could not be reported until now. Related: Cardinal Pell: Vatican treasurer convicted on historic child sex abuse charges – latest news (February 25, 1941)   Related: Brutal and dogmatic, George Pell waged war on sex – even as he abused children | David Marr Related: 'Disgraceful rubbish': the moment George Pell reacted to child abuse allegations R...

A pastor has narrated what allegedly happened in a Nigerian family after seven brothers were deported from various countries and even had their properties seized. According to Evang Emmanuel Chinonye Nnabueze, the brothers were doing well abroad before their uncle (father’s brother) visited a native doctor in the eastern part of Nigeria to work against them out of jealousy. The names of the brothers were allegedly written on a tree in an evil forest and all the clothes and wrappers given to their uncle were all also hung on the tree. Read in parts what Evang Emmanuel Chinonye Nnabueze shared online. Seven brothers deported from different countries within the period of two years and not only that they were deported but have their belongs confiscated by the authorities, nobody could ascertain what is happening not even their parents. Most of their investments in the country has been sold out to aid life, they are contemplating of selling the only parcel of the land left but how can...

The Football Association is set to investigate the deal that took Jadon Sancho to Manchester City from Watford in 2015 over an alleged payment made to the player’s agent. German publication Der Spiegel claims to have seen documents from whistleblowers Football Leaks that show City paid Emeka Obasi £200,000 as part of the scouting contract to find players in South and Central America. Der Spiegel alleged this payment was actually in relation to Sancho’s move from Watford as a 14-year-old, with the process arranged to circumvent FIFA rules that prevent agent fees being made in transfers involving minors. It has also claimed to have seen an e-mail sent to Sancho’s father outlining what salary and bonuses he would receive once he turned professional. According to the report, a club lawyer later intervened stressing the letter was not an offer. In a statement to Omnisport, an FA spokesperson said on Tuesday: “We can confirm that the FA will be investigating the allegations.” City s...

New Leicester City manager, Brendan Rodgers, has admitted he took Celtic “as far as I could”, after his appointment was confirmed on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman has been named as Claude Puel’s successor, signing a contract until 2022 and will watch his new side take on Brighton later tonight. Having won seven major trophies with Celtic, Rodgers felt there was little left to achieve in Scottish football and is thrilled to be back in the Premier League. “It feels great, it’s obviously come very quickly and obviously, of course, over the last few days, but I know I’m joining a fantastic club that has grown so quickly over these last few years. “I’m just delighted to be here. I think there was a number of reasons [why I joined]. I was certainly in no hurry to leave Celtic. “Celtic is a club that’s a huge club worldwide, a renowned club, and I loved working with the players there. “We were on a journey of great success over these last years but when the opportunity came to talk t...

The man that was resurrected by by Prophet Alph N Lukau, has allegedly been arrested according to his former employer. […] Read More >> The post Fake Miracle: Man resurrected by Pastor Alph Lukau arrested by Police appeared first on Nigeria News | Laila's Blog .