Posts by Deacon Kurt Godfryd (Page 5)

As human persons, God (potentially) gives us five senses: …to See, to Hear, to Touch, to Smell, and to Taste. Given these gifts, we note that we are different than the angels. Unlike our heavenly helpers, who are purely spiritual beings, we humans have been created with both spirit (soul) and matter (body). According to the Baltimore Catechism, “a sacrament is an outward sign, instituted by Christ, to bring grace.” In each of the 7 Sacraments, God (through His Church) uses physical…

I’ve long been a spectator of hockey and football. With hockey, the ability to drive a puck past a goaltender into a 6-foot-wide net defines victory; it makes the difference between winning and losing. With football, while touchdowns are preferable, three points may be garnered by skillfully kicking a piece of inflated cowhide leather through goalposts measuring 18-feet, 6-inches wide. A cursory scan of both NFL and NCAA history books shows that many games have been won or lost by the skill of a kicker. Now…

In an episode of the television show, Everybody Loves Raymond, Debra asks Raymond why he doesn’t go to church. His response: “I don’t know. Maybe it is because of the kneeling. You know I have bad knees.” Eventually, however, Raymond turns the tables on his wife and asks her why she goes to church. Her response: “I go to church to thank God for you and the kids…I go to get re-energized…I go to be part of something greater than me…I…

During the first four centuries of the Church, many heresies developed regarding Jesus Christ. Finally, at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D., the bishops, united with the Pope, clarified the matter: “We teach…one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, known in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation.” Just twenty years prior, at the Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D., there came clarification regarding Our Lady. She was the Theotokos, the God-bearer and Mother of God! In the…