The Word Among Us

September 2018 Issue

Publisher's Letter

Bringing Our Faith to Life

Sure, I knew Jesus died on the cross, but I didn’t know his love for me in a personal way. I guess you could define my faith as being a good person, trying hard, and treating people the right way. More »

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

The Miracle of Justification

St. Paul is one of the most important theologians in the Church. His writings, which have been around for centuries, continue to guide believers, shape the direction of the Church, and inspire skeptics. You can find just about every type of writing in Paul’s letters, from precise statements of doctrine and passionate arguments about pastoral issues to soaring hymns of praise and intimate glimpses into his own heart. But as varied as his writings are, everything Paul wrote about grew out of his dramatic encounter with the risen Lord on the road to Damascus. Paul, the onetime persecutor of the Church, became a dedicated apostle of Christ, and there was no turning back. More »

The Process of Sanctification

Wait a minute! Isn’t St. Paul the one who said that we are justified by faith in Christ and not by our actions? Isn’t he the one who said, “We cannot save ourselves”? How can this man who spent so much time telling us that salvation is a free gift from God also tell us that we can “fail the test”? How can he say that we ought to approach our salvation with “fear and trembling” and that we have to “persevere in the faith” if we want to be saved? More »

The Hope of Glorification

In December 2015, professor Eilat Mazar and her team of archaeologists in Jerusalem unearthed an impression of the royal seal of King Hezekiah, who ruled Judah 2,700 years ago. The impression was found in a dump site near the southern wall of the Temple Mount. The oval-shaped seal, pictured below, was pressed into a half-inch piece of clay and was likely used to secure an official letter from the king. Typically, only the king was allowed to use the royal seal. So that makes this discovery even more important: Hezekiah himself—one of the holiest and most faithful kings in Jerusalem—most likely made this impression. More »

Together We Confess

On October 31, 1999, the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation issued a Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. More »

Special Feature

Married for Life

Next month in Rome, bishops from around the world will meet for the Synod on Faith, Young People, and Vocational Discernment. This is the third article in our vocations series leading up to the synod. In it, we highlight a growing marriage ministry in which couples help other couples to strengthen their relationships. More »

A Little Coffee and a Lot of Jesus

The Witness to Love program began with kitchen table conversations at a house in Cajun Country, in Southwest Louisiana. Founders Ryan and Mary-Rose Verret saw a pressing need. Amid skyrocketing divorce rates, Catholic marriages were failing at rates near the national average. Traditional pre-Cana workshops and Engaged Encounter weekends needed help. More »

From Partier to Priest

Once upon a time I was a good Catholic. I went to youth groups and I even enrolled in minor seminary in Spain when I was eleven years old. But in time that all disappeared. So what happened? More »

Coals near the Flame

During my senior year of high school, I was offered a spot on the softball team at a university on the other side of the country. It was my dream to play my favorite sport at the collegiate level, but I had one major concern. I wondered what would happen to my relationship with God—which had been growing for several years—once I got to campus. Would it crumble and recede into the background, or would it remain strong? More »