Welcome St. Joan of Arc!

Hi, welcome to the Monday School blog!

I really enjoyed speaking at Joan of Arc tonight. I hope you enjoyed it also. I would love to hear from any of you with comments and questions if you have any. Please come back and visit this site often. I promise you (and my regular students) that I'll be updating the blog more often.

In the next few days, I'll put up a transcript of the talk I gave and a more comprehensive list of resources.

Peace!

Rob

Monday School is Starting Up Again!

The new year of Monday School is starting up this Monday, September 8, 2008 at 7:00 PM in the Activity Center at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Phoenix.

This year, we'll be reading Dr. Peter Kreeft's book, Fundamentals of the Faith.

Come join us!

Introduction to the Devout Life

Here is an excerpt from the Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Frances de Sales

Devotion is Suitable to Every Vocation and Profession

Part I, Chapter 3

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When God created the world He commanded each tree to bear fruit after its kind;and even so He bids Christians,--the living trees of His Church,--to bring forth fruits of devotion, each one according to his kind and vocation. A different exercise of devotion is required of each--the noble, the artisan, the servant, the prince, the maiden and the wife; and furthermore such practice must be modified according to the strength, the calling, and the duties of each individual. I ask you, my child, would it be fitting that a Bishop should seek to lead the solitary life of a Carthusian? And if the father of a family were as regardless in making provision for the future as a Capucin, if the artisan spent the day in church like a Religious, if the Religious involved himself in all manner of business on his neighbour's behalf as a Bishop is called upon to do, would not such a devotion be ridiculous, ill-regulated, and intolerable? Nevertheless such a mistake is often made, and the world, which cannot or will not discriminate between real devotion and the indiscretion of those who fancy themselves devout, grumbles and finds fault with devotion, which is really nowise concerned in these errors. No indeed, my child, the devotion which is true hinders nothing, but on the contrary it perfects everything; and that which runs counter to the rightful vocation of any one is, you may be sure, a spurious devotion. Aristotle says that the bee sucks honey from flowers without damaging them, leaving them as whole and fresh as it found them;--but true devotion does better still, for it not only hinders no manner of vocation or duty, but, contrariwise, it adorns and beautifies all. Throw precious stones into honey, and each will grow more brilliant according to its several colour:--and in like manner everybody fulfils his special calling better when subject to the influence of devotion:--family duties are lighter, married love truer, service to our King more faithful, every kind of occupation more acceptable and better performed where that is the guide.

It is an error, nay more, a very heresy, to seek to banish the devout life from the soldier's guardroom, the mechanic's workshop, the prince's court, or the domestic hearth. Of course a purely contemplative devotion, such as is specially proper to the religious and monastic life, cannot be practised in these outer vocations, but there are various other kinds of devotion well-suited to lead those whose calling is secular, along the paths of perfection. The Old Testament furnishes us examples in Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, David, Job, Tobias, Sarah, Rebecca and Judith; and in the New Testament we read of St. Joseph, Lydia and Crispus, who led a perfectly devout life in their trades:--we have Saint Anne, Martha, Saint Monica, Aquila and Priscilla, as examples of household devotion, Cornelius, Saint Sebastian, and Saint Maurice among soldiers;--Constantine, Saint Helena, Saint Louis, the Blessed Amadaeus,and Saint Edward on the throne. And we even find instances of some who fell away in solitude,-- usually so helpful to perfection,--some who had led a higher life in the world, which seems so antagonistic to it. Saint Gregory dwells on how Lot, who had kept himself pure in the city, fell in his mountain solitude. Be sure that wheresoever our lot is cast we may and must aim at the perfect life.

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Week 23: Homework

Sorry for posting this so late!

Reading Assignment:
Read Chapters 27 of Theology and Sanity, “Habituation to Man”—pp. 371-382.

Questions:

1. In what way is man extraordinary, according to Sheed? (pp.372-3)
2. Why is all the excitement of our universe centered in man? (p.373)
3. List the two pairs of facts that Sheed says summarize the truth about all men. (p.374)
4. What is never lost in the Church’s fellowship? (Hint: Who is never lost?) (p. 374)
5. How do Protestantism and Secularism deal with the facts from question 3 above? (pp. 374-5)
6. What does Sheed mean when he says “the only home left for personality is the Church? (p. 375)
7. What does it mean to say “man is a union of spirit and matter”? Why is it not enough to simply know the definition of man? (pp. 377-9)
8. How does the conflict between rationality and animality lead to perversion and depravity, which we wrongly call “animal”? (p.381)
9. Why should we not judge others? (p.381)

Reflection Questions:

1. Writing about the uniqueness of man, C.S. Lewis once said that “we have never met a mere mortal”. If that’s true, how might that affect the way we interact with others? The way we treat ourselves?
2. What are some of the cultural/political/technological ramifications of a belief in the uniqueness of mankind and of each individual? Is it an accident that the Christian West produced hospitals, universities, and democratic states?

Week 22: Homework

Reading Assignment:
Read Chapters 26 of Theology and Sanity, “Habituation to Reality”—pp. 361-370.

Questions:

1. What does Sheed mean when he says that “the facts of religion are not simply facts of religion, but facts”? (p. 361)
2. What is the context of our religion? (Who are the actors and what are the events in our story?) (p.362)
3. What are the three possible relationships we can have towards reality? (p.362)
4. What danger confronts theologians who study elements so far beyond the reach of daily experience? Why must we study creation? (p.364-5)
5. Explain this statement: “The more is means to us, the richer our knowledge of God.” (p.365)
6. How can poets help us see God in creation? (p.368)

Reflection Questions:

1. Re-read section iii on pages 366 and 367. Sheed says that our knowledge of God is enriched by study the created universe; it is a way that God communicates with us. He also says that a much of this enrichment will be spontaneous and unmeditated. If this is true, how might it affect the way we see our work and our hobbies?

Week 21: Homework

Reading Assignment:
Read Chapters 24-25 of Theology and Sanity, “Life after Death” and “The End of the World”—pp. 336-358.

Questions:

1. What are the three “states” we can be in at any given time in our lives/at the end of our lives? (p. 336)
2. Why does Sheed speak of the “formidable finality of death”? Why is death final if the soul lives on? (p.335)
   
3. What, according to Sheed, are the two categories that all of our choices are ultimately between? (p. 338)
   
4. Define mortal and venial sin. (p. 338)
   
5. Why can’t the soul of someone who is separated from God go to Him after death? Who sends people to hell? How do we know that hell is not a contradiction of God’s love? (p. 340-1).
   
6. What is the cure for self-love that we find in purgatory? (p. 342)
   
7. Define Beatific Vision. (p.343)
   
8. How can the happiness of heaven be total, but not equal, for all? (343-4)
   
9. How can the saints be more with us in heaven than our neighbors on earth? (p.347)
   
10. Who will be saved from worshipping the Anti-Christ? How? (p. 352)
    
11. When will we have our bodies restored to us after death? Why will we have bodies in heaven? (p. 356)

Reflection Questions:

1. Americans seem to be flippant about hell. People will casually condemn someone who cuts them off in traffic or joke about partying with sinners in an infernal after life. But, if we really thought about what hell means, would we ever joke about it or wish it upon our worst enemies?

The Distributist Review

This is a very informative blog about Distributism, an economic philosophy promoted by G.K. Chesterton and Hillaire Belloc. They've put out a request for new readers and I thought you might be interested.

The Distributist Review: A Request To Our Readers

Sheen Quotation for Peter

"There are not one hundred people on the United States who hate the Catholic Church, but there are thousands who hate what they think the Catholic Church is."
Fulton Sheen

NO CLASS TONIGHT 03-24-08

We will not be having class tonight, March 24, 2008 due to the office being closed for Easter.

I'm sorry for the inconvenience. We will meet again next week to discuss chapter 21 of Theology and Sanity, "Dispensing the Gifts"

Have a blessed Easter Week!

Week 19: Homework

Reading Assignment:
Read Chapter 21 of Theology and Sanity, “Dispensing the Gifts”—pp. 289-310.

Questions:

1. Man is a social being. In what ways are we bound to others as social beings? What does this fact require of religion? (p.290)
2. How did Christ leave his followers organized? How does this parallel the relationship God had with the Jews in the old covenant? What expression is used in the Apostle’s Creed to describe this? (p. 291)
3. By what means does God offer us the spiritual gifts of Life and Truth? (p.291)
4. What do we mean when we say the Church is infallible? Why? Where does this power of infallibility come from? (p.294)
5. How is the Pope infallible? Does God promise the pope some special message or illumination? How does the pope learn his doctrine? (p. 295)
6. In a definition of faith and morals by the pope what does Infallibility account for? (p.295)
7. What does Sheed mean when he says the Bible cannot defend itself? (p. 296)
8. What, according to Sheed, is man’s principal business on earth? (p. 298)
9. How do the sacraments reflect man’s nature? (p. 300)
10. Why must men maintain the proper balance between spirit and matter? What are the dangers of becoming imbalanced? (p. 301)
11. How is the Eucharist different from the other sacraments? (p.302)
12. Do priests offer new sacrifices in order to give the faithful life? (p.303)
13. On page 305, Sheed says that the gifts of life and truth that the Church offers come through the Church, but not from it. Why is this an important distinction?

Reflection Questions:

1. On page 291, Sheed, speaking of man’s responsibility to seek truth and life, states “It is not part of His [God’s] purpose to do for men what they can very well do themselves, but only what they cannot. . .God […] expects man to the uttermost that he can.” How well do you think you’re fulfilling this responsibility? Do you have reason to be proud of yourself? Do you need to improve your game?
2. How would you respond if someone asked you why you remain a Catholic when there are so many sinful people in the clergy and the Church in general?

Week 18: Homework

Reading Assignment:
Read Chapter 20 of Theology and Sanity, “The Kingdom”—pp. 279-89.

Questions:

1. What are the two elements of God’s plan for mankind that emerge from Jesus’ teachings? (p.280)
2. What kind of kingdom was Jesus founding? (p.281)
3. What is the significance of Jesus’ words at the Last Supper, “I dispose to you, as My Father has disposed to Me, a kingdom?” (p. 281)
4. How did Jesus prepare his Apostles to understand God’s kingdom and teach the Truth? (p.282)
5. How did Jesus prepare the Apostles to be dispensers of Life? (p. 282)
6. On page, 282 Sheed seems to suggest that the Apostles were over-prepared for their jobs. What was Jesus doing when he prepared them so thoroughly? (p. 282-3).
7. What does the word “Catholic” mean? What does the word “universal” mean?(p.284)
8. Why did the Apostles need the Holy Spirit? (p.285)
9. What is the function of Peter? In what ways is this Christ-like? (p.286-9)

Reflection Questions:

1. At the bottom of page 281, Sheed states that the Apostles and their successors are to dispense the gifts of Truth and Life, but that these gifts cannot be given once for all. He says that each new generation and each person must receive them. Is there is any tension between dispensing the gifts faithfully and giving the gifts to new generations? Are there some who sacrifice the integrity of the gifts to accommodate a new audience? Are there some who alienate new audiences in order to transmit the gifts as they were received?
2. Jesus promises his Apostles that He will be with them “all days, even to the consummation of the world.” Sheed remarks that this continuous presence of Christ with His Apostles gives a double guarantee: first that gifts we receive from the Apostles and their successors are His gifts to us and, second, that when we are in contact with these men we are in contact with Christ. How does this knowledge affect your understanding of what the church can/can’t do with respect to some hot-button issuses like women priests or the prohibition on artificial contraception?

Week 17: Homework

Reading Assignment:
Read Chapter 19 of Theology and Sanity, “Redemption”—pp. 268--279.

Questions:

1. What does it mean to say that God died? (p.268-9)
2. How could Christ offer a true human act in expiation of sin? How could a human act satisfy the sins of all men? (p. 269)
3. Could Christ have pricked his finger to save the world? Why or why not? (p. 269)
4. What two things is Christ’s death at Calvary proof of? (p. 270)
5. What does it mean to say that Jesus was “made perfect” through what he suffered? Was he somehow imperfect before he suffered? (p. 271)
6. What two things did the Redemption accomplish? (p.272)
7. How are Adam and Jesus each a representative man? (274-5)
8. How do our relationships with Adam and Christ differ from each other? (276)
9. If Christ’s death redeems the whole human race, how can there still be some people who aren’t saved? (p.277)

Reflection Questions:

1. Catholics are often accused of “works righteousness”—the idea that we are saved by doing good works instead of by faith. Given what you’ve learned in this chapter, how would you respond to such an accusation?
2. Re-read the two paragraphs of the chapter. Reflect for a while on what it means that Jesus is constantly interceding for us in Heaven. Find some way to thank Him this week.

Week 16: Homework

Reading Assignment:
Read Chapter 18 of Theology and Sanity, “The Redeeming Sacrifice”—pp. 255--268.

Questions:

1. Which three words sum up what Our Lord is? How do these express what he did as well? (p.255)
2. What was the thing He [Jesus] had come to do? (p.256)
3. What is the “life-formula” of the Atonement? (p.261)
4. What was the suffering from which Jesus shrank in the Garden of Gethsemane if not the bodily torments he was about to endure? (p.262)
5. Does Christ undergo his suffering unwillingly? (p.262)
6. What happened to Christ’s soul after He died? (p.265)
7. What is meant by the word hell in the Apostle’s Creed? What are three synonyms for this place? (p.265)
8. How does Christ’s bodily Resurrection demonstrate complete victory over death? (p.266)
9. How are the Resurrection and the Acension organically part of the Sacrifice of Christ?

Reflection Questions:

1. What is the consequence of thinking of the Truth as a person as opposed to merely an idea?
2. If Christ’s prayer for the Church was that it be one as He and the Father are one, what do you think He thinks about all the denominational/intra-denominational division in the Christian community? Is there a remedy for this division?
3. Some people claim that the Resurrection of Jesus was not a physical event but rather a spiritual event that takes place in the hearts of believers. Do you think this belief is compatible with authentic Christian faith? Why or why not?

Week 15: Homework

Reading Assignment:
Read Chapter 17 of Theology and Sanity, “The Redeemer”—pp. 242--268.

Questions:

1. Why was it the Second Person of the Trinity who was chosen for the redemption of the world? (p. 242-3)
2. How is Jesus more of a man than we are? (p. 243)
3. What’s the significance of Jesus being conceived of a human mother? Couldn’t he have just suddenly appeared among us with a human body and human soul? (p. 243-4)
4. Does Christ’s sinlessness diminish his humanity? Why or why not? (p. 244)
5. How could Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, grow in wisdom? (p. 245).
6. Does the fact that Jesus had infused knowledge and the Beatific Vision contradict his humanity? (p. 246)
7. How did the Holy Spirit help Jesus in his ministry? (p. 247)
8. Did Christ have faith, hope, and charity? (p. 247)
9. If Christ was God, in what sense was he praying to God? (p. 247)
10. Why must we look closely at Christ in the Gospels? (p. 248)
11. What does it mean to know Christ personally? Why is it important? Where do we meet Him? (p. 249-50)
12. What is the particular modern error about Christ that Sheed mentions on page 250? How does this misperception of Christ differ from real love? (p. 250-1)
13. Explain how Jesus could say both “I and the Father are one and the Father is greater than I”? (p. 253)
14. How did Jesus teach? (p. 254)

Reflection Questions:

1. Have you ever dismissed Christ as “meek and mild”? What can you do during this Lent to improve your understanding of him?
2. If we are related to Jesus through Mary (c.f. question 3 above), what kind of relationship with Our Lady do you think would be most pleasing to Christ? What can you do to develop a relationship like that?

Prayer Has Nothing to Do With the Animal Part of Us

I found this quotation from Archbishop Fulton Sheen on The Catholic Spitfire Grill.

We said prayer is the lifting of the heart and minid to God. Notice we said noting so much about emotions. Why not? Because prayer really does not have very much to do with sensations or emotions or feeling. It's not a feeling in the stomach. Just as it is not a pain in the stomach. It is not a capricious feeling, something that makes us purr on the inside. It has nothing to do with the animal part of us. It is not in the glands. It is in the intellect. It is in the will. It is in the heart. As embracing a love of Truth which belongs to the intellect and also a resolve and a determination to grow in love which is one of the acts of will. We do not therefore pray because we feel like it. Sometimes our prayers are much better when we do not feel like praying. St. Francis de Sales said "An ounce of desolation is of greater worth a pound of consolation." Very often in prayer we do not have a sense of the presence of God. I say 'sense' referring it to the biological or emotional part of our lives Really we are very much like children that are carried in mother's arms. If we are carried in Our Lord's arms, we rarely see His Face. We know it is there. Prayer then is an intercourse between the created spirit and the uncreated spirit which is God. It is a communication, a conversation, an adoration, a penance, a happiness, a work, a rest, an asking, a submission. ~Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Week 14: Homework

Reading Assignment:
Read Chapter 16 of Theology and Sanity, “The Mission of Christ”—pp. 231--242.

Questions:

1. What did the angel tell Joseph about Jesus’ mission? (p. 234)
2. List the things Jesus directly says he has come to do. (p.235)
3. What are the three words St. Paul uses repeatedly to describe the Lord’s work? (p.236-7)
4. What is justification? What is redemption? (p.237-8)
5. What are the “two elements in what Our Lord did?” (p. 238)
6. What is the significance of St. John the Baptist saying that Our Lord takes away the sin (singular) of the world? (p. 239)
7. How does the Incarnation answer “the double problem that faced fallen mankind?” (p. 240-2).

Reflection Questions:

1. Have you ever seen the words “John 3:16” displayed at a sporting event? Do you think this is a good way to evangelize? Does this verse capture the essence of the mission of Christ? Read the passage and commit it to memory. Read John 3:17, too. Is that verse important to remember too?

Our Lady of Lourdes

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. John F. Kippley has an interesting article entitled The Exquisite Timing of Lourdes: Confronting the Skeptics about the appearances at Lourdes over at Catholic Exchange.

Here is a snippet:

The timing of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lourdes
beginning on February 11, 1858 was not only providential in the sense of God's
loving kindness to us sinners but was absolutely exquisite in terms of what was
going on in European intellectual circles at that time.

The sex scandals involving priests and bishops, the very low rate of
acceptance of Humanae Vitae, the continuing liturgical abuses, the surveys
purporting to show the unbelief of Catholics, and other negative indicators lead
many of us to dream of living in more faith-filled times. The times in which
Bernadette Soubirous lived in Lourdes were not such times.

Read the rest here. For more about Lourdes, read this.

Change of Venue

Tonight's class will not meet in the Activity Center. We will instead be meeting in a classroom 16, which is across from the Gift Shop (so I'm told).

Note: There is no food or drink allowed in the classrooms. I don't know what I'll do with myself...

THE DONKEY by G.K. Chesterton

Here is a poem that's probably a lot more accessible than the previous one. It's also the first thing I ever read by Chesterton. It was assigned by Fr. Becker.

You can't tell from this picture, but most donkeys have a black cross on their backs. Legend says that this mark was put there by God in honor of the donkey that Christ rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

The Donkey
by G.K. Chesterton

When fishes flew and forests walked
And figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood
Then surely I was born;

With monstrous head and sickening cry
And ears like errant wings,
The devil's walking parody
On all four-footed things.

The tattered outlaw of the earth,
Of ancient crooked will;
Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,
I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour;
One far fierce hour and sweet:
There was a shout about my ears,
And palms before my feet.

Fr. John Becker, S.J. (July 9, 1925 – January 19, 2008)

May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Link

The Windhover

I found this on the Internet this morning. It is an interlinear translation of the poem we read in class. It's worth a read--they make more sense of it than I did.



Here is the poem again for your listening pleasure (read it aloud):

The Windhover

To Christ our Lord

I CAUGHT this morning morning’s minion, king-
dom of daylight’s dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding
Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding
High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing
In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on swing,
As a skate’s heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding
Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding
Stirred for a bird,—the achieve of; the mastery of the thing!

Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume, here
Buckle! AND the fire that breaks from thee then, a billion
Times told lovelier, more dangerous, O my chevalier!

No wonder of it: shéer plód makes plough down sillion
Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear,
Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermillion.

Automatic Confession

A friend of mine sent this to me. It's pretty funny.

Week 13: Homework

Reading Assignment:
Read Chapters 14-15 of Theology and Sanity, “The Fall of Man” and “Between the Fall and the Redemption”—pp. 191-231.

Questions:
1. What was the immediate effect of Adam’s sin? (p. 190)

2. What kind of death did Adam suffer from eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil? (p. 192)

3. List some ways that Man’s nature was damaged by the Fall. (p. 193-4)

4. Did Adam and Eve ever regain sanctifying grace? Were they able to repair the damage done to themselves? (p.195-7)

5. On page 197 Sheed says that the human race became a fallen race to which heaven was closed. What is the effect of this on members of the race who die with sanctifying grace before Christ?

6. What else fell with Adam? What else suffers the result of the Fall? (p.200)

7. Why are people born without the supernatural life? Are we guilty of Original Sin? Explain. (p. 201-2)

8. Is God unfair to deprive us of supernatural life after the Fall? (p.203)

9. Who is the lord of the world? (p.204)

10. In what ways is our testing similar to Adam’s? How is it different? (p.206)

11. What is meant by the expression “the fullness of time”? (p. 208)

12. What did the human race bring out of Paradise for the adventure of regaining the maturity it had rejected? (p. 210)

13. What are the two elements in man upon which man builds notions of God? (p.213)

14. How does human nature deform religion? (p.214-5)

15. Read pages 217-231 carefully. How does God prepare the world for the “fullness of time”?

Reflection Questions:
1. Sheed talks about the modern mood that will have none of this notion of a personal Devil. Why is it so important to not reduce evil to merely forces and tendencies?

NO CLASS TONIGHT

There will not be class tonight in observance of MLK Day.

Classes will resume next Monday, January 28th with a discussion of chapter 13, "The Testing of Angels and Men".

Week 12: Homework

Reading Assignment:
Read Chapter 13 of Theology and Sanity, “The Testing of Angels and Men”—pp. 173-190.

Questions:
1. What is the only certain way of learning something’s purpose? (p.174)

2. What is the purpose of all created beings (spiritual and material)? What is true only of spiritual beings? (p.174)

3. What is the significance of names in Scripture? What does Adam’s naming of the animals tell us about Adam/Man? (p.175)

4. On page 176, Sheed says that God has told us that our destiny is to see God face to face. How is this possible if God is spirit and has no face? (p. 176)

5. What is the name of the principle which enables us to operate above our nature? (p.176) What is another name for this principle? (p. 186)

6. Why is Pride the worst of all sins? (p.178)

7. What are the two meanings of the word freedom as explained by Sheed? (pp. 179-80)

8. Why can’t demons be totally without God? (p.183)

9. Can angels sin? (pp. 181-3)

10. How does the testing of angels differ from that of Man? Why does it differ? (p. 183)

11. What was the first man like? What were his “preternatural” perfections? (pp.183-4)

12. Cocktail Question: What is impassibility? (p.185)

13. What is the purpose of supernatural life? (p.185)

14. When are we given supernatural life? What are the first effects of it on us? Hint: Think virtues. (p.186)

Reflection Questions:
1. Reread the passage about the state of demons in Hell (p.181-82). Given how Hell is described there, how would you respond to someone who says something like “I’d rather go to Hell and be with my friends than go to Heaven and be without them?”

2. The philosopher Plato thought that people do evil because they don’t know the good; the Christian tradition disagrees with him. On page 178, Sheed suggests that sin is not merely a matter of knowledge but of a “far more mysterious thing, will.” In what ways can we strengthen our will to avoid sin if merely knowing right from wrong is not enough?

The Star of Bethlehem

Probably the best Christmas present I received was a DVD about the Star of Bethlehem. I'm thinking about bringing it in for the class to see, but in the meantime, check out the Web site associated with the film. It is a truly amazing video that shows what great lengths God goes to to reveal himself to us.

Here is the link: The Star of Bethlehem

Below is a short promotional video about the DVD.

Grow The Heart of a Man

Some of you may know Michael John Poirier. Here is a new blog for men that he's started. He wanted me to pass it on. So, please go check it out. I love the story of the origin of the blog's name--what a beautiful prayer!

Here is the link: Grow The Heart of a Man