Mike Landry: Catholic speaker, writer, & music minister in Alberta, Canada HomepageMike Landry: Catholic speaker, writer, & music minister in Alberta, Canada

creation

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Unfolding John 1:1-5 (Origin Stories)

Knowing a hero’s backstory tells you not only how they got to be heroes, but what motivates them to do what they do. It helps to know that Bruce Wayne lost his parents & fell down an old well, inspiring him to become Batman, or that Superman is actually an alien from another planet.  Spiderman Homecoming represents the third series of movies portraying the web-slinging superhero released since 2002.  By now, you’re likely familiar with Spiderman’s origin story: Peter Parker, an awkward teenager, was bitten by a radioactive spider, and woke up with his superpowers.  Because he comes from humble beginnings, Spiderman always has a soft spot for those who are weak and vulnerable (although he does enjoy kicking butt alongside the Avengers from time to time.)

The fact is that we, too, each come with our own origin stories.  Each of us is born into a family and circumstances beyond our control, and our lived experiences (moving, illnesses, divorce, etc) also represent who we are and what motivates us.

What’s true for superheroes and for each of us is also true for what we believe: our faith also has an origin story. [Read more…] about Unfolding John 1:1-5 (Origin Stories)

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Unfolding Scripture: God’s Covenant with Adam

Credit:
Creation of Adam by gnuckx (Wikimedia Commons)

The Bible is a book that can be difficult to make sense of – which is why having a mental map of some sort to make sense of it is so important.  One of my favorite ways to look at this comes from Dr. Scott Hahn, one of my professors from Franciscan University, who sees the key to understanding the whole of Scripture in six covenants.  I’m in the process of journeying through each of these six with students at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic High School this spring – and this post contains some of the key understandings I passed on to them from the original covenant God made with humankind “in the beginning” – at the very outset of creation.
[Read more…] about Unfolding Scripture: God’s Covenant with Adam

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Creation & Humility

The_Case_for_a_Creator

The following is the text of Deacon Pat Hessel’s Homily from the weekend of Sept 27-28, 2014 at Holy Trinity Parish in Spruce Grove.

 

I read a book last week called “The Case for a Creator.” It was written by Lee Strobel. He’s a former newspaper reporter and was once an atheist. He says that one of the reasons he stopped believing in God was the theory of evolution. He thought that the theory that all life on earth arose from purely natural, random processes – without any outside guidance – meant that God was not necessary. And if God was not necessary, then he didn’t have to believe in God. He thought, as many people do, that we have to make a choice between science and faith in God, and he chose science – at least his understanding of science. [Read more…] about Creation & Humility