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

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The Greatest Rescue Mission of All Time

Scene from Disney’s “Frozen” (2013)

 When Frozen came out last winter, I was a little late to get to see it (I didn’t actually watch the movie all the way through until about 6 months after it’s release.  For a father of two little girls, this may be a serious  sin!)  I was duly impressed, and I can understand why so many compared the quality of what they had in Frozen to The Lion King – both movies do an exceptional job at moving their audiences.  Both also grab onto core themes from our Christian faith. While The Lion King retells the story of Moses (both are princes who flee to the desert, fearing the punishment they are owed for the death of another – and their return is inspired by an encounter with their Father’s), Frozen, grabs onto the story of salvation history: the story we celebrate over Easter weekend.

[Read more…] about The Greatest Rescue Mission of All Time

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Unfolding Scripture: The New Covenant

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The Old Testament is a book filled with rich imagery and many of the seeds of the faith we proclaim as Christians.  Our whole study up to this point has been an examination of many of foundation pieces God laid in our story: promises which impacted the immediate and long-term future not only of Israel, but of all humanity. But if the story had ended with the last book of the Old Testament… much of this was not yet fulfilled.  While God hadn’t flooded the world again (as promised to Noah), the universal blessing promised to Abraham or the perpetual reign of a descendant of King David were still very much up in the air.  In the case of the promise to David, the generations which follow his son, Solomon, were rank with corruption; they saw the kingdom being split in two, invasion, and eventually exile.

But with Jesus comes the fulfillment of these promises and so many more.  St. Paul writes that: For in him every one of God’s promises is a “yes” (2 Corinthians 1:20).   [Read more…] about Unfolding Scripture: The New Covenant

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YouCat – The Sixth Commandment (Adultery)

“You shall not commit adultery.”

One of the amazing things that human beings are capable is of entering into a lifelong , covenantal, life sharing and life giving mission which we name marriage.  Our understanding of marriage goes right back to the beginning of the Biblical story.  If you look at the accounts of Genesis where God creates humanity, you’ll notice something incredible about the way we’re made.  Genesis 1:26-27 explains that we, as male and female human beings are created in the image of God.  Later, Genesis 2:18 introduces us to man as being alone until God creates a suitable match for him- one he is finally able to give himself to in a relationship of selfless love (that’s why they could stand together naked yet unashamed!)

What you’d see in these passages from Scripture is that God designed us for something very unique [Read more…] about YouCat – The Sixth Commandment (Adultery)

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YouCat: Human Community (Part 1: Social Justice)

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“Since man is God’s ‘image,’ in a certain way he reflects God, who in His depths is not alone but triune (and thus life, love, dialogue, and exchange.)” -YouCat 321

“All men are equal in God’s sight insofar as all have the same Creator, all were created in the same image of God with a rational soul, and all have the same redeemer.” -YouCat 330

To come into this world means to be born into a family, in a community.  We experience a certain dependence on others from those earliest moments of life – that time when we cannot even hold up our own head without someone else’s help.  [Read more…] about YouCat: Human Community (Part 1: Social Justice)

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YouCat: The Sacraments of Communion and Mission

Finishing up the Seven Sacraments, we turn now to two Sacraments which the Church calls “Sacraments of Communion and Mission.”  While every Baptized Christian can said to be on a mission from God, two of these missions are such a lofty call that they come to us as Sacraments: Holy Orders (being ordained Deacon, Priest, Bishop) and Marriage.

Since the Church exists to evangelize – that is to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to the world – every Christian has a share in the work of being Jesus and sharing Jesus with others.  At the heart of both of these Sacraments is the call to love and to serve as Christ did: [Read more…] about YouCat: The Sacraments of Communion and Mission