asymptotes

Christmas is commonly abbreviated as X-mas, X being a symbol of Christ. This X actually comes from the  Greek letter  chi , the first letter of  Χριστός   —    Christós  or “Christ”.  This abbreviation makes a lot of sense. Nowadays, however, I have a growing feeling that for many people, this representation has been somewhat lost. The symbol X  now means "to cross out" or "leave out" or, in recent jargon, "to cancel".    Amidst the whirlwind of Christmas activities  there is a tendency to leave out Christ in Christmas . Crazy as it may sound, it is even crazier that some people do not even know that it is actually happening.   We concern ourselves so much with Christmas preparations  —    decorations, reunions, gifts, and the  noche buena    —     that we forget about the real reasons why we are doing them.  Obviously, the solution is not to do away w...

We don't have to go through life without a map. Many people have already gone to where we ought to go; we just have to follow their lead. These people have left us maps for understanding the terrain, showing us where the true path lies and where to expect dangers. I am, of course, referring to books on how to live life to the full. In this article, I have provided a shortlist of books I recommend for understanding and living better life in general and the Christian Life in particular. Basic Catholic Doctrine Books for systematically studying the Catholic faith; good reference materials for consulting articles of faith The Faith Explained by Leo Trese Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church The Catechism of the Catholic Church Living the Faith Books that give insights and suggestions on how to live the demands of the faith according to one's circumstance. Also useful for spiritual reading. Jesus as Friend  by Francisco Fernandez-Carvajal Friends of Go...

In an age of proliferation of social networking sites, of accumulation of "friends", do you have The One Friend that matters? This short guide aims to help people develop friendship with God through prayer. God is online and is sending you a friend request. Accept, Deny, Ignore? [Download a PDF copy of A Beginner's Guide to Prayer] Man’s longing for fulfillment is a reflection of his thirst for God. In the depths of his heart, man seeks God. But even before man could seek God, God sought him first. God’s search for man meets man’s longing for God in prayer. Prayer is 'the raising of one’s mind and heart to God,' [1] 'being alone very often with someone whom we know loves us.' [2] Prayer, put simply, is talking with God, dealing with him in a manner similar to a child talking with his father. It is in prayer that we grow in love with God. Human relationships grow in proportion to the knowledge and dealings between two persons: the more one...

Act1v8  refers to WYD 08's theme taken from "ACT"s "1 V"erse" 8": “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses."  It’s been a year since World Youth Day 2008 . The chants, cheers, greetings and fanfare of those days have died down, but their memories still find echo in the minds and hearts of the participants. Memorable experiences With a bishop from US after the catechesis. Walking along the streets of Sydney, chanting with thousands of other pilgrims: “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie… Oi, oi, oi”.  The youth of the world seems to be waking up the slumbering church in Australia.  Seeing the flags of China and other Middle East countries in the pilgrim walks . It encouraged praying for the Church in those countries where Christianity is a minority.  Singing the WYD theme song, in a dark night dotted by the lights of the candles held by the pilgrims.  It enkindled in the hearts of many a great hop...

A collection of homilies covering the different (and I would say essential) aspects of the Christian life. In this volume, St.Josemaria shares his insights on how man can strive to achieve his ultimate goal of sanctity in the chapter "Towards Holiness". He outlines how one can develop a life of intense prayer filled with filial love for God in the chapter "Life of Prayer". Among the other topics are human virtues, the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity, love for freedom, etc. From Bishop Alvaro del Portillo's Introduction to the Book "These eighteen homilies present a broad picture of the basic human and Christian virtues for all who wish to follow closely in the footsteps of our Lord…With Msgr. Escrivá de Balaguer words turn into a colloquy with God - prayer - but without ceasing to be a heartfelt conversation completely in tune with the concerns and hopes of his listeners. The homilies contain living doctrine and combine a theologian...

A book for prayer which focuses on the human virtues and its necessity in the Christian life. From Escrivaworks.org : What appears in these pages is Christian life itself, in which-at Christ's pace-the divine and the human are interwoven, not confused, and yet kept in perfect union. Like The Way, Furrow is the fruit of St. Josemaria's interior life and experience with souls. It presents an attractive Christian vision of the human virtues. "Furrow is directed to the whole Christian person-body and soul, nature and grace," wrote Bishop Alvaro del Portillo in the foreword to the book. See my   list of suggested books .

The Way is a product of St.Josemaria's pastoral work of helping many young students and professionals find God in the middle of the world.  Below is a video testimony of how this little book could touch your own life. The Way is an excellent book to get started in the life of prayer. From Escrivaworks.org The strength, the attraction of The Way is largely due to the fact that it is based on real, living experience, being the fruit of the author's work as a priest which began in 1925. The book appeared first in 1934 under the title Consideraciones espirituales and later (in 1939) received its definitive title, after being greatly expanded. Over the years, more than four and a half million copies have been sold, in 43 different languages. This is one of the main attractions of the book-its direct, conversational style, its personal and deeply human character. As a reviewer in Osservatore Romano (March 24, 1950) put it: "Msgr. Escriva de Balaguer has written...

I highly recommend  the official site of Peter Kreeft .   The site contains excellent resources for knowing the rational basis of Christian belief.    Dr.Kreeft is a professor of philosophy at Boston College. He is perhaps one of the best Christian apologists (one who defends Christianity against intellectual objections) of our time.  The site contains free downloadable  lectures in written and audio formats. I've listened to some lectures and I find them engaging,  enlightening, and entertaining   (My favorite quote so far: "If there was a Big Bang, there must be a Big Banger!").   Here is the listing of Peter Kreeft audio lectures . Kreeft is also a prolific writer.    I recommend the following books:  Handbook of Christian Apologetics — Hundreds of answers to life's most crucial questions Your Questions, God's Answers  — Solid responses for Catholic teens I've read some sections of the...