What Does it Mean to be Catholic?

March 22, 2019 by Andy Lesnefsky 1 Comment

Reflect: “All of us can attain to Christian virtue and holiness, no matter in what condition of life we live and no matter what our life work may be.” – Saint Francis de Sales

As Catholics, we are called to be holy. There’s no cookie cutter mold for holiness. Holiness can seem unattainable or distant, but to holy means to be the man or woman God created us to be.

Fall in love with Christ. Fall in love with the Church. Be Catholic. Be holy.

Share: Share with someone today one small thing you love about being Catholic and invite them to experience that or participate in it this week.

Pray: Jesus, help me to understand and love my faith. Help me to be a part of your continued rebuilding of your church by living out the call to be holy in my life. I give you this day. Amen.

Watch today’s video featuring Pete Burak:

Today’s Podcast Episode: When we read this story, we may focus on the son. But this is really a story about the father!

Listen to today’s scripture reflection here: https://redeemedonline.com/podcast/march-23-2019/

Confronting Evil

August 16, 2018 by Andy Lesnefsky 1 Comment

I wasn’t planning on doing this.

As Mass continued on Wednesday night for the Feast of the Assumption, I felt like God was asking me to consider talking about this painful subject.

Sometimes working in ministry people look to you to have the right words. It can be as simple as a prayer, but it can be as difficult as the right thing to say at a funeral home to a grieving friend.

I have learned there are no perfect words or things to say. I have tried to be present with people in their suffering and don’t try to find the ideal thing to say.

Today I find myself at this moment again. I am still at a loss for the perfect response because of the magnitude of this tragedy in the church, but nonetheless, I feel confident we need to stand up. We need to confront evil. We need to be authentically Catholic in the midst of what’s happening today. My words fall short from a perfect response, but we must respond. We must continue to bring light to the darkness.

Here’s this week’s #ShareJesus video – Confronting Evil.

Please feel free to join in the conversation in the comments here on our website, Facebook, or YouTube. If you are not doing so already, please also pray for our Church that Christ’s light would dispel all the darkness.

Latest Podcast Episode: Satan and the Spiritual Battle

Spiritual Warfare is not an analogy. Spiritual Warfare is the Christian life. This week we wrap up our discussion of “Rejoice and Be Glad” and talk about St. Francis Borgia.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

Faithful American? Faithful Catholic?

October 19, 2017 by Andy Lesnefsky 5 Comments

Is it possible to be both a faithful Catholic and a faithful American?

Social media and politics have seemed so divisive this past year. To keep things simpler, should we avoid interjecting our faith into the discussion?

The gospel for this Sunday seems very poignant to a discussion of faith, politics, and life. As Christians, we must never forget that we have one King. Jesus is our Lord. To be a disciple we must surrender all to Jesus. This is what should inform our outlook and how we involve ourselves in politics.

Today I would like to introduce you to Fr. Mike Ackerman who serves as the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Pittsburgh. He answers the question, “Can we both faithful Catholics and faithful Americans?” I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section of the video.

#JesusIS Controversial

November 28, 2016 by Andy Lesnefsky 1 Comment

JesusIS Day Two

Thought for Today:

Jesus was commonly misunderstood and he made a lot of enemies in life and death.

Action for Today:

Getting to know Jesus isn’t as complicated as it sounds. Schedule out this week and set aside 5 minutes each day to talk with Jesus and invite him into your day and life.

Prayer for Today:

Jesus, I want to know you. Help me during this season of Advent to know who you really are and to love others in the way that you do.

Quote for Today:

“I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them” ― Pope Francis

Be a Hero Today – #ShareJesus

Our heroes are people who take risks each day to share their faith. Here’s a simple idea to help you do that: Living a controversial faith doesn’t mean necessarily being confrontational. Arguments don’t normally change people’s hearts. Prayer does. Ask someone you know who doesn’t know Jesus who you can pray for them this season of Advent. Write those prayer requests down, pray for them, and follow up with that person to let them know you’ve been praying for them.

As always…

Share the video on social media, and comment below!

25 Great Catholic Christian Quotes

August 16, 2016 by Andy Lesnefsky Leave a Comment

Everybody loves a good soundbyte. Words can inspire and encourage us. We post a daily image on our Redeemed Online Facebook Page with a quote. I asked my good friend Lauren Gates who creates our daily images to share 25 of her favorite Catholic/Christian quotes and images.

Here they are:

1. “The world offers you comfort. But you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.” — Pope Benedict XVI

2. “I have been all things unholy. If God can work through me, He can work through anyone.” — St. Francis of Assisi

3. “The gift of grace increases as the struggle increases.” — St. Rose of Lima

4. “Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.” — St. Maximilian Kolbe

5. “The truth is like a lion. You don’t have to defend it. Let it loose. It will defend itself.” — St. Augustine

6. “Don’t shine so others can see you. Shine, so that through you, others can see Him.” — C.S. Lewis

7. “Even our enemies will be used to make us holy.” — Dr. Scott Hahn

8. “It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives.” — St. John Paul II

9. “God has not called me to be successful. He has called me to be faithful.” — Mother Teresa

10. “God does not inspire us to do what cannot be done.” — St. Therese of Lisieux

11. “There is nothing the devil fears so much, or tries to hinder as prayer.” — St. Philip Neri

12. “The only whole heart is one that has been first broken and then healed.” — Peter Kreeft

13. “Love God, serve God. Everything is in that.” — St. Clare

14. “The greatest love story of all time is contained in a tiny white host.” — Archbishop Fulton Sheen

15. “To love another person is to see the face of God.” — Victor Hugo

16. “You cannot be half a saint. You must be a whole saint or no saint at all.” — St. Therese of Lisieux

17. “The question is never ‘Are you in a storm?’ The question is ‘is Jesus in your boat?'” — Rich Wilkerson Jr.

18. “Christ said, ‘I am the truth.’ He did not say, ‘I am the custom.’ ” — St. Toribio

19. If you’re experiencing stress or tension, give it to Jesus. Tell Him, ‘I feel like crawling the wall, but I love You and I want to give this to You.’ Do you think our Lord wasn’t tense living with those twelve screwball apostles?” — Mother Angelica

20. “God does nothing without some good purpose.” — St. Vincent de Paul

21. “We are at Jesus’ disposal. If He wants us to be sick in bed, if He wants you to proclaim His work in the street, if He wants you to clean the toilets all day, that’s alright, everything is alright. We must say, ‘I belong to You. You can do whatever You like.’ And this is our strength, and this is the joy of the Lord.” — Mother Teresa

22. “You can’t give God deadlines.” — St. Pio of Pietrelcina

23. “People are worried for nothing. When help is needed it will come in time, at the right place by God.” — St. Andre Bessette

24. “The hallmark of the Christian life is not whether or not you will fall. We all fall. We’re all sinners. The hallmark is whether, after falling, you have the humility and courage to get up again.” — Pope Francis

25. “I am sure that God keeps no one waiting unless He sees that it is good for him to wait.” CS Lewis

What are some of your favorite quotes? Share below and we will use some of them for upcoming daily images on Facebook here.

God bless!