Searching For More

We are God's children through baptism. No matter what we go through on the day-to-day, God gives us the grace necessary to do what is pleasing to him. We need only rely on him and ask for the grace to call him Father! Reference: Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 301) Search for More Episodes: https://www.arlingtondiocese.org/searchingformore

The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes a saint as "someone who practiced heroic virtue and lives in fidelity to God’s grace." (828) And in the simple words of Mother Teresa, saints are “only sinners who keep trying.” They just knew how much God loved them. Can that not be us as well? Do you know the depths of how much God loves you?  Search for More Episodes: https://www.arlingtondiocese.org/searchingformore

Should Catholics have a sense of humor? Why is it important and even necessary for us to find things funny and how does that relate to humility? It's no coincidence that humor and humility share a common route. When we are truly humble, we see the world in its proper proportion. So, when things become out of proportion or incongrous, we can laugh! If we take ourselves lightly, we will begin to notice that that suffering and pains of this life will weigh us down less often. Growing in virtue is predicated on the knowledge that we are nothing and God is everything. When we undoubtedly fall, our sense of humor allows us to laugh, shake the dust off, and begin anew. A Christian needs a sense of humor. It provides the very levity required for God to lift us into the heights of heaven. Reference: Luke 14, Matthew 5 Search for More Episodes: https://www.arlingtondiocese.org/searchingformore #SearchingForMore #SFM

Has a saint ever found you? A saint is somebody who finished the race - who fought the good fight - who persevered until the end. Those souls, now fully alive in heaven, are given to us by God as models. St. Scholastica's relationship with her brother Benedict models for us the beauty of communion with one another as we await our eternal destiny. Think of ways you can establish better communion with those you love. Listen to them as they speak. Do acts of service for them without being asked. Never neglect the fact that they are made in the image of God himself. Reference: Catechism of the Catholic Church 2030 Search for More Episodes: https://www.arlingtondiocese.org/searchingformore #SearchingForMore #SFM

Your home is where Jesus lives. Your home is a place where Jesus lives because you live there and he resides in you. But when we’re home, how often are we reminded that he is with us? Think of ways you can make space for him. Can you mark the rooms in your home with sacramentals? Get your house blessed by a priest? Explore the Epiphany house blessing? Reference: Catechism of the Catholic Church 1670

Is love, or the virtue of charity, really just a feeling? Can we just think nice thoughts about somebody and truly say that we love them? Scripture and tradition say otherwise. Love is active, not passive. Being charitable means doing things for those you love even when it costs you something. The greatest example of that is the Cross - when Christ gave his life for us. Struggling with loving those around you? Think of love as a verb rather than a noun. "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal." (1 Corinthians 13:1) References: Catechism of the Catholic Church 1827 John 15:13 Search for More Episodes: https://www.arlingtondiocese.org/searchingformore #SearchingForMore #SFM

How does hope keep us afloat even when things get tough? Or when it feels like we are enslaved to chronic sin?  Hope sustains us because it is found in Jesus Christ. He became man to save us from our sin so that we might spend eternity with him. His grace is available to us especially in the Sacrament of Confession, when we come to him with a contrite heart, and the Eucharist, where his ultimate sacrifice is recreated time and time again for us to receive him in Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. According to the Catechism, this virtue of hope "responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every man." (CCC 1818) So it is accessible not to just a few, but to us all! So if you're searching for freedom from feeling discouraged, ashamed or abandoned, look no further than Jesus. Know that there is rest for you—rest in the hope found in God alone. See also: Genesis 15 and Genesis 22

Especially in a season like Advent, it is good to sit with Mary. The Mother of God models our waiting for Jesus after her waiting. Think how often throughout those nine months she had to put faith in so many: the angel Gabriel. God the Father. Her husband Joseph. How can you put faith in God this day? References: Catechism of the Catholic Church 149 Search for More episodes at https://www.arlingtondiocese.org/searchingformore/

The entire Christian life bears the mark of the spousal love of Christ and the Church. What does this mean? This spousal love is in fact Jesus' longing to give himself to us through his Church. This love of Christ is reflected not only in the Church but also in our bodies as male and female. We are made for relationship, made to be given as a gift to another in love. As a groom waits for his bride, so Christ waits for us. Will we take another step toward him today?  References: Catechism of the Catholic Church 1616 Book of the Song of Songs Search for More Episodes: https://www.arlingtondiocese.org/searchingformore #SearchingForMore #SFM

"You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32) As brought to light in Scripture, truth and freedom are not mutually exclusive. Truth is in fact the birthplace of freedom. When we direct our free will towards the service of the truth, it is then that we more free.  The Catechism defines freedom as a power "rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act, to do this or that, and so to perform deliberate actions on one's own responsibility." Freedom itself is a gift that should be exercised and ever directed towards God. For freedom doesn't simply serve itself, but should always extend beyond our own benefit. Additional reference: Catechism of the Catholic Church 1731  Search for More Episodes:https://www.arlingtondiocese.org/searchingformore #SearchingForMore #SFM Searching for More Podcast

God knows the desires of our hearts. Whether we are interceding on behalf of a friend or praying for our vocation, we know that God always hears our prayers. He desires that we trust he will see it to fulfillment as he wills and in his time. So have faith! God knows what we long for and hears us when we call to him. Reference Catechism of the Catholic Church 2737

Catholics are known for their pro-life beliefs. Have you ever considered how giving somebody your undivided attention supports our belief in the dignity of every human person? We have countless engagements with fellow souls every day. How often are we tuning them out for the sake of something more trivial? Ask yourself, "Am I truly engaged and interested in what this person has to say?" When we start to show people that they have our attention, we begin to radiate the belief that we think every human being has unique value. Take the time to give the next person you talk to your full and undivided attention. See also: Catechism of the Catholic Church 356 Search for More Episodes: https://www.arlingtondiocese.org/searchingformore

"What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8) Bishop Burbidge explains how this verse came to be his priestly, and later his episcopal motto; what "walking humbly" means for him and how it has made a difference in his own life. Living in humility unlocks the ability to slow down and walk with God the Father. This virtue makes way for grace, rather than our own strength, to carry us through the day. For "only in humility are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer." (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2559) This day, raise your heart to God and beg him for the grace to walk. We can do nothing on our own, but with God, all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26) Search for More Episodes: https://www.arlingtondiocese.org/sear... #SearchingForMore #SFM

Are we making Sundays what they can and should be? Are we experiencing Sunday the way that God wants and calls us to live? In this episode of Searching For More, we reflect on the kinds of rest we should embrace as Christians, and in a particular way on Sunday—the Lord's Day—instituted from the beginning of time. How can we rest with God on Sunday as an exercise of what we're called to for all eternity?  References: Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2184) Search for More Episodes: https://www.arlingtondiocese.org/sear... 

What makes something alive? How has God created humans different than other living things? In this episode of Searching For More, we consider the specific characteristics of humans that set us apart from the rest of creation. God made human beings unique and unrepeatable from the rest of creation through the great gift of free will and intellect so that we can contemplate him and grow in relationship with him for all eternity. How can we reflect on these gifts given by God, and give him greater glory this day?  References: Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 364)

God put us in the world to know, to love, and to serve him, and so to come to paradise. We are here on this Earth for these reasons, so that one day we might get to spend eternity with Him. What is distracting you from the goal of heaven?  How can we focus our attention on the things that are above? What are some ways in which we can recenter our hearts and minds on Jesus? References: Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1721)  Search for More Episodes: https://www.arlingtondiocese.org/sear... 

Who we think we want to be, who the world wants us to be, and who God wants us to be may not be one in the same. We were created for so much more than what we "do" — we were made to *be* fully ourselves. We were made for mission. So if we desire to lead a deeply fulfilling life, the Lord invites us to enter into the places where he nourishes, brings healing, and where he gives us life. These places of transformation are the exact places the Lord wants to work through us for the good of his Kingdom. References: Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 739) Search for More Episodes: https://www.arlingtondiocese.org/searchingformore #SearchingForMore #SFM #Relationship #Jesus

Can artificial intelligence truly "know"? Can AI replace human knowledge? Do computers have memory like humans do? What does it take to truly know someone?   Innovations in technology lead us to ask questions such as these, which bring us face-to-face with our Creator. And as Christians, it leads us to ask a deeper question: Do we know about God, or do we know him personally?   God knows us better than we know ourselves, and he desires that we know him in return. He came into the world so he could come to be known by us and we could come to be known by him—the kind of knowledge that no computer could ever replace.   "And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." John 17:3   Additional reference: Catechism of the Catholic Church 2293 Search for More Episodes: https://www.arlingtondiocese.org/searchingformore #SearchingForMore #SFM #AI #technology