Personal Growth – Page 24 – Perpetual Adoration

December 1, 2012

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Born To Win

I have a large library of self-improvement and personal development books, cassette tapes, CDs, DVDs, and digital audio and video computer files that I constantly refer to for inspiration, motivation, and guidance. Among those items are cassette tapes and CDs that were produced by Zig Ziglar, one of the top motivational speakers in America.

November 18, 2012

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Predominant Tendencies and Primary Faults

We were all born with a strong tendency toward pride, the mother of all sins. Because of our fallen human nature, we were also born with a tendency toward each of the other root passions of lust, anger, avarice, envy, gluttony, and sloth; furthermore, as a result of the individual unique traits that each of us were born with, combined with the environment we grew up in and our life experiences, we each entered adolescence, and later adulthood, with a predominant tendency toward one of the other six root passions.

November 17, 2012

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The Doorway to Holiness and Perfection

In her book The Way of Perfection, St. Teresa of Avila wrote, “…but it remains for us to become detached from our own selves and it is a hard thing to withdraw from ourselves and oppose ourselves, because we are very close to ourselves and love ourselves very dearly…It is here that true humility can enter.”

November 11, 2012

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A “Wock & Woll” Experience

Last month my daughter Maria, her husband, Joe, and their two-year-old daughter, Grace, came into town from Chicago to stay at our home for a weekend. On Sunday morning, while I was in the bathroom getting ready for church, I had my iPad tuned in to iHeartRadio.com. With iHeartRadio, I’m able to play music from different “oldies” radio stations located throughout the United States.

October 31, 2012

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The Mother of all Sins

Of the seven root passions or sins – pride, lust, anger, avarice, envy, gluttony, and sloth – the most deadly is pride. It was an appeal to pride that persuaded Eve to defy her Creator: “…you shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:6)

October 27, 2012

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A Scary Spooky Question

Boo! Halloween Is Right Around The Corner And I Have A Scary, Spooky Question For You: Do you know what your faults are and what are you doing to correct them?

September 27, 2012

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Email – The Lowest Form of Communication

Although I like the Internet and most of its features and benefits, when it comes to sending and receiving communications of any substance, I hate email. I long for the good old days (20 years ago) when people wrote real letters, folded them up, placed them in envelopes addressed to the intended recipients, and mailed them.

September 15, 2012

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Is There Opportunity In Humiliation?

Over the past year I’ve gotten to know a young man who works at a local restaurant. (For the purposes of this discussion, I’m going to call him Rusty.) I see Rusty at least once a week when I pick up something to eat at the restaurant. Rusty is a devout Christian. He’s 36 years old, married, and has three children. He works hard, is honest, has a good attitude, and appears to get along well with everyone he comes into contact with.

August 31, 2012

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A Missing Virtue

Last week I told you that there are two virtues that we as baptized Catholics have that Jesus neither had nor needed. The first is the virtue of faith. The second is the virtue of hope. Our Lord did not need the virtue of faith because He had the beatific vision. He did not need the virtue of hope because he was already in possession of the heavenly kingdom.