The response to the seven question survey has been terrific. I have found inspiration in the responses from the participants and I hope they are helping you on your spiritual journey as well. Today I am adding the thoughts from Monsignor Charles B. King, who serves as Pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Denton, Texas. Founded in 1894, Immaculate Conception is the older of the two Catholic parishes in Denton. They described themselves as a welcoming and friendly parish family; a community that is both multi-cultural and multi-ethnic, with more than twenty-five hundred registered families. I hope you enjoy Monsignor King’s thoughtful reflections. If you would like to respond to the seven questions yourself, please do so and send them to me at fellmananthony@gmail.com. Merry Christmas!

1. What is the biggest challenge to your faith that you have faced so far? The biggest challenge to my faith has been the temptation to put material things and satisfactions ahead of my commitment to Christ. My daily prayer is a petition to Christ to keep me from temptations to the flesh and material attractions.

2. What scripture do you find yourself turning to most often? My favorite Scripture passage is the Sixth Chapter of the Gospel of John in which John shows Jesus power over the forces of nature in the multiplication of the loaves and fishes and His ability to control the forces of nature as He walks on water, both of which events preceded His teaching on the Eucharist at the synagogue in Capernaum.

3. How do you think God is revealing his presence to us in the world today? I am satisfied that God is revealing Himself in the forces of nature that challenge us to use our God-Given powers to bring nature under control for the good of mankind.

4. Do you have a book that you would recommend to people trying to develop their spirituality? I would recommend to those able to handle a more challenging book, The Confessions of St. Augustine.

5. Why do you think bad things happen to good people? I think bad things happen to good people because good people fail to practice the commandments of Chris to love. If we were faithful to those commandments, then the expenditures we put into the forces of destruction could have been used to create the environment that would enable people to live a quality life. Beyond that, the bad things that happen in our world are part of the mystery that daily challenges us to take up our cross to follow Jesus.

6. What have you found is the most effective way to introduce the word of God to a nonbeliever? The most effective way I have found to introduce non-believers to the Lord are the actions by which I live my faith day to day. That seems to get people’s attention and arouses in them the interest that often leads to questions about my faith and a desire to share it.

7. Do you have a favorite saint and if so, why? My favorite Saint is Charles Borromeo, a reformer in the Church who gave his life to getting the Church straightened out and led a life of austerity that backed up his conviction in Jesus Christ. He was named a Cardinal at the age of 16 and devoted his life to the reform of the Church and in particular to the reform of Clergy Formation.