Living Differently

A couple of months ago, the ever gracious and lovely Alicia Van Hecke asked if I'd like to be part of a new group blog she recently put together. I said yes. (Disclaimer: I haven't actually contributed anything to the blog yet ... I do hope to contribute something worthwhile at some point during this Year of Faith.)

The blog is called Living Differently. Here's a little about it, from Alicia's FAQ page:

What does your title mean?
Our title comes from Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical On Hope: "The dark door of time, of the future, has been thrown open. The one who hopes lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life."

What is the purpose of this blog?
We live in a noisy world where it can be difficult to foster the important, quiet, intangible things that have not only life-changing, but also culture-changing potential, like the greatest commandment: Love God and love your neighbor. We're talking about powerful things like manifesting God's love in a messy world and the power of being a true witness.

This blog is an experiment in fostering these essential intangibles through prayer and study and providing a respite from important, but "noisy" topics that have a tendency to swamp these intangibles. So you will not find discussions here on politics or how to solve problems on the level of laws and government and voting. Instead, we will emphasize what we can do as individuals on a very personal level to live God's laws of love and change the world by changing ourselves.

Why have you chosen these particular books?
We will be reading a variety of books both spiritual and practical that we have found helpful in living our lives as Christians and Catholics. We have chosen books that are very accessible and engaging. Not all are Catholic, but we will be discussing them in light of our faith and use the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church as our basic reference points.

Alicia is always brimming with Christian charity, and her focus is often something I try to focus on, too: working from the inside out. Trying to be the best Christian I can be. That's really all I can do, and all I want to do.