Seeds of Truth Ministries

Joseph Hollcraft

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The Son Becomes the Father and the Father Becomes the Son

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Yesterday, A Most Unexpected Thing Happened

Yesterday, a most unexpected thing happened to me--first gut wrenching, then illuminating, in a span of merely 10-15 minutes.

My wife texted me a change of address for our kids piano performance. The address was 556 Vallombrosa Avenue.

“Just past the post office,” she texted.

“Easy enough,” I thought.

As I was driving by the post office, it slowly dawned on me where this performance was located. Suddenly, I was beginning to feel a pit in my stomach--I no longer needed the address number.

I remembered first driving up to this building over twenty years ago, but under far different circumstances. I had been with approximately ten others to participate in a prayer vigil in front of this building, a building where abortions were being performed, Planned Parenthood. I had not been at this location since I left Chico for Steubenville in ’97. Fast-forward twenty-two years, and now my children were going inside this building. This made me uncomfortable.

I began to pray for insight into this unconventional matter. On one hand, I did not want to make “a mountain out of a mole hill”, but on the other hand, this was a building where the holocaust of abortion was in full effect (my hometown of Chico, CA has one of the highest abortion rates, per capita, in the country).

So as my children and I were walking towards the door, the memories of prayer vigils were washing over me, and what was a pit in my stomach soon turned into full-on nausea. I continued to pray, and sensed God tugging on my heart, as if to say, “pay close attention to what you will hear when you walk through these doors.” I walked through the door listening attentively, and what I heard were children learning how to sing and play various musical instruments. From Chopsticks on the piano to Amazing Grace on the violin, suddenly my heart was being moved.

The whole reality of what was before me was overwhelming: a location where Satan had nestled in so comfortably in our society, which had given impetus to a culture of death, has now become a place where children sing, giving impetus to new life. Saint Thomas once spoke of music as pleasure to the ear and a delight to the mind; something that awakens the soul. As I sat there playing with my children, I could not help but think: the specific location where thousands of children were slaughtered, is now the very location where children roam learning a language of the soul.  Indeed, what I was hearing was pleasure to the ear and a delight to the mind (and heart). The great apostle Paul was right, “where sin arises, grace abounds all the more” (Rom 5:20).

Yesterday, a most unexpected thing happened, and as it did, God reminded me that He can bring life out of the darkest of places. What happenned on the Cross, happenned on Vallambrosa Ave, and I, for one, am eternally grateful! Our God is so good!

View Dr. Hollcraft's author profile on Amazon
Unleashing the Power of Intercessory Prayer - Book Cover

“Hollcraft's book engagingly integrates his personal experience with the luminous witness of Scripture and the overflowing holiness of the saints to help you maximize the effectiveness of your intercessory prayer.”
Bishop Liam Cary
Diocese of Baker, Oregon

“With this book, Hollcraft opens the door to the humble act of praying for others and invites us, through practical and accessible tips, to step through that door with trust.”
Dr. Anthony Lilles
Author and Academic Dean of Saint Patrick's Seminary, Menlo Park (CA)

"As I read through these pages, I am reminded of our beautiful calling to pray for others, and Dr. Hollcraft explains here how to do so in deepest intimacy with Jesus Christ!"
Fr. Dave Pivonka T.O.R.
President of Franciscan University of Steubenville

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A Heart for Evangelizing - Book Cover

“Evangelization is never about numbers, and never about programs. It’s one heart setting another on fire. With this book, Dr. Hollcraft helps us keep the home fires burning—even as we set the world ablaze with Christ.”
Mike Aquilina
Award-winning author of more than 40 popular books

“Hollcraft wonderfully displays the tapestry of Catholic life and evangelization by weaving solid Catholic teaching, its application to the modern world, and clearly expressed examples that bring out the light and shadows of this beautiful picture.”
Fr. Mitch Pacwa, S.J.
Author, television host, Senior Fellow of the St. Paul Center
for Biblical Theology

"In a world of burgeoning textbooks and media, the reminder that  catechesis is inescapably a personal task to which we are all called, through a cooperation with the redeeming and educative work of the Person of the Holy Trinity, is a timely and important one."
Dr. Petroc Willey
Professor of Catechetics, Franciscan University of Steubenville

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