Confirmation - Then and Now - Still Making A Difference

It was the 1970's and the Church was just starting to come out of the Kumbaya, I'm OK You're OK era. The cool breezes of Vatican II stirred the embers of the old Church as the reforms flooded onto the fertile ground of Holy Mother Church. 

These needed modern   reforms were mis-understood and in the attempt to become more relevant the Church shot itself in the foot. This is simply because the changes instead of being rolled out carefully with the due diligence that the old Church was famous for they were poured out like water on an unsuspecting class of believers. The average adult believer became a victim of shell shock as it seemed that the old practices that everyone was comfortable with were gone in a flash. 

Into the arena steps our hero, a twenty something young man who left his secure job at a well known mid western bank, taking his retirement fund, his whole capital of eight hundred dollars and he joined the Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance in the mountains of Pennsylvania. He suffered through a very cold winter and in the summer he was transferred and became Brother Michael TOR a novice in the order at the Sacred Heart Monastery in Winchester VA. The lad really grew up in this the springtime of his life. He learned to cook, how to run a retreat house, shoveled manure,worked with what were called back then the mentally retarded and he taught a class of seventh graders enough religion at a little church in Pureseville VA. 

This last job, teaching the seventh graders at St.Francs de Sales Church was among the most rewarding things I ever did. There are a hundred stories I could tell about this job that was foisted upon me but suffice it to say that I could see in those youthful faces the future of the Church. Teaching them was a real pleasure. The big day arrived and the bishop (I don't remember his name) arrived early as did I and we sat down with the Franciscan Conventional Friar (again I cannot remember his name) and ate supper together and the conversation turned to teaching youth and of course here is novice brother Michael telling a bishop just what "we" could do to improve the religious education of youth. He was very polite and did not tell me to shut up, I guess that why he was a bishop, he WAS trained to overlook stupidity.

Today as part of the St.Mary of Vernon choir,some forty years removed from my experience with that class of wonderful kids, I will be singing at our parish's confirmation mass today where another class will take their place as young adults in the Church. It is so different today.  I remember when I was confirmed, there was memorization of facts from the Baltimore Catechism and endless class time spent on what it meant to be confirmed. We were to be soldiers of Christ. Today, thank God, the kids get some practical experience as to what that means. At our parish they are required to put in time doing service work, giving practical application to the book knowledge that they have to attain as well.  

Confirmation for the class of 2016 will give these young people's faith wings. Maybe a good percentage of them will stay active in the Church and take up the burdens that become to heavy for people to carry as they age. I believe that in yesteryear the confirmation classes were the last bit of Catholic education a young person would receive if they did not go to a Catholic high school and college. I think that the classes of yesteryear, through no fault of their own, did not get the benefit of using the book knowledge that they had attained and it became just another class to be taken. 

The future of Catholic Church is being built brick by brick with each confirmation class that we matriculate. Eventually the Kumbaya, feel good years will become a distant memory and the young adults that are confirmed today will help the Church bring the spirit of Vatican II into being in the Church. When that happens, look out, good things will happen. There will be a Renaissance and the Church will become stronger and able to meet the future head on.  Like it or not the Catholic Church is the only thing that stands between us and completely Godless, pagan society. The denominations are slowly sinking into depravity in order to keep themselves relevant. The Church on the other hand still continues her mission of speaking the truth and pointing the way to the narrow road.  The youth we confirm today will be our future. May God guide and keep them.  May God also forgive the old fool who writes these words for being so weak for so long. I cry out in a loud voice; Come Holy Spirit Come!"    

Imitation of Christ

There is an old saying that says that the greatest compliment a person can receive is when someone imitates them. This may or may not be true. But what we are called to do as followers of Christ is to imitate Him in all we do. This is a very tall order for us to fill. Let's examine just what it means to imitate Christ. To do so we have to examine just what it is that Christ did and then how we can best emulate it. 

First and foremost Jesus came to earth.  Now, how in the world can we imitate that feat? Are we defeated before we have begun?  No, because what Jesus did we CAN do.  He left heaven and came to earth, stepping out of "his comfort zone" so to speak.  So to imitate this we need to do the same. We need to choose to work with people that we normally would not work with. Maybe the homeless, maybe stepping up and working with right to life, the opportunities are there we just need to seek them out. 

Next, Jesus spent His life doing the Father's will.  We need to determine what the Father's will is for us and we need to act on it. I think it just means to be open to the promptings of the Spirit and taking up the challenges that are presented to us day by day.

We need to become bold. Many people think that Jesus never would say a cross word (no pun intended) to anyone and that He was always gentle and meek.  Well, He made a whip out of cords and drove the money changers out of the temple.  We need to show people we are pro Christ and we have to be ready to point out errors and sinfulness where we see it.  This is a dangerous activity because as you know the incident at the temple was one of the things that led to the Crucifixion of Jesus. We can and should do this with charity, but we must be prepared for the fallout because Christian ways go counter culture to the rest of the world.

We need to pray and to take care of our spiritual selves by imitating what Christ did. The New Testament mentions many times where Jesus went out and spent time in prayer. Time spent in prayer looks to the world as if it were time spent doing nothing. But our strength as Christians comes from our communication with God.  He will give us the strength to complete the missions that are presented to us.  Trying to complete a ministry without prayer is like trying to swim with a four hundred pound rock strapped to your back. Once you get away from the shore and into deeper waters you will certainly drown. 

Christ held nothing back, he gave it all when he stretched out his arms on the Cross for us. This is the hardest thing for us to imitate. It requires a level of trust in the Lord that may of us haven't yet cultivated.  We have to be so much in love with Jesus that we have to accept even death should that be where our ministry takes us.  I think of the Christians killed by ISL.  They lined up the Christians and had them kneel. To a man they kept praying as long as they could. Their example is what we must be prepared to do. Is this something that I have come up with from the deep pit which is my imagination?  No, our Lord and Savior in Matthew 16:24 says very clearly: 

If anyone wishes to come after me, 

let him take up his cross and follow me.

So, the essence of following Jesus is the Cross. If we are to be His ambassadors we have to be willing to carry the cross, falling and rising as he did, moving ever forward towards resolution and seemingly dissolution on Calvary's hill.  The advantage that we have that Jesus didn't is that the parts of our cross that are too heavy He will bear for us. All He asks of us is to try our best and He will help with the rest.  

God bless and keep you and your family this day. May the light that is Christ light your way to His side. 

Convert - A - Catholic Challenge 2016 is off and running.  If you are a Protestant, save this poor cradle Catholic.  Tell me in fifty thousand words or less where the Catholic Church has got it wrong and how your denomination now has the complete truth about how to be a Christian.   Clink this link to begin --->   LINK 

How To Become A Canonized Saint

Sainthood - is it for me?

What is it that God wants of us? What is closest to His heart? What dream does he dream for us?  

God's fondest wish for us is to be with Him in heaven forever. He wants to share the perfect happiness that we mortals cannot even begin to understand how very wonderful it is!  That is why we are on earth.  Okay, then the question becomes if God is so gungho for us to be with Him in heaven then why did He place us on earth?  Well, go back to the very beginning. Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Paradise, which I've always thought of as kind of an earthly type of heaven where everything was perfect. He put us there because he wanted to see if we would want to be in relationship with Him by our own free will.  Well, we know how that turned out.  Using our free will we turned away from Him and he immediately planned and began to implement our return to relationship through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus. 

The people who have died in God's friendship and live with Him in heaven are called saints. The media latches on to the Church's formal recognition of certain people as having lived heroic Christian lives through canonization. The last one you may have heard of was the canonization of Father Junipero Serra, the missionary that helped bring Christianity to California. There are literally thousands of canonized saints that have been enrolled by the Church.  But does that mean that only those that the Church recognizes and has canonized are in heaven? Certainly not!  Besides the thousands of canonized saints there are untold millions of people, men and women just like you and I that have lived holy lives and are with God in heaven. The point here is that there is nothing more glorious than a soul entering heaven to be with God forever and nothing so sad and forlorn as a soul that through a life wasted on rejecting the Father's friendship ending up in a place without God.   I believe that we will be welcomed with great joy into heaven by Jesus and the Saints, all of them!  

Okay, let's say you are the type of person that only wants the best/ None of this anonymous sainthood for you. You want the full treatment and full recognition of the Church that you lived a life worthy of being emulated by the faithful.  How do you go about it? Well, I could spend some time discussing canon law but I won't. Here in layman's terms is a rather whimsical view of how get your life recognized as being saintly.

The Canonization Process – Very Simplified

So, you want to be a canonized saint.  Make 

sure you put this document with your will so that your heirs will know what to do.  The most important thing is that you be dead, so take care of that first.  Then make sure your heirs do the following:

1.       WAIT FIVE YEARS.  Candidate has to have been dead for five years.  This is to allow time for “cooler heads to prevail. It allows more objectivity. 

.       GET YOUR FRIENDS TOGETHER. The cause is started in the diocese where the candidate lived.  A promoter group, for example the parish, religious congregation, or pious association asks the bishop to open an investigation. The bishop asks Rome who sends a letter of “nulla osta” or “no impediment” and a tribunal is formed.

.      PRESENT THE FACTS and WRITE ‘EM UP and GET ‘EM TO ROME. The tribunal calls witnesses to recount the facts of the candidates life and how the candidate exercised Christian virtue especially; prudence, justice, temperance, faith, hope and charity. Documents are gathered and sent to Rome, to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.  If the Candidate has made it this far, he (she) is entitled to the title “Servant of God.”

       WIN THE ELECTION. The documents and evidence are examined in Rome by nine theologians. If the Servant of God gets at least five votes the congregation presents the results of the Pope who will give his approval (or not) and authorizes a public decree which is publicly read and distributed.

.       PERFORM A MIRACLE. For beatification a miracle, verified after his (her) death is necessary. This miracle is investigated and if it is shown to be a miracle, a decree is read. The candidate is now called “Blessed.”

   PERFORM AN ENCORE. For final canonization another miracle occurring AFTER his beatification.  It is investigated as was the virtues and first miracle were and the matter is sent to the Pope who can make the final decision if the Blessed candidate is to acquire the title of Saint.  

There you have it!  It is a simple and straight forward process and you will really get to  know who your friends are if they stick it out.  Oh, I almost forgot - you should make some provision to pay the expenses involved in the process.  Here is what you should allow for:  

For decoration of the Basilica, lights, architectural designs, labor, and superintendence — 

Lire 152,840.58 

Procession, Pontifical Mass, preparation of altars in Basilica —  Lire 8,114.58 

Cost of gifts presented to Holy Father —  

Lire 1,438.87 

Hangings, Sacred Vestments, etc.

Lire 12,990.60 

Recompense for services and money loaned — 

Lire  3,525.07 

To the Vatican Chapter as perquisites for decorations and candles Lire 18,000.00 

Propine and Competenza    (unforeseen expenses)                            Lire 16,936.00      

Other incidental and unforeseen expenses —  

Lire   4,468,40 

Total Lire 221,601.05

Total US 1913 Dollars        $42,816.87

Lawyers and Documents     $20,000.00

Total US$                            $62,816.87                                                                                               

Grand total in 1913 US$    $62,816.87   which is approximately 

$209,601.05 in 2010 dollars.

Let's remember, too, that prices may have gone up since 1913!

This whole process can and in some cases has literally taken hundreds of years.  The church is very careful who she canonizes as a saint.  There are a lot of rules that are not mentioned here, for example a "devil's advocate is appointed who brings out the less savory incidents of your life, if he can find any. 

This may be irreverent but I think of canonized saints as those that made the All Star team, and are people we should imitate and respect.  Remember too, that for every canonized saint there are thousands of millions of saints that for whatever reason did not go through this process.  The total number of saints in heaven is known to God alone.  I hope you will be the first human to count them all when you get to heaven.

Feeding Frenzy

The past week all over America there was a feeding frenzy of sorts. You know what I mean of course, we all got caught up in it, the Powerball Lottery. Now I never play the lottery, except this time I did, yes this straight laced Catholic Christian boy plunked down four hard earned US of A greenback dollars for the privilege of dreaming and dreaming big!  For a couple of days I was thinking how I would outfit my new Gulf Stream jet and who I would invite for the initial ride. I thought what my parish would do with the ten percent of the winnings that they would get right off of the top.  I envisioned a five story PADS shelter. I would have funded research into finding cures for cancer.  I would have funded a food bank that would wipe out hunger in my state.  There would have been scholarships galore for those whose grades like mine were average or slightly above. I was planning to do so much good.  That is what my four dollars bought me as I joined the feeding frenzy that captured the minds of my fellow citizens.  I have to tell you that it was kind of fun and all in all was worth the four George Washington's I plunked down to the man of mid-eastern extraction behind the counter at the Peacock Mobil Station who pushed a button that caused a machine to spit out two lines of random numbers.  

Well, I am back in the real world again.  The next lottery drawing will come and go without capturing my attention. My dollar bills will stay comfortably inside my wallet until they are called upon to purchase some pedestrian need. But I take solace in the fact that although I cannot fund my large dreams, I can fund smaller ones. I can look out for opportunities to be kind, to be generous, to let the light of Christ shine through me. If I do this without expecting any reward or payback, my example may be what brings a sinner home like the prodigal son, home to God the Father who loves him without end. My example, my love expressed can be the difference between heaven and hell for someone I do not know. 

So yes, I proved my humanity and jumped into the middle of the feeding frenzy.  It was fun and it allowed me the opportunity to think once the announcement of where the winning tickets were sold and my town was not mentioned, that I was luckier than the winners because I have Christ in my life.

Peace to you today and may the light of Christ flood your soul. Act on your good intentions today. Spread a random act of kindness wherever you go.  God bless you and yours. 

The Convert-a-Catholic Challenge is still waiting it's first daring Protestant to take up the cause. Convince this cradle Catholic that the Catholic Church has got it all wrong and that your denomination has got it all right.  Chick to start the debate rolling.  Click here/

Catholic Resources for your use: 

Catechism of the Catholic Church   (Click Here)  don't live in ignorance. If you are going to criticize or even condemn her, use her own words against her.  This free resource tells what we believe in an easy to read format.

Catholics Come Home  (Click Here)  If you are a Catholic and have been away from the Church for awhile, well, we have missed you and consider this an invitation to come home. 

Headquarters - The Vatican - (Click Here)  Nose around at the Vatican. Get to know Pope Francis a little bit better. Find out the inside story right from the horse's mouth. 

Thanksgiving - Should God Continue to Bless Us?

Thanksgiving Day is a lot of things to us Americans. It is: 

• A day off from work or school.
• A day of eating, drinking, and making merry. 
• A day to watch parades with large balloons. 
• A day to be sit and watch football games. 
• A day to stuff a turkey and ourselves.

This day should also be a day to think very carefully about the blessings we have received from God, both the blessings we have received in common as a nation (supposedly) under God and for the blessings we have personally received. 

The very fact that the United States has lasted over two hundred years so far shows that God is still blessing us.  Why He continues his benevolence to such wayward children as we are is a mystery to me. We are very disobedient to Him.  America today is not the same America our ancestors could look up to.  In the olden days abortion was recognized as a repugnant evil by not only the Catholic Church but also by most main line denominations.  Today The Catholic Church stands almost alone in opposition to the murder of babies in the womb.  We also have forsaken the seven capital virtues for the seven capital sins.  Our Supreme Court has stepped in and reinvented marriage. No longer is marriage between a man and a women, a sacred covenant instituted by God. No, now it is a question of "equality."  Sadly, this same court has decided that even those of us who are opposed to birth control must furnish it for everyone who wants it in spite of the fact that we consider it sinful.  So I guess one thing we should be thankful for is for the fact that God continues to bless us in spite of our evil ways. 

As far as personal blessings go, I thank God for all of the things he has placed in my life, both the good things and the things that I view as not so good which are there to help make me strong.  I also thank Him for the things He has chosen to withhold from me because His wisdom is supreme in all things. 

The challenge is still open...Convert The Catholic - tell me why I should leave the Catholic Church, make your strongest case. Who knows maybe you will convince me!  

God bless you this day. 

The Visit of Pope Francis - What it Means

I am anticipating the end of the visit of Pope Francis to the United States because at the time I wrote this he had just completed his visit to the maximum security prison and his next event will be the procession / motorcade / parade back to the circle where he will celebrate Mass, the final event on his whirlwind tour. 

I have to say that the man impresses me greatly.  He is a genuinely good human being who emulates the teachings of Christ.  How does he compare with John Paul II?  He doesn't compare at all to JP2.  But I mean this in a good way.  He is a genuine person.  His exterior mirrors his interior.  I think that he is much more practical than John Paul II was.  I think that he is a good politician, wise in the ways to use the world's leaders to accomplish the most good.  He has the common touch.  He is the Vicar of Christ on earth but he remembers at the same time that he is a man that must be completely open to the call of Christ in his life.  He is a man that will tolerate no cover-ups, no hankie-pankie with the Church's funds and demands complete and total honesty for all those that work with him.  On the other side of the coin he is a man that will make every attempt to extend mercy to others.

It is funny how the religious lunatics out there are claiming that this pope is the Antichrist.  They interpret the events of today in light of their erroneous exegesis of the Book of Revelation.  If Francis is the Antichrist, well, he certainly not acting as one.  He is humble and preaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ and tells us how to make the Gospel work in our life.  Last night he had the audience in the palm of his hand.  It was not because of the great oratory, fare from it. As an orator he is fair but not earthshaking.  His words and the way he set them before us were the words of a humble man stating simply what he knew to be true.  

The Catholic Church has come through some hard times.  A small minority of our clergy sometimes aided by their bishops caused the scandal of child abuse to tarnish the Church. The sun is starting to set on these events and the perpetrators are all receiving justice.  The Church has placed safeguards into place and has instituted a zero tolerance policy.  Francis is being used by God to breathe new life into the Church.  He is setting an example that we are to follow.  The example he is setting is not new.  He is living his life and following Christ by carrying his cross daily. 

What Francis has called us to do is to respect life, respect the family, and to take care of the young, for they are the future and to take care of the old for they are the memory who will pass on the family traditions including the teachings of the Church. 

We are called to a life that will not be easy.  The Church is a rock in the shoe of the world, a sore that will not heal because we point out the way of God, they way we are to live.  Today that is very dangerous because those in power, the Obama's of the world have no desire to see religion regain the control it had over the nation after world war 2.  It is easier, but unfulfilling to live the life of a pagan. The happiness thus attained is of a transient nature.  To live the life of a Christian is to live a life where you expend yourself to the betterment of others.  This is the true road to happiness.  I have never engaged in a ministry that once completed where I have not felt that I received more than I gave. 

I believe in one, holy, Catholic Church with Francis the First as the Vicar of Christ. 

In Love With The Bride of Christ - A Catholic Speaks His Mind.

I was born a Roman Catholic, and therefore in the jargon of the day I am called a cradle Catholic.  I thank God for my membership in His Church and want to share some of the reasons why being a Catholic makes me happy.

• Eucharist - as a Catholic, every time I go to Mass I receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ - as He is in Heaven today!  You can get no closer to God this side of heaven.  Catholics take very seriously indeed Christ's instructions to eat His Body and drink His blood as found in the Gospel of John Chapter 6. 
• Bible - At every Mass besides being fed the Bread of Life we receive generous portions of the Word of God to further enrich our souls. 
• Preaching - At every Mass the priest explains to us what the readings we just heard mean and how to apply them to our lives.  I know Protestants say we can interpret the Gospel for ourselves but then why are there thirty-thousand denominations each with a slightly different interpretation of the same concepts?  I feel safer relying on the Holy Spirit working in accordance with the promise of Jesus to keep His Church, the Bride of Christ pure and safe until He returns.
• Reliability - The Catholic Church has never once changed her doctrine.  She teaches the same truths that were handed down to her by the Apostles.  It is the Sacred Tradition that assures me that her teachings are true. One example of how her teachings have not changes comes to mind.  Back in the 1950's all churches stood united against birth control and abortion.  These things were viewed as evil and against the Law of God.  One by one the denominations gave in to "modern thought."  One by one they began to allow birth control and later on abortion was seen to be okay.  The Catholic Church stands virtually alone today in speaking up for the rights of the unborn and continues to preach against the culture of death afflicting the world today.  
• Real First Century Christianity - Some denominations today are trying to get back to the original teachings of the Apostles and the Church Fathers.  Well, the Catholic Church is already there and as a matter of fact, she never left the teachings of the Apostles.  Remember that for the first fifteen centuries there was only one Church, the Catholic Church.
• Universality - The Roman Catholic Church is universal.  It is not a national church, it is open to all.  It has one leader, the Pope, successor of Peter whom Jesus appointed as the leader of His Church.  We can trace the origin of the Catholic Church to that day when Jesus gave the keys of the Kingdom to Peter.
• Sacraments - The seven sacraments of the Church are opportunities for her members to experience the gift of grace of God in different ways.  I have already mentioned the Eucharist, the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of the Triumphantly Raised Jesus but there are six more sacraments each providing grace for the soul.  
• Reconciliation - Yes, reconciliation is one of the seven sacraments but I have to mention it separately because it is such a powerful gift.  Some Protestants say that a priest has no authority for forgive sins. They do not take into account the words of Jesus when he said; "Those things you loose on earth are loosed in heaven, those things you bind on earth are bound in heaven."  This gave the power to forgive sins to the Apostles and to those that followed.  Some say that they go direct to Jesus and pray for forgiveness so they do not need to confess to another human.  Well, okay, but if we take the words of Jesus seriously we need to ask ourselves if a priest can forgive sins, how will the priest know if he is going to loose or bind unless we tell him our sins?  I go to confession regularly - because I sin regularly.  I confess my sins to God's minister and he in the name of Jesus and His Church grants me pardon and absolution for all of my sins.  I in effect get to start over again, grace floods my soul and I try to not commit the sins I confessed again. To experience forgiveness is to experience love in its most exquisite form.  To hear the words of absolution gives me assurance that the rend I created in the fabric of my relationship between God, man and His Church has once again been healed. 

These are but a few of the reasons that I have for the joy in my heart that I experience because I am a Catholic.  My Church is despised by those who think her ideas are outmoded.  She stands as a conscience to a world that has lost it's way.  She points in loving ways as to what should be and she, like her founder receives a crown of thorns for the trouble.  I will never, ever, leave the Catholic Church for She is the repository of all we know of God, His laws and His love. 

God bless you and your family and friends,  Come home to the Catholic Church.   Below please find some links that you may find helpful.   Remember, I answer questions about faith, I am happy to do so.  I do not respond to hate mail. 

http://www.catholicscomehome.org/

http://chnetwork.org/converts/

MERCY

Mercy and Justice has a name and that name is Jesus.  Jesus is first of all merciful.  He  calls all of us to come to Him and accept His mercy.  He loves each one of us so much that He became one of us and accepted even death, death on the Cross. 

At some time in the future Jesus will return to put all things under His feet so that every person who ever lived will acknowledge Him as Lord.  He will come and bring justice with Him.  What we have done, the sins we have committed were all committed against God. If we do not accept the mercy of Jesus when it is being offered today, on that latter day we will have to accept His justice. 

The fountain of the Lord's mercy is unstoppable and unquenchable. You only have to ask for it and He will give it to you no matter how sinful, no matter how far away you have wandered from Him. 

Seek the Lord while He may be found...the Bible tells us.  There are those among us that say we are in the end times, that the return of Jesus is imminent. I say perhaps, but I know that my time grows closer and closer every day.  I seek the Mercy of Jesus for all of the many sins I have committed, knowingly and with little regard for Him or His Father.   I have been a bad adopted son, an ambassador that has committed treason against His kingdom but I have also, through the Church, confessed my treachery and I have received mercy from the Merciful one.  My desire today is to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin. 

My friend, the time is now for you to seek mercy.  Offer your heart and soul to the One who loves you. Accept the mercy from the King of Mercy.  He is there today, this moment, waiting for your return.  It matters not what sins you have committed or how long you have been away.  Jesus is in love with you and calls your name softly and hopes with his Sacred Heart that you accept His love and His mercy.  

If you are a Catholic, examine your conscience, acknowledge your guilt privately to Jesus and tell Him how sorry you are and that you will with His help try to avoid sinning again.  Made a good act of contrition (see below) and the next time the opportunity presents itself take advantage of the Sacrament of Reconciliation to receive the forgiveness your soul desires. 

Act of Contrition

Oh my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended thee, 

and I detest all of my sins because of thy just punishments. 

But most of all because they offend thee my God 

who art worthy of all my love. 

I firmly resolve with the help of thy grace 

to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin.  

2nd Week of Advent / Getting Ready

Today, Sunday, December 9, 2012 is the 2nd Sunday of Advent which is the period that the Church asks us to prepare for the upcoming Christmas Feast Day.  We human beings are always getting ready for something.  For example we are getting ready for work, for school, for the big meeting, for the big test and so on.  The Church asks us to ready ourselves to greet Jesus when He comes.  Some of us prepare for the Christmas feast by shopping, sometimes to excess as we find out in January.  We prepare by decorating our homes with light up Santa Claus figures, reindeer figures, blinking lights and so forth. All of this is good and proper and fun, and we should do these things, except we might want to watch what we spend for gifts.  We should do more too.

The season of Advent should impel us to ready our hearts to receive the King of Glory.  Along with all of the other decorating, we should take time to decorate our souls.  We should spend a little bit of time each day in prayer, we should spend a few minutes reading the Bible, we should think about our lives and how we can improve them.  Then we should decorate our souls with ornaments of charity, garlands of prayer, and the bright lights of contemplation.  If we do this Christmas will arrive and we will feel the joy the shepherds felt that glorious night when God came to Earth to experience the very life he gave us.

Saturday was the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception, who is the Patron Saint of America.  It celebrates the special favor that was granted to Mary by God.  God, who is not limited by time or space, applied the grace of the Cross of Jesus to Mary and preserved her from the very moment of her conception from original sin.  God rescued us when we fell into the pit of original sin because of the disobedience of Adam and drew us out.  For Mary, she saved her by not allowing her to fall into the pit in the first place.  This was His will and His pleasure and a special gift to the young girl who would become the Mother of God.

May God be with you this week and may he be seen through the kindness you grant to those around you.

Calming The Storm - Trusting

The sky was gray and flashes of lightning lit up the sky and thunder rolled and made its bold proclamation. A small band of men were half way between where they were coming from and where they were going.  Waves lashed their small boat and the rolling thunder seemingly laughed at their puny efforts to control nature. Real fear welled up inside them and they cried out to their true captain for help. He stood and raising his hands he calmed the storm. They were amazed at what he could do. 

We have all had storms in our life. Sickness, disputes between family members, loss of a job, restlessness, feeling guilty for something you did or failed to do, and other things of the same ilk. 

I know for certain that until that day I arrive in heaven that storms are inevitable. It is not a question of "if" but rather "when."*  We have to be ready for the storms and we have to learn to trust in the Captain of our very Soul. 

In Matthew 8:23-27 we read;

He got into a boat and his disciples followed him.

24 Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so

that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep. 25 They came and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" 26 He said to them, "Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?"  Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea,

and there was great calm. 27 The men were amazed and said, "What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?"   (Matt 8: 23-27)

I think it is telling that the disciples found the Master sleeping.  A person who is worried does not sleep. The disciples could not understand how He could be sleeping when all around them the world was in chaos.  They woke Him up and He asked them why they had such little faith.  When I put myself in the place that the apostles found themselves in I can certainly sympathize with them.  It appeared that they were going to perish.  In reality Jesus had everything under control even though they could not see that with their mortal eyes. 

I too have that tendency to panic when a storm hits my life. I don't think I am unique in this.  What I have to tell myself is that the storm is a passing thing and that Jesus, the Captain of my Soul has everything under control.  

*Quote from Matthew Kelly
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Thank You To Our Soldiers

God has blessed America with many great gifts and the range from sea to shining sea just as the old patriotic hymn proclaims.  In this country we have the freedom to be free.  We have the freedom to be allowed to worship the Lord in the way that seems best for us.  We have the freedom to make something of ourselves.  We have the right to speak our mind, voice our opinion, and petition the government.  We have abundance and plenty.  All of this came at a cost. That cost has been paid for by those that put their life on the line to secure freedom for us all, proud members of the United States Army, Navy, Marines,Coast Guard and Air Force. 

At the beginning of our country a shot was heard around the world, and the bells of freedom tolled and there was the Minuteman, a citizen soldier serving to bring freedom and justice to a people under the yoke of a tyrant king.

We fought against England again in the War of 1812 when they sought to suppress free trade and were kidnapping and forcing American sailors to duty in their navy.  Again soldiers and sailors bled and died for America.

Then America fought itself in the War Between the States, a war that pitted brother against brother and sometimes son against father.  Thousands upon thousands of soldiers died to preserve the Union.

We fought in the Great War, the First World War the war that was billed to be the War that ended all wars.  Americans came together once again and soldiers, sailors, and airmen were martyred for liberty.

The Second World War brought our brave service people into battle of not just a people but against a philosophy of hatred and evil. Our uniformed people answered the call and from Pearl Harbor to Iwo Gima and beyond our people proved their loyalty by fighting and dying so that their children could be truly free.

Next we fought in Korea.  We protected the South from the evil of communism spreading like a cancer from the North.   Our people bled and died so that others could be free.

In Viet Nam our soldiers, sailors, and airmen fought and died in an attempt to plant the seeds of democracy in that war torn land.  Alas, the political will to win this war was not there and our valiant troops fought for naught.

A  despot in the middle east decided to attack his neighbor and our country saved the small country of Kuwait and decisively turned the invader around scurrying back to their home country but without the equipment they brought.

Then years later, this same despot threatened us once again.  This time we invaded and finished what we started, deposing and eventually capturing an executing that Madman of Iraq.  We then helped start the rebuilding process and left after turning the country back over to those that lived there.

Meanwhile we are still embroiled in Afghanistan, a country infested with the evil of Islamic Terrorists.  Our people in uniform continue to fight the Taliban and the other terrorists and they do not count the cost as they continue to bleed and die so that an alien people can eventually choose their own destiny.

In all of these conflicts our military has protected us from tyranny at a great cost but generously given.  

So God Bless the American Military man and woman and God Bless the United States of America.