2016 - Why I Am Catholic

It is the first day of a brand new year.  At midnight all counters rolled over to zero and we begin a new year with hope that it is better than the last.  The year of Grace 2015 saw the death of my wife's sister, a wonderful woman who brought up seven children while dealing with an alcoholic husband and keeping her faith. It also saw my wife finally getting her knee fixed and she is now walking much better than before. There was a mixture of good and bad in 2015 but one thing that hasn't changes is that I am still a Catholic and I am in love with the Church that Christ built and continues to build.  Here are some of the basic reasons why I am and why I always will remain a Catholic. 

First of all the Catholic Church is Christ centered. Our eyes are fixed firmly on Christ in the Eucharist.  The Eucharist is the triumphant Jesus, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity there in the flesh.  Other Christians are centered on the Bible.  The Bible of course is the very Word of God but this very book tells us where salvation lies and that is in the Eucharist and the book uses the very words of Christ to convey this truth.  Catholics love the Bible but we worship Christ in the Eucharist. 

Secondly, I am head and heels in love with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. My sisters have fallen away from the Church and my younger sister attends something called "Willow Creek."  I guess that this is some sort of a Church of What's Happening Now sort of place.  My sister's Facebook account shows a picture of them attending Christmas Eve services at this place and the "altar" appeared to be designed like a set for a play.  It did not look very reverent to me.  My Church on the other hand was decorated simply but beautifully with a couple of Christmas trees and poinsettia plants.  We did not need theatrics, or slide shows because we had Jesus in attendance at the Eucharistic Banquet. 

Third, no other denomination can offer the true Eucharist. Imagine while my sisters were being entertained by a minister juggling bowling pins and quoting John 3:16 I was receiving inside of me the very Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.  How can a slide show compare with this?  Imagine, God Himself being inside you, making your soul a dwelling place of God.  Keep the entertainment, I want to be close to God. 

Fourth, when I enter a Catholic Church I feel a sense of peace.  I see the glow of the sanctuary lamp and I know Christ is in this place.  The times I have been in Protestant places of worship I do not feel that closeness to God. 

Finally, my Protestant brothers and sisters have to depend on music and sermons to feed their spiritual life. If a pastor is not a good speaker on one particular Sunday my Protestant brothers go home without feeling that their spirits have been lifted.  For a Catholic, we do not depend on our emotions because we have been nourished by Christ's Body and Blood. 

So I am a Catholic because I know that the Catholic Church was the Church started by Christ and as such it enjoys the protection of the Holy Spirit and it will be here until Christ returns for us at the end of time.  Christ will come to claim his bride, the Catholic Church.

God bless you on this first day of the year,  I pray on this day for peace to break out world wide and may it start with your heart.   

Convert-a-Catholic 2016 has been launched!  Save me the clutches of the Catholic Church, convince me that the Catholic Church is wrong and I will drop it like a hot potato. Click here to make your pitch! 

Feast of The Holy Family JMJ Makes Sister Emerita Smile

One fond memory I have from my years as a student of St. Joseph and St. Anne School on the Southwest Side of Chicago is the fact that if you wanted to really please Sister you would place squarely in the center of your paper the legend JMJ.  This of course stands for "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph" the Holy Family.   

Today the Church reminds us that Jesus came to earth to serve and not be served. The Gospel reading for today is the story of Jesus being found in the temple.  Can you imagine the fear that Joseph and Mary felt when they could not find the Child that had been placed into their care?  Like any parent they probably thought the worst.  Then can you imagine the relief and maybe just a bit of parental anger they must have felt.  Mary asked Him, "Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been searching for you with great anxiety?"  Jesus then responds by giving a reply that at the time could only be understood by Mary and Joseph when He told them that He had to be in His Father's house.  The incident closes and we are told that Jesus became obedient to them and advanced in wisdom before men and God. 

A human being is born dependent on a family.  If a baby was born and ignored and left to his/her own devices they would soon die. The human family is the unit God has decided will be the way a human child will learn how to live in the world. The family will teach by example.  The child will learn the "who to's" of life while under the protection of their mother and father.  The parents are also responsible for teaching their child about God and the Kingdom of God and the child's place in it.  The latter is probably more important that the former. 

Today the concept of family is under attack on many fronts. To begin with the concept of marriage being between one man and one woman has come under attack.  Today in the United States and other countries marriage has been re-defined and now includes people of the same sex.  There are a couple of things wrong with same sex marriage.  First and foremost a same sex union can never procreate. Same sex families with two daddies or two mommies are not good for the child.  The ideal family, such as was Our Lord's contains both contributions from the female and male point of view. Sure, a same sex couple can be loving and nurturing to a child but the dual points of view are missing and they are very important in growing a child. 

There are other problems that assault the family as well. Even in those households where there are a traditional mother and father sometimes career and social lives take precedence in life and while the children are cared for physically they lack the care of their psyche that children from previous generations received from their parents. 

When I was growing up my mother, God rest her soul, made sure that dinner time was a time where family came together.  The television, which was visible from the kitchen where we took our meals together, was turned off.  The radio was silent and we ate our meals and actually talked to one another.  Attendance at dinner was mandatory in our household and we remained in each other's company until the meal was completed by all.  We never thought much about it, it was just how it was done and our family was not the exception, almost all of the neighborhood families followed the same ritual. 

Today when people gather around the dinner table they are most often accompanied by their smart phone. These electronic masters serve as distraction and conversation between is thus limited at best.  People feel less loyalty to their family and more to friends and organizations. 

We will eventually reap the results of our letting the family disintegrate.  We see some of the results already today. In former times aging parents were helped by their children. Today aging parents are seen as a problem to be conquered and we place Dad or Mom into the care of others and we lose the great assets that they could give us, namely their wisdom. 

People are also putting off having families later and later in life while they pursue their career and because of this we are losing the cohesion of inter-generational relationships by placing our old out on an figurative iceberg to await their call home to God because we have to sacrifice to the new god of retirement. 

Finally, we can see the results of our assault on the family and family values in any mall or store in America.   You can see many fine examples of children whining, crying, demanding, and even striking their attending parent.  These children are crying out for discipline and to be shown what to do.  Unfortunately, in many cases the parent has not a clue because he/she did not receive instruction by example from his/her family. 

Is it hopeless? Are we doomed?  For the near future I fear things will get worse but eventually their will be a revival of family values.  Someone will discover what is missing and being a family will become popular again.  On this Feast of the Holy Family resolve to show real love to your children and teach them how they should walk. 

Go with God this day and may He, through His Son Jesus bring love into your heart and through the Holy Spirit, light to follow him day by day.   

On The Feast of Stephan

THE STONING OF ST. STEPHAN

Here we are on this day after Christmas, December 26, 2015 which is celebrated in the Catholic Church and many of the main line denominations as the Feast of St. Stephan. We are all at home warm and fuzzy, presents proudly displayed under the Christmas tree.  Christmas dinner is a fond memory and inside us there is a gentle feeling of peace.  Then it happens. The Church sends us to read about Stephan in the Acts of the Apostles.  Stephan is talking to the same people that not too long ago had Jesus crucified.  Yet Stephan is proclaiming the Gospel to them.  They can hardly keep their anger in check.  But then Stephan goes to far. He tells them that he sees Jesus ruling at the right hand of God.  This is too much for them to bear.  Stephan is snatched up and taken outside of the town and stoned to death as a blasphemer.  The accusers had the duty of throwing the first stone so they took off their cloaks and laid them at the feet of one named Saul of Tarsus who of course later would become Paul. 

The feast of Stephan reminds us that being a Christian is not something that will be easy. We have to proclaim the Gospel and yes, we care called to back up the story with our very lives. Today, in the middle east Christians of all sorts are being martyred for being a Christian.  Sometimes they are being killed outright and sometimes they are being forced to flee the homes their ancestors have occupied for a thousand years or more. 

We have to pray to the Lord our God for the persecution to end, for peace to be restored in the troubled area, and we have to pray for the people undergoing the ultimate test of their Christian faith. 

I  would also suggest that we pray for ourselves that we not be placed into the situation we find our brothers and sisters of the middle east in and for the courage to shout out for justice wherever we see injustice and to give love back to those who hate us as Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord has taught us to do. 

God bless you and yours during this Christmas season.

Thirty Thousand different denominations make up the Christian community in America.  The largest of these is the Roman Catholic Church.  The Convert-a-Catholic Challenge is still going on.  I am challenging my Protestant brothers and sisters to convert me to their denomination.  Click here to get the ball rolling.  Convince me and  maybe next Sunday I will worshiping at a church that bears your denominations name. Prove to me that the Catholic Church is wrong in any one belief and that will be enough for me. 

Sentimental Christmas

About twenty centuries ago there occurred in a little sleepy town called Bethlehem an event so improbable that it defies belief.  It is said that one night the God who created the universe came to earth to live among His people.  It happened on a day that was otherwise unremarkable as people went about doing their daily tasks.  Not to far away on the Temple Mount priests were offering sacrifices to the God. That night God humbled Himself and took on our human body with all of its limitations.  The God who created everything was now dependent on a young girl, said to both virgin and mother. 

We sentimentalize God's coming to earth and sometimes through it all we forget to contemplate what this meant for us.  The first lesson taught by the Nativity is humility. Look at it this way; Fulton Sheen describes it as if you yourself loved dogs and you wanted to improve their life so you became a dog and took on all of the characteristics of a dog and in the end they turned on you and tore you apart. 

Yes, the Nativity is a beautiful feast day but we have to remember  it is the first step on a road that leads to the Cross.  Does this cast clouds on our joyous feast?  No, because we rejoice in the humility of our God.  After His birth he spent the next thirty three years teaching us how to live.  He live the early part of His life in complete obedience to his human parents. He spent the last three years of His life breaking Himself open and showing us how to live with one another. 

So, a Merry and blessed Christmas to you and may this day plant the seeds of peace and mercy in our land.    

Christmas Wish

Tony stirred restlessly in his bed. He glanced to the right and looked out of the window in his room.  The snow was still coming down, this was surely going to be a white Christmas. His brothers all had sent letters to Santa, although they knew that Santa was the man known as Dad.  Tony did not submit a list this year.  He longed for peace, he longed for quiet, he longed for rest. He wanted to go home for Christmas. None of these things could be delivered by Santa or even that most powerful man in his life, Dad.  

He stared out the window and found joy in the white snowflakes that were hitting his window. Tomorrow was Christmas day.  He remembered last year. He had joined the other kids in presenting a Christmas Play, he proudly played Joseph. He smiled as he remembered how he had spent hours mastering the dialogue.  How he recited it for Mom and Dad over and over again until he had it perfect.  He was nervous that night but Dad came over and put his hand on his shoulder and told him that he knew he could pull this off. And he did! Ms. McMahn, his teacher, told him that he was the best Joseph she had ever had in her Christmas play. The crowd applauded all of the players but when he was introduced the audience got to their feet and gave him a standing ovation. There was no way he could bow since he was confined to a wheel chair but he bowed his head in humble acceptance of the crowds acclimation of his performance.  A tear formed in the corner of his eye as he remembered that most happy of his life. He wiped the tear away and once again turned his attention to the window.

The snow was hitting the window and the lights from the street were changing the water drops into a colorful display of red, green, orange, and white.  He closed his eyes and with thought of the beautiful display of colors on the window he fell into a deep, deep sleep,  Not long after he closed his eyes he saw a beautiful vision, a land filled with light and colors. He slowly looked around and he knew the people that were standing in front of him even though he had never seen them before. They were all smiling. Young people, old people, boys and girls, all had a look of joy and peace on their face. He began walking forward, yes walking, the wheel chair was left behind.  As he got closer he saw everyone was smiling at him and then a great noise thundered as all of the people applauded for him.  A cheer rang out.  He began running toward the people and a very gentle looking man stepped in front of the crowd and Tony did the only thing he could think of, he leaped into the man's arms.  The man held him in his strong but gentle arms and whispered to him, "My name is Jesus, welcome home."  Tony was home for Christmas.

I felt compelled to write this short story, call it an inspiration but I believe someone out there needs to read this story which is designed to bring comfort.  God bless all of you this day.  Please remember to pray for all those who are going home to heaven this day. Pray that they feel the warm embrace of the Lord and that they are not afraid.  And for those who are losing a beloved mother, father or son, or daughter, remember we are made for heaven and those that we love will greet us there someday. 

Watching Their Flocks By Night

The gospel tells us that the birth of Jesus was first made known to shepherds watching their flocks by night.  This presents us with an interesting fact about the birth of our Savior, he was born in the spring or summer time. Shepherds would not have been out in the fields in the cold of winter.  But it really does not matter when the birth of Jesus took place, summer, winter, spring, or fall, He came to earth to save us, one and all.  Let's look a little at these people who first were told about the birth of Jesus. 

To be a shepherd in ancient Israel was not a good thing.  Shepherds were considered chronically unclean. Due to the nature of their work they were unable to visit the temple or synagogue. They were not the most educated of men in a country that prized learning. In short if you were a shepherd in ancient Israel you would be considered a second class citizen, certainly higher than the lepers but not too much so. 

In spite of your lowly estate as a shepherd the announcement that the Messiah had indeed arrived was made to you.  What does that say about the Messiah? It shows that the Messiah was coming for all.  He did not appear on a golden cloud in front of the high priest or the Roman governor, no, he chose the lowest class to be the ones that would hear of His birth first. 

This is the first sermon preached by Jesus and He preached it without using words, just an example.  The King of the Universe, the Author of Everything came down as a very dependent infant, in a stable, placed in a manger, where animals came to get their food in a town called Bethlehem which means House of Bread. 

The sermon on the manger preaches volumes in it's silence about God's love for the poor. Pope Francis has spoken about this fact time and time again. We need to take care of each other and we have to realize that no matter how rich we are, no matter how well off we are, that in God's eyes we are but children.  

In this last week of Advent as we rush about maybe we should take time and make some provision for those who have nothing.  After all the Good News was made known to the lowest first. 

33,000 Protestant Denominations are out there each proclaiming that they possess the true message of salvation.  Against that you have one cradle Catholic that has thrown down the gauntlet and has challenged the Protestant to CONVERT-A-CATHOLIC. No one has picked up the challenge. Seriously, tell me where the Catholic Church has got it wrong, prove to me that I should be in your denomination and I will convert.  Click Here to get the ball rolling.   

Gaudete Sunday or We light the pink candle

Our wait is approaching its end. This Sunday is the third Sunday of Advent and is called Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete means "joyful" and the Church reminds us today that our Advent season is approaching the end and that which we were waiting for is just around the corner. 

For the secular world the road to Christmas is paved with greenback dollars!  I remember back in August one of our local food stores put up their Hallmark Christmas ornament display and most other stores start the avalanche of advertising for Christmas in early November before Thanksgiving Day.  The Christmas Carols are piped in as you shop in the mall before the first frost. 

Advent at one time was a time, just like lent, of fasting and repentance.  When I was a child I watched that wreath in church grow brighter and brighter, knowing full well that Christmas presents were getting ever closer. 

On this Sunday we light the pink candle. The intention of this candle is to make our hearts warmer, to brighten our souls, to feel the joy of expectation that soon Christ will be with us.  Of course this marks our progress towards the feast but it also reminds us that the day of the Lord, the day he returns, is getting closer too. 

On this Sunday, my heart is filled with joy, I know I am loved so much that Jesus came to earth and died for me and for my sins,  I am joyful this day because deep in my heart I know that I am what God wants me to be or at least progressing towards that goal.  I am joyful because I know my ultimate fate and destiny is to be with God and the saints in heaven,  How can I keep from singing!

My Protestant friend, I invite you to take the Convert-a-Catholic Challenge. With 33,000 Christian denominations out there someone must know where the Catholic Church has gone wrong, why won't anyone tell me why I should leave the Church and join up with your denomination?  Don't you want to save me?  Click on the link below and tell me why I should quit being Catholic and join your church, which I will do if you can convince me.  

Hey Michael! Let's get you out of the Catholic Church and into my Church.  (Click Here to Email Michael)