Created: 20 November 2023

Closet Catholic? Reclaiming our Identity

Each of us is God’s creation, His child. “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness;…in the image of God He created them…And God blessed them.” Genesis 1:26,27.

The holiday season is upon us. The word “holiday” comes from the word “Holy Day” - that is, from the holy celebrations and feasts of the Church. As Catholics we should be asking ourselves - Does the way in which my family and I celebrate holidays look like Holy Days? This should lead us to the even greater and more important question - How do I live my daily life as a disciple of Jesus Christ?

In today’s culture, Christianity is no longer “the popular thing to do” which for many is a large stumbling block. It takes courage to not “go with the flow”, to walk a less popular path, to be different. In 1974, Archbishop Fulton Sheen told his audience “We are at the end of Christendom.” Nearly 50 years later, we are seeing the symptoms of this sad reality: a culture of broken families, abortion, immorality, identity confusion. Today more than ever we must keep these words of Our Father close to our hearts, “You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.” Mark 1:11 We are His beloved child, created in His image and likeness, loved and precious in His sight! - this is our identity, our proclamation to the world - that you and I are worth dying for - and here is the one who did it for you and all of mankind - Jesus Christ! Let us remain steadfast in our prayer and sacramental lives so as to “come out of our closets” and be bold in our proclamation of who and Whose we are. “Go therefore and make disciples of al nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe al that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always,” Mt. 28: 19-20

Created: 20 November 2023

Is the holiday known as “Halloween” Catholic?

Yes, Halloween is Catholic.

The current version of Halloween is actually a recent development in the context of history. The modern concept & cultural celebration of Halloween with its fun-yet-spooky costumes and door to door visiting seems to have gained traction by the 1920s and become the accepted norm in the 1950s. The results of Catholics “going with the flow” are rather tragic, as we have lost what this Holy Day represents and teaches us. Halloween (All Hallows Eve) is the vigil celebration of All Saints Day; just as Christmas Eve is the vigil celebration of Christmas. Halloween is a beautiful celebration of the Communion of Saints! On October 31st, November 1st, and November 2nd, we celebrate the major feast of All Saints Day and the smaller feast of All Souls Day— the “Days of the Dead,” also called Allhallowtide, Hallowtide, or Hallowmas (Hallow meaning holy and mas meaning Mass).

It is time for Catholics to rescue Halloween

Allhallowtide is a time to reflect on Christ’s triumph over sin and death; to meditate on our mortality and duties to God; to give honor to the saints in heaven; and to pray for the souls of the faithful departed in purgatory. And, of course, to have fun with joyful feasting and merriment!

How to celebrate Allhallowtide

All Halows Eve/Haloween: Try to get to Mass. Pray for the intercession of the saints. Encourage your parish school to have a Hallow's Eve Saint Costume Parade. Have a party with saint-based activities and costumes for kids. Play games (saint guessing game, candy hunts). Is it okay to dress up and do Trick or Treating? It’s no sin to enjoy trick or treating. Find a good, family-focused neighborhood to Trick or Treat in.

All Halows Day/All Saints Day: Attend Mass with your family. November 1st is a Holy Day of Obligation! Enjoy a special meal with friends and loved ones. Thank the saints for their intercession.

All Souls Day: Attend Mass for the Holy Souls. Visit a cemetery - praying for the people who are buried there.

Created: 20 November 2023

Jesus, I Trust in Your Love for me...and all your created

“We must never be discouraged or give way to anxiety. . . but ever have recourse to the adorable Heart of Jesus.” - Saint Margaret Mary of Alacoque

“Every soul, and especially the soul of every religious, should reflect My mercy.  My Heart overflows with compassion and mercy for all. The heart of My beloved must resemble Mine; from  their heart must spring the fountain of My mercy for souls.” - Saint Faustina Kowalska

The Church remembers and celebrates both of these saints this month of October.  Saint Margaret Mary (October 16th) and Saint Faustina  (October 5th) lived their lives as great witnesses of the importance for all to come to know and trust in God’s great Love and Mercy  - which is unceasingly given to us through the Most Sacred Heart of our Lord, Savior and King, Jesus Christ. As sodalists of His Most Sacred Heart, we have also answered Our Lord’s invitation to be witnesses of His Love and Mercy in this world.  This October First Friday is our annual Enrollment Mass, when welcome new sodalists into this beautiful work of the Sacred Heart.  May we pray for our new enrollees and continue to reflect and pray on our charism and mission:  

We are CHOSEN.  It is the Greatest Love Story of all time, we have been created with great purpose & infinite worth - by Love Itself - to be loved and to love.  “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit” - John 15:16  

Everyone has GREAT PURPOSE. “  You have been born for such a time as this” - Esther 4:14  with a purpose that you, and you alone, have been created to fulfill.

Everyone has INFINITE WORTH.  Your eternal life was bought at great price.  “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”  - John 15: 13

TO BE LOVED AND TO LOVE - “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” John 15:12  “The unfathomable mystery of God is that God is a Lover who wants to be loved.  The One who created us is waiting for our response to the Love that gave us our being.”  Henri Nouwen, Life of the Beloved

We are CALLED.  Jesus calls all of us to be His disciples.  “Come Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” - Matthew 4:19  We have all been called to be witnesses of His Love and Mercy for all in our words, actions and prayers.  

Jesus entered into our humanity to rescue us - He loves and longs for every one of His created; seeing our beauty and incredible worth beyond our misperceptions and mistakes.  He loves you and EVERYONE of His created - let us together love Him in return and prayerfully gather the great gifts that pour forth from His Heart for those that do not know how.   He gave everything for us - there is no one too far gone or too unforgivable - in His passion He made His forgiveness available to all.

Created: 20 November 2023

Please Lord, help me get one more

If you have never seen the Mel Gibson movie Hacksaw Ridge, I highly recommend you take the two hours to watch it.  As is common in Mel Gibson’s movies, the blood and gore is a bit too much for the little ones but the story is worth the watch for older teens and adults.  It is the story of U.S. Army medic Desmond Doss who is credited with saving the lives of seventy-five soldiers in one of the deadliest battles of World War II at Hacksaw Ridge on the island of Okinawa.  Doss witnessed to his fellow soldiers and to the world, the action of a true disciple in his witness of incredible faith, courage, and perseverance.  The battle had gone badly and his U.S. army unit withdrew, but not Doss.  Doss remained, searching for the wounded who could not get themselves off the enemy occupied battlefield.  Dodging bullets and enemy soldiers, Doss for 12 hours, searched and rescued seventy-five injured soldiers. Every time Doss got one man safely off the ridge, he prayed “Lord, please help me get one more.”  When he tells the story, Doss describes what kept him going in those dark and dangerous hours- ”I was praying the whole time.” - and he continued saving lives.   This prayer, “Lord, please help me get one more,” is the center of God’s will and therefore should be the center of ours.  Every action, every word, every thought, is an important part of Our Lord’s great rescue operation on this earth. 

In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis describes the world we live in as “enemy-occupied territory.”  We work, play, eat, sleep, and live in the middle of a harsh battlefield.  As we look around our world today we see this to be more and more evident.  So many do not know who, what, or why they are - they do not know they are God’s beloved, created to be loved and loved beyond what they could imagine, or that they have been created with great purpose and invite worth - just as God made them.  Only a few decades ago, Christian identity in the United States was so common that it could almost be taken for granted, but in our day, according to the Pew Research Council, that number has fallen to 63% of Americans.

So what do we do? In 1991, Saint John Paul II called for mass mobilization of Catholics to spread church teachings.  “The mission of Christ the Redeemer, which is entrusted to the church, is still far from completion,” Redemptoris Missio.  This mission will require the courage and perseverance of each individual disciple of Christ.  Saint Paul tells us in his letter to the Colossians, “Whatever you do in word or work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Col. 3:17)  Let us pray for a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit, to fill the hearts of the faithful with great faith and fortitude to go out into the world and “rescue those who are being taken away to death; and retrieve those who are stumbling to the slaughter.” Proverbs 24:11.

President Truman awarded Desmond Doss the Medal of Honor, the highest award given to a combat veteran, for risking his life seventy-five times over night in order to save the lives of his fellow soldiers.  While this is an amazing award, just imagine the joy of receiving your reward in heaven when Jesus commends you for praying this prayer, “Lord, please help me get one more.” and you see ten, twenty, or thirty other saints who are there partly in answer to your prayer and perseverance as a “medic” in the greatest search and rescue operation of all time!

Created: 20 November 2023

One Down at a Time

I recently visited the campus of Notre Dame University which is filled with many iconic statues and murals, artworks designed to bring the story of our faith to the students and faculty of Notre Dame.  As most are aware, Notre Dame football has become one of the most legendary components of this university, which has led to the renaming of many of these religious artworks. Most have heard of “Touchdown Jesus”, the 132-foot tall Word of Life mural that overlooks the football stadium end zone, which in 1964 gained its new name after a five home game winning streak, a 4-1 home record in 1965 and a 5-0 record in the 1966 championship season.  A lesser known object on campus is the 17-foot bronze statue of Moses on the side of the library tower of “Touchdown Jesus.”  It is something easily missed and overlooked, but essential to both the success of any football game - and moreover essential to our faith life - to the victory of the most important fight of our lives - to attain victory over the enemy and live victorious in the Word of Life -  in the fullness of Jesus Christ! 

As we get up every day and strive to “win” this fight, let us always keep our gaze on the victory of Christ, and never forget that it is achieved one down at a time - and if you feel like you have lost ground, get up again and begin again to try again for that “first down”.  That is how football games are won, one down at a time, and that is how we will win the crown of salvation.  As Blessed Bruno Lanteri, priest and founder of the religious congregation of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary told his many directees, “Be on guard against discouragement, strive to do well all that you do, without striving for an impossible perfection, focusing simply on the day at hand.  Remember that “the just man falls seven times a day,” and so you will find blessing in beginning again, not only every day, but every hour.”  Let us focus on counting our blessings, not falling to discouragement of the victory of the game seeming impossible to achieve - but instead get up and begin again, and move forward “one down” at a time.

Created: 20 November 2023

For freedom Christ has set us free “because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God.” Romans 8:21    As we look to this coming First Friday on July 7th and celebrate this 4th of July, it is interesting how on both of these days we celebrate our freedom and remember those who sacrificed their lives to give it.  Freedom comes from sacrifice. The definition of sacrifice is “the act of giving up a desirable thing for a higher object or to a more pressing claim”, and the definition of freedom is “the state of not being imprisoned or subject to foreign domination.”

Everyday as a Christian should be lived as a Fourth of July - a celebration of our freedom and a remembrance of the One who sacrificed Himself to give it - Our Lord and King,  Jesus Christ. “We have been called to freedom, brethren: only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for world gain, but through love be servants of one another.” Galatians 5: 13

May we never cease to believe and trust in His love for each one of His created and fervently pray for the grace to return His love, offering It as freely and fully as He does to all we encounter in every moment of our day.  “All your life I have been looking for your love - I have never stopped seeking to love you and be loved by you.  You have tried many other things in your search for happiness; why not try opening your heart to Me, right now, more than you ever have before.” - the words of Jesus as written by St. Teresa of Calcutta

Created: 20 November 2023

You Are Precious to God

“I come…with a love for you beyond your comprehension -     a love every bit as great as the love I have received from the Father ( “As much as the Father has loved Me, I have loved you.”  Jn. 15:10).  I come - longing to console you and give you strength, to lift you up and bind all your wounds.  I bring you My light, to dispel your darkness and all your doubts.  I come with My power, that I might carry you and all of your burdens; with My grace, to touch your heart and transform your life: and My peace I give to still your soul.

I know you through and through - I know everything about you.  The very hairs of your head I have numbered.  Nothing in your life is unimportant to Me.  I have followed you through the years, and I have always loved you - even in your wanderings.  I know every one of your problems.  I know your needs and your worries.  And yes, I know all your sins.  But I tell you again that I love you - not for what you have or haven’t done - I love you for you, for the beauty and dignity My Father gave you by creating you in His own image.  It is a dignity you have often forgotten, a beauty you have tarnished by sin.  But I love you as you are, and I have shed My Blood to win you back.  If you only ask Me with faith, My grace will touch all that needs changing in your life; and I will give you the strength to free yourself from sin and all its destructive power. 

I know what is in your heart - I know your loneliness and all your hurts - the rejections, the judgements, the humiliations.  I carried it all before you.  And I carried it all for you, so you might share My strength and victory.  I know especially your need for love - how you are thirsting to be loved and cherished.  But how often have you thirsted in vain, by seeking that love selfishly, striving to fill the emptiness inside you with passing pleasure - with the even greater emptiness of sin.  Do you thirst for love?  “Come to Me all you who thirst…” (Jn. 7:37).  I will satisfy you and fill you and fill you.  Do you thirst to be cherished?   I cherish you more than you can imagine - to the point of dying on a cross for you.

I thirst for you.  Yes, that is the only way to even begin to describe My love for you:  I THIRST FOR YOU.  I thirst to love you and to be loved by you - that is how precious you are to Me.  I THIRST FOR YOU.  Come to Me, and I will fill your heart and heal your wounds.  I will make you a new creation, and give you peace, even in all your trials.  I THIRST FOR YOU.  You must never doubt My mercy, My acceptance of you, My desire to forgive, My longing to bless you and live My life in you.  I THIRST FOR YOU.  If you feel unimportant in the eyes of the world, that matters not at all.  For Me, there is no one any more important in the entire world than you.  I THIRST FOR YOU.  Open to Me, come to Me, give Me your life - and I will prove to you how important you are to My Heart. Don’t you realize that My Father already has a perfect plan to transform your life, beginning from this moment?  Trust in Me.  Ask Me every day to enter and take charge of your life - and I will.  I promise you before My Father in heaven that I will work miracles in your life.  Why would I do this?  Because I THIRST FOR YOU.   All I ask is that you entrust yourself to Me completely.  I will do all the rest. 

Even now I behold the place My Father has prepared for you in My Kingdom.  Remember that you are a pilgrim in this life, on a journey home.  Sin can never satisfy you, or bring the peace you seek.   All that you have sought outside of Me has only left you more empty, so do not cling to the things of this life.  Above all, do not run from Me when you fall.  Come to Me without delay.  When you give Me your sins, you give Me the joy of being your Savior.  There is nothing I cannot forgive and heal:  So come now, and unburden your soul.  No matter how far you may wander, no matter how often you forget Me, no matter how many crosses you may bear in this life; there is one thing I want you to always remember, one thing that will never change:  I THIRST FOR YOU - just as you are.  You don’t need to change to believe in My love, for it will be your belief in My love that will change you.  You forget Me, and yet I am seeking you every moment of the day - standing at the door of your heart, and knocking.  Do you find this hard to believe?  Then look at the cross, look at My Heart that was pierced for you.  Have you not understood My cross?  Then listen again to the words I spoke there - for they tell you clearly why I endured all this for you:  “I THIRST…” (Jn. 19:28).  Yes, I thirst for you - as the rest of the psalm-verse I was praying says of Me: “I looked for love, and found none…” (Ps. 69:20).  All your life I have been looking for your love - I have never stopped seeking to love you and be loved by you.  You have tried many other things in your search for happiness; why not try opening your heart to Me, right now, more than you ever have before. 

Whenever you do open the door of your heart, whenever you come close enough, you will hear Me say to you again and again, not mere human words but in spirit:  “No matter what you have done, I love you for your own sake.  Come to Me with your misery and your sins, with your troubles and needs, and with all your longing to the loved.  I stand at the door of your heart and knock … Open to-Me, for I THIRST FOR YOU…” - Saint Teresa of Calcutta