51 Healthy Foods You Can Say “Yes” To

Tufts University Health & Nutrition Newsletter

Hardly a day goes by with out the news media reporting some food that’s been found to be bad for you. One day it’s processed meats, the next, it’s baked goods made with trans-fatty acids. Faced with this litany of “don’ts,” you can start to wonder whether any food is okay to eat. Heart-healthy foods are particularly vexing. In fact, scientist know of a whole cornucopia of healthy foods you can choose from. Not only are there plenty of food choices that are okay - many foods can actually give your body a boost. Your daily diet can supply everything from essential nutrients to compounds that have been positively associated with preventing diseases & minimizing the toll of aging. These are foods you can enthusiastically say “yes!” to as part of a well-rounded diet. This list represents merely a sampling of the variety of foods you can choose in a nutritious diet. “ (We could pretty much list all fruits & vegetables, for instance, but that would make this list either long or boring or both.) This sam-pling is designed to give you ideas for meals & even snacks that point your eating plan in the right direction. Any one food or the list isn’t necessarily “better” for you than other choices. 1. Acorn Squash - A source of lycopene, folate & vitamins A & C, winter squash of all sorts also gives you dietary fiber. Plus acorn squash, for example, is rich in potassium - almost 900 mg per cup. 2. Almonds A good source of potassium, almonds, like other nuts, ar e low in saturated fat & high in unsatu-rated fats. But they’re also high in calories, so substitute almonds for a snack that’s high in trans- or saturated fat: otherwise the added calories offset any heart-healthy benefits. Recent research from the Antioxidants Research La-boratory at Tufts’ Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging has demonstrated an antioxidant synergy between flavonoids & vitamin E in whole almonds. Almonds are also a source of ribolflavin, magnesium & zinc. ...to be continued. 11-22-15

3. Apples - You know what they say about keeping the doctor away? An apple a day may not be quite that powerful, but apples are a good source of fiber, a medium sized apple has only 80 calories. Red apples are among the fruits highest in quercetin, which researchers are studying for possible antioxidant benefits. 4. Apricots - A good source of vitamins A & C, apricots also are a way to get lycopene, which has been associated with cancer prevention in men. 11-29-15

5. Asparagus - With just 25 calories in eight medium-sized asparagus spears, you get 25% of you daily vitamin A and 15% of your vitamin C, plus essential folic acid. 6. Bananas - A good source of magnesium, which protects against bone loss & is associated with heart health, bana-nas are also packed with potassium. With 422 milligrams of potassium in one medium banana, you’re getting almost 10% of the 4,700 milligrams the Institute of Medicine says you need. Potassium helps lower blood pressure & re-duces the risk of kidney stones & bone loss. 12-6-15

7. Barley - Looking for ways to get the whole grain servings recommened in the new federal dietary guidelines? (Six to 13 servings of grains depending on your caloric intake, of which at least half should come from whole grains.) Try cooking up some barley - also a good source of iron & minerals - in place of white rice. But make sure you’re buying whole-grain barley, not the “pearl” variety with the healthful outer husk removed. Whole grains have been associated with protection against heart disease & cancer, & may help control diabetes. Other good whole-grain choices of this type include bulgur, buckwheat groats (kasha), millet & quinoa. 8. Beef Eye of Round - While studies continue to suggest it’s smart to limit your red-meat consumption, when you’ve gotta have beef, eye of round is the leanest protein & just 160 calories. Beef is a good source of zinc & vita-min B6. 12-13-15

9. Blueberries - Tufts researchers are studying blueberries for their antioxidant benefits, including the possibility that they may boost brain functions that weaken as we age. Other scientists have found in animal testing that blueber-ries may lower cholesterol levels. Blueberries are also a good source of vitamin K, which Tufts researchers suggest may play a role in preventing osteoporosis and hardening of the arteries. Berries of all sorts are good choices, too: Blackberries, for example, also deliver vitamin K, along with a quarter of your daily vitamin C in just a half-cup. If berries are out of season, try frozen berries blended in a smoothie. Cont... 10. Bran Flakes - Research shows that breakfast really is “the most important meal of the day.” and bran flakes can get you off to a good start. You’ll get lots of fiver and magnesium - plus many other nutrients if you pick a moderate-ly fortified cereal. Remember to use skim or low fat milk and go easy on the sugar. Need a touch of sweetness? Top your bran flakes with some berries or other fruit. 12-21-15

11. Broccoli - You probably don’t need any convincing that broccoli, the classic “good for you” vegetable, is a healthy choice. But one of the biggest changes in the government’s new food pyramid is an increased emphasis on dark green vegetables - like broccoli & leafy greens such as spinach & kale. Most Americans need to double or triple their intake of dark green veggies. 12. Brown Rice - Par t of the push to replace processed foods with whole grains means eating more brown r ice instead of the white stuff you probably grew up on . Whole grains like brown rice include the bran & germ of the nat-ural grain that are lost in processing to make white rice, which contains only the inner endosperm. A lot of good stuff gets lost in the bargain: Brown rice has almost 10 times as much phosphorus & potassium as white rice, for instance. 12-27-15

13. Brussels Spouts- another no-surprise inclusion, brussels sprouts may do your body even more good than you’d guess. A half-cup of brussels sprouts - only about 4 sprouts - delivers 235 micrograms of vitamin K, which is almost double what the average American gets in a whole day. 14. Canola Oil - Here’s where substitution is really the key. Replacing butter, lard of other saturated fats with vege-table oils that contain monounsaturated and poly unsaturated fats can pay dividends for your heart. Canola oil is the very lowest in saturated fat, with other choices such as safflower and soybean oil close behind; the differences are small enough that you should pick whichever polyunsaturated oil you prefer. Olive oil has the highest proportion of monounsaturated fat and has earned heart-healthy labeling from the FDA, but it’s not necessarily best. Let taste drive y our choice. When you want flavor-free oil, go with polyunsaturated; when you want flavor, pick olive or peanut oils. Whichever you choose, remember that all fat contains 120 calories a tablespoon - so go easy, and don’t add fat to your diet just to get more vegetable oil. 20160103

15. Cantaloupe - That orange color inside should clue you in that cantaloupe is a great source of betacarotene - 100 percent of your daily value in a single cup. Cantaloupe is no slouch in the vitamin C count, either, with 113 percent of daily needs per cup. Other melons such as honeydew are also good choices, though lower in both beta-carotene and vitamin C. 16. Carrots - You knew carrots were good for you, but did you know how good? Carrots are a prime example of why it's important to eat a "rainbow" of different fruits and vegetables representing the whole spectrum of colors. This orange option delivers 150 percent of your daily vitamin A in just half a cup, plus lesser percentages of a variety of other vitamins and minerals. 20160110

17. Cauliflower - Don't let the pasty white color fool you. Cauliflower is a cruciferous vegetable (meaning it's from the mustard family), just like broccoli and brussels sprouts. Compounds in cruciferous vegetables have been suggest-ed as possible cancer protectors. In any case, cauliflower packs a nutritional punch, with 45 percent of your daily vit-amin C in just half a cup. 18. Chicken breasts - Boneless, skinless chicken breasts offer great convenience and a good way to get protein (half your daily value in a three-ounce serving) without a lot of fat (three grams total, including just one gram of saturated fat) or calories (140, only 18 percent of them from fat). Broil, bake or grill - don't fry - to keep chicken a smart choice. 20160117

19. Collard greens - Another option in the dark-green vegetable category, collard greens are packed with vitamin A. You'll get 150 percent of your daily value of A in just a half-cup of cooked collard greens, plus 30 percent of your vitamin C and 15 percent of calcium. 20. Cranberry juice - Studies suggest cranberry juice can help ward off urinary-tract infections and might even pre-vent periodontitis and gingivitis by keeping bacteria from adhering to your teeth and gums. It's also loaded with vita-min C. Look for juice that's artificially sweetened to avoid added sugar. (Note that cranberry juice can interact with the blood thinning medication warfarin to cause bleeding.) 20160124

21. Kale - Here's another vitamin- A powerhouse as well as a way to up your intake of dark green vegetables. Like most leafy greens, Kale is a source of lutein. A mere half-cup of cooked kale also rewards you with almost seven times the recommended daily amount of vitamin K. 22. Kidney Beans - Rich in fiber, iron and protein, beans of all sorts can be a key ingredient in an occasional meat-less meal. They're also a source of potassium and magnesium, as well as folate, which some researchers are studying for potential benefits to the brain. Beans of all types - besides kidney, for instance, black, pinto and navy - are good choices and nutritionally similar. Kidney beans give you marginally the most protein and fiber with the fewest calo-ries, but pintos are tops in folate. Cook your own using dried beans, to avoid added salt in canned beans. 20160131

23. Mackerel - Less familiar than other cold-water fish, mackerel is worth adding to your seafood repertoire because it also contains heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. It's also a good dietary source of vitamin D, as well as of selenium, which has antioxidant benefits. (Small children and pregnant women should eat mackerel spar-ingly, however, because of the risk that some fish may have high levels of mercury.) 24. Milk (non- or low-fat) - That ad campaign urging you to get milk is on-target - as long as you stick to skim or low-fat milk. Drinking milk makes it easy to meet the new dietary guidelines' recommendation to get the equivalent of three cups of dairy products daily. In addition to delivering calcium, fortified milk is among the best ways to get vitamin D, which your body needs in tandem with calcium to build bone strength to prevent osteoporosis. 20160206

25. Oatmeal - Besides the benefits of starting your day with a healthful breakfast, and besides the fact that oat-meal helps you get whole grains, oatmeal has been shown to lower cholesterol. You can also lower blood cho-lesterol with oat bran and with cold cereal made from oatmeal or oat bran. (Watch out for instant oatmeal pack-ages, though, which typically contain lots of extra sugar.) 26. Okra - A food better known in southern states, okra is a good source of folate and also gives you 20 percent of your vitamin C needs in just half a cup. A recent study suggests that okra, along with eggplant and whole grains, among other foods, can be part of a cholesterol-lowering diet. (Breading and frying okra, southern style, adds so many calories that it offsets any health benefits, however!) 20160214

27. Oranges - Of course, you already know about the benefits of eating from the "sunshine tree" - notably, get-ting more than a day's dose of vitamin C in just one navel orange. Oranges also are a pretty good source of po-tassium. 28. Peaches - Peaches and similar fruit such as nectarines deliver modest amounts of vitamins (especially A and C), niacin and minerals (particularly potassium), while satisfying your craving for something sweet - all at a tiny price in calories (only 40 in a medium-sized peach). 20160220

29. Peanut butter - Most of the fat in peanut butter remains monounsaturated, making "PB" an option as a sandwich substitute for meats high in saturated fat. A twot ablespoon serving has eight grams of protein and 25 percent of your daily niacin. There's no nutritional difference between creamy and crunchy peanut butter - just texture. 30. Popcorn - Air-popped popcorn (easy on the salt and butter!) makes a filling whole-grain snack. A cup of plain air-popped popcorn has just 30 calories. 20160228

31. Pork loin - This is the leanest cut of "the other white meat" (actually a red meat). A three-ounce serving de-livers 32 percent of daily protein needs with just 2.5 grams of saturated fat and 120 calories. Because it's so lean, be careful to cook pork loin to the safe internal temperature of 160 degrees but not beyond. Use a meat thermometer, and remove from the heat 5-10 degrees before it's done, as the pork will keep cooking while "resting." Even if still pink in the center, pork is safe to eat at 160 degrees. 32. Prunes - Prunes aren't just your mom's constipation cure. A half-cup of dried prunes does provide a quarter of your daily fiber, sure, but you're also getting potassium and vitamin A, plus vitamin B6 and powerful antiox-idants. 20160306

33. Quinoa - Another whole-grain option (see the listing for barley for more), quinoa is catching on as an alter-native to refined grains and other mealtime "starch" choices. Remember to rinse it well before cooking. 34. Romaine lettuce - This salad staple counts toward your daily goal of eating more leafy greens, and delivers vitamin A and C along with a tasty crunch. Boston, Bibb and red or green leaf lettuces are other good salad choices (easy on the fatty dressings!), though not as vitamin packed. Iceberg lettuce has only a fraction of the nutritional value of its greener, darker kin. 20160313

35. Salmon - The classic example of fish with heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, salmon can be broiled, baked or grilled to make a main dish. Keep in mind, however, that even fat that's good for you comes with a caloric price tag - 160 in a three-ounce serving of farmed salmon, 120 for the same portion of wild Atlantic salmon. If you occasionally opt for canned salmon with the bones, you'll also get calcium in the bargain. 36. Sardines - Another fatty fish that's rich in omega-3s, sardines are also a good source of vitamin D and (eaten with the bones) calcium. 20160313

38. Spinach - Popeye was onto something here. Besides being the quintessential dark leafy green and rich in vitamins A and K (plus some folate), spinach is also packed with lutein. Researchers have found that lute-in consumption is associated with a reduced risk of macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss and blindness in people age 65 and older. 39. Strawberries - Like most berries (see blueberries, above), grapes and prunes, strawberries contain an-thocyanins, powerful antioxidants that improve circulation and may have other health benefits. Strawberries are also a good choice for folate and vitamin C. 20160327

40. Sweet potatoes - Try sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes. They have more beta-carotene (a whopping 25,000 IU in one baked sweet potato with skin), vitamin C, folate, calcium and manganese than white spuds. 41. Tea - What to drink with all this? Try a nice cup of freshly brewed tea instead of a sugary soft drink. Research has suggested many possible benefits from the phytonutrient antioxidants in tea, called catechins; the strongest scientific evidence is for reducing heart disease. There's not a significant difference in antioxi-dants between caffeinated and decaffeinated tea, but we're not talking about herbal teas here. Iced tea con-tains only low concentrations of catechins, however. Premixed iced-teas and ready-to-drink teas are likewise low in antioxidants - but laden with sugar. 20160410

42. Tofu - The range of benefits hoped for from tofu and other soy products has been called into question, but tofu can still be a smart substitute for meat in your meal planning. It's a good source of protein and calci-um if it's been prepared with calcium carbonate. 43. Tomatoes - Men have been gobbling tomatoes ever since research suggested that the lycopene therein may be protective against prostate cancer; a recent study points to a similar effect for pancreatic cancer in men. Tomatoes are also a good choice for lutein, and a single medium tomato contains half your daily value of vitamin C. 20160417

44. Tuna - Besides being a good choice for omega-3s, tuna is high in vitamins B6 and B12 as well as pro-tein. If you buy canned tuna, opt for water-packed, not oil-, and resist the impulse to mix it with fatty mayo; try low-fat mayo or mayonnaise mixed with low-fat yogurt. 45. Turkey breast - Like its poultry cousin, chicken, skinless turkey breast delivers plenty of protein - 38 percent of daily needs in a three-ounce portion - without a lot of fat (five grams, including 1.5 grams of sat-urated fat). Turkey is also rich in B vitamins and selenium. Besides making a good main dish, sliced turkey breast can substitute for processed meats in your sandwiches. 20160424

46. Walnuts - Remember what we said about almonds? The same goes for walnuts: They're low in saturat-ed fat, free of cholesterol and high in unsaturated fats, but only a good idea when replacing foods packed with saturated fat. Although a quarter-cup of walnuts contains four grams of protein, you're also consuming 160 calories. Walnuts are relatively high in essential minerals and in folate. 47. Watermelon - A good source of lycopene, a cup of watermelon also gives you about 20 percent of your daily vitamin C and 15 percent of vitamin A, in a sweet treat with only 45 calories. 20160501

48. White fish - While fatty fish such as salmon have the added benefit of omega-3s, they needn't be the only fish in your repertoire. White fish such as flounder, cod and sole, although not high in heart-healthy fats, are also outstanding choices. A threeounce serving of cod, for example, offers 30 percent of your daily protein with only 68 calories and less than one fat gram. Fish sticks and fish sandwiches don't count as healthy choices, however - go with baked, broiled or grilled fish. 49. Whole-grain bread - The new federal dietary guidelines encourage Americans to consume the whole-

grain equivalent of at least three one-ounce slices of bread daily. Switching from white to whole-grain bread is an easy way to get started - but check the label to make sure the first ingredient listed is "whole wheat" or another whole grain. Don't be fooled by terms such as "multi-grain," "100 percent wheat," "cracked wheat" or "seven-grain." 20160508

50. Whole-grain pasta - If you've been put off by tough, grainy whole-wheat pasta in the past, it's time to give it another try. In the first quarter of 2005 alone, more than 28 new whole-grain pastas were introduced, taking advantage of new technology to make tastier products. 51. Yogurt (non- or low-fat) - Here's a delicious way to get your daily dairy. Besides calcium, yogurt gives you protein, magnesium and a variety of vitamins including B12. It's even been linked to better breath. (Yogurt doesn't have vitamin D, however, so it's no substitute for milk.) Instead of sugared varieties, control calories by adding your own fresh fruit to plain, low-fat yogurt.

A Christmas Reflection from a 4th Century

Catholic. “Today the darkness begins to grow shorter and the light to lengthen, as the hours of night become few-er. Nor is it an accident that this change occurs on the solemn day when divine life is manifested. Rather, to those who are attentive, nature manifests through visible things a hidden reality. I seem to hear her saying: “Realize as you observe these phenomena, that the invisible is being manifested to you through the visible. You see, do you not, that night has reached its greatest length, and since it can advance no farther, comes to a halt and withdraws? Do you see that the beams of light are more intense and the sun higher than it has been? Realize that the true light is now here and, through the rays of the gospel, is illumining the whole earth.” St. Gregory of Nyssa

12-27-15 20131221 20141222 20161218

A Lesson in Detachment “It is easier for a camel to pass through [the] eye of [a] needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Mark 10:25

Several months before my mother died, she gave away all her possessions. From her room in the nursing home she said, “I won’t have need of them anymore.” I marveled at my mother’s detachment as she watched her children & grandchildren

systematically divide up her belongings. Interestingly, the most sought after items were not the items of greatest monetary worth, but those of greatest sentimental value: Mom’s cookbook, prayer book, rolling pin, cookie jar, & the wooden bowls in which she made her dumplings for over 65 years. Mom gave away her belongings not grudgingly but warmly. She seemed delighted that her descendents were eager to have those things that would forever remind them of her. My mother had lived a simple life for over 90 years. Hence, she was very prepared to carry out this final divestment of her earthly goods. It was a grace given to her by God who

revels in doing impossible things. Loving God, give me the grace to divest myself of something I am clinging to today. Sr. Melannie Svoboda, S. N. D 20131101

A Meditation on Children

Children form the most defenseless sector of the world’s population. They can be battered & abused, coerced into gangs, forced into pornography rings, exploited in factories & even killed without their fate ever coming to light. Sadly, a “happy childhood” is a concept foreign to most of the world’s children. From the day they are born, many know only poverty & violence. In contrast to his disciples who are preoccupied with their own importance, Jesus identifies with the least important & most vulnerable citizens of his day. In directing his followers to recognize & respect children, he knows there is more at stake than a forced smile & patronizing pat on the head. Rather, to receive a child implies not only cherish-ing the child but also the willingness to learn from him or her . If we are childlike enough to lay aside the pretensions adults usually carry around, we will discover what it is to be simple, truthful, loving & spontaneous. Then we will know what it is to “receive the Christ.”

Give us a child’s heart, O Lord, that we may be more like you. Elizabeth-Anne Stewart 10-4-2015 20140928

A Pledge to Respect Life

I promise to suppor t a culture of life because life is not only a r ight it is a gift from God. I promise to pray for an end to the violence in our wor ld, and that families and fr iends who have suffered will find peace. I promise to help women with unplanned pregnancies through prayers and with material resources to assist the to choose life. I promise to r each out to the poor and the near poor , that they will have jobs that provide for the mater ial needs of their families. I promise to open the doors of my hear t and in my life to all people regardless of their physical or mental abilities. I promise to suppor t and love those near the end of life, that they will see themselves not as a burden but un-derstand the mystery of death and recognize the beauty of life hereafter. I promise to look for the good in all people, regardless of their behavior or the crimes they may have committed, and I promise to pray they will be reconciled with God. I promise to become more aware of Political issues and candidates in order to vote in suppor t of life. 20170115

Art of Listening

“So you really grasp what you are reading?” “How can I,” the man said, “unless someone explains it to me.” Acts 8:30, 31

You will hear much complaining these days about homilies, complaints that many of them are dry or boring or irrelevant. People want homilies given by spell-binders, by priests who draw parishioners with the magnet of compelling words. Such orators are few. But we should not give up on ordinary homilies. Haven’t we all had the experience of listening to a mediocre ser-mon only to be struck by some remark that helped solve a problem perhaps, or gave a new perspective on a vex-ing situation, or instilled courage to do the right, but difficult, thing in a dilemma?

Priests are the preachers of the Word of God. They deserve respectful listening-even when they might have failed to prepare for their duty adequately. St. Augustine said, ”A good listener never heard a bad sermon.” What a marvelous thought to keep in mind when you see a priest take the pulpit! Virginia Ulrich

A Ritual of Daily Prayer Rising very early before dawn, [Jesus] left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35

I have a friend who gets up at 6 a.m. every morning & goes for a 5 mile run. He has done this consistently for many years because he believes it is very beneficial for his health. Such good habits for physical well-being have a counterpart in our spiritual health. Jesus had his early morning ritual of prayer to keep in touch with his heavenly Father. He sacrificed some of his sleeping time in order to pray - a clear sign of his deep commitment to prayer. Mark says when Jesus was at his home in Capernaum, the people constantly came to his door for healings. Although he ministered late into the evening, he was still up before dawn to pray. Both the time & location of prayer were important priorities in our Lord’s life. He chose the early hour & the deserted place. If Jesus thought it was necessary to set aside prime time for prayer, we should be convinced all the more how vi-tal it is for us. Some rise early each morning to attend daily Mass, others to pray in a quiet place in their home. Whatever the setting of our prayer, we should appreciate how important quiet time alone with God is each day.Fr. James McKarns 20160117

The Beachcomber

“Keep your deeds of mercy secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.” (Matthew 6:4) A family of five was enjoying their day at the beach. The children were bathing in the ocean & making castles in the sand when in the distance a little old lady appeared. Her gray hair blowing in the wind & her clothes dirty & ragged, she was muttering something to herself as she picked up things from the beach and put them into a bag. The parents called the children to their side & told them to stay away from the old lady. As she passed by, bending down every now & then to pick things up, she smiled at the family, but her greeting was not re-turned. Later they learned that the little old lady had made it her lifelong crusade to pick up bits of glass from the beach so children wouldn’t cut their feet. Anthony de Mello 20130811

BEARING FRUIT, by Lea C. Tartanian

"He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."......John 15:12

I stood in the "8 Items or Less" express lane holding a head of cabbage while the customer ahead of me ran up several more items than the designated “eight”. Fuming, my emotions escalated to the boiling point. "This happens all the time!" I muttered out loud in the car. Frustrated, I prayed, "God I am so sorry, but it really irks me to see these inconsiderate people get away with being so rude in an express lane, making others wait. Is there any way at all you can change my attitude?"

Suddenly, an inaudible Voice, a mysterious flash thought, whispered, "Lea, their only accomplishment is a meaningless victory with no fruit. Focus on bearing My fruit in each circumstance of your life. Therein lies the victory."

The next day I returned to the store. Again, I entered the express lane with exactly eight items. A young man stood behind me with a single bag of chocolate candy. With a smile on my face I asked him, "Would you like to go ahead of me?" He replied, "Yes! I have to get to work, and I am running late!"

After the gentleman paid, he opened his bag of candy, and he handed a chocolate to the cashier and me. With sincere gratitude he exclaimed, "Thank you!"

What a difference to exit the store with joy in my heart. I had allowed the Spirit within me to bear fruit. 20140309

Call no man father?

Question: The nuns always told us to call priests “Father.” But a friend told me that Jesus teaches we must call no man on earth “father” (Mt 23:9). Why, then, do we do this? Michael Kunnen, Detroit Answer: If the purpose of Jesus was to banish the use of the word “father” in reference to human males, then it would seem the other New Testament authors never got the memo. In the New Testament alone, there are 195 uses of the word “father(s)” to refer to earthly human males. Hence, it seems clear that to understand our Lord’s word as an absolute banishment of the term for any but God is not supported by the practice evident in Scripture itself. The Catholic practice of calling priests “father” has several meanings. In one sense, it is meant as an affectionate family term. The Church is like a family and uses family terms such as “brother” and “sister” for men and women religious, “mother” for the superior of a group of religious sisters and “father” for priests. Priests imitate biological fathers in a spiritual way. Just as fathers give life, food, encouragement and instruc-tion, so priests give us these things in the spiritual order. They confer spiritual life by God’s power at the bap-tismal font, give food through the Eucharist and meet other spiritual needs through the other sacraments and by instruction and encouragement. Thus, by analogy, we call priests “father.” St. Paul referred to himself as a father: “You should have countless guides to Christ, yet you do not have many fathers, for I became your father in Christ Jesus through the Gos-pel” (1 Cor 4:15). Also: “We treated each one of you as a father treats his children, exhorting and encouraging you and insisting that you conduct yourselves as worthy of the God who calls you into his kingdom and glo-ry” (1 Thes 2:11-12). We can see how calling priests “father,” in this sense, is not against biblical principles. In saying “call no one on earth your Father,” Jesus is emphasizing that God is preeminent. No earthly father can ever overrule or take the place of the heavenly Father. Msgr. Charles Pope, Pastoral Answers ` 20160501

Choosing the Gospels

It seems logical that many others that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John wroth the life of Jesus. Why and how were these four Gospels chosen to be the accepted ones? Robert McBride, Cheswick, Pa.

While there certainly are other reputed accounts of Jesus life, and some of these have the names of apostles attached to them (i.e. Thomas & James), the evidence seems pretty clear that these Gospels were written long after the death of these apostles. As for Mark and Luke not being apostles, yet having Gospels, St. Mark was likely the assistant to St. Peter, and so his Gospel is largely held to be St. Peter’s account. As for St. Luke, he is very clear to state that he carefully analyzed eyewitness accounts in preparing his Gospel. Which books ended up in the canon of sacred Scripture was a complex process that developed in the early years of the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Even through the late fourth century there were some disagreements among believers as to which books belonged to the canon. The Book of Revelation and some of the epistles were disputed. Likewise, some for inclusion in the canon proposed other edifying writ-ings from the early years, such as the Epistle of Pope St. Clement and the Didache. The resolution of the final list, or canon, of sacred Scripture was largely resolved in a series of councils in the late fourth century: the Council of Rome in 382, the Synod of Hippo in 393 and the Council of Carthage in 397. These councils, in consultation with Pope Damasus and Pope Innocent, gave us the list of books in the sacred Scripture we have today. This canon was largely undisputed until the 16th century. The primary standards used by the council fathers and popes were liturgy and doctrine. Did a particular book have wide spread use and acceptance in the Church? Did a book comport well with the Faith and received doctrine of the Church? These standards, along with some particulars too numerous to mention here, pro-duced the list that we have today of sacred Scripture. Surely, by faith, we know the Holy Spirit inspired this process as well. 20141128

Claim the Joy Hidden In Life

I have to learn to “steal” all the real joy there is to steal & lift it up for others to see. Yes, I know that not eve-rybody has been converted yet, that there is not yet peace everywhere, that all pain has not yet been taken away, but still, I see people turning and returning home. I hear voices that pray. I notice moments of for-giveness, and I witness many signs of hope. I don’t have to wait until all is well, but I can celebrate every lit-tle hint of the Kingdom at hand. This is a real discipline. It requires choosing for the light even when there is much darkness to frighten me, choosing for life even when the forces of death are so visible, and choosing for the truth even when I am sur-rounded with lies. I am tempted to be so impressed by the obvious sadness of the human condition that I no longer claim the joy manifesting itself in many small but very real ways. The reward of choosing joy is joy itself. Once you choose to claim the joy hidden amid the suffering, life becomes celebra-tion. Fr. Henri Nouwen 20141220 21061211

Come to the Manger Scene Legend tells us that St. Francis of Assisi constructed the first nativity scene in the 13th century. His depiction included live animals. Even his friends thought he was being irreverent, but perhaps Francis grasped something authentic - and wonderfully messy - about the Incarnation of the Lord. To visit and contemplate a nativity scene is to make a pilgr image in spir it to Bethlehem. Our own city, our own church, our own home can be Bethlehem, meaning in Hebrew “the house of bread,” the place where God comes to dwell, the place where Christ is born, the place where the spiritually hungry are fed with God’s very own Bread of Life. Here is the true meaning of Christmas, the birthday of a Sav-ior.20150104

Conception is the beginning of human life. From the time that an ovum is fer tilized a new life begins that is neither that of the father nor of the mother. It is rather of a new human being with his own growth. It would never become human if it were not human already.” Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Decla-

ration on Procured Abortion, 1974 7-20-14

The Courage to be Witnesses

Since the first days of Christianity, there has been a conversation between those who believe & those who do not. One aspect of this conversation takes place between faith & culture. Believers themselves approach the dialogue differently. Some, suffering from a failure of nerve, build a fence around faith, protecting it lest cul-ture contaminate it. Others make Christian faith over in the image of the culture, baptizing cultural expressions in the name of the Gospel. Others, however, have enough trust in faith to get involved in culture without identifying with it. They offer a particular kind of resistance & challenge to the culture. We see this in these Scripture readings, “We are witnesses… we and the Holy Spirit God has given to those who obey Him” (Acts 5:32) & “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life” (John 3:36). The world needs witnesses. It cries out despite itself for people of courage, willing to confront it with “the One who comes from heaven.” For the world somehow knows that, in the end, only life open to the Eternal can be called life at all. Sr. Kathryn James Hermes, FSP 20140518 20140302

Date of Easter

The dates for Lent and Easter change all the time. Who determines when these feasts will be celebrated each year?

Though there is some divergence in pasts of the Christian world, our celebration of Easter is on the first Sun-day after the first full moon following the vernal equinox. The vernal equinox, which we ordinarily refer to as the first day of spring, is on or about March 21. The dates for Lent, Ascension and Pentecost are determined by counting backward or forward from the date of Easter. 20140413

Desperately Seeking Our True Selves

“look to the Lord in His strength; seek to serve Him constantly.” Psalm 105:4

On Sunday morning the mall is crowded. So are the gym & the home-supply store. In church, on the other hand, there is little difficulty finding a good seat. Apparently, the majority of us are fine just the way we are, with no need for God. I’m reminded of an interfaith conference I once addressed. Representatives of seven Religions & an atheist spoke. I noticed the atheist & I made exactly op-posite remarks. I said humanity is in need of a Savior; he said humans are fine on their own & don’t need some deity to help them. His view is contradicted everywhere, from the global news to the kindergarten classroom. We wander without knowing where we are or where we’re going. We sun from activity to activity because we fear the pain that stillness might uncover. We worship the gods of money, power, youth and control. We fight each other because we don’t know how to ease our pain. Not far underneath that strange exterior of ours is a profound & sometimes desperate search: for the One who is closer to us than we are to ourselves. Lord, help me to find myself so that I may find You

.Mary Marrocco 10-5-14 20160731

Did You Know? Some Surprising Events That Happened on Christmas Day

496 Clovis I, the king of the Franks, one of the tribes of Gaul (as France was then called) was baptized on Christmas Day along with 3000 of his followers. This was a key step in the unification of the French nation because with this massive conversion, the combined influence of the church and the state was great enough to forge a nation from the scattered and disorganized tribes who lived in the area. 1214 English barons & high-ranking church prelates presented a list of demands to King John Lackland on Christ-mas Day. After a period of hostility & confrontation, the king was forced to sign the Magna Carta at Runnymeade the following June. This “Great Charter” guaranteed the rights of the nobility against the king & became the founda-tion of all English constitutional law. In time, its guarantees of civil liberty became applicable to both noble & com-moner alike. 1492 On Christmas Eve, he Santa Maria ran aground on the island of Hispaniola (today’s Haiti & the Dominican Republic) . There Christopher Columbus left a group of his men to form a colony, & then he sailed back to Spain in the Nina to report his discovery to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. 1652 Under the influence of Oliver Cromwell, the English Parliament made the following resolution: “That no Ob-servation shall be had of the Five and twentieth day of December, commonly called Christmas Day; nor any Solem-nity used or exercised in Churches upon the Day in respect thereof.” Town criers went through the streets ringing their bells and announcing “No Christmas!” People rioted in response to this unpopular law. 1659 As early as 1621, many of the Puritans and Pilgrims who had settled in Massachusetts refused to celebrate Christmas on the grounds that no day was more important than the Sabbath. Besides, they reasoned, the actual date of Christ’s birthday was not really known. In 1659 the people passed a law that read: “Whosoever shall be found observing any such day as Christmas, or the like, either by forbearing of labor, feasting in any other way, shall be fined five shillings.” This law was enforced for 22 years. Christmas was not recognized as a legal holiday in the U.S. until the mid-1800s. 1915 On the Western Front on Christmas afternoon, German soldiers from Saxony laid down their rifles, crawled out of the muddy trenches into the no-man’s land between the lines of combat, and began to sing. The astonished Allied soldiers heard the sound of carols that they knew in their own language and joined in, their voices blending in songs that knew no national boundaries. The enemy soldiers ate and sang together and shared cigarettes and choc-olate in the slush and snow until their officers broke up the gathering. Even in the midst of a horrifying war, the spir-it of Christmas had transformed enemies into brothers.

20141228

Divine Praises

In the late 18th century, Jesuit Fr. Louis Felici compiled a series of praises to God and some of the saints. These were to be said in reparation for sins of blasphemy and profanity. It became common practice to in-clude the recitation of these praises at Benediction. They were recited toward the end, just before the hose was taken our of the monstrance and placed back in the tabernacle. Some additions to the original Divine Praises have been made over the years. The dates of these additions are shown in brackets. Blessed be God. Blessed be his holy name. Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man. Blessed be the name of Jesus. Blessed be his most Sacred Heart. (1897) Blessed be his most Precious Blood. (1960) Blessed be Jesus in the most holy sacrament of the altar. Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete. (1964) Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most holy. Blessed be her holy and immaculate conception. (1856) Blessed be her glorious assumption. (1950) Blessed be the name of Mary, virgin and mother. Blessed be St. Joseph, her most chaste spouse. (1921) Blessed be God in his angels and in his saints. From The Little White Book of the Diocese of Saginaw, MI 7-26-2015

Do Your Best to do God’s Will Amen, amen I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death. John 8:51

Jesus assures us that we will never die. But there is a responsibility attached to this assurance-to live a life true to his word. Each one of us deeply desires to do God’s will, to follow in the footsteps of God’s word-

made-flesh. Yet how can we be sure?

I believe the answer is more simple than we would first imagine. Who we are, how we respond to the tasks of daily life, will lead us to the knowledge we seek. Have we valued the gift of life, seen our unique-ness and offered that to our brothers and sisters? Then we have done God’s will. Have we accepted the mystery of life, trusted its process and rhythm, seen ourselves as in the heart of God? Then we have done the will of God. Have we cried out in joy as well as in pain? Lifted our hearts in praise and bowed before God in need? Then we have done God’s will. Have we opened our hearts to love, our lives to forgiveness, our spirits to compassion? We have done God’s will. The deep, holy mystery of God will always be present in life, but if we continue to live the gospel of grace, we will also come to know the peace of eter-nal life. Lord, guide me to right paths, teach me your ways. Sr. Anita Constance, S. C. 20130330

Dorothy Day, Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini and Pope Francis. “Thank Go we have a Pope Paul who up holds respect for life - an ideal so lofty, so high, so important, even when it seems he has the whole Catholic world against him.”

That wasn’t someone forgetting the name of the current pope, but rather the activist Dorothy Day writing about Pope Paul VI and his letter on human life. Day was making clear where she stood on abortion and birth control: with the Church

I mention this because Pope Francis talked about Day in his historic address to Congress this week. And while most associate her with left-wing politics, that was not the women in full. The woman in full was one who en-countered Jesus Christ regularly, seeking deeper conversion, not afraid to do the hard work of examining her con-science and serving others out of the love of God. Cardinal Timothy Dolan did not disguise his pleasure that Pope Francis held up this holy New Yorker before the nation and the world. Hosting the pope for an evening prayer service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dolan thanked him in Spanish, the Argentinian’s native tongue. Sitting in St. Patrick’s that night, praying with Pope Francis and the thousands gathered there, I couldn’t help but think of one of the other holy women who lived in New York. Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini was an Italian-

American missionary whose devotion to Jesus Christ brought her to build schools, hospitals and orphanages for immigrant Catholics at around the same time the cathedral on Fifth Avenue was being built. Reading her travel diaries recently -- letters to the sisters she’d left back home -- I heard Pope Francis in her voice. During his homily, he talked about the dangers of falling into bad habits: “Our daily routine can often lead us to a kind of glum apathy which gradually becomes a habit, with a fatal consequence: Our hearts grow numb.” Bad habits aren’t simply things to vow to correct with New Year’s resolutions; they can be poisons to the soul. They turn us, unwittingly, into practical atheists or lukewarm Christians. Mother Cabrini wrote: “We have become vile, cowardly and many times, for one reason or another, (we) lazily keep silence. We allow ourselves to be influenced by human respect and fail to show ourselves in public as true followers of Christ.” She went onto say, “Virtue is mocked, and we are silent; truth is trampled upon, and nothing is said. But why the silence? Because we are vile. We need to renew our faith, to stir up in our own hearts a love of the sublime principles of our holy religion. “Let us not be afraid of offending those who approach us, nor fear of persistently speaking the truths of faith,” she wrote. “No, if we know how to conform ourselves to the true, sweet and gentle charity of Jesus, which is also strong and energetic, no one will be offended, but will rather be won over.”

How do we do that? That’s the walk the Pope is trying to take us on. In his United Nations speech, Pope Francis warned against ideological colonization, as he has before. It can dis-tort our very identities, make us forget who we are. He talked about men and women and natural law at the U.N. No small thing. Yet, look at how he’s bringing people to the water of God’s laws and love: gently, as a tender fa-ther who knows what hell our hearts have been ravaged by. He knows our wounds, and will not pour salt into them, but apply a healing balm of alternatives and vision. This is the integral ecology he speaks of. This is a new, reintroduced vocabulary for us, by which we might actually communicate with one another again. But back to Dorothy Day. Cardinal Dolan, as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, encouraged the advancement of Day’s sainthood during the Pope’s visit. Earlier this year, Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez said, “I don’t know if Dorothy Day is a saint, but she makes me want to be one.”

While Day is not yet a saint, Pope Francis did celebrate the life of our newest saint: Junipero Serra, the Spanish missionary who founded the California missions system. In doing so, Francis pointed to the universal call to holi-ness for Christians. It’s one that would make for a different kind of politics, and world, if answered. Kathryn Jean Lopez is senior fellow at the National Review Institute, editor-at-large of National Review Online and founding director of Catholic Voices

USA. She can be contacted at klopez@nationalreview.com.

11-1-2015

Drawn to God Like A Magnet “Great crowds came to him…” Mt 15:30

One thing we know for certain about Jesus from the gospel stories is that people of all sorts were drawn to Him. Some came seeking healing & received it. Others felt an inner stirring they could not explain & found surprising joy in His presence. Other people discovered challenge & new direction for their lives. What about us? Are we drawn to the goodness & love Jesus brought into the world? Do we find our-selves moving toward the Holy One in a strong & compelling way? A medieval mystic described herself as being drawn like a magnet to God. Our own experience of being drawn may not be this powerful, but within each of us in the potential of immense attraction to this Great Love. During the Advent season, why not let our hearts be drawn to the hope that Christ’s coming holds for our world & for ourselves? Why not let our hearts be pulled like a magnet to the great Love? Sr. Joyce Rupp O. S. M. 20131215

Dropping Illusions

“Go and sell what you have and give to the poor; you will then have a treasure in heaven. After that come and follow me.” At these words the man’s face fell. He went away sad, for he had many posses-sions.” Mark 10:21-22

I have been taught to believe that I cannot be happy without money. That is an illusion. Drop the illu-sion and you’ll feel happy without money, as many people indeed are...Drop the illusions..the illusion that you need this person, this thing, this result, this event, this circumstance, this reaction, this securi-ty, this certainty in order to be happy. These are only illusions created in the mind by indoctrination and habit. Drop...the well-meant brainwashing to which we have been submitted from childhood for our own good, and which has instead caused our ruin. Drop the illusions. Nothing is necessary. Once you break free from the internal compulsion that had made you believe those things were necessary, you will be surprised to find how easily you can live without them. Fr. Carlos G. Valles SJ, Mastering Sadhaha

7-20-14

The Essential Needs of The Heart “I am the Bread of Life; whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst.” John 6:35

We can come to believe that in Jesus we will never “hunger” or “thirst” again only if we accept that real life is a lot simpler than we allege. Most of us get caught in the frenzy of daily living & conclude that this is what life is all about. Jesus spoke endlessly about the importance of love, of not living for possessions, of simplicity, and of living in the service of others. The genius of Christianity is that it does have all the answers to the essential needs of the human heart. Concentrate on what is essential in your life. Don’t exaggerate your needs. Realize that you make life complex with inflated expectations, and complicate it by turning luxuries into necessities. What do you really need to be happy? Simplify. Try making love the one rule for dealing with others. Trust that God loves you and cares for you with infinite compassion, even in the smallest details. If you can live with the essential and not be intimidated by things that don’t really matter in life, Jesus’ claim that you will never hunger or thirst again is not simplistic at all. Michael R. Kent, Bringing The Word to Life. 5-6-14

Facing Enemies

“Love your enemies, pray for you persecutors.” Matthew 5:44

When...you see your enemies clearly, you see the lines in their faces and the way they walk when they’re tired. You see who their husbands and wives are maybe. You see where they’re vulnerable. You see where they’re scared. Seeing what is hateful about them, you may catch a glimpse also of where the hatefulness comes from. Seeing the hurt they cause you, you may see also the hurt they cause themselves. You’re light years away from loving them, to be sure, but at least you see how they are human even as you are human, and that is at least a step in the right direction. It’s possible that you may even get to where you can pray for them a little, if only that God forgive them because you yourself can’t, but any prayer for them at all is a major breakthrough. In the long run, it may be easier to love the ones we look in the eye and hate, the enemies, than the ones whom-

because we’re as afraid of ourselves as we are of them-we choose not to look at at all. Frederick Buechner, Whistling in the Dark 20160629 20161225

Fear of Death, Fear of Life

Has it ever struck you that those who most fear to die are those who most fear to live? That in running away from death we are running away from life?

What is death? A loss, a disappearance, a letting go, a saying good-bye. When you cling you refuse to let go, you refuse to say good-by, you resist death, and even though you may not realize it, that is when you resist life too. For life is on the move and you are stuck; life flows and you are rigid and frozen. Life carries all things away and you crave for stability and permanence. So you fear life and you fear death. When you have no fear of losing anything, then you are free to flow like the mountain stream that is always fresh and sparkling and alive. Do you want a way to measure the degree of your rigidity and your deadness? Observe the amount of pain you experience when you lose a cherished idea or person or thing. The pain and the grief betray your clinging, do they not? You never took the time to seriously consider that all things change and pass away and die. Fr. Anthony

de Mello, S.J. The Way of Love

5-24-15 20160403

Food For Thought: As Catholic, voting citizens

Know Your News: “Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed - and no republic can survive...That is why our press has protected by the First Amendment - the only business in America specifically protected by the Constitution - not primarily to amuse and entertain, not to em-phasize the trivial and the sentimental, not to simply “give the public what it wants” - but to inform, to arouse, to reflect, to state our dangers and our opportunities, to indicate our crises and our choices, to lead, mold, educate and sometimes even anger public opinion.” John F. Kennedy, first Catholic President

The Foolish and the Wise

Ordinary life has its horizon. A horizon makes visible, but it also conceals. Clearly visible is the day’s routine with its familiar sounds, from the breakfast table to turning out the lights. Years are spent on the job. Our awareness switches from task to task, focused on deadlines, tranquilized by busyness. Sometimes the situation changes abruptly. In the aftermath we scramble to make sense. Perhaps the suffering of others afflicts us. Looking back, we realize how the crisis brought clarification. What was concealed now shows itself. Eyes once gripped by daily concerns return to the present. The fool thinks that he is the job, the SAT scores, the manuscript, the investment portfolio, the resume. Con-versation can wait; prayer doesn't happen; he writes a check, but has no time to serve. The fool forgets. God sends wake-up calls. From disaster may come gratitude and attention. What really matters is already present. We just forget. God, guide me back to the present in the midst of daily demands. Jeanne Schuler 20130908

6-14-15, 20160214

Freed From Sin By Grace

“Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” Luke 1:28

Jesus is truly God, and is uniquely holy by reason of His divinity. Mary is human, and is holy by the grace & merits of her Son. Jesus is free of original sin because He is God. Mary was kept free from original sin by the grace of Jesus. She was conceived by her par-ents in the normal way, but from the moment of her conception she existed in a state of holiness which would have belonged to all human beings had there been no original sin. It is also Catholic dogma that Mary re-mained free from personal sin throughout her life. She was not immune to the problems of living in a world touched by sin. She had to cooperate with God’s grace, and she had to cope with evil, above all the unjust murder of her Son on the cross. Mary was tempted as we are. But she did not sin. She cooperat-ed with God’s grace, and in this she is a model for us. When we are tempted to think that sin cannot be de-feated, Mary witnesses to the fact that the grace of Christ can conquer the powers of hell. Fr. Oscar Lukefahr, C.

M. 20160103 20170101

From Bishop Cunningham on Assisted Suicide: “In October of this year, the governor of California signed a law legalizing assisted suicide. Seriously ill pa-tients suffering from depression and suicidal feelings can now receive lethal drugs to end their lives. Cardinal Sean O’Malley, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the USCCB, has called the governor’s decision “a great tragedy for human life.” And indeed it is. “A government that legalizes assisted suicide sends the terrible message Pope Francis has so eloquently warned us against, that there is such a thing as dis-posable people.” (Cardinal O’Malley) We believe each & every human life is an unrepeatable gift, created in the image & likeness of God. “We are called to respect & protect human life because of its inherent dignity, sacredness & value. We understand that life is a sacred trust over which we have been given stewardship, but not ownership. Our life belongs to God, &we do not have absolute power over it. So while it is entrusted to us, we are called to care for it, preserve it & use it for the glory of God.” (NYS Bishops, “A Catholic Guide to End-of-life Decision Making”)

Legislation to legalize physician-assisted suicide has been introduced in our state. It is important that we re-main vigilant concerning the progress of this bill and determined to oppose its passage. 11-15-15

God’s Mystery is for Everyone

The Christmas story comes to its fullness today in the Epiphany, the manifestation of the mystery of God made human to all of humanity. Like the magi, we are drawn to the star of Bethlehem. We follow the light of the star and find truth—God is with us in the person of Jesus Christ. We discover the King of kings, not in opulence, but lying in a manger midst shreds of cloth. We are amazed at the mystery of God in human form. We feel peace—drawn to the warmth of Mary and the devotion and protection of Joseph. The Magi, overwhelmed with joy, bring gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, befitting God’s divinity and recognizing his humanity. Our hope for the fu-ture lies in the Christ child, who hides himself still with us and br ings us peace! John Dorner

God’s Wisdom and Truth about the Sacrament of Matrimony part IV

346. What are the effects of the sacrament of Matrimony?

The sacrament of Matrimony establishes a perpetual and exclusive bond between the spouses. God himself seals the consent of the spouses. Therefore, a marriage which is ratified and consummated between baptized persons can never be dissolved. Furthermore, this sacrament bestows upon the spouses the grace necessary to attain holiness in their married life and to accept responsibly the gift of children and provide for their education. 347. What sins are gravely opposed to the sacrament of Matrimony?

Adultery and polygamy are opposed to the sacrament of matrimony because they contradict the equal dignity of man and woman and the unity and exclusivity of married love. Other sins include the deliberate refusal of one’s procreative potential which deprives conjugal love of the gift of children and divorce which goes against the indissolubility of marriage. 348. When does the Church allow the physical separation of spouses?

The Church permits the physical separation of spouses when for serious reasons their living together be-comes practically impossible, even though there may be hope for their reconciliation. As long as one’s spouse lives, however, one is not free to contract a new union, except if the marriage be null and be

declared so by ecclesiastical authority. The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Good Shepherding

I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must lead them, too. John 10:16

In one thing, all shepherds are alike...the main thing they do is keep their flock together. They take care, not only of this one or that, but of all of them, and if any one gets lost, as Jesus explained, they will not rest be-fore they are all together again…

We have to being people together, all of them, without discrimination of race, sex or rank, being good shep-herds of the flock, even at the risk of our lives. We should be shepherds like that in the families in which we live, feeling responsible for keeping all of them together. We should be shepherds like that in the schools where we learn or teach, taking care that no one is overlooked, left out or lost. We should be shepherds like that when determining our political stand, when evaluating news or reading our papers. We should be shepherds, keeping the whole of humanity together. Fr. Joseph Donders, Liberation the Jesus Mode

Growing Faith

Why do Catholics Light Prayer Candles?

Even the most fervent and prayerful person gets distracted while praying on occasion. Praying in front of a candle gives us a tool to help us focus and avoid distraction. A similar principle applies to candles in church. When we light prayer candles in church, our intentions re-main present even when we are gone. Next time you pass a candle rack, help prolong others prayer by of-fering one for the intentions of the people who lit them. 20140309

Growing in Our Catholic Faith

Why do Catholics have to go to Confession?

The Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) is a personal encounter with Jesus through His representative the priest. Here we encounter the infinite love & mercy God makes available to each of us. Sin, turning away from God’s goodness, light & truth, strains our relationship with our loving Creator. The Sacrament of Reconciliation restores that unity & intimacy that Jesus & His Church desires for us. Instead of thinking

Hearing And Acting on God’s Word

He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.” Luke 8:21

Christian prayer and especially contemplative prayer must be rooted in the Word of God as proclaimed in the litur-gy and as read and studied on our own. Scripture and liturgy are the guardians of our Christian pilgrimage through life and the guarantors of the Christian character of our prayer. To pray

contemplatively I mist foster a sense of awareness and attention so that I may eventually develop the contemplative prayer that John of the Cross called “the practice of loving attentiveness” to God. To do this I must develop the habit of listening in every aspect of my life so that I may listen more attentively for God’s presence. I need also to develop the habit of regular, daily times for prayer; otherwise the clutter of modern life soon makes short work of my good intentions. Such a habit will remind me that contempla-tive meditation is the “stillpoint” around which one integrates the rest of one’s life so that, no matter what anxieties assault me, I know in faith that God is the center of my existence. Keith J. Egan in Handbook of Spirituality for Ministers

20160320

Heaven is ‘Totally Different’ “For this reason they stand before God’s throne and worship him day and night in his temple.” Rev. 7:15

Someone who hasn't thought very deeply about it may ask: “What shall we do ‘in heaven’ with Christ for eternity? Aren’t we going to be bored?

To such a question, I would like to reply with some questions of my own. Is it boring to be happy & enjoy good health? As lovers if it is boring to be together. When we experience a moment of pure and extremely intense joy, don’t we want it to last forever?

Here below, such moments never last long because there is nothing that can permanently satisfy us. With God, it is different. Totally different! Our minds will contemplate Truth and Beauty, while our hearts will never grow tired of delighting in Goodness. We inevitably try to imagine heaven in terms of what we know from earthly existence, how heaven might be some-thing like our experiences here. But one day, when we ascend to the real “upper room” where the eternal Easter is celebrated, I am sure these word will be the first out of our mouths: “It’s totally different!” Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa

20131115 11-29-15

“Holiness does not consist in not making mistakes or never sinning. Holiness grows with the capacity for conver-sion, repentance, willingness to begin again, and above all with the capacity for reconciliation and forgiveness. And we can all learn this way of holiness.” Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI 12-6-15

How Suddenly Death Can Come! But God said to him, :”You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?” Luke 12:20

Everyone knows f people who died suddenly, unpredictably. A father of three young children is rushed to the hos-pital, and three hour later he dies. A brain aneurism. Tow women decide to drive to a park for a picnic. On the way, a drunk driver’s car collides with their car, and both die instantly. People get out of bed in the morning and by the end of the day this world knows them no more. Life ended suddenly, unpredictably, in Jesus’ time just as it does in our time. Yet how much effort we put into trying to make ourselves safe and secure. Investments. Possessions. Insurance policies. Jesus knows the human heart, and he cautions us against placing too much trust in ephemeral things. De-pend on one thing only, Jesus says, when push comes to shove. Depend on God alone in this world, for you are destined, sooner or later-and it could easily be “sooner”-to be with God alone, whose love for you is wider than the sky and deeper than the deepest ocean. Loving God, help me to trust in your love above all things. Mitch Finley 11-1-2015

The Importance of Singing at Mass

19. The faithful who gather together to await the Lord’s coming are instructed by the Apos-tle Paul to sing psalms, hymns, and inspired songs (see Col 3:16). Song is the sign of the heart’s joy (see Acts 2:46). Thus St. Augustine says rightly: ‘to sing belongs to lovers.’ There is also the ancient proverb: ‘One who sings well prays twice.’ With due consideration for the culture and ability of each congregation, great importance should be attached to the use of singing at Mass; but it is not always necessary to sing all the texts that are of themselves meant to be sung.” (from the General Instruction of the Roman Missal) God doesn’t care if you have a great voice. He looks at the effort you put forth that comes from your heart. So pick up your hymnal and sing out to the Lord (or at least fake it!) 20140810 20161204

I swear never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” Elie Wiese

If In Doubt, Follow the Path

“Your ways, O Lord, make known to me; teach me your paths.” Ps. 25:4

I once heard a forest ranger giving instruction for a long hiking trip in a national park. He had an answer for every question - the location of shelter, where drinking water was available & landmarks to observe in case hikers got lost. His parting advice was, “If you follow the path it will bring you to your desired destination.” That is a valuable directive for all of us. The psalmist had the same thing in mind, as he prayed to God for enlightenment about the correct spiritu-al path to follow. We are flooded nowadays with many alternatives, options, & lifestyles. It’s difficult to know what choices to make & which course of action is best. The advice given in many advertisements is often not designed to help us make wise decisions but to help others make money. Spiritual values, revealed truths & tested traditions are trustworthy paths one can still follow with maximum certi-tude. These have been established for our direction & security. God, in the person of Jesus, has actually walked across the earth, step by step. He has been for us the pathfinder. We, the disciples, need only follow. Fr. James McKarns 20140119

In Praise of Praise

They strengthened the spirits of the disciples, and exhorted them to persevere in the faith...Acts 14:22

Everybody needs some encouragement and recognition… but some people think that praising others is beneath them… that it is just blarney or flattery… insincere. No question that some praise is insincere, because it is a lie told to get something out of the other. But what about the honest recognition and appraisal of another’s talents and achievements? To do this, one must be attentive to what others are

doing. One must see the small developments and little victories… What a pity to be so small-minded that we are loathe to give credit where it is due. The hunger for a little assurance these days is so great that the receiving of it causes unusual joy. Everyone needs encouragement in order to grow toward the vision they have of themselves. To recognize this we take our eyes off superstars… and look rather at the everyday behavior of the people around us. To be Christians is to love: to wipe away the tears; to rejoice in other’s growth. It is a measure of our personal greatness to excel in noticing, upholding and celebrating the greatness of our neighbor. Fr. Alfred McBride, O. Praem

20130811 20140608

In Praise of the Non-famous

“Of others there is no memory...Yet these also were godly men…” Sirach 44:9-10

Ben Sirach begins the final section of his long work with a striking line in the King James Version: “Let us now praise famous men.” But before mentioning the famous, he acknowledges the forgotten: those who found wisdom, lived good lives & left a heritage of good example for their descendents, but departed from this life without having made any mark in the history books. Let’s praise them first, Ben Sirach says, for “their wealth remains” among us (verse 11). No matter whether the family we sprang from was pious or profane, each of us has an ancestor of two in the group Ben Sirach extols - a parent, a grandparent, an aunt, an uncle, someone somewhere who stayed the course when the going was tough, who paid the price doing what was right, who supported others, who was kind, who knew what is truly important in life - one” whose virtues have not been forgotten” (verse 10). Each of us might ask: Have I learned what that person can teach me? And: What heritage of life am I going to leave to those who come after me? Kevin Perotta 6-15-14 21070115

Is God Like an “Aching Parent”?

But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he

was lost and has been found.” Luke 15:32

The parent of a wayward child lives life in a kind of suspended animation: watching, waiting, worrying,

hoping for the best, dreading the worst. Knowing that the choice to stay or return lies solely with the

child, is knowing powerlessness and heartbreak. Long nights are punctuated with the refrain, “Come back

to me.” Nothing fills the empty space in home or heart; no kind words can ease the fear that the child is

dead or permanently lost.

The parent is fragmented, feeling not only the loss of the child, but surely some essential part of self as

well. If the child does return, there is a relief so profound it rocks the soul. Joy is made sweeter for all the

dark depths it now illuminates. One has the ability to breathe again, to envision a future again. Wholeness

returns, and one celebrates.

Jesus compares God to the parent of a wayward child, and I am shocked. Such a metaphor, alternating be-

tween aching vulnerability and wild joy, is neither majestic nor dignified. Does God love us like that? I

am shocked, humbled and grateful. Nancy F. Summers

It’s Not a Gift if it Must be Repaid

“When you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.” Luke 14:13-14

Two days before the scheduled wedding, the groom cancelled the wedding. The devastated bride had al-ready paid for the hall, the food & the music. She decided to go ahead with the banquet, but in place of the intended wedding guests she invited the poor & homeless. A newspaper article describing the event reported that the hall was full of people enjoying delicious food & dancing to the music. It was a rare & unexpected gift for the less fortunate. It was also a tremendous help to the rejected bride, enabling her to get through one of the toughest days of her young life. Her guests expressed their sincere gratitude, for they knew they could not repay her. If we give a gift to get a gift, the gift is a trade. A gift will always be a true gift when it is not repaid. We speak of “an exchange of gifts,” but it is a misuse of the word if it means we give in expectation of receiv-ing something of equal or greater value than we gave. We will always be deeply in debt to Jesus who has invited us to the banquet of eternal life. It is a gift we can never repay. Fr. James McKarns 20131027

Jesus is the Heart’s Fulfillment “I have come not to abolish, but to fulfill.” Matthew 5:17

In the movie The Devil’s Advocate, Al Pacino plays Satan. At one point in the movie, Satan rails against God for being antihuman & exclaims, “I am the last great humanist!” This is a lie from the “Father of Lies.”

In reality, Jesus is the fulfillment of the true aspirations of humanity. Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel that He has not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. He is the culmination of the yearnings of all generations & the hope of peoples down through the ages. Whether or not we are aware of it, the deepest desire of the human heart is to be filled with the infinite love of God. Jesus is that infinite love offered to us. It is easy in life to become sidetracked by things that ultimately will not satisfy. Characters in the movie were tempted by worldly wealth, power, prestige & promiscuity. But in the end, these cannot satisfy the human heart & leave it frustrated. Only in Jesus do we discover infinite love, & then we can rest. Msgr. Stephen J. Rossetti 20130930

Jesus, the One Focus of Faith

Repent & be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38

Over the years, I’ve thought of many reasons to stick to my Christian faith, and I’ve heard a good many oth-ers: believing in something beyond ourselves is good; there’s a rich, interesting, life-affirming tradition in Christianity; what Christianity teaches is good for morals, good for raising children. My local faith community is so welcoming, like a family, and I get so much out of my involvement in its activities, as do my kids, I can’t imagine not going to church. It’s such a part of my life, of my routine, my week, my Sunday. It’s just part of who I am and what I do.These might be good reasons, but they aren’t mentioned when I read the accounts of those who responded to the earliest preaching of the apostles. Rather, the focus is precise, exact, and centered in one place: the salvation and mercy found in Jesus.All of those other graces I experience are certainly the fruit of this faith, but those Easter days hold Jesus firmly before me as the root of it all. Risen Jesus, fill my life with your mercy, love and hope. Amy Welborn

5-10-15

Join the Invisible Monastery

Pledge to pray for vocations at the international web site invisiblemonastery.com. It was inspired by a Vatican document urging Catholics to “organize an’ invisible monastery’ in which many persons, day and night, are committed to continuous prayer for priestly vocations.”

Keep Holy the Sabbath

The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Mark 2:27

God gave us the Sabbath as a day of rest and worship. Jesus challenged those religious authorities who bur-dened men and women with retribution should they violate Sabbath laws and customs, such as easing hunger by picking heads of grain. We can easily lose a sense of the meaning of the sabbath when we tailor it to our own arrow ends and expect others to follow suit. Such an attitude does not free people to rest in God. It can instead weigh them down with practices that are estranged from the original life-enhancing gift of the sabbath. It is written that God worked six days creating the universe and rested on the seventh day. And we are made in his image and likeness- which includes a well-deserved day of rest and the freedom to know God’s presence in leisure. The sabbath , or Sunday, should be set aside for the well-being of the whole person. We were made to work, and rest, with God. Fr. James S. Beh-

rens, OCSO 8-23-15, 20141217 18-23-15

Leap Year Why I Am Catholic Another reason is Leap Year! Yes. The Church is actually responsible for Leap Year. In the year 1582, Pope Gregory VIII reformed the calendar in use since the time of Julius Cae-sar (Julian calendar, 45 B.C.). The Gregorian calendar system dealt with Calendar-drifting problems by dropping 10 days “to bring the calendar back into synchronization with the seasons,” and adopting a new leap year rule. In 1582, Oct. 4 was followed by Oct. 15 as they corrected the calendar. Imagine doing that now! “The Gregorian calendar was designed to keep the vernal equinox on or close to March 21, so that the date of Easter (celebrated on the first Sunday after the 14th day of the lunar month—the nominal full moon—that falls on or after March 21) remains correct with respect to the vernal equinox.” (Wikipedia) Every year divisible by four is a Leap Year, except when it is divisible by 100 and not by 400. The years 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not Leap Years. 20160228

Legend tells us that St. Francis of Assisi constructed the first nativity scene in the 13th century. His depiction included live animals. Even his friends thought he was being irreverent, but perhaps Francis grasped something authentic - and wonderfully messy - about the incarnation of he Lord. To visit and contemplate a nativity scene is to make a pilgrimage in spirit to Bethlehem. Our own city, our own church, our own home can be Bethlehem, meaning in Hebrew “the house of bread.” the place where God comes to dwell, the place where Christ is born, the place where the spiritually hungry are fed with God’s very own Bread of Life. Here is the true meaning of Christmas, the birthday of a Savior. 12-20-15

Life Support What is the Church’s stance on artificial life support? Can a Catholic be removed from it?

If, by artificial life support, you mean something such as a ventilator, the use of such machines is not required when they are no longer therapeutic and the person is certainly dying. Neither is it required to revive a person who is approaching death each time their heart stops. Allowing someone to die whom the Lord is certainly calling is morally very different from directly causing a person to die, which is what euthanasia advocates claim the right to do. One exception to the non-required use of artificial means is that food and water, even if supplied by a tube, should still be administered to those who are approaching death. Only in rare cases, where the major organs of the body have already shut down and can no longer process food or fluids, can this treatment be discontinued. Pastoral Answers, Msgr. Charles Pope 6-15-14

Lifeline

“There can be no civilized life in a society that sanctions wanton killing. There can be no civil society when the law makes the weak, the defenseless and the inconvenient expendable. There can be no real democracy if the law denies the sanctity of every

human life.” Congressman Henry Hyde

Lifestyles For the Common Good

“Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors in the treasury. For they have all con-tributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.” Mask

12:43-44

It is not wrong to want to live better; what is wrong is a style of life which is presumed to be better when it is directed toward “having” rather than “being” and which wants to have more not in order to be more, but in order to spend life in enjoyment as an end in itself. It is therefore necessary to create lifestyles in which the quest for truth, beauty, good-ness and communion with others for the sake of common growth are the factors which determine consumer choices, savings and investments. In this regard, it is not a matter of duty of charity alone that is, the duty to give of one’s “abundance” and sometimes even out of one’s needs in order to provide what is essential for the life of a poor person. St. John Paul II 10-25-15

Lift Up My Heart! Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? Luke 18:7-8

O most sweet and loving Lord, you know my weaknesses and my needs. You know how many bad habits and vices I have. You know how often I am burdened, tempted, shaken and stained by sin. I come to you for healing. I pray to you for comfort and support. I speak to you, who know all things, to whom my inmost thoughts are evident. You alone can adequately comfort me and help me. You know what good things I need most, and you know how poor I am in virtue. Look! I stand before you poor and naked, asking your grace and imploring your mercy. Feed me, for I am hungry. In-flame my coldness with the fire of your love. Illuminate my blindness with the light of your presence. Turn my eyes from all that is not you; turn all oppression into patience. Make all that leads me from you not worth thinking about. Make me forget it all. Lift up my heart to you in heaven, and let me not wander aimlessly about the world. Thomas A Kem-

pis, The Imitation of Christ 11-22-15

A Liturgical Note

154. Then the Priest, with hands extended, says aloud the prayer Domine Iesu Christe, qui dixisti (Lord Jesus Christ,

who said to your Apostles) and when it is concluded, extending and then joining his hands, he announces the greeting of

peace, facing the people and saying, The peace of the Lord be with you always. The people reply, And with your spirit.

After this, if appropriate, the Priest adds, Let us offer each other the sign of peace.

The Priest may give the Sign of Peace to the ministers but always remains within the sanctuary, so that the celebration is

not disrupted. In the Dioceses of the United States of America, for a good reason, on special occasions (for example, in

the case of a funeral, a wedding, or when civic leaders are present), the Priest may offer the Sign of Peace to a small

number of the faithful near the sanctuary. According to what is decided by the Conference of Bishops, all express to one

another peace, communion, and charity. While the Sign of Peace is being given, it is permissible to say, The peace of the

Lord be with you always, to which the reply is Amen. From the General Instruction of the Roman Missal Commentary: The Priest’s prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your Apostles,” begins to direct our prayers at this point in the Holy Mass from the Eternal Father to Christ: “Lamb of God; Lord, I am not worthy.” We remind the Lord Jesus of His promise of peace (John 14:27), and we ask Him not to remember that we are poor sinners. The Bishop’s Conference determines for each country the manner of expressing peace. It should be a sign that really signifies, one that is both warm, religious, and friendly, expressing the desire to love that is supposed to be characteristic if a Christian community. Vulgarity is unacceptable at this moment of the celebration and must be avoided remembering the Lord’s words, ”My own peace, I give to you, a peace the world cannot give.” (John 14:27) A friendly handshake or a brief em-brace, depending on the kind of relationship that exists between the people giving peace (spouse, parent, sibling), this could be sufficient. Each person gives peace to the people beside or near them and receives it from them, restoring the ancient practice of the Church. This desire for peace, love and reconciliation before receiving the Lord in Holy Communion, recalls His command to us, His disciples in this century; “So then, if you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother (or sister) has something against you, leave your offering there

before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother (or sister) first, and then come back and present your offering.” (Mt. 5:23-24) May each of us at worship take His words to heart and reach out to our neighbor in a warm and sincere Sign of Peace and Love at each celebration of Mass. 8-31-14

The Liturgical Season of Advent We see the color purple during Advent. Does that mean it is a penitential season like Lent?

The official color for the liturgical Season of Advent is violet or purple. However, to distinguish between this season and the specifically penitential Season of Lent, the bluer hues of violet are recommended. Light blue vestments are not authorized for use in the United States. Advent has a two fold character: as a season to pre-pare for the Christmas Season when Christ’s First coming to us is r emembered in gratitude; and as a sea-son when that remembrance directs our mind and heart to await Christ’s Second Coming at the end of time. Advent thus is a period of hope and joyful expectation rather than primarily penitential season like Lent. Con-sequently, though the “Gloria” is not used at Holy Mass, Alleluias are still sung before the Gospel Reading. In spiritual preparation for the great Feast of the Nativity, the Sacrament of Penance should be received. Ad-vent carols, not Christmas carols are proper to the season. The Christmas Season begins on the eve of Decem-ber 24th, and this Season ends on Sunday, January 11, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Ordinary Time begins on January 12, 2015. 20141128

Losing Touch

“Because Jesus had cured many, all who had afflictions kept pushing toward Him to touch Him.” Mk 3:10

There is concern in our society over the misuse of touch reaching from child abuse to pornography which leads to legitimate, necessary methods of education & prevention. However, what a loss to humankind, if in our attempts to prevent distortions, we fail to recognize the positive as-pects of touch; its power & healing. The power of touch has been proven scientifically. Babies can die from lack of physical contact. Often the elder ly suffer emotionally & physically from this depr ivation. We may have experienced inner strength or healing as a result of touch. And we have the power to extend it to an-other. Jesus did not fear being touched & often used physical touch to heal. An integral part of our human nature, it is a gift. Through it, the God within communicates to us & through us to one another. Sr. Ancilla Keinberger, OP 20130721

Love of God “I myself am the bread of life. No one who comes to me shall ever be hungry.” John 6:35

Friend, you go through toil and labor, all for the love of what? Avarice - the love of money. That love always brings toil to its lover, but there is no toil in the love of God. Avarice will enjoin upon you the endurance of labors, dangers, wear and tear, and troubles aplenty. You will meet all those demands, but to what end? To gain what wills your purse, but to lose your peace of mind. Peace of mind! I dare say that you had more of it before you were rich than after you began to be wealthy. See what avarice has got you: a houseful of goods, but much fear of theft; gain of money, but loss of sleep. All this avarice demanded, and you complied. What of God’s demands. Simply love me, God says. You may love money and go after it, yet may not find it. Whoever seeks me, I am there. You may love place and position, yet may never attain them. No one ever loved me and failed to attain me. To get by in the world you need to curry favor with powerful people through agents. No one need approach me through any go-between; love alone puts you in my pres-ence. And there is no sweetness greater that that love. St. Augustine 20160703

Making Proper Comparisons

“When you are invited, go and take the lowest place.” Luke 14:10

The saints sincerely felt deep humility because they compared themselves with God, and not with their fellow human beings. Their faults, their failures, their weaknesses were manifestly clear to themselves in the brilliant light of God’s perfection. If we could only learn to compare ourselves with God, how could we feel anything but humility? Pride comes from a false point of comparison. These days, it is commonplace to read in the pa-pers of hear on television about people whose lack of morals is notorious. It is easy to feel pretty proud our ourselves in comparison. The comparison makes us feel complacent, and the desire for such a comfortable feeling is behind a lot of prejudice, racial and otherwise. Looking down on others gives us a sense of personal elevation. A pride that is produced by comparing ourselves with despicable people - or those we may consider despicable, is condemned by Jesus. The complacency it begets inhibits our spiritual growth. God’s own per-fection is the ideal toward which we must strive. Fr. Charles E. Miller, C. M., The Word Made Flesh

10-19-14

Making Sure Daily That I’m At Peace

...you have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow. James 4:14

Recently I received a phone call telling me that the son of good friends of mine had been involved in a serious car accident. Life instantly changed for them. When things like this happen, I feel my own per-spective on life quickly altered. The things that seem so important, all the items on my “to do” list, pale in comparison with the gift of life & health. When accidents or other unfortunate events occur, I start looking more closely at the little things of each day that often pass by easily without my gratitude. The fragility of human situations also calls me back to the vital spiritual practice of making sure I am at peace with God, others & myself at the end of each day. It reminds me that I do not know what my life might hold the next day. Living to the best of our ability with an awareness of the little positive things each day holds is a happy way to live. It does not keep us from the unexpected heartaches & struggles that life sometimes tosses our way, but it does keep us close to the peace of God & strengthens our ability to cope with difficulties when they arise. Sr. Joyce Rupp, O. S. M. 20130707

Marriage

With two decisions one regarding the Defense of Marriage Act and the other California’s Proposition 8 the Supreme Court has once again inserted itself into a roiling national debate and tilted the scales in favor of sweeping social change. The struggle in defense of traditional marriage is not over. The court rulings virtually guarantee a stream of additional lawsuits as federal benefits for same-sex married couples come into potential conflict with state laws and constitutions banning same-sex marriage, and as those couples move from state to state. The rulings also guarantee that there will be state-by-state battles to affirm marriage as only between a man and a woman. It is clear, however, that the high court will not affirm the traditional understanding of marriage, and it is clear that another major social exper iment is underway as same-sex marriages now stand in 37 states and counting. There will be far-reaching implications to these decisions, decisions likely to impact both businesses (par ticular ly benefits) and churches. In those states where gay marriage is the law, it’s not unimaginable that efforts will be made to silence critics including the Church by labeling their criticism “hate speech” and “bigotry.”

There are many other questions that will be answered over time: How many homosexual couples will actually avail themselves of this right? Will other aspects of traditional marriage be redefined, and will the courts inevitably support polygamous and other unions now that the marriage standard has been breached?

For our Church leaders, however, now is the time to take stock. Without throwing in the towel on the traditional marriage fight, it has been clear for years that the real crisis is not about same-sex marriage, but about marriage itself. The persistent divorce rate for Catholics (the same as for the general population) and the related cr isis in annulments, the decline in sacramental marriages (and baptisms), the data that suggests even Mass-attending Catholics are abandoning the Church’s teaching on same-sex marriage, and contraception usage among Catholic couples point to a much broader crisis in understanding what the Church teaches about marriage. This is about much more than marriage preparation. Helping adults understand what the Church teaches and why, and helping them to put this faith into practice as Pope Francis continually exhorts us remains our fundamental chal-lenge .We are rapidly approaching a time when Catholic teaching on marriage will be a minority opinion, perhaps even a despised opinion. The Church should be examining now whether civil mar r iage and sacramental marr iage should be disentwined (as is the case in many other countries), so that the values and witness of sacramental marriage are upheld and distinguished from what civil marriage is becoming. Too easily forgotten is the need for the Church to affirm and support those gay Catholics who are seeking to live as the Church teaches, and who now may feel even more isolated. Ultimately, same-sex marriage is only one symptom of a broader change in how marriage is viewed its purpose regard-ing children, the understanding of monogamy and the value of its permanence. For the sake of the common good, Cath-olics must not give up the struggle in defense of traditional marriage. For the sake of sacramental mar r iage, the Church must mobilize its resources for a much broader catechesis as it prepares those who remain in its fold to be a mi-nority once again strangers in a strange land. Our Sunday Visitor, July 14, 2013

Jesus answered, “Have you not read that the Creator from the beginning made them male and female and that He said: This is why a man must leave father and mother, and cling to his wife, and the two become one body? They are no long-er two, therefore, but one body. So then what God has united, man must not divide.” Mt. 19:4-6

Mothers are…

A teacher gave her class of second graders a lesson on the magnet and what it does. The next day in a written test, she included this question: “My full name has six letters. The first one is M. I pick up things. What am I?”

When the test papers were turned in, the teacher was astonished to find that almost 50 percent of the student answered the question with the word MOTHER. Author unknown 7-27-14

Nature’s Evidence of the Real Presence

Fr. Albert J. Byrne

On the evening of the last day of his October 1995 visit to the U.S., Pope John Paul II was scheduled to greet the seminarians at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore. It had been a very full day... the schedule was tight so the plan was simply to greet the seminarians while they stood outside on the steps. But the Pope made his way through their ranks & into the building. His plan was to first make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament. When his wishes were made known, security flew into action. They swept the building, paying close attention to the chapel where the Pope would be praying. For this purpose, highly trained dogs were used to detect any person who might be present. The dogs are trained to locate survivors in collapsed buildings after earthquakes & other disasters. These highly intelligent and eager dogs quickly went through the halls, offices and classrooms & were then sent to the chapel. They went up & down the aisles, past the pews & finally into the side chapel where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved. Upon reaching the tabernacle, the dogs sniffed, whined, pointed, & refused to leave, their attention riveted on the tabernacle, until called by their handlers. They were convinced that they dis-covered someone there. We Catholics know they were right- they found a real, living Person in the tabernacle! 8-23-2015

New Video

At some point every family must deal with issues involving end of life care for a loved one. As Catholics attempt to navigate the myriad medical, ethical, and religious questions that arise, all the while dealing with the grief of an impending death, it can be overwhelming. In an effort to offer assistance, the New York State Catholic Con-ference has produced an excellent 8.3 minute video entitled, “Now and at the Hour of our Death” that tackles many of the common questions and concerns and offers clari-ty and compassion. To view this video go the www.catholicendoflife.org.

On the Biblical /Traditional Understanding of Christian Marriage

“Jesus replied: Have you not read that at the beginning the Creator made them male & female & declared, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father & mother & cling to his wife, & the two shall become as one?’ Thus they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, let no one separate what God has joined. Mt. 19:4-6 Bishop Thomas Poprechi, of the Diocese of Spr ingfield, Il, is a lawyer by training & studied both civil law & canon law. His motto is Lex Cordis Caritas (The Law of the Heart is Love); consequently his professional demean-or is infused with paternal understanding…

Holy Family’s Example

Bishop Paprocki brings his legal expertise to the same-sex “marriage” issue: “We have to recognize that what is legal & what is moral are different. Marriage is now redefined according to civil law.”

But that is not how it should be, he said. There is a relationship between sacred & secular law. We have moral objections to stealing, murder & perjury.”

Bishop Paprocki used the example of Roe vs. Wade, saying that, while something may be legal, that doesn’t auto-matically make it moral. He explained that, with same-sex “marriage.” the freedom of religion is now being separated from freedom of worship; the only religious fr eedom allowed is that clergy aren’t compelled to perform same-sex “marriages.”

But there is more stake, Bishop Paprocki said. “There are ramifications when it comes to employee benefits & education, as well as for laypeople like bakers & photographers. The courts are not recogniz-ing religious freedom.”

For example, Judge Robert Spencer ordered Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakeshop near Denver to bake wedding cakes for same-sex couples or be fined for discrimination. Because the culture is confused on this issue, the Church must speak out. Bishop Paprocki explained the Church’s position on what marriage is: “Male & female complement each other, spiritually & psychologically,” in addition to physical differences allowing for procreation. The Holy Family is the perfect model, according to Bishop Paprocki. “The Holy Family is an image for family life. Jesus was conceived through the Holy Spirit [but] he needed a [earthly] father figure. St. Joseph is the foster father, the male father. The Holy Family shows Jesus needed a male father & a female mother. For the bishop, evangelization of the culture starts at home: “We don’t try to convert the world at once. We start with family members, friends & co-workers.”

He reminds the faithful that we must have hope, as Christmas promises. “Christmas is the birth of Our Lord. He came into the world, in our life & brings us the promise of eternal life.”

Consequently, the bishop doesn’t see recent developments as a fatal setback. “Those who support natural mar-riage should not be discouraged. The pro-life movement didn’t end with Roe v. Wade. People shouldn’t give up. They should be stirred to continue to work for a proper understanding of marriage.”

Anna Abbott, National Catholic Register, 12/29/13 20140216

Our ancestors built our parish. It is ours to move forward.

One Nation, Under God, with Liberty and Justice for all.” A Flag Day editorial to reflect on for our July 4th weekend. Fr. Lupa

Saluting the Flag and Something More

A neglected June 14 ritual could use a revival, helping foster a love for country, this nation ‘born in liberty.’ On June 14, 1973, Mrs. Saul, my fifth-grade teacher at Beaver Brook School in Danbury, Conn., took the 12 of us in her class outside to the flagpole to celebrate Flag Day. It had been nearly 200 years since the same date in 1777 when the Revolutionary Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as the new country’s emblem. June 14 has been designated as Flag Day ever since—though it’s a sad certainty that most Americans will pass the day without notic-ing. Until entering Mrs. Saul’s class, I had attended a Greek Orthodox parochial school in Queens, N.Y., so when we went out to the flagpole I assumed this was something most Americans did annually, and I’d just been missing it. But I now realize this was probably something that Mrs. Saul—who was in her 70s—had been doing since she be-came a schoolteacher in the 1930s, & that few Americans were doing it anymore. By 1973, as the Vietnam War continued & Watergate unfolded, the country had entered the era that continues to this day, in which the regnant narrative is more about what America has done to repent of than to celebrate. A ritual like honoring the flag was on the way out. Under the blue June sky we stood in a circle around the flagpole and then my trumpet teacher, Mr. Piccarello, pulled out his gleaming silver cornet and played “My Country, ’Tis of Thee,” as we sang along. After that he played “Taps,” often used at flag ceremonies. It was sonorous and solemn and beautiful. Those mo-ments over 40 years ago so pricked my heart that I still think of them with the deepest reverence. We 11- and 12-year-olds understood that what we were doing was somehow important, and that this flag we were celebrating was more than a red-white-and-blue banner. It was a sacred symbol that pointed toward something be-yond itself, that pointed to the thing it represented—to America, the country we’d been learning about, the nation “born in liberty” and “dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” Without saying so, Mrs. Saul was doing something profound: She was teaching us to love our country. In the pro-cess, we were being drawn into the circle of all those celebrating that day, and into the larger circle of those who had loved America throughout her history—and who had been doing what Benjamin Franklin in 1787 had said we must do, or else. The 82-year-old Franklin was exiting Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where he and others had just finished cre-ating the Constitution—and our nation—when a certain Mrs. Powell confronted him. “What have you given us, Dr. Franklin,” she asked pointedly, “a monarchy or a republic?”

Franklin’s response is famous: “A republic, Madam—if you can keep it!”

Standing around that flagpole 43 years ago, we were doing our small but vital part in “keeping” the republic. We were thus becoming Americans not in name only, but in our hearts and minds. America is the only nation not de-fined by ethnicity or religion, but by an unprecedented idea: liberty for all. So to truly be an American one must understand that idea, and must buy into it, and live it. What we did that day was not indoctrination into some nationalistic, tribalist cause—God forbid—but an invitation to something noble and true and eternal. We were being connected to the “mystic chords of memory” of which Lin-coln spoke, and to the sacrifices of all those who had died for the country, and to those still returning in coffins from Vietnam. We were becoming part of something intended for everyone, but not yet possessed by everyone. We were being entrusted with the great privilege of maintaining the flame of liberty, that others beyond our shores might see it and be drawn to it. So, my dear fellow Americans, a question: How well have we been “keeping” this wild and fragile and unprece-dented idea of a republic born in liberty? Let me be the first to admit: I’ve been sorely negligent. I reckon I’ve got to make up for about four decades of lost time. This Flag Day, I’m getting started. I hope you’ll join me. Eric Meta-

xas, Wall Street Journal, 6/14/16 Mr. Metaxas is the author of “If You Can Keep It: The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty,”

20160703

A Parable of the Cross

All the people who had ever lived were assembled before the throne of God. They were a sullen lot. They all had complaints, & they began to murmur among themselves. Who Does God think He is, anyway?

One of the groups was composed of Jews who had suffered persecution. Some had died in gas chambers & concentration camps - & they grumbled: how could God know of the suffering they had been through? An-other group was slaves - black men & women with brands on their brows, great hosts of them, who had suf-fered indignities at the hands of those who called themselves “God’s people” - what could God know about their plight? There are long lines of refugees driven from their lands - homeless people, who had nowhere to lay their heads. And there were poor people, who had never on this earth been able to make ends meet. There were sick ones & sufferers of all kinds, hundreds of groups, each with a complaint against God. What could He know of what human beings were forced to endure?

From each group a leader was chosen & a commission appointed to draw up the case against the Almighty Himself. Instead of God judging them, they began judging Him. And the verdict was that God should be sentenced to live on earth as a human being with no safeguards to protect His divinity. And here was a bill of particulars: Let Him be born a Jew. Let Him be born poor. Let even the legitimacy of His birth be suspect. Give Him hard work to do & poverty that He might know the pinch. Let Him be rejected by His people. Give Him for friends only those who are held in contempt. Let Him be betrayed by one of His friends. Let Him be indicted on false charges, tried before a prejudices jury, convicted by a cowardly judge. Let Him be abandoned by His friends & see what it is to be terribly alone. Let Him be tortured, & then let Him die at the hands of His ene-mies. As each group announced its sentence on God, roars of approval went up from the throng. When the last had finished, the raucous noise had become almost deafening...and then everyone turned toward the throne. And suddenly heaven was filled with shocked penitent silence. For where there had been a throne, now could be seen a Cross. Andrew Armstrong

4-13-14

Parade of horribles’ Media coverage of religious freedom laws can be misleading at best or downright hostile at worst – As the National Organization for Marriage said in a recent blog post on its website regarding the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the recent hype and hyster ia would be “comical if it weren’t so tragic.” The blog went on to say: “It’s absurd. The ‘parade of horribles’ being spun by gay rights groups is completely made up. There is no rec-ord anywhere of people using religious freedom to discriminate against gays and lesbians. But there is an over-whelming record of cases where people of faith have been discriminated against for acting in concert with their faith and punished by government for doing so.”

And, yet, the parade of horribles continues with one of the biggest tragedies — in addition to the false accusations be-ing lobbied once again at Catholics, Christians and other concerned citizens supporting RFRA — being the loss of any sense of balance or objectivity in so many of our local and national newsrooms. Everyone suffers when the truth is not presented, and with the exception of a handful of media outlets, when it comes to the RFRA, the press basically took the sensational and blatantly false talking points and not only ran them up the old flag pole but waived the anti-RFRA flag all over the place, ignoring the history of the measures, leaving behind Journalism 101 and assuming in their articles and their broadcasts that the worst was not only going to happen but had indeed happened and in droves. And they did all of this without ever being able to provide a single case where the fears actually became reali-ty. To give you an idea of just how horrible the coverage has been, let me share with you a series of questions that was thrown my way after I agreed to do an interview with a local TV station regarding the RFRA. “Why do we need a bill if gay people don’t have protection now anyway?”

“Right now, gay people can be discriminated against can’t they? Gay people have no rights.”

And my favorite of the bunch: “Would Jesus sell to gay people?”

These presuppositional questions were just part of the 10 minute recorded interview. Most of my responses landed not on the local news but on the cutting room floor. Having served as a TV/radio repor ter for many years myself, I get that not every interview will see air time. However, in this case, this media outlet contacted me; the reporter ex-plaining he was on a very tight deadline and really needed to get “the other side of the story” in his attempt to be “balanced.”

It took a rather heated tete-a-tete to get an apology as well as another chance to truly represent a different point of view regarding the reasoning behind the RFRA in a follow-up interview. And that is where we come back to this “parade of horribles.” The interview wasn’t exactly easy or fair. But because of my background and familiarity with the local media, I was able to get the reporter and his producer back on the phone to examine what had just happened. But what about the average viewer or listener? Would they have any recourse if they were treated to a similarly hostile line of questioning via a man-on-the-street type story? How many other similar interviews were conducted, promoted, aired and eventually taken as truth by the general public?

A great deal of damage has been done on an issue important to all Americans, regardless of their beliefs: the issue of religious freedom. The press and its “parade of horribles” haven’t just passed through your town and mine, they have once again set up shop and, unfortunately, most likely are here to stay. Teresa Tomeo is the host of “Catholic Connection,” produced by Ave Maria Radio and heard daily on EWTN Global Catholic Radio and Sirius Channel

130.

Parenting in an Age of Awfulness

Kyle was absorbed in a videogame on his cell phone, so I asked his mom, “How long has Kyle had a stomach ache?” Mom said, “I’m thinking it’s been about two days.” Then Kyle replied, “Shut up, mom. You don’t know what you’re talking about.” And he gave a snorty laugh, without looking up from his vid-eogame. Kyle is 10 years old. I have been a physician for 29 years. This sort of language and behavior from a 10-year-old was very rare in the 1980s and 1990s. It would have been unusual a decade ago. It is common today. America’s children are immersed in a culture of disrespect: for parents, teachers, and one another. They learn it from televi-sion, even on the Disney Channel, where parents are portrayed as clueless, out-of-touch or absent. They learn it from celebrities or the Internet. They learn it from social media. They teach it to one another. They wear T-shirts emblazoned with slogans like “I’m not shy. I just don’t like you.”

The challenge of raising children in America today is different from 30 or 50 years ago. Back then popular culture supported the authority of parents, whether it was the “Andy Griffith Show” in the 1960s or “Family Ties” in the 1980s. Kids are not born knowing how to be respectful. They have to be taught. Multiple lines of evidence, including cohort studies such as the National Longitudinal Study of Youth, now demonstrate that disrespectful children are more likely to grow up to be anxious and depressed, three times more likely to be overweight, more likely to be fragile, less healthy and less creative, compared with respectful children. But don’t give up hope. Just as I see children like Kyle in my office, I also see children who are courteous, respectful, happy and confident. Same race, ethnicity and household income. But the parents are different, and they parent differently. For the past seven years I’ve been talking with parents and their children, trying to understand why some children are respectful even though most of their peers are not. The difference is in the parents. Here’s some of what those parents have taught me: Require respectful behavior at all times. It’s OK to dis-agree. It’s never OK to be disrespectful. Prioritize the family. The family meal at home is more important than piling on after-school extracurricular activities. Instead of boosting self-esteem, teach humility. Fight the cultural imperative to be “awesome.” Moreover, no screens when you are with your child. Put your cell phone away. No electronic devices at the dinner table. Teach the art of face-to-face conversation. No devices in a public setting, such as the doctor’s office. Govern your children’s use of social media, televi-sion and any device with a screen. If you’re going to make a change, don’t be subtle. New Year’s Day is as good a time as any to sit down with your children and explain that there are going to be some changes in this household: changes in how we talk, in how we behave, in how we treat one another. It is possible to create a culture of respect in the home while living in the U.S. today. It isn’t easy, but it can be done. Dr. Leonard Sax is a practicing physician in West Chester, Pa., and the author of “The Collapse of Parenting,” out this month from Basic Books.

Wall Street Journal Dec. 17, 2015 20160131

Parenting Is ‘Awesome’ Work

Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Luke 1:42

In an era when many delay having children or choose not to have them at all, the idea of the fruit of a woman’s womb being blessed is almost a foreign concept. Though few would want to return to a time when a woman’s status depended upon motherhood - preferably of sons- parents often find themselves unsupported. Far from receiving praise, many mothers find themselves penalized by their insurance companies for getting pregnant and criticized by their coworkers for jeopardizing promising careers. Sadly, too may women are so overwhelmed by the “super mom syndrome” they have little time to feel blessed. Caught up in the endless cycle of tasks and responsibilities, they seldom stop to ponder over the great mystery of each birth. Just as Mary & Elizabeth conceived children who would change the world, so each pregnancy can result in the birth of a hero- of a Martin Luther King, Jr.; a Mahatma Gandhi; a Mother Teresa. To be a parent in an awesome undertaking; the future of our planet depends on it. Bless all those who give birth, O God of Creation, that our world may find blessing through them. Eliz-

abeth Anne Stewart

8-24-14

Pope Francis continues to delight and surprise as he pursues his radical pilgrimage across the global psyche — inspiring with his humility while also sending shock waves with his subversive spirit. Yes, make no mistake, this humble man from Argentina who describes himself first as a sinner and prefers simplicity to the opulence afforded by his station is, like Jesus Christ himself, a radical. He washes the feet of the poor while eschewing the ruby papal slippers for his own holy feet. He lives in humble quar-ters among colleagues rather than in the isolation of the Vatican suites where his predecessors have slept. He immerses himself in humanity while urging a greater pastoral role for the church and a de-emphasis on the harsh judgments of in-stitutional authority. In a world where greed and pride hold hands in the dark, Francis appears like a brilliant apparition of, say it, brother — hope and change. He is a paradoxical mix of friend and foe wrapped in a happy package of tough love: friend of the poor, downtrodden and marginalized; foe of the purveyors of a status quo that worships money and throws away the young and old. He is, in other words, a problem for the world and poses special anxiety for pious politicians both inside and outside the church walls. As such, he has a unique, transformative opportunity unseen in our time, not only for the Catholic Church, which could use a good purgative, but also for the larger world. The anti-politician, he is fearless, provocative and willing to call out the weasels — not so much by their names but by their actions. He has special criticism for globalization, which, he says, has created a culture in which the weakest suffer most and those on the fringes, the elderly and the young, “fall away.” In such a money culture, “we throw away grand-parents and we throw away young people.”

In other, less orderly times, Francis would be hustled out of town on a donkey. In today’s universal media world, word gets around and there’s no hushing a brave man with a message millions long to hear. “Truth will out,” goes the saying, but Francis gives truth a nudge at the door. In a recent interview for the Jesuit publication America, the Vicar of Christ implored the church to not overemphasize those issues that social conservatives hold so dear. He didn’t go so far as to suggest that the church change its core be-liefs on subjects such as abortion and traditional marriage, but he urged a reordering of priorities and a less harsh ap-proach. The hungry need food before they can hear a lecture about nutrition. More love, less judgment is the seed he is planting, a worthy bumper sticker these days. In a judgmental era that some-times rivals darker ages, Francis’ words tumble into the human conversation like an uninvited guest. This humble, radi-ant man doesn’t sprinkle rose petals and platitudes to amuse and beguile. He drops daisy cutters of truth and social jus-tice smack into the punch bowl. Talk about a splash. And all the while, he smiles. But Francis says he doesn’t wish to be known as the smiling “cordial manager of the church” who “comes here and says to you ‘have courage,’” as he recently told a crowd of unemployed workers in Italy. Rather, he wants to be the brave one, the man who reaches deep inside his own well of humanness with all its frailties and limitations and finds the will “to do everything I can as a pastor and a man.”

Telling the crowd to “fight for work,” he said the

economic system that created the “idol which is called money” is not a local problem but a “world choice.”

In his short time at the Vatican, Francis also has tackled one of the worst scourges on the planet — the explosion in human trafficking, including child labor, forced domestic work and prostitution. Not content to bemoan this sorry state of affairs, he has called on the Vatican to study the problem and, during a conference he has scheduled for November, develop an action plan. In the parlance of the street that Francis seems to know better than most, he walks the walk. It is not his style to, if you’ll pardon the expression, pontificate. His soul may be aimed for heaven, but his heart and feet are firmly planted in the earth. May his roots bear fruit. Kathleen Parker, 9-25-2013

6-7-15

The Pope on Life: “Consequently, everything is connected: the deepest option for the Crucified Christ with the most complete option for life, from the very first moment until the very last. To me this also seems in some way the nucleus of our pastoral care; to help people make the true choice for life, to renew their relationship with God as the relationship which gives us life & shows us the way to life. And thus, to love Christ anew, who from being the most unknown Being whom we did not reach & who remained enigmatic, became a known God, a God with a human face, a God who is love.” Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, (3/06 meeting with priests)

8-24-14

Praise God for Second Chances

“He said to him in reply, “Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and ferti-lize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.” Luke 13:8-9

This conversation between the landowner and the gardener makes me want to weep. I could have been that tree, chopped down without hesitation. God could have let me be defined by my times of departure or periods of lukewarm faith. After all, I wasn’t doing much for his field other than taking up sun, water and space, and bearing no fruit. But in his kindness he granted me the respite of time, the merciful gift of a second chance. He was the patient gardener who tended to my roots and pruned my branches and waited for me. In the fertile ground of humili-ty, I took nourishment and my clipped branches began to blossom. Now I am a tree that bears fruit. Let’s praise God for second chances. Let’s be slow to judge the value or condition of other trees. Kristin Arm-

strong 12-13-15

Praying with My Pen

“Forget not all (the Lord’s) benefits.” Psalm 103:2

I am better off than probably 90% of the world, but still I sometimes wake up grumpy for no particular reason. Can’t be the job; I’m my own boss and have great clients. Health is reasonably stable, husband is the best thing that ever happened to me and the blessing of my sons is co-equal with that of their father. Hearth has some prob-lems, but I am confident that

one day we will be able to replace our graduate student furniture. I suppose occasional nonspecific grumpiness is just part of the human condition. Sometimes there’s no way out of it but deep breathing and a good night’s sleep, but when I can, I get out of the house to the lake or a coffee shop (or a coffee shop on the lake) and bring along a journal. Free of the telephone, email, and the ever-present laundry, praying with my pen, by making a list of all the “Lord’s benefits” that have been bestowed lately, does wonders to re-

ground me in reality. Anne Bingham, a few miles west of Lake Michigan.

20150719

Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it. Luke 11:28

Am I merely an admirer of Jesus or am I a disciple? Both the admirer and the disciple stand in the crowd listening to Jesus. The admirer lets Jesus’ words influence her to a certain extent, but the disciple allows Jesus’ words to burn within her and bring her into a closer relationship. While the admirer agrees with Jesus that the world is a sinful place, the disciple grieves over her own sinful-ness, accepts God’s forgiveness and endeavors to change. The admirer gives thanks for all God’s many gifts, while the disciple is prepared to turn gratitude into action by sharing God’s gifts with the deprived. Both grieve over Jesus’ suffering, but the disciple walks in Jesus’ footsteps, willingly carrying her own cross. Both acknowledge that they are weak earthen vessels, but while the admirer guards her own security, the disciple is prepared to be broken for others, thus revealing divine love. Jesus, I want to be your disciple rather than just an admirer. Help me to respond faithfully in all my duties as your disciple. Sr. Peter Dupreé 20160403

Respect For Life

In his encyclical Evangelium Vitae, St. John Paul II says that all can “by the light of reason...come to rec-ognize in the natural law written in the heart the sacred value of human life from its very beginning until its end. Upon the recognition of this right every human community and the political community itself are founded.”

In other words, a reasonable person can uphold the value of life only by completer respect for human life from conception to natural death. Once we start to disrespect the life of one group anywhere, we have disrespected all human life, including our own. If we condone disrespect for fetal life, for example, or the life of one who is disabled, we tempt ourselves and society to disrespect any and all life as it becomes convenient to do so. The Pope provides a frightening list of current threats to respect of human life: • pressures to legalize abortion in Latin America

• new forms of chemical abortion

• increase of population control • obsessive search for the “perfect child”

• legalizing marriages closed to natural procreation

The Pope emphasized the need to “open minds and hearts” to the value of life in all its stages. We do this by praying, especially the fervent prayer of the daily offering. We do this by speaking up in groups. We do this by creating and patronizing arts that lift up human life. Job 40:2: “Will we have arguing with the Almighty by the critic? Let him who would correct God give answer.” 20141109

Returning to Jesus

“But Herod said, ‘...Who then is this Jesus about whom I hear such things?’ And he kept trying to see Jesus.” Luke 9:9

Even Herod - that “fox” as Jesus called him - was interested in Jesus & felt a keen desire to see Him. What was (and is) so attractive about Jesus? What has kept persons throughout the centuries seeking Him & long-ing for His companionship? Why do people feel so drawn to Jesus?

I have a great respect for the traditions & teachings of other religions, but always, I return to Jesus & His mes-sage. Here I feel most at home, most inspired, most challenged to live my life well. What attracts me to Jesus? His integrity: Jesus always lived what He taught. His compassionate presence: He expended love to all those who were hurting. His courage: against injustice & religious corruption of His time. His openness: He welcomed those who were very different from Himself - lepers, Samaritans, sinners. All knew they had a welcome from Jesus. Love emanated from His being & His actions. Let us ask ourselves today what attracts us to

Jesus. It is a good day to spend some time with Him, renewing & deepening our friendship. Sr. Joyce Rupp, O.S.M. 20130623 4-20-14

A Ritual of Daily Prayer

Rising very early before dawn, [Jesus] left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35

I have a friend who gets up at 6 a.m. every morning & goes for a 5 mile run. He has done this consistently for many years because he believes it is very beneficial for his health. Such good habits for physical well-being have a counterpart in our spiritual health. Jesus had his early morning ritual of prayer to keep in touch with his heavenly Father. He sacrificed some of his sleeping time in order to pray - a clear sign of his deep commitment to prayer. Mark says when Jesus was at his home in Capernaum, the people constantly came to his door for healings. Although he ministered late into the evening, he was still up before dawn to pray. Both the time & location of prayer were important prior-ities in our Lord’s life. He chose the early hour & the deserted place. If Jesus thought it was necessary to set aside prime time for prayer, we should be convinced all the more how vital it is for us. Some rise early each morning to attend daily Mass, others to pray in a quiet place in their home. Whatever the setting of our prayer, we should appreciate how important quiet time alone with God is each day. Fr. James McKarns 20160117

Rooted in the Love of Jesus

“When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be giv-en at that moment what you are to say.” Matthew 10:19

Christian leaders cannot simply be persons who have well-informed opinions about the burning issues of our time. Their leadership must be rooted in the permanent, intimate relationship with the incarnate Word, Jesus, and they need to find there the source for their words, advice, and guidance. Through the discipline of contemplative pray-er, Christian leaders have to learn to listen again and again to the voice of love and to find there the wisdom and courage to address whatever issue presents itself to them. Dealing with burning issues without being rooted in a deep personal relationship with God easily leads to divisiveness because, before we know it, our sense of self is caught up in our opinion about a given subject. But when we are securely rooted in personal intimacy with the source of life, it will be possible to remain flexible but not relativistic, convinced without being rigid, willing to confront without being offensive, gentle and forgiving without being soft, and true witnesses without being manip-ulative. Fr. Henri J.M.Nouwen 6-14-15 20160501 20160501

The Sacrament of Matrimony Part I

337. What is the plan of God regarding man and woman?

God who is love and who created man and woman for love has called them to love. By creating man and woman He called them to an intimate communion of life and of love in marriage: “Sot they are no longer two but one flesh” (Matthew 19:6.) God said to them in blessing “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28.) 338. For what ends has God instituted Matrimony?

The marital union of man and woman, which is founded and endowed with its own proper laws by the Creator, is by its very nature ordered to the communion and good of the couple and to the generation and education of children. According to the original divine plan this conjugal union is indissoluble, as Jesus Christ affirmed: “What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder” (Mark 10:9) 339. How does sin threaten marriage?

Because the Original Sin, which caused a rupture in the God-given communion between man and woman, the union of marriage is very often threatened by discord and infidelity. However, God in His infinite mercy gives to man and woman the grace to bring the union of their lives into accord with the original divine plan. from the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church 8-2-2015

The Sacrament of Matrimony Part II

340. What does the Old Testament teach about marriage?

God helped his people above all through the teaching of the Law and the Prophets to deepen progressively their un-derstanding of the unity and indissolubility of marriage. The nuptial covenant of God with Israel prepared for and prefigured the new covenant established by Jesus Christ the Son of God, with his spouse, the Church

341. What new element did Christ give to Matrimony?

Christ not only restored the original order of matrimony but raised it to the dignity of a sacrament, giving spouses a special grace to live out their marriage as a symbol of Christ’s love for his bride the Church: “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church” (Ephesians 5:25). 342. Are all obliged to get married?

Matrimony is not an obligation for everyone, especially since God calls some men and women to follow the Lord Jesus in a life of virginity or of celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom f Heaven. These renounce the great good of Matrimony to concentrate on the things of the Lord and seek to please him. They become a sign of the absolute supremacy of Christ’s love and of the ardent expectation of his

glorious return. from the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church 8-9-2015

St. Martin de Porres was born in Lima, Peru, in 1579 to a Spanish gentleman & a colored freedwoman from Panama. At 15, he became a lay brother at the Dominican Friary at Lima and spent his whole life there as a barber, farm laborer, almoner, & infirmarian. Martin had a great desire to go off to some foreign mission & thus earn the palm of martyrdom. However, since this was not possible, he devoted himself to ceaseless & severe penances. God endowed him with many graces & wondrous gifts, such as, aerial flights &

bilocation. St. Martin’s love was all embracing, shown equally to humans & to animals. He ran a cat & dog hospital at his sister’s house. He also possessed spiritual wisdom, demonstrated in his solving his sister’s marriage problems, raising a dowry for his niece in 3 day’s time, & resolving theological problems for the learned of his Order & for bishops. A close friend of St. Rose of Lima, this saintly man died on November 3, 1639 and was canonized on May 6, 1962. His feast day is November 3. 220131027 0141109

Sts. Peter and Paul The two apostles, both martyred in Rome according to early tradition, have been honored from earliest days. Pe-ter, a Galilean, was a married fisherman, chosen by Jesus to be his disciple. Jesus changed Simon’s name to Pe-ter (Greek, rock) and told him that it was on this rock that he would build his Church. After the Ascension, Acts describes Peter as the “chief of the Apostles” and , from the middle of the 3rd century onward, documents show that the Bishops of Rome were recognized as the successors of Peter. Paul, the “apostle of the Gentiles,” was born in Tarsus, a Roman citizen raised and educated as a Pharisee. His experience of the Risen Christ resulted in his conversion from a zealous persecutor of Christians to an apostle. After about three years in seclusion, he went to Jerusalem and, through the intervention of Barnabas, came to be trusted and accepted in the Christian community. In the Acts of the Apostles, Luke describes Paul’s missionary journeys between the years 45 & 57, his return to Jerusalem, his subsequent arrest and his appeal to Caesar (his right as a Roman citizen). Here history ends but tradition tells us that Paul was martyred for the faith about the year 66. 20140628

The Sanctuary

The word comes from the Latin Sanctuarium, a “holy place,” a shrine. It is the area in Catholic churches where the Altar Table, Ambo (pulpit) and Celebrant’s Chair are found and oftentimes, the Tabernacle and Sanctuary Lamp. In the sanctuary, priests, deacons, and bishops lead the church community in prayer and divine worship. It is here the Word of God, the Sacred Scripture is proclaimed by the Lector and or-dained clergy and its explanation and application in the Homily is delivered. Traditionally the sanctuary was divided from the nave of the church by being elevated in some way and sometimes by a railing. 7-20-

14, 7-18-15 20160605

Science Increasingly Makes the Case for God

In 1966 Time magazine ran a cover story asking: Is God Dead? Many have accepted the cultural narrative that he’s obsolete—that as science progresses, there is less need for a “God” to explain the universe. Yet it turns out that the rumors of God’s death were premature. More amazing is that the relatively recent case for his existence comes from a surprising place—science itself. Here’s the story: The same year Time featured the now-famous headline, the astronomer Carl Sagan

announced that there were two important criteria for a planet to support life: The right kind of star, and a planet the right distance from that star. Given the roughly octillion—1 followed by 27 zeros—planets in the universe, there should have been about septillion—1 followed by 24 zeros—planets capable of supporting life. With such spectacular odds, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, a large, expensive collection of private & publicly funded projects launched in the 1960’s, was sure to turn up something soon. Scientists listened with a vast radio telescopic network for signals that resembled coded intelligence and were not merely random. But as years passed, the silence from the rest of the universe was deafening. Congress defunded SETI in 1993, but the search continues with private funds. As of 2014, researches have discovered precisely bubkis -0 followed by nothing. What happened? As our knowledge of the universe increased, it became clear that there were far more factors necessary for life than Sagan supposed. His two parameters grew to 10 and then 20 and then 50, and so the number of potentially life-supporting planets decreased accordingly. The number dropped to a few thousand planets and kept on plummeting. Even SETI proponents acknowledged the problem. Peter Schenkel wrote in a 2006 piece for Skeptical Inquirer magazine: “In light of new findings and insights, it seems appropriate to put excessive euphoria to rest . . . . We should quietly admit that the early estimates . . . may no longer be tenable.”

As factors continued to be discovered, the number of possible planets hit zero, and kept going. In other words, the odds turned against any planet in the universe supporting life, including this one. Probability said that even we shouldn’t be here. Today there are more than 200 known parameters necessary for a planet to support life-every single one of which must be perfectly met, or the whole thing falls apart. Without a massive planet like Jupiter nearby, whose gravity will draw away asteroids, a thousand times as many would hit Earth’s surface. The odds against life in the universe are simply astonishing. Yet here we are, not only existing, but talking about existing. What can account for it? Can every one of those many parameters have been perfect by accident? At what point is it fair to admit that science suggests that we cannot be the result of random forces? Doesn’t assuming that an intelligence created these perfect conditions require far less faith than believing that a life-sustaining Earth just happened to beat the inconceivable odds to come into being?

There’s more. The fine-tuning necessary for life to exist on a planet is nothing compared with the fine-tuning re-quired for the universe to exist at all. For example, astrophysicists now know that the values of the four fundamental forces- gravity, the electromagnetic force, and the “strong” and “weak” nuclear forces - were determined less than one millionth of a second after the big bang. Alter any one value and the universe could not exist. For instance, if the ratio between the nuclear strong force and the electromagnetic force had been off by the tiniest fraction of the tiniest fraction - by even one part in 100,000,000,000,000,000-then no stars could have ever formed at all, Feel free to gulp. Multiply that single parameter by all the other necessary conditions, and the odds against the universe existing are so heart stoppingly astronomical that the notion that it all “just happened” defies common sense. It would be like toss-ing a coin and having it come up heads 10 quintillion times in a row. Really?

Fred Hoyle, the astronomer who coined the term “big bang,” said that his atheism was “greatly shaken” at these developments. He later wrote that “a common-sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a super-intellect has monkeyed with the physics, as well as with chemistry and biology... The numbers one calculates from the facts seem to me so overwhelming as to put this conclusion almost beyond question.”

Theoretical physicist Paul Davies has said that “the appearance of design is overwhelming” and Oxford professor Dr. John Lennox has said “the more we get to know about our universe, the more the hypothesis that there is a Crea-tor... gains in credibility as the best explanation of why we are here.”

The greatest miracle of all time, without any close seconds, is the universe,. It is the miracle of all miracles, one that ineluctably points with the combined brightness of every star to something - or Someone - beyond itself. Eric Metaxas, W. S. J. 12-25-14 20150111

See and Accept Your Goodness

Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them. Rm 12:6

Have you ever heard people say, “Oh, I am just a …” &and then describe themselves in a way that makes them sound insignificant? Sometimes the comment slips out with out their realizing it. I’ve heard things like “I’m just a housewife,” “just a friend,” “just a lay person,” “just a senior citizen.” The word “just” implies a limitation or defect by comparison. One puts oneself down, indirectly saying others’ gifts are more valuable, and establishes a pattern of diminishing the one’s own goodness. God has created each of us as a wonderful human being with something special we are meant to share with our world. We may have our own ideas of what we thing “great gifts” are, but, in reality, any & all talents have value in the eyes of God only insofar as they are developed & shared with love. Think of the simple yet significant things others have done for you that brought you great joy because they were done with kindness & consideration. If you have an “I’m just…” in you, pray to discard it. Recognize & ac-cept the beauty of who you are in God’s eyes, & do something with love today. Sr. Joyce Rupp, O.S.M. 20140121

Seeking Jesus’ Rest “Come to Me, all you who labor and are overburdened and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

One must seek the refreshment and rest Jesus offers. One must leave behind the oppressive situations of one’s life and go to Jesus, who calls out to all who are so exhausted that they want to change their life. Coming to Jesus is the condition for finding relief. All we need to do is take that first step, to choose to enter the sphere of His presence, and the unnatural pressures borne down upon us by both the world and ourselves begin to dissipate. To the extent that we are far from Jesus, we are the source of our own great-est burdens. Without Him as Lord, we are caught in the tyranny of our passions and susceptible to the world’s manipulation and the influence of the Evil One. Without the all-consuming love of Jesus burning in our heart as pure transforming fire, the passions roam the landscape of our soul like hungry orphans. Jesus, whose name means “savior”, is by definition the source of relief from all oppression, whether self generated within or imposed on us from without. Erasmo Leivia-Merikakis

Seeking True Freedom of Heart “If you remain in My word, you will truly be My disciples, and you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free. (John 8:31-32) Spiritual freedom could be described as the ability to think and act without external or internal com-pulsions. This is not meant to suggest that we can live without any pressures in our lives or that we can live as libertines without reference to the consequences of our action. Such license is, in reality just another kind of slavery - to self-will. Freedom from internal compulsions means: freedom from those habits of thought and action that hold us in chains: freedom from our ego-centered activities and ambitions; freedom from the various forms of self-meditations and escape into alcohol, sexual acting out, gambling, eating disorders, and worka-holism; freedom from being controlled by hatred, jealousy, envy, sloth, anger and pride. This is the true freedom of heart for which we yearn. It is a gift of grace. It is the liberation offered by Jesus’ death and resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Fr. Thomas Ryan, CSP (from: Four Steps to Spiritual Freedom) 20130908 4-27-14

Seize The Hope Set Before Us

”We earnestly desire each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness for the fulfillment of hope…” Hebrews 6:11

Two decades ago, when the disease of alcoholism had me by the throat, I felt both helpless and hopeless. I was hopeless because I thought I could stop drinking on my own, but I failed again and again. The first gift that Alcoholics Anonymous gave me was hope. If they could get sober, so could I. Moreover, they taught me to place my hope not in myself, but in “a Power greater than ourselves” who, if sought, could and would help us. We often mistakenly assume we need to muster up enough virtue, enough hope - or faith or love - to deserve God’s help. But we don’t. Instead, we need to ask God’s help in everything, including that our hope may be strengthened, our hope for ourselves, for others, for this desperate world of ours. And we need to encourage one another to , in the words of AA, “seize the hope set before us” in the steadfast promises of God. Anonymous 20160320

Slipping Into the Arms of Love

It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God. Mark 10:25

Memorial Day in the U.S. is a time for remembering those who have died. Whether they died in war or by disease or dementia or accident, we remember how it was that they came to the gateway between this world and the next. Someone I love is getting closer to that gateway. There has been a progressive impoverishment of her life. I have watched her lose the riches of strength, independence, memory, freedom from pain, even, most wrenchingly, her ability to do things for others. As the possessions of body and mind slip away, she holds on with a kind of valiant gratitude to her greatest treasure: her faith in God’s loving presence. Dear God, as we move toward the gateway of life, as we lose what we have treasured, console us with the truth that we never lose you. We are only leaving behind the camel as we slip through the eye of the needle into the arms of Love. Patricia Livingston 20160529

Some Thoughts on Independence Day

“The man must be bad indeed who can look upon the events of the American Revolution without feeling the warmest gratitude toward the great Author of the Universe whose divine interposition was so frequently manifested in our behalf. And it is my earnest prayer that we may so conduct ourselves as to merit a continuance of those blessings with which we have hitherto been favored.” Our first President, George Washington 7-5-15

Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone

“There were some Cypriots & Cyrenians among them, however, who came to Antioch & began to speak to the Greeks as well, proclaiming the Lord Jesus.” Acts 11:20

We may feel most comfortable within our familiar circle of family members & friends at work, at church & within our own neighborhoods & communities. Among strangers, we tend to seek out the familiar: someone close to or own age, dressed as we are, of the same ethnic background. If we strike up a conver-sation with a stranger, we look for common ground: work, school, education, neighborhood, interests, hometown. We are like those early disciples who chose to deliver Jesus’ message to fellow Jews rather than to the Gentiles. As gradually becomes apparent to the faithful disciple, God is everywhere & within everyone, including people far different from ourselves. Sometimes our richest experiences with God come through our interactions with people who are outside our familiar circle. Those are the moments when we are able to trust completely in God to guide & protect us. Let us seek to deepen our trust in God so that we can, without hesitation, step our of our comfort zone & find ourselves walking into God’s arms. Charlotte A. Rancilio 20130825

The Sunshine And The Shadows

Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice. Psalm 96:11

Look back over the past year. Do you find yourself yearning for the coming of the Kingdom? You may have lost a loved one, you may yourself have been seriously ill. Anxieties and grief may have been your lot, and with more shadow than sunshine in your life. Because of our fallen nature, we are inclined to dwell on pain and suffering. We fret over the calamities of the world: unemployment, hatred, cruelty and war. We question why these thing must be. We know God wants us to be happy, and yet many things cause us pain. Is this the result of our free will?

And what about death, the great riddle? Does God give us answers? God answers by giving us sun and stars, clouds and rain, green budding life, glowing ruby and purple fruits, spectacular flaming autumns, blankets of soft white snow, the fragrance of newly mowed grass, friendship, laughter and love. God gives us all these things and asks nothing in return. Dear God, help us to praise you even for the shadow in our life which makes the sunshine glow all the brighter and draws us closer to you. Joan Zrilich 20160103

Surrender

...you have loosed my bonds. Psalm 116:16

There’s a phrase in a spiritual recovery prayer: “ the bondage of self.” It’s a bit of a paradox. (Most great spiritual truths are.) What keeps me from being who God means me to be is self-will. My focus on self keeps me from being myself. We are in bondage to the illusion that we are separate from God and can determine our own lives or, to ut it another way, that we don’t need God. But, of course, that doesn’t work because we are ot separate and we can’t guarantee outcomes. Our attempts to control things tangle us up in dysfunctional systems. What I try to do each day is take the right actions and trust in God. Paradoxically, by surrendering control, I am free. T quote more of the prayer: God, I offer myself to you-to build with me and to do with me as you will. Re-lieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do your will. Phil Fox Rose 7-26-2015

Several people asked me for a copy of the meditation with which I concluded last week’s homily... Take Time

Take Time to THINK…

It is the source of power. Take Time to PLAY…

It is the secret of perpetual youth. Take Time to READ... It is the fountain of wisdom. Take Time to PRAY... It is the greatest power on earth. Take Time to LOVE & BE LOVED... It is a God-given privilege. Take Time to BE FRIENDLY... It is the road to happiness. Take Time to LAUGH... It is the music of the soul. Take Time to GIVE…

It is too short a day to be selfish. Take Time to WORK…

It is the price of success. Take Time to DO CHARITY…

It is the key to heaven. 7-26-2015

Taking Time to Speak and Listen to God

“Now it was this time that Jesus went out into the hills to pray; and he spent the whole night in prayer to God.” (Luke 6:12) We are fortunate to live in an age when technology has given us a vast array of marvels to make our lives easi-er & more enjoyable. But one of the drawbacks of this age is that we tend to think that we are in control of our own lives. While our culture acknowledges that God exists, it rejects any reliance upon God. Prayer is an expression of both praise & dependency, and recent studies show that the number of Americans who pray daily has been decreasing. The gradual erosion of attendance at Sunday Mass over the past years stems in part from our attitude of non- dependency. Although we are faced today with countless national & global problems, we believe that we can solve them with the correct application of science, technology & intel-lect. If we are to view the countless deeds of our daily lives - from washing clothes to sharing a meal - as sacred & prayerful, we need to do more than just paste a label on them that says “Prayer!” In our already busy lives, we have to set aside times for formal prayer, for quiet reflection and silence. Every household, even if it is only a single room, should have a sacred place or small shrine area. from A Gospel Holiness by Fr. Edward Hays

20160221

Ten Secrets to Happiness

The past five years have seen a growth in interest in studies on human happiness. Numerous books have been published on the topic, not least Sonja Lybomirsky’s the Myths of Happiness, which has become for many a secular bible for hap-piness and meaning. In a recent book, Called to Happiness, Sydney Callahan critically evaluates many of these studies. Whatever the merits of these studies, all of us nurse our own secret dream of what will bring us happiness and often that fantasy is at odds with what we know to be true at a deeper level. What will make us happy?

In a recent interview (July 29) for the Argentine weekly, Viva, Pope Francis weighs in on this topic, submitting his own "Top 10 Tips" for happiness. What are Pope Francis' tips for happiness or, as he puts it, "for bringing great-er joy to one's life"?

In presenting these, I will be faithful to his captions but, because his commentary on each one was rather lengthy, I will risk synthesizing his central point in my own words: 1. Live and let live. All of us will live longer and more happily if we stop trying to arrange other peoples' lives. Jesus challenged us not to judge but to live with the tension, and let God and history make the judgments. So we need to live by our own convic-tions and let others do the same. 2. Be giving of yourself to others. Happiness lies in giving ourselves away. We need to be open and generous because if we withdraw into ourselves we run the risk of becoming self-centered. And no happiness will be found there since "stagnant water becomes putrid."

3. Proceed calmly. Move with kindness, humility and calm. These are the antithesis of anxiety and distress. Calm never causes high blood pressure. We need to make conscious efforts to never let the moment cause panic and excessive hurry. Rather be late than stressed. 4. A healthy sense of leisure. Never lose the pleasures of art, literature and playing with children. Remember that Jesus scandalized others with his capacity to enjoy life in all its sensuousness. We don't live by work alone, no matter how important and meaningful it might be. In heaven there will be no work, only leisure; we need to learn the art and joy of leisure not just to prepare for heaven but to enjoy some of heaven already now. 5. Sundays should be holidays. Workers should have Sundays off because Sunday is for family. Accomplishment, productivity and speed may not become our most valued commodities or we will begin to take every-thing for granted — our lives, our health, our families, our friends, those around us, and all the good things in life. That is why God gave us a commandment to keep the Sabbath holy. This is not a lifestyle suggestion, but a commandment as binding as not killing. Moreover, if we are employers the commandment demands too that we give our employees proper Sabbath-time. To be continued… 9-28-14

Ten Secrets to Happiness, cont…

6. Find innovative ways to create dignified jobs for young people. If you want to bless a young person, don't just tell that person that he or she is wonderful. Don't just admire youthful beauty and energy. Give a young person your job! Or, at least, work actively to help him or her find meaningful work. This will both bless that young person and bring a special happiness to your own life. 7. Respect and take care of nature. The air we breathe out is the air we will re-inhale. This is true spiritually, psychologically, and ecologically. We can't be whole and happy when Mother Earth is being stripped of her wholeness. Christ came to save the world, not just the peo-ple in the world. Our salvation, like our happiness, is tied to the way we treat the earth. It is immoral to slap another person in the face, and so it is immoral too to throw our garbage into the face of Mother Earth. 8. Stop being negative. Needing to talk badly about others indicates low self-esteem. Negative thoughts feed unhappiness and a bad self-image. Positive thoughts feed happiness and healthy self-esteem. 9. Don't proselyte; respect others' beliefs. What we cherish and put our faith into grows "by attraction, not by proselytizing." Beauty is the one thing that no one can argue with. Cherish your values, but always act towards others withgraciousness, charity and respect. 10. Work for peace. Peace is more than the absence of war and working for peace means more than not causing disharmony. Peace, like war, must be waged actively by working for justice, equality and an ever-wider inclusivity in terms of what makes up our family. Waging peace is the perennial struggle to stretch hearts, our own and others’, to accept that in God's house there are many rooms and that all faiths, not least our own, are meant to be a house of prayer for all peoples. Offered with apologies for whenever my own thinking replaced that of Pope Francis. Oblate of Mary Immaculate Father Ronald Rolheiser is a specialist in the field of spirituality and systematic theology. His website is www.ronrolheiser.com

10-4-14

“The person who fears to be alone will never be anything but lonely, no matter how much he or she are sur-rounded by people. But the one who learns, in solitude and recollection, to be at peace with his or her own loneliness, and to prefer its reality to the illusion of merely natural companionship, comes to know the invisi-ble companionship of God.” Fr. Thomas Merton, Trappist Monk 20161016

Their crisis is our crisis

For many years, this editorial board has lamented the lack of adult faith formation in our Church. It is more than an abstract concern: Publications like OSV Newsweekly are adult faith formation tools, but fewer and fewer Catholics now have regular Catholic reading of any sort, and only a relative number avail them-selves of Bible study or faith formation programs like Chr ist Renews His Par ish. The lack of formation for adults now is bearing dark fruit: the dramatic drop off of religious practice for the next generation of Catholics. According to this week’s In Focus, “Plugging teens into the Faith” (pgs 11-14), the children of Generation X - whom Emily Stimpson calls the “iGeneration” - are the least religious generation in American history. Different from any generation in the past, the iGeneration literally has a world of knowledge at its fingertips. As part of a smartphone society this is a generation that communicates more, but understands less - especially where religion & values are concerned. Christian Smith, in his new book “Young Catholic America,” makes the point that young Catholics are now virtually indistinguishable from non-Catholics youth in terms of their beliefs, Without proper religious for-mation, this generation is more likely to believe that all religions are pretty much the same, at least to the ex-tent that they preach a message of peace, love and goodness. And while they are skeptical about the idea of truths divinely revealed or overt catechesis of moral and reli-gious precepts, they are strongly impacted by the dominant cultural values of our secular and skeptical age. Young people believe that science trumps religious faith, and the values promulgated in mass media and popu-lar culture are adhered to with an often unreflective docility. Yet is would be wrong if we simply write off this generation. There are many signs of hope, including an ide-alism oriented to justice and service and a hunger for role models exemplifying a generosity of spirit and au-thenticity of belief. While young Catholics may be indifferent to their Church, they are captivated by the wit-ness of Pope Francis. What he exudes is a generous openness to life and a moral authenticity that attracts attention. He lives what he preaches - a merciful and forgiving God, but also a God not afraid to challenge them to go out to the periphery and engage the world. As he told millions of young people at World Youth Day in Brazil: “ What is the Lord saying to us? Three simple ideas: Go, Do not be afraid, and serve.”

The crisis of our youth is really a crisis about us: Are we preach? Have we been evangelized?

If our parishes are not thriving centers of discipleship, how will we convince a generation hungering to make a difference that what we believe makes a difference? If we sleepwalk through our Catholic liturgies and con-sider faith a ritual for Sundays only, can we be surprised if our children drop the pretense and move on?

Those who work most effectively with young people know that it is first and foremost about witness. If a parish exudes a “joy of the Gospel” it can engage the hearts and minds of its young people. If it has mentors for the young who are themselves evangelized, it can attract the indifferent and disaffected. If it has a real sense of community, it will become a home for a generation seeking to belong. Editorial, Our Sunday Visitor, 4/13/2014 5-11-14

Thoughts for the Heart “Let not your hearts be troubled.” John 14:27

If I am concerned about anything or anybody, I say these words of Jesus to myself. I say them and listen to them. I think of the living, loving Christ speaking these words to me. I will not let my heart be troubled by illness. The Christ is with me as healing life. I will not let my heart be troubled by lack. I know that as I am open and receptive to the Christ - guidance, new avenues of sup-ply will be revealed. I will not let my heart be troubled by problems and needs of my dear ones. I behold the Christ in them. They are guided, protected, inspired and enfolded by Divine love. I will not let my heart be troubled by injustice or unfair treatment. I hold fast to my faith in the Christ. My faith is in the outworking of good. I keep my heart and mind open to the forgiving, loving benediction of the Christ. The perfect peace that the world cannot give is the Christ’s gift to my heart, mind, and life. Through the Christ in me, I am well, loving and poised. I am radiant, happy, confident and peaceful. Through the Christ in me, I have a heart that rejoices in the power of Christ at work in all that concerns me. 7-13-14 20160612

Thoughts as the Election Day approaches; “Whether this [new government] will prove a blessing or a curse will depend upon the use our people make of the blessings which a gracious God hath bestowed on us. If they are wise, they will be great and happy. If they are of a contrary character; they will be miserable. Righteousness alone can exalt them as a nation [Proverbs 14:34]. Reader! Whoever thou art, remember this, and in thy sphere practice virtue thyself and encourage it in others.” Patrick Henry 20101023

Thoughts to Ponder as we prepare for the Election: “Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I re-flect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever.” President Thomas Jefferson 20101016

“To Do Your Will…”

To do your will, O my God, is my delight, and your law is within my heart! Ps 40:9

After having one child, my husband & I were told that we most likely would not be able to have another. Although we eventually had two more daughters, even several decades later I still remember my pain & disappointment. I also remember the overwhelming jealousy I felt when a friend easily conceived her third child. I struggled for weeks with my emotions until one day I felt a tug to offer my friend the baby items our young daughter had outgrown. For some reason that action released me from my prison of resentment & jealousy. Sometimes we may think of doing God’s will as a burden or even drudgery, but the opposite is true. Although we may find it difficult to follow our best instincts, we will end up delighted by our new found freedom if we listen & obey. 20140126

Turning a New Leaf Your attitude must be like that of Christ: though He was in the form of God he did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at. Philippians 2:5-7

One tree in our neighborhood never seems to let go of its fall foliage. Long after the golds and reds have car-peted the lawns this one tree holds onto its leaves tenaciously, as if to boast, “I am tree, I do not change.” It is a healthy reminder for me that change is an important part of life, and needs to be accepted. When Jesus taught, the Pharisees criticized His words because their image of God was narrow and pride-filled. They refused to change. To accept the words of Jesus would have meant letting go of their way of thinking, and no longer “grasping at” their image of God. It would have meant a change in attitude. The curled leaves on the tree remind me to let go of my narrow views of other people, to look at them through Jesus’ eyes, and to open my heart to the wind of the Spirit whose freeing touch will change my heart. Lucia Godwin

20131011 11-8-2015 20161106

Underestimating God’s Love

“’I Myself will pasture My sheep: I Myself will give them rest,” says the Lord God.” Ezekiel 34:15

The greatest tragedy of our world is that men and women do not know, really know that God loves them. Some believe it in a shadowy sort of way, but their belief in God’s love for them is very remote and ab-stract. So they do not know how to love God back. Often they don’t even try, because it all seems so very difficult and remote. But we Christians must realize that the Christian faith, in its essence, is a love affair between God and each human being. Not just a simple love affair ; it is a passionate love affair . God so love each of us that He created us in His image. God so loved each of us that He became human, died on the cross, was raise from the dead by the Father, ascended into heaven - all to bring each of us back…

Yes, of course, Christians have dogmas and rules, but they all concern love, which is the essence. Without love they are dead letters, not even worth Spelling out. God is love, and where love is, God is. It is time we awoke from our long sleep. It is time we shed our fears of God, or worse, our indifference toward Him. Then we shall know true peace, true joy. Catherine de Hueck Doherty

7-6-14

Understanding Cremation

People in general & Catholics in particular have many misconceptions about cremation. Many do not know of understand all of the details involved in the process. For instance, some can have their remains buried at sea, but only if they are in an urn vault, which will sink to the bottom. People have been very confused about cre-mation over the years. There is a need to educate people on the subject of cremation. Cremation is an important process to understand. Cremation, in itself, is the process whereby the body of the deceased is reduced, through heat & flame, to its basic elements. The body is placed in the crematory furnace, known as a retort, for 2 hours at 1400 degrees. The remains of that process are placed in a container, called an urn. People visualize the remains they receive as ashes, but that is not the truth. At the conclusion of the process, larger bone fragments are not consumed, so they are pulverized. The Church teaches that we should-n’t refer to these as ashes, but cremated human remains. Cremation accelerates the natural decomposition process. Cremated human remains deserve the same dignity & respect as are given to corporeal remains of the human body. Cremation was never considered wrong, but enemies of the Church were using cremation against it. The Church has always taught respect for the human body from womb to tomb. The religious reason for banning cremation was that it attacked the beliefs on resurrection. The process of burning a body after death had taken to mean a person had no faith or denied the Church’s faith in the resur-rection of the body. So the church began outlawing the process, because of those thoughts. The prohibition against cremation continued in the 1917 Code of Canon Law, which states that the bodies of the deceased are to be buried & that cremation is forbidden. In 1963 the Vatican’s Holy Office lifted the prohibition. The Church permitted cremation as long as it was not chosen as a denial of the Church’s teachings. Cremation can be chosen for economic reasons because it is a less expensive burial method, or if they want their remains to be buried above another family member, because it takes up less space. Cremation is very popular in Europe-an countries because of the unavailability of land. In 1983, a revised Code of Canon Law stated that the Church still recommends a traditional Christian Burial, but doesn’t forbid cremation unless it is chose to be contrary to Church teaching. Finally in 1997, the Vatican gave the US Bishops permission to allow the funer-al Mass with the cremated remains present, as long as the local ordinary, the bishop of the diocese, allowed it. Although cremation is an acceptable burial practice, the church still prefers corporeal burial of the body. The present position it that the church promotes the custom of burial of the body following the example of Christ. There is no better way to thank & praise God for this person’s life, which we have known through his or her body. The Church’s belief is that this body took part in the sacraments & the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Cremated remains are now given the same respect as the corporeal burial. The cremated remains should have the same dignity as the body in the casket. The Church says after cremation , the remains should be placed in a worthy & appropriate container, & that they be put in a place of honor. People need a place they can feel a closeness to the deceased, a place to pray & reflect. The scattering of remains in the ocean or outdoors in not appropriate. Catholic cemeteries are now providing a final resting place for cremated human remains. There are 3 types of burial options with cremated remains. There are niches, which are above ground areas in mausoleums or crypts sized for an urn. There are column burials, which consist of a freestanding wall with niches inside, & there are also grave spaces for urns. It is forbidden to divide human remains among family members, & the remains should never be kept at home, or even more troubling, molded in to jewelry. excerpt from Catholic Sun, March 14, 2002 11-7-14

We Ought Never Give Up

“Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard…” Isaiah 29:17

Isaiah speaks to people caught up in self-indulgence, attentive only to their personal carvings & desires, oblivious of a wounded & struggling world needing their care & concern. Ironically, in the four weeks before Christmas, we too are culturally encouraged toward self indulgence through insistent commercials & ads to buy & spend extravagantly. Isaiah never gave up on the people he coaxed to draw near to God. To show how convinced he was that the people could change, Isaiah used the image of a wilderness transformed into a fruitful orchard. We ought never give up on ourselves or others either. It does no good to complain & gripe about the commercialism of this season. Our attitude and actions are what will make a difference. Each decision to be a person of kindness in spite of our resistance or dis-like will contribute to the spiritual orchard. Each choice to buy fewer items & care more about those who have less than we do will turn our hearts away from the barrenness of “too much” & toward the fruitfulness of love which is promised in today’s Scripture. Sr. Joyce Rupp, O.S.M. 20141221

We can't be whole and happy when Mother Earth is being stripped of her wholeness. Christ came to save the world, not just the people in the world. Our salvation, like our happiness, is tied to the way we treat the earth. — Credit: MIKE NELSON

What is Proper Attire for Church?

We usually dress according to the occasion. Attending a formal or semi-formal dinner, the theater, a concert (not the rock kind), or other special event demands that we give more attention to what we are wearing. Attending Church should be considered very special. After all, we are gathered in the “house of God” for the purpose & oc-casion of praising & worshipping Him. The clothes we wear should reflect the dignity of the occasion. Now that summer weather is here, we perhaps can take a few liberties & wear more comfortable attire. However, clothes resembling beach wear are certainly not appropriate. Common sense would dictate that we avoid wearing anything distracting, in poor taste or offensive to the sensitivi-ty of our worshipping community.

Ed Laughlin: What Exactly is Stewardship?

Whether it is a family member, a member of my parish, or just someone who asks me what I do, and I invariably say “stewardship,” one question is often posed: “So, what exactly is stewardship?”

Of course, books have been written; sermons have been given; conferences have been held; and prayers have been offered to seek answers. Nevertheless, the idea of stewardship boils down to one simple fact — that is, everything we are and everything we have and everything we accomplish are achieved only through the grace of God. In other words, all comes from God and we are merely the caretakers, the stewards of all these gifts. When we are called to lives of stewardship, it is quite simply God asking us what we are doing with the gifts we have been granted and given. At times we may become “somewhat full of ourselves,” and think it is ourselves who have succeeded, but if we meditate for even a short period of time on who and what we are, we must come to an understanding, assuming we are faithful Catholics, that it is God who has given us the abilities, the health, the strength, the courage, the intelligence, the support, and the time for us to realize anything. We refer to the U.S.C.C.B.’ pastoral letter, Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response. On the first page of that letter is this statement:“Stewardship is an expression of discipleship, with the power to change how we understand and live out our lives. Disciples who practice stewardship recognize God as the origin of life, the giver of freedom, the source of all they have and are and will be.”

It really is that simple! www.catholicsteward.com August 29, 2013 11-8-15

What Then Unites Us? Food For Thought “Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” It is becoming increasingly difficult to discern what the vision for America is. Do we really know who we are and what we stand for? Are we willing to think for ourselves, or do we believe media pundits have all the answers?... As we enter the next election season, I hope we will each be willing to take a step back and ask the question, What is of crucial importance to me and to the future of our nation?” Dr.

Ben Carson, M.D. world famous neurosurgeon. 5-17-2015 6-14-15

What to Want, What to Pray For

…ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete. John 16:24

The resolution of the problems of desire in Christianity is ultimately achieved by making our greatest desire the love of God. The first great commandment is to love the Lord our God with every fiber of our being (Mark 12:30). If we cultivate this desire above all others, then we will come to know sereni-ty. We will still experience other desires. When we are hungry, we will desire food; when we are working, we will desire just pay. In fact, loving God above all else allows us to desire more things than ever before...Of course, what usually happens is that when we love God above all else, our desires for people & things change in many ways. We begin to want whatever will help us live in union, & we begin to reject whatever takes us away from God. We might still experience temptation, but it doesn’t have the power that it once held over us. We might still desire worldly things, like wealth, but we hold this desire more loosely. If it comes to pass, fine. If not, then we already possess the pearl of great price, which is the love of God. Philip St. Romain, Reflecting on the Serenity Prayer 20130721

What’s Your Catholic IQ?

This self-quiz can help you and your family review what you know about our Catholic faith. The answers will appear in next week’s bulletin: 1. Everyone Jesus called to become his disciples immediately followed him. a) True b) False

2. At Mass, the Communion of Saints are invoked during the _______

a) Sign of Peace b) Eucharistic Prayer c) Penitential Rite d) Prayer of the Faithful 3. All people who are saints were born holy. a) True b) False

4. The day after All Saints Day is call All ______ Day a) Souls b) Sinners c) All Hallows Eve 5. “We believe in the holy catholic church, the communion of ________, the forgiveness of sins…”

a) souls b) saints c) creed d) bread and wine

6. “When the Saints Go Marching In” was originally a church hymn.

a) True b) False

7. The first official step to becoming a canonized saint is to be declared____

a) venerable b) baptized c) holistic d) ready

8. Catholics traditionally receive the name of a _____ when they are baptized. a) holy day b) sacrament c) hymn d) saint 9. Saint ________dedicated his life to the care of lepers in Hawaii. a) Francis of Assisi b) Maximilian Kolbe c) Damien of Moloka’i d) John XXIII 11-16-14

What’s Your Catholic IQ?

The answers: 1. Everyone Jesus called to become his disciples immediately followed him: False. For example, in Mat-thew 19:16-30, the rich young man walked away. 2. At Mass, the Communion of Saints are invoked during the: Eucharistic Prayer 1, also known as the Roman Canon, honors two sets of saints. 3. All people who are saints were born holy: False. Many saints such as, Mary Magdalene, Thomas Beck-et, Augustine, Margaret of Cortona, converted after leading less than holy lives. 4. The day after All Saint’s Day is call All Souls Day. This is the feast day for those who are in purgatory (See Wisdom 3:1-9). We sometimes pray the traditional prayer for those in purgatory: 'Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they, and all the souls of the faithful de-parted, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen'. 5. “We believe in the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins…” The creed we profess at Mass every Sunday states that we are part of the great family of saints, both living and dead. 6. “When the Saints Go Marching In” was originally a church hymn. True. First sung as an American gos-pel hymn in the early 1900s. This popular jazz tune is often played at funerals in New Orleans. 7. The first official step to becoming a canonized saint is to be declared venerable. A person is declared venerable when it has been determined that he/she lived with heroic Catholic virtue. 8. Catholics traditionally receive the name of a saint when they are baptized. Saints provide models of charity and intercede on our behalf. 'The baptismal name' can also express a Christian mystery or vir-tue. The Church encourages parents not to give a name that is foreign to Christian sentiment. (CCC,n.44). 9. Saint Damien of Moloka'i dedicated his life to the care of lepers in Hawaii. Damien spent 16 years min-istering to lepers abandoned on the island of Moloka'i to die without love or anyone to care for them. Da-mien eventually contracted and died of leprosy. His feast day is May 10. 11-23-14

Who are we? Material Beings With Souls

“We have to recognize that we are spiritual beings with souls existing in a spiritual world as well as material be-ing with bodies and brains existing in a material world.” Sir John Eccles, Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist who studied consciousness. 20161225

Why Do We Go to Mass?

After His Resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples when they were gathered together. The only time he ap-peared to an individual was when he appeared to Mary Magdalene and he told her to go to the community and share the Good News. As Christians we find Jesus present in the community of believers gathered at Mass. When we celebrate the Mass, we repeat the Last Supper, as Jesus commanded us to do. In doing this, we remember and re-present his great act of love for us on the Cross taking our sins upon himself so that we, if we follow his commandments, can live with him forever in heaven. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that Mass attendance on Sundays and Holy Days of Obli-gation is the first of the six Commandments of the Church. If we give God a chance, He will help us experience the tremendous benefits of the Mass and the Eucharist. Be patient. Bring an attitude of payer and thanksgiving to Mass. If you really thought about who you are, who God is, and how much thanks you own Him, you would want to go to Mass. The Mass would become the source and center of your spiritual life. 10-25-15

Why God allows evil Our Father permits wickedness in the world because He gave us free will to choose or reject Him. Since God knows all the harm wicked people and demons cause, why does he permit them to exist at all; or, know-ing the evil they would do, not destroy them before or after they do it?

While a brief column such as this cannot possibly plum the depths of the questions you raise, a few observations should be made. First, it does not pertain to God to annihilate any rational creature He has made. Thus, angels and men have an immortality that pertains to their souls, and for humans, one day, to our bodies, as well. Having given the gift of life, God never withdraws His gift. While it is true demons - and the human souls in hell - have defini-tively rejected His love, God does not thereby cancel His love for them. He continues to sustain the life even of His enemies thought they choose to live apart from Him, and what He values. Secondly, your question tends to put God within serial time, where time passes incrementally from future to pre-sent to past. And thus the question occurs to us, “Why would God at sometime in the past, knowing what a person would do in the future bring them into existence today?” But God does not live in or relate to time in this manner. For God, past, present and future are all equally present. And thus, while God’s inner life is mysterious, it is clear God does not deliberate in the manner we do. So, to some degree, even the way we phrase our questions is invalid, God does not ponder A, look forward to B and then do C. But let us for a moment assume God did act temporally in this way, and at some point in the past, God, knowing that a person would do horrible things in the future, considers their existence today. Let us say that seeing the bad things they would do, He simply vetoes their existence. But what does this do then to human freedom? In effect it cancels it. Why? Because if in knowing that a person will choose badly, God preemptively vetoes their existence, then the whole process of choosing God is “front-loaded “ and none of us who do exist are really free. Freedom would only be theoretical because no exist-ing person actually can or ever did say no.. If we are not free to say no, we are not really free to say yes to God and love Him. Many more thing related to the questions you raise could be said. But for now, let it be enough for us to say that the answers are caught up in the mysteries of God’s love, time and human freedom. Msgr. Charles Pope, Pastoral Answers 5-18-14

Why Holy Water?

Question: Where did the practice of blessing ourselves with Holy Water upon entering Church come from? In my parish they put sand in the stoops. Answer: In the ancient Church, one usually entered the sanctuary through the baptistery & the custom of blessing oneself with the water naturally took up as a reminder of baptism. In later centuries, as church buildings grew larger & doors multiplied, small fonts were placed near those doors & the tradition continued. The practice of placing sand in the fonts for Lent is a tire aberration & not prescribed by any norms. At no point in the liturgical year is it appropriate to cease remembering our baptism. (”Pastoral Answers” by Msgr. Charles Pope)

5-4-14

Why Keep the Commandments?

If a person has to keep the Ten Commandments to get to heaven, why did Jesus Christ die on the cross and shed His blood for us? Romans (3:24) says we are “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Isn’t it by the blood of the Lord, and not by the observance of the law, that we are forgiven our sins and have eternal life?

You’re right. We do not keep the law of God and Jesus Christ in order to “buy” God’s love and our sharing in His life. These are free, unmerited gifts. Jesus does tell us, however, what we must do because we are His disciples, part of His family. Several times He corrected His followers when they tried to act, or even prompt Him to act, against that lifestyle. (see, for exam-ple, Matthew 7:21, 19:17 and chapter 25, and John 9:21) In other words, there are certain ways we Christians do things. Jesus tells us we must live our lives according to that way or we just won’t fit into the kingdom. 20140330

Women Deserve Better

Abortion betrays the basic feminist principles of nonviolence, nondiscrimination and justice for all. Abortion is a reflection that we have not met the needs of women - and that women have settled for less. Women deserve bet-ter. More than a century ago, the same women who fought for women’s rights and for the rights of slaves to be free also fought to protect women and children from abortion. We continue their fight in the spirit of Mattie Brinker-hoff, who wrote in 1869 in The Revolution: “When a man steals to satisfy hunger, we can safely assume that there is something wrong in society - so when a woman destroys the life of her unborn child, it is an evidence that either by education or circumstances she has been greatly wronged.”

Feminism was born of abolition. All people are equal. Not all choices are equal. We envision a

better day, a day when womanhood is celebrated, mothers are supported, fatherhood is honored and every child is cherished. If you refuse to choose between women and children, if you work to systematically eliminate the root causes that drive women to abortion, then you already follow in the footsteps of Susan B. Anthony and our other feminist foremothers, whether you call yourself a feminist or not. The Feminist Case Against Abortion, Serrin M. Foster, American Magazine, 1/19-26/15, 20160124

Words to Ponder From the Word of God

“A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends.” Proverbs 16:28

The Unnatural Beauty of Nature

“I know all the birds of the air, and whatever stirs in the plains, belongs to me. Psalm 50:11

The birds of the air and the animals and plants the psalmist speaks of bring to mind the awesome Creator of life. Jesus loved creation and made reference to it in his teachings. His parables tell of bird, flowers, wheat, figs, seeds, pearls - and even weeds. I was raised on a farm with open spaces, and each day I helped to feed and care for the cows, horses, pigs and chickens. I was always fascinated to see the crops of corn, wheat and hay growing from tiny seeds. I loved the feel of the ground on my bare feet as I ran in the fields. It was a joy to see the early morning sun touch the dew covered meadow grass and turn the whole pasture into a bed of sparking diamonds. Only later in life have I come to see the great need we have to slow down, look about and observe the beauty of creation. To touch and smell the good earth and to hear the song of a distant bird. Thank you, Lord, for letting the wonderful world of nature remind us of you, our loving Creator. Fr. James McKarns 5-3-2015

Word of Life

“Perhaps one of your friends has become pregnant unexpectedly. As someone who has been there, I encourage you to support your friend in her new journey of being a mother. Not sure how to help or what to say? Learn more at www.goo.g./e60H2Z.” 10 Ways to Support Her When She’s Unexpectedly Expecting10-25-15

Word of Life - “Whether it lasts for a brief moment or for a hundred years, each of our lives is a good and per-fect gift. At every stage and in every circumstance, we are held in existence by God’s love...God invites us to em-brace the lives we have been given, for as long as they are given. Every life is worth living.”

10/11/15

“You are the light of the world Matthew.” 5:14

There is a lovely church in a valley in Switzerland that has no electricity. At the end of each pew, next to the pulpit and lectern, and around the altar are candlesticks, with no candles. Whenever an evening service is held, every worshipper and each of the clergy bring lighted candles. As each enters the church the glow be-comes brighter and brighter, until the nave is bathed in a gentle light. If even one family is absent, its pew goes unlighted, and the total effect is diminished. Each family knows its light is necessary to illuminate the church; everyone is needed. We know that one of our greatest human needs is to be needed! Somehow we must believe that someone counts on us, that we are necessary somewhere! In this modern world of mass everything, we find it hard to believe in our own individual importance. But we must or we shrivel up and die. Our light goes out. A. Philip

Parham, Letting God 20160619

Your child’s online identity: Do you know what it is?

Dear Editor, Before I started this letter, I Googled myself to see “who I was” on the internet. The first page that came up was mostly about Honey Boo Boo’s mother, who shares my first name, and lives in Georgia. I quickly wondered if maybe I wasn’t that easy to find and what a great, if not the preferred, cover. But, it only took one extra defining word to narrow me down to the first page Googled. It is true that anyone who wants to take the time and with minimal effort can find out about you, or what ap-pears to be about you, whether accurate or not. Even if you don’t own a computer or never use a computer, anyone can access information about you. Part of my job includes going in to Chenango County middle & high school classrooms to help student ex-plore healthy relationships & define unhealthy relationships, particularly intimate partner violence & sexual assault. When we talk about social media & safety, I ask if anyone has an online account & what they are signed in to. I hear 7th grade stu-dent with hundreds of Facebook friends. I challenge their” connection” with all these friends & parents may want to do so too. I believe most people in the world are good & will continue to be so. There are very few who will use the internet to coerce, manipulate & prey on your child’s vulnerability, & take advantage of your child’s natural curiosity to pull them in to an unhealthy, unsafe relationship. What can a parent do? Talk to your child DAILY about their internet activities, social networks & online in-teractions, & remember your child believes they are being careful. A parent can set up Google alerts to moni-tor the mention of your child’s name & prohibit your kids from using multiple screen names & accounts. If you have concerns, only allow them to use their computer in the main part of your home. Familiarize yourself with all of their social networks, which can change daily, so keep asking (and looking) and learn. Be observant of their online habits & talk to them about it. Consider implementing monitoring software on their computer & Smartphone, particularly if they are suddenly shutting you out or you have noticed their behavior change. Always have password access to your child’s accounts, especially if they are under 18. What are some of the sites?

Instagram: a picture shar ing service that allows a digital filter & share this on many social networking services. You may want to see what kind of pictures your child is posting or commenting on, & talk about what is appropriate vs inappropriate. Twitter: enables user s to send & read text-based messages of 140 character or less, known as “tweets”. Registered users can join in the conversation & unregistered users may view any tweets. Many celebrities tweet & some may not be age ap-propriate. Snap Chat: popular because posted content viewing can be controlled by the user & then be deleted from the recipient’s device & the company’s servers. What some kids forget is that some devices have screen-shot capability & may not be as “un-sharable” as thought. Unsafe pictures can affect school reputations & can lead to bullying behavior from peers. Vine: allows users to r ecord & share an unlimited number of shor t, looping video clips with a maxi-mum length of 6 seconds. Monitor your youth’s vine feed & make sure the videos are suitable for them to watch. Violence, nudity & adult content are possible on Vine. Others: Texting, Facebook, X-Box, Live &

Playstation Live,m YouTube, Tumblr, Chat Roulette, Omegle, HBO-GO adult content, & Netflix parental controls. For more information about Cyber Safety, call 334-8244, M-F, 9-5

June Georgia, Community Educator/Victim Advocate Crime Victims Program, Catholic Charities of Chenango County.

‘You’re Only As Sick As Your Secrets’ “I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents…” Luke 15:7

We feel ashamed of our sins and failings. We usually try to hide them from others, and sometimes even from ourselves. We keep them hidden because we believe that these “ugly” parts make us unattractive to others and to God. I have found that one of the biggest obstacles to healing and restoration for those who have strayed is the shame they feel. However, the wisdom of the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous says, “You are only as sick as your se-crets.” As long as shame holds sway over our lives and our sins and failings remain buried, they poison our lives. But Jesus has a special love and care for the sinner, the lost sheep. Jesus is searching for the lost sheep in each of us-the part of us that is in need of God’s healing love. We need to let Jesus find us. A lost sheep might bleat and speak its distress, hoping to be found. We too must cry out in our distress, asking for Jesus to find us and bring us back. Msgr. Stephen J. Rossetti, Diocese of

Syracuse 20161204