Category Archives: Church

Part II – Powerful Women of the Christian Scriptures – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Blessed Virgin Mary, Church, Community, Converts, Evangelism, Holiness, Holy Spirit, Jewish roots, Relationships, Scripture, Spirituality, Women

WOMEN AND THE POWER OF GOD – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

This is the second part of my article on Women and the Power of God.  In the first part I looked at some of the women of the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament).  Today we will look at some of the women of the Christian Scriptures (the New Testament).  Next week we will look at some women Saints.  God consistently uses women to show His power and to help bring about the Kingdom.

PART II – POWERFUL WOMEN OF THE CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES (NEW TESTAMENT)

MARY, THE MOTHER OF JESUS:  We start our New Testament list of women with the woman who made it all possible.  Because of her resounding YES, the second person of the Holy Trinity, The Word, became Jesus.  We must remember that Mary was just a young teenage girl when the angel appeared to her.  Try to imagine what it must have been like to be a young teenager, engaged to be married and have an angel come to her with the revelation that God was calling her to become the mother of His son.  She quickly pointed out that she did not know man and wondered how this could happen.  The angel told her that the Holy Spirit would come over her and she would be with child.  That would be scary for any woman, but Mary, because of her love of God and her trust in Him, said yes.  Think what it must have been like to travel to a foreign town and have to give birth in a cave with animals.  Imagine having the three Magi come to her bearing gifts and coming to see the King of Kings, her baby.  Her amazement continued with the Shepherds coming and describing their own visit by an angel announcing Glory to God in the Highest.  When she presented the baby Jesus in the Temple, Simeon said to her, “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed.”   How those words must have cut in to her spirit.  Think about how Joseph told her that Herod was going to kill their baby and that they needed to flee to Egypt where she would spend a significant time away from her family and friends in a foreign nation.   Mary had to be a very strong woman to handle all of this and to do it so graciously.  Think of the strength that she had to have during Jesus’ ministry and especially at the time of his Passion.  Mary continually showed her strength and trust in God.  There is so much that could be said about her that I really don’t have the space here.  Mary is the Theotokos, the Mother of God.

ELIZABETH:  When Mary was pregnant with Jesus, she went to be with her elder cousin, Elizabeth.  Elizabeth was probably between 60 and 70 years old and was miraculously pregnant with John the Baptist.  Elizabeth was the wife of the priest, Zechariah and was a strong woman of faith.  Scripture tells us “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit”. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”  This statement of Elizabeth is filled with so much faith and such recognition of who Jesus was.  Elizabeth’s encounter with the pregnant Mary caused her to be filled with the Holy Spirit.  The baby in her womb, John the Baptist, leapt for joy.  Those same words were used in the Old Testament when David leapt and danced before the Ark of the Covenant.  Mary, pregnant with Jesus, is the new Ark of the Covenant and Elizabeth recognizes this immediately.  Elizabeth was a strong woman of faith.  She was also strong enough to protect her child, John the Baptist, from being killed by Herod’s soldiers when he ordered the slaughter of the innocent.

MARTHA AND MARY:  These two women and their brother Lazarus were close friends of Jesus.  Their names often come up in the scriptures.  Martha is seen as the working servant and Mary as the quiet listener.  They certainly each had their own personalities, but they seemed to put all that they had into following Jesus and working for the building of His Kingdom.    The important thing about their relationship to Jesus is that it seems to be on par with the relationship men would have with their rabbi.  Normally women would not be so close to the rabbi and wouldn’t be seen as important enough to “sit at their feet” in learning and also wouldn’t be seen as workers with him.   Jesus, in his relationship with Martha and Mary showed us that gender was not an issue to Him, even if it was to His culture. 

MARY MAGDALENE:  Mary Magdalene is often misunderstood in the scriptures, art and tradition.  Her name is so common that she is often confused with other Mary’s.   Unfortunately, in the Western world, she is also often seen as the repentant prostitute mentioned in the scriptures.  Truth of the matter is that in 1969 the Roman Church officially said the she was not that sinful prostitute.  Enough bible study and study of early Church writings showed that she wasn’t.  In 2016 Pope Francis gave her a feast day, June 22nd, ranking her with the male Apostles.  If you study the early writings it appears that she supported Jesus both financially and spiritually.  Eastern tradition has it that she went with Mary, the mother of Jesus to Ephesus to live and that she was considered an early leader in the Church.  Mary Magdalene was a strong disciple of Jesus right until the very end.  She was present at His crucifixion and was a witness of His empty tomb.  Whenever scripture mentions her with other women, her name is always first.  The Resurrected Jesus appeared to her at least twice.  Our modern study of scripture and early writings show that she was a powerful disciple and leader of the early Church.  Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, the Vatican’s culture minister, said Mary Magdalene’s reputation was sullied by her depiction in art over the centuries.  He said, “Art history made her become a prostitute, which is something that is not present in the Gospels, It is important to find the real face of Mary Magdalene, who is a woman who represents the importance of the female aspect on the side of Christ.”   Mary was a strong leader and tremendous help to Jesus during His ministry.  She continued to be a strong help to His Church.

THE SYROPHOENICIAN WOMAN (MARK)/CANAANITE WOMAN (MATTHEW):  Matthew and Mark tell us of the Pagan woman who comes to Jesus requesting healing for her daughter.  The woman’s name is not given.  The incident occurs in Tyre (modern day Lebanon) which has a long history of being an enemy of Israel.  The woman is not a Jew, yet she comes to Jesus asking for help.  She more than asks for help, she screams for help over and over again.  Jesus seems to ignore her.   She pleads with Jesus who finally says that he was “sent only to the lost sheep of Israel”.   Matthew tells us that the woman throws herself at the feet of Jesus and pleads for his help.   Jesus tells her, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”  The woman tells Jesus that “even the dogs get to eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table”.  To this, Jesus replies to her, “O woman, your faith is great; let it be done as you have requested.”  Jesus emphasizes the word great.  At that moment the daughter is healed and Jesus tells the woman to go home to her daughter and to trust.  She does.  There are several things in this story that tell us of the strength and cunning of this woman that allows the power of Jesus to shine through.  First of all her persistence in trying to get Jesus to help is commendable.    Secondly her use of the word Lord and Son of David in addressing Jesus shows us that even though she was not a Jew, she knew about Jewish thought on the messiah.  The very fact that she went to Jesus, and was persistent shows us of the faith that she had.  When Jesus makes the comment about feeding the children and not the dogs, she didn’t show anger but was smart enough to come back with the line that even the dogs eat the scraps that drop from the table.  To this Jesus remarks about how great her faith was and he healed her daughter.  Lastly, when Jesus told her to go home in trust, she did exactly that.  She trusted that her petitions to Jesus were answered.  We all need to learn from this powerful, faithful, persistent, trusting woman.

LYDIA:   Lydia was an educated and wealthy woman from Thyatira (modern day Turkey).  She did not follow the numerous gods of that region but instead showed an interest in the one God that the Jewish people professed.  She was a business woman who sold rare dyes (particularly purple) and had her business centered in Philippi Greece.  There she met the apostle St. Paul who told her about Jesus.  She was the first person converted by Paul during his trip to Greece.  She was so convinced in her conversion that she immediately shared the good news with her family and they followed her in to being a convert to Christianity.   She opened the first Christian church in Greece in her large home.   Paul and Silas remained with her for several weeks training her in the faith.  Because of her business connections and trading in many areas she was responsible for the conversion of many Greeks.  Not only had she started the first Christian church in Greece, but she also helped to spread that faith to many areas.  God used this strong and successful business woman to help spread the faith.  We can’t help but to be thankful for the way that she turned all that she had made (and it was significant) to be used for spreading the Good News.

DAMARIS:  Damaris was an intellectual woman in the city of Athens.  When Paul went to Athens he spoke in the streets about Jesus and although this was scoffed at by many, some of the intellectual Greeks there found him quite interesting.  He was invited to speak to the Intellectual Council there.  One of the members present was a woman named Damaris who was intrigued by all that Paul taught about Jesus and after many discussions with Paul, she converted and helped to lead many people to Jesus.  She became a leader in the church in Athens.  God used this intellectually gifted woman to help build up his Church.

PHOEBE:  Phoebe was a successful business woman from Corinth.  Paul spent a considerable amount of time in Corinth setting up his Church.  Phoebe was an integral part of the work that he did there.  In a letter to the Romans Paul describes Phoebe as a servant leader of the Church there and a benefactor to the Church.  Just like Lydia, Phoebe used her significant resources to help the Church.  She also used her “connections” to help spread the Word.  Paul called her a saint and a leader in that church.

PRISCILLA:  Priscilla was a Gentile from the Roman aristocracy who married a Turkish Jew named Aquila.  They originally lived in Rome and helped Peter set up the Church there.  By profession they were tent makers.  In 51 AD they were expelled from Rome (for their Christian work) and moved to Corinth.  There they met Paul and worked with him in evangelizing Greece.  They were so important to Paul that he brought them both with him to help spread the Good News in Ephesus.   Even though Priscilla and Aquila worked together, Paul always mentions Priscilla first indicating her importance.  It seems that her role as an evangelist and a leader in the Church is something that Paul wished to emphasize.  Later they both returned to Rome and again helped build up the Church there.

CONCLUSION:   When we look at the women of the New Testament we can’t help but to see that they stood out as being equal to men as evangelizers and leaders in the early Church.  What makes this so extraordinary is that in the culture of the time, women could hardly do anything in public.  Their place was in the home.  Jesus and the early Church quickly showed the fallacy of this.  These women were strong leaders and servants that helped to spread the Good News.

Living in a Gnostic Culture – by Father Bill Peckman

Anxiety and Worry, Apologetics, Church, Community, Ethics, Evangelism, Gnosticism, Heresy, Holiness, Penance and Reconciliation, Pro-Life, Spirituality

Living in a Gnostic Culture by Father Bill Peckman

A general rule of thumb for me is that if one truly believes something, it changes their behaviors. If I see someone preaching something or becoming an activist for something, but I do not see their behaviors follow suit, I dismiss it as hypocrisy at best and as neo-Gnosticism at worst.

In the USA, we live in an increasingly Gnostic culture. Gnosticism is a belief that the created order is the result of a malevolent entity, the height of that disorder is humanity, and that a benevolent entity has planted within us a spark and a soul that most are too ignorant to act upon. This spark is a special or secret knowledge. This created an elite group.

Gnosticism sees anything that creates more human beings as evil. Abortion, suicide, mercy-killing, birth control, homosexuality, and other forms of sexuality and life issues contrary to Christianity were seen as positives. As Gnostics are dualists (body bad, soul good), salvation comes not from renouncing sin, but from being released from ignorance about the created order. Gnosticism takes a very dim view of organized religion as a whole.

What we see today, I call a neo-Gnosticism. What makes it different is a two-tiered system of elites who posses the knowledge and the commoners who don’t. Rules do not apply equally to the two groups. Gnosticism is certainly the ‘religion’ of the eugenics movement. Gnosticism has found itself in the man-made climate crisis controversy.

I am a man who is very much in favor of NOT dumping pollutants into our land, sky, and water. I think we wildly over-consume. I am in favor of re-usable anything. The personal choices I have made reflect this. I think that many scare tactics are in use with the debate and that the debate has taken a near zero sum quasi-religious fervor. Again, since I believe belief should effect action, when I see celebrities and politicians who champion the cause but whose lifestyles would give no witness to these beliefs (they fly private jets, have limos, several homes, etc), it makes me question the veracity of their beliefs. While I might not agree completely with anyone, I will respect those who actions are in line with their beliefs in this matter.

My own opinion about so much of the debate in this country is that is it about control. Elitism in any of its forms is about a general disdain for the unenlightened. In this worldview, the enlightened are duty bound to save the ignorant masses from themselves, even if that means culling the herd. The tools for this are via the government: legislative activism, judicial activism, and punitive taxation. However, for this to work, division among the ignorant masses needs to happen. It is like the popular kids getting unpopular kids to attack other unpopular kids with the promise the attackers will become part of the elite..which seldom happens and makes useful idiots of them. The neo-Gnostic mentality allows for this.

Progressive politics are rooted in neo-Gnosticism. So is progressive Christianity. It is little wonder that progressive Christianity has adopted Gnostic views on life issues and the use of human sexuality. Certainly there are forces within the Catholic Church, who believing themselves to be oh so reasonable, want to follow suit. While they might not say it outright, that the majority of Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence is of no concern. For a Gnostic posing as a Catholic, the Incarnation itself would be problematic, hence all things that flow from the Incarnation, especially that we consume the Flesh and Blood of the Word made Flesh would seem ridiculous. As Gnosticism does not see sin in the way Catholics do, the consequences of sin would also mean little (who needs Confession? No such thing as spiritual warfare) and means to rectify the consequences would be ignored as irrelevant.

No heresy ever really dies. It morphs and adapts. It goes by new names while keeping its essential character. We live in a Gnostic culture in the west and the Americas. Just as Gnosticism wanted to be the orthodoxy of Christianity from the beginning, so too today. Heresy counts on ignorance of the truth to spread. 50 years of horrid catechesis within the Catholic Church is now bearing consequences that are a major contributory factor in the emptying of our pews and the despoiling of the flock by ravenous wolves.

Demanding the truth, living the truth, and giving witness to the truth is how we have always battled heresies; it will be the way we do now.

Father Bill Peckman’s website can be found at: http://www.ramblingsofacountrypastor.blogspot.com/

Mary, Our Queen Mother – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Blessed Virgin Mary, Church, Death and Dying, Healing, Holiness, Jewish roots, Miracles, Relationships, Saints, Scripture


Mary, Our Queen Mother – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

On August 22nd, the eighth day after the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Church celebrates the feast of the Queenship of Mary.  From the earliest days of the Church, these two events were seen as linked together.  When Mary was given the special gift of being assumed bodily in to heaven, it was to take her place as Queen of Heaven.  For us today, in a world where Kings and Queens are part of fairy tales or mostly exist for ceremonial purposes, it is hard for us to understand why the Church would recognize Mary as the Queen of Heaven.  In order to understand it better, we must look back in to our Jewish roots, scriptures and the early Church fathers.

Mary exists as Queen only because Jesus exists as “King of the Jews”.  The first time we hear Jesus referred to as King is in the Gospel of St. Matthew in his nativity accounts.  St. Matthew writes with a great knowledge of Judaism and its history.  His nativity account is flowing with references to Jesus as King of the Jews as related to the Davidic Kingdom.  He has the Magi, the eastern kings, come and worship the new King of Kings.  This is set in David’s city, Bethlehem.   It is the Magi who kneel down before the baby Jesus, and before Mary and call Jesus the King of the Jews.  Joseph isn’t even mentioned when the Magi adore the new babe.  The emphasis is placed upon Jesus and Mary.  To understand this we need to look at the Jewish role of the Queen Mother.

The Jews, like most of the other people of the Middle East, gave special emphasis to the mother of the King as the Queen Mother.  This was quite practical as most of the Kings had numerous wives, but only one mother.   Scripture tells us that King Solomon, David’s son, had 700 wives and 300 concubines.  In Jewish history the Queen Mother had her throne right next to her son, the King.  She helped him in caring for the Kingdom.   She was always especially known as an advocate for her people.  She very often interceded for her people.  In 1 Kings 2: 13-21 we hear the story of Adonijah who comes to see the Queen Mother saying, “I have something to ask to you.” She replied, “Say it.” So he said, “There is one favor I would ask of you. Do not refuse me.” And she said, “Speak on.” He said, “Please ask King Solomon, who will not refuse you, to give me Abishag the Shunamite for my wife.” “Very well,” replied Bathsheba, “I will speak to the king for you.”   Then Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, and the king stood up to meet her and paid her homage. Then he sat down upon his throne, and a throne was provided for the king’s mother, who sat at his right. “There is one small favor l would ask of you,” she said. “Do not refuse me.” “Ask it, my mother,” the king said to her, “for I will not refuse you.   So she said, “Let Abishag the Shunamite be given to your brother Adonijah for his wife.”  Of course, the King did what his mother asked.  This was the common practice for Queen Mothers; to sit on a throne next to their son and bring him intercessions.   This is what our Queen Mother, Mary does today for us.

There is no doubt that the Kingship of Jesus differs from the Kingship of David or Solomon or any of the Jewish Kings.  His Kingship is founded on his death and resurrection.  It is at the cross that we read “Jesus, the Nazorean, King of the Jews.  It was on the cross, with Mary at his foot, that Jesus shows us that His Kingdom is based upon Mercy and pure Love.  The Queenship of Mary follows this same example, Love and Mercy.  Now Jesus is enthroned in Heaven with Mary, the Queen Mother, at His side.  Together they are dispensers of God’s Mercy and Love.  Mary, the Immaculate daughter of the Father and spouse of the Holy Spirit sits with her son and her God, Jesus.

The book of Revelation, Chapter 12 verses 1 though 5 gives us an apocalyptic vision of Mary as Queen of Heaven.  It says, “And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars: And being with child, she cried travailing in birth, and was in pain to be delivered. And there was seen another sign in heaven: and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns: and on his head seven diadems: And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered; that, when she should be delivered, he might devour her son. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with an iron rod: and her son was taken up to God, and to his throne.”  I find it interesting that she has a crown with twelve stars.  Those twelve stars remind us of both the twelve tribes of Israel who relied upon the Queen Mother as their intercessor before the King and of the twelve Apostles who regarded her as the mother of Jesus and their mother.  The red dragon reminds us of how Mary, our mother and our Queen, has always resisted the attacks of the devil and is the promise of the New Eve who stamps her foot upon the devil’s head.

When we see Mary as the Queen of Heaven we honor her place in God’s plan as being the mother of His son Jesus, who is fully human and fully God.  Her resounding YES and her flesh gave flesh to the Word.   She was the new Ark of the Covenant in which the very presence of God resided.   It was because of her that our Lord and Savior were brought in to this world.  She is, most definitely, BLESSED among women.

St. Pope John Paul II in his letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, tells us, “Christ was raised in glory to the right hand of the Father, while Mary herself would be raised to that same glory in the Assumption,  enjoying beforehand, by a unique privilege, the destiny reserved for all the just at the resurrection of the dead. Crowned in glory – as she appears in the last glorious mystery – Mary shines forth as Queen of the Angels and Saints, the anticipation and the supreme realization of the eschatological state of the Church.”

Hopefully, some day we too, like Mary, will receive our glorified bodies and worship God and honor Mary in heaven.  Until we do, we can honor her as Queen of Heaven and bring before her our cares and concerns so that she can intercede for us before her son, Jesus, the King of Kings.

Catholic Priests and the Sacrifice of the Mass – by Luke Haskell

Apologetics, Church, Community, Diaconate, Early Church Fathers, Eucharist, Evangelism, Holy Orders, Priesthood, Resurrection, Saints, Scripture, Spirituality, ,

August 4th is the Memorial day of St. John Vianney the Cure of Ars. He was a great priest who serves as the patron Saint of all priest. In view of that, I would like to share an article from my friend Apologist Luke Haskell about the priesthood. Check it out below – Deacon Marty McIndoe

If there is a New Testament priesthood established by God, then this is one of the most important aspects of faith in our world. It would mean that there is a sacrifice that is needed for the world. This affects every human who has ever lived and all who will live in the future.  The main purpose for a priest is to offer sacrifice. This may sound archaic but we must consider the fact that God does not change.  If people come to the awareness that God established a New Testament priesthood, then this should have a profound effect on their faith.

As far back as you go, even to the beginning of Christianity, there is a priesthood and the Holy Mass. The early Christians were adamant about keeping a true understanding of faith. If the priesthood were a later invention, then you would see the pages of history scream out over the heresy. The Arian heresy that almost destroyed the church would have paled in comparison. The pages of history are silent because from the beginning, there was a priesthood and a Holy Mass as there still is today, 2000 years later. That in itself is a sustained miracle. “To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations.” (Eph 3:21)

It is an interesting fact that the reformer Tyndale’s translation of the Bible was condemned in England and it was burned by other Protestants. Thomas More charged Tyndale with falsely translating scripture in order to remove references to the priestly office. He was calling Tyndale out as a heretic for doing so. In Tyndale’s Bible, the word priest became senior and was changed to elder in his revised 1534 edition. The word “church” became congregation. The word “penance” became repent and the word “charity” became love. Words are powerful. Changes in words have a huge impact over time. This is the main reason why the church outlawed many protestant Bibles. There appears to have been an active process to manipulate history in order to remove the image of the priesthood God established.

The New Testament priesthood developed out of the bishopric during apostolic times. When it comes to the structure of the church, everything was not put in place as soon as Pentecost. The church had to grow in knowledge of itself and of its purpose; a mustard seed that would grow into the biggest tree. The apostles at different times, were Bishop, Deacon, and Priest. “For it is written in the book of Psalms: Let their habitation become desolate, and let there be none to dwell therein. And his bishopric let another take.” (Acts 1:20)

“Diakonos” means “servant” or “minister”. “Who also hath made us fit ministers of the new testament.” (2 Corinthians 3:6) In the beginning, these terms were fluid. The New Testament was the Holy Mass for 360 years before it was a book. The apostles were ministers of the sacraments and the Holy Mass. Paul tells us, “Let a man so account of us as of ministers of Christ, and dispensers of the mysteries of God.” (1 Cor 4:1) From the word mystery we get the word mysterion, sacramentum, sacrament. Paul being a priest is a minister of the sacraments of God.

Paul tells us, ‘For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also.” (Hb 7:12) There was both a change in priesthood that occurred in the New Covenant between God and man, and there was a change in law.

The New Testament, scripture contains both an image of a universal priesthood and the priesthood of the ordained. The universal priesthood consists of all who enter the church through a Trinitarian baptism. This is  understood as the mystical body. The mystical body of Christ as a royal priesthood, is shown in scripture to be called in the Greek text, hiereus. Christ is the head of the body. “And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he may hold the primacy:” (Colossians 1:18) Those who have past on in a state of grace have not left the mystical body, but celebrate the Holy Mass with the hosts of heaven on the other side of the veil.

 From Strong’s Greek concordance we define hiereús (from word 2413 /hierós, “sacred because belonging to the Temple”) – a priest. Word 2409 /hiereús(“priest”) is used in the NT: Christ is the true Temple. Those belonging to the Temple are sacred. The New Covenant sees the hiereus  sacred, and belonging to the Temple.

“Priest is defined as Old English preost probably shortened from the older Germanic form represented by Old Saxon and Old High German prestar, Old Frisian prestere, all from Vulgar Latin *prester “priest,” from Late Latin presbyter “presbyter, elder,” from Greek presbyteros (see Presbyterian). An alternative theory (to account for the -eo- of the Old English word) makes it cognate with Old High German priast, prest, from Vulgar Latin *prevost “one put over others,” from Latin praepositus “person placed in charge,” from past participle of praeponere (see provost). In Old Testament sense, a translation of Hebrew kohen, Greek hiereus, Latin sacerdos.”

Hiereus is priest, presbyter is priest. The English word priest is different from  hiereus. It is not derived phonetically nor etymologically from the word hiereus.  It is derived from “Presbyteros”. From the beginning the elders, or presbyters in the church structure, were the respected and ordained leaders within the royal hiereus, or, within the body priest. The apostles assigned the leaders of the church to the presbytery. They were the ordained through the process of laying on of the hands of the bishop, starting with those who received the spirit in the upper room at Pentecost. This is the process of apostolic succession. This image fulfilled what the priesthood of Aaron and Moses did before. “Impose not hands lightly upon any man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins. Keep thyself chaste.” (1Timothy 5:22) “Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, as the LORD instructed through Moses.” (Numbers 27:23) There is no true atonement for sins in the sacrificing of bulls and goats in the Old Testament. The images are to show us the mystery of sacrament and how the priesthood of Christ is fulfilled in the New Testament. The types in the old, become the truth in the new. The New Testament priests are those that administer the sacraments.

 Timothy was an elder in the church of one doctrine, yet he was very young. Historical documentation tells us he was a bishop of Ephesus in Turkey.  Bishops are both bishops and priests who perform the sacramental office. When one is ordained, his ministry becomes sacramental. It is ordained by God through the laying on of hands of the bishop, and given special graces by the Holy Spirit.

John in Revelation tells us, “He has made us a Kingdom of priests.” Priest as in  Hiereus. This is the entire mystical body inside the high Priest Jesus Christ. Peter says, “You are a chosen people a Holy Nation a Royal Priesthood.” Paul says: “That I should be the minister of Christ Jesus among the Gentiles; sanctifying the gospel of God, that the oblation of the Gentiles may be made acceptable and sanctified in the Holy Ghost. (Romans 15:16) In Paul writing to the Romans, he is writing as a priest of the church who in the sacramental office, through the Holy Spirit, sanctifies the oblation of bread and wine. Paul is describing his own ministry which he was called to by God. In the Greek, he is using a variant of the word “hiereus”.

He explains, “of the grace from God that makes him a “minister of Christ to the Gentiles in a priestly service (hierougounta=priestly work.) The bread that becomes the Eucharist through the Holy Spirit is sanctified. Paul tells us, “Is not the bread that we break, participation in the body of Christ?

 Webster’s defines the word “sanctify” as to, set apart to a sacred purpose or to religious use consecrate, to free from sin : purify  to impart or impute sacredness, inviolability, or respect to… to make productive of holiness or piety.

An oblation is an unbloody sacrifice. In the Old Testament the unbloody sacrifices are of bread and wine. Paul offers a consecrated, holy, unbloody, oblation through the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, for the Gentiles. Through the Holy Spirit, the priest of the mystical body, sanctified bread and wine, therefore setting it apart, consecrating it, making it holy for a holy purpose. An offering to God through Jesus Christ our high priest and mediator in the Holy of Holies, for the sins of the entire world. The holy of holies in the meeting tent represents heaven. The holies is the church. This is a prophecy of Malachy fulfilled.

“For from the rising of the sun even to the going down, my name is great among the Gentiles, and in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to my name a clean oblation: for my name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of hosts.” (Malachi 1:11)

The Gentiles were not baptized into the church until after the cross, so this clean oblation is offered from where the sun rises to where it sets, after the cross. The Old Covenant is fulfilled in the new. In the old, God told Moses that the bread of the presence must always be placed before Him. This bread was to be eaten every Sabbath by the priests in a holy place. Three times a year the sacred bread along with consecrated wine, was brought out of the holies to the Jews. The table containing the bread and wine was raised and the priests would say, “behold God’s love for you.”

The types are fulfilled in the heavenly realities. “This is my body”. Behold Gods love for you. Christ raised this image to the covenant memorial of the cross where His glorified essence that does not conform to time, space, and matter, in the Eucharist, is present before the Father before the Father sees the sins of the world. This is called a covenant memorial. It is a covenant memorial of the crucifixion of Christ. Christ at the last supper told the first priests of His church to, “do this in memory of me.” He was saying, keep the covenant memorial of the cross before the Father for the sins of the world, like the bread of the presence was in type. Without the Holy Mass, the crucifixion is only an execution. This priesthood that was established by the apostles through God, was passed on to their disciples, and continues into our present day.

The word covenant comes from the Semitic word “berit”. It means to cut a covenant. It means an oath secured by a shedding of blood. “This is my blood of the New Covenant”…

We can see the priesthood in scripture and we can confirm it with history. St. Hegesippus  (A.D. 180) records that the Apostle, St. James the Less, wore Temple vestments; and St. Polycrates of Ephesus ( A.D. 196) records that St. John the Beloved Apostle, wore a primitive Bishop’s mitre, in which he was buried. The Holy Mass is indigenous to Christianity. There is no Holy Mass without apostolic succession of the priesthood.

“The oriental liturgy, or mass, which bears the name of this apostle (James the just) is mentioned by Proclus, Patriarch of Constantinople, and by the council in Trullo, and is of venerable antiquity. St Basil, indeed, testifies that the words of the sacred invocation, in the consecration of the bread and the cup, were not committed to writing, but learned and preserved by tradition, down to the fourth century.” (Butlers Lives of The Fathers, Martyrs and Other Saints.” )

Irenaeus  (died about 202) a disciple of Polycarp who was a disciple of John the apostle tells us, “For David had been appointed a priest by God, although Saul persecuted him. For all the righteous possess the sacerdotal rank. And all the apostles of the Lord are priests, who do inherit here neither lands nor houses, but serve God and the altar continually.” (Irenaeus Against Heresies Book IV, Chapter 8)

From the book titled Clement of Rome Recognitions book 6 ch 15. The author is talking about Peter and his priestly office. “and baptized them; and celebrating the Eucharist with them, he appointed, as bishop over them, Maro, who had entertained him in his house, and who was now perfect in all things; and with him he ordained twelve presbyters and deacons at the same time. He also instituted the order of widows, and arranged all the services of the Church; and charged them all to obey their bishop in all things that he should command them.”

Hippolytus of Rome (170 – 235 AD) When a deacon is to be ordained, he is chosen after the fashion of those things said above, the bishop alone in like manner imposing his hands upon him as we have prescribed. In the ordaining of a deacon, this is the reason why the bishop alone is to impose his hands upon him: he is not ordained to the priesthood, but to serve the bishop and to fulfill the bishop’s command. He has no part in the council of the clergy, but is to attend to his own duties and is to acquaint the bishop with such matters as are needful. . . .On a presbyter, however, let the presbyters impose their hands because of the common and like Spirit of the clergy. Even so, the presbyter has only the power to receive [the Spirit], and not the power to give [the Spirit]. That is why a presbyter does not ordain the clergy; for at the ordaining of a presbyter, he but seals while the bishop ordains (The Apostolic Tradition 9 [A.D. 215]).

 We must not deny facts. We must build on facts in order to establish a clearer image of truth that has been lost to most of our world. Scripture through proper exegesis shows us a Priesthood established by God through the apostles. If there is a priesthood established by God then there is a sacrifice that is worthy of God that the priesthood has been ordained to offer. The early history of the church confirms this priesthood and shows us the growth of the priesthood established. All those who have been given a Trinitarian baptism are part of the Royal Priesthood who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb in the Holy Mass. Many modern Christians have received a valid Trinitarian baptism, but do not participate in what that baptism calls us to. It will always come down to faith though. The great doctor of the church Thomas Aquinas said, “with faith, no explanation is necessary. Without faith, no explanation is possible.”

“Christ our true pasch (Passover Lamb) has been sacrificed. Let us keep the feast. (1 Cor 5:7)

Every Holy Mass, heard with devotion, produces in our souls marvelous effects, abundant spiritual and material graces which we, ourselves, do not know…It is easier for the earth to exist without the sun than without the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass!” St. Padre Pio

Luke Haskell is a Catholic Apologist and can be found on Facebook and LinkedIn

1969: With God All Things Are Possible – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Anxiety and Worry, Church, Community, Creation, Godly Patriotism, Spirituality

1969:  WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

1969 was a very special year of great accomplishments.  Today, July 20th, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of man walking on the moon.  That same year the New York Mets won the World Series and Casey Stengel began calling them the “Miracle Mets”.  In 1969 the huge Boeing 747 was first introduced. The extremely fast French Concorde jet also debuted then.  In 1969 the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am the epitome of the American muscle car was introduced.  The Woodstock Rock festival brought in an estimated 350,000 to 500,000 people.  In October 1969 the first communication was sent over the ARPANET, the predecessor to our INTERNET.    And most miraculously, the average cost of a house was under $5,000.00 and a brand new Toyota Corona cost $1,950.00 and a gallon of gasoline was 35 cents.  I personally had a lot of great achievements that year.  In 1969 I graduated from college with a Bachelors degree in Scientific Management – Computer Science and ten days later I married my beautiful wife Martha.  Within three months of my marriage I enlisted in the U.S. Army.  All three of those events changed my life for the better and I still reap the fruits of those events.

1969 also had a lot of sad events.  Members of a Cult let by Charles Manson brutally killed five innocent people.  Senator Edward Kennedy had his Chappaquiddick Affair in 1969.   That year an accidental explosion on the US Enterprise killed 27 people.  Abbey Road would be the last album the Beatles would do together and 1969 became the last year they toured together.  During 1969 the Vietnam War continued to grow and the US began the Draft.  In 1969 Richard Nixon became President of the United States.  The “Troubles” in Northern Ireland escalated as British Troops used extreme force.  In Mississippi, Hurricane Camille hit hard killing 248 people.  Australian light aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne sliced the destroyer USS Frank E. Evans in half killing 82 of her crew.  !969 became a year of rising inflation worldwide.

Throughout the years good things happen as well as bad.  It is just a fact of life.  There is one good thing in 1969 that I would like to look at.   For the first time in history, man was able to walk on the moon.

Apollo 11 was certainly a remarkable task.  Buzz Aldrin, Mike Collins and Neil Armstrong took off in a ten foot by 12 foot 913 pound capsule made out of aluminum, steel and titanium that was attached to a 363 foot tall Saturn V rocket.  That rocket weighed over 6.5 million pounds and had three stages.  It was 58 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty.  The Rocket carried the capsule as well as the Lunar Module.  The Lunar Module could hold two people.  Once they reached the moon, Mike Collins remained in the capsule while Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong went to the surface of the moon in the Lunar Module.  Neil Armstrong was the first man to set his foot upon the moon.  He said, ”That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Just before the Lunar Module landed, there was some serious concern.  First the computers that were to do the landing began acting up so they shut them down and decided to land with manual controls.  All of this used up extra fuel and the low fuel light came on.  They were able to successfully land the Module.  Many years later, when Armstrong was visiting troops, one of the troops asked, “Mr. Armstrong, weren’t you nervous flying over the moon with all those rocks and craters, knowing that you only had a few seconds of fuel left?’   Armstrong grinned at the young soldier.  “Well, young man, Everyone knows that when the fuel gauge says empty, there’s always a gallon or two left at the bottom of the tank.”  I love to see the human spirit respond to such difficult tasks.  The moon landing was a cooperative effort that included over 400,000 people.  Neil Armstrong was right in saying that his step was small but mankind’s step was huge.  The whole world cheered the event and the common cry was, “WE did it!”

What is really amazing is that we accomplished this mission over 50 years ago.  The on board computer, which was state of the art at the time, is weaker than the computers that we carry around in our pockets on our smart phones.  I truly believe that man can accomplish great things, through the help of God.  Many people in the Space program had a deep relationship to God and I am sure that there were a lot of prayers for the mission.  The mission commander, Buzz Aldrin, described the mission as “part of God’s eternal plan for man”.    Aldrin was an ordained Presbyterian elder and decided that he wanted to take communion to the moon.  When he first spoke to NASA about this they were reluctant to allow it because Madalyn Murray O’Hair, the famous Atheist, had brought a lawsuit against NASA for reading from the bible during Apollo 8.  But Aldrin insisted and was given permission, but he was told to keep it quiet.  He brought with him bread, wine and a small chalice.  He pulled out the Chalice and bread and wine and announced over the radio, “This is the LM pilot. I would like to take this opportunity to ask every person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours and to give thanks in his or her own way.”  He then silently read John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, and I in him, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me.”  After that he performed the Presbyterian ritual over the bread and wine.

It is interesting that Pope Paul VI was watching the lunar landing from the Vatican Observatory going between the televised version and the Observatory Telescope.  He greeted and blessed the astronauts in English:  “Here, from His Observatory at Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, Pope Paul the Sixth is speaking to you astronauts.  Honour, greetings and blessings to you, conquerors of the Moon, pale lamp of our nights and (our) dreams! Bring to her, with your living presence, the voice of the spirit, a hymn to God, our Creator and our Father.  We are close to you, with our good wishes and with our prayers. Together with the whole Catholic Church, Pope (Paul) the Sixth salutes you.”   The pope later met the Apollo 11 astronauts and their wives at the Vatican.

Buzz Aldrin took a small part of the bible with him to the moon.  Later, in Apollo 12, the full bible was brought there.  Many people are unaware of the faith of the people in this program.  I personally feel that it is their faith and prayers that made the mission successful.  As Buzz Aldrin read (from John 15:5), “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, and I in him, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me.”

Strengthened with Power – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Anxiety and Worry, Blessed Virgin Mary, Church, Community, Evangelism, Healing, Holy Spirit, Life in the Spirit, Prayer, Scripture, Service, Spirituality

Strengthened with Power – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

We are a child of God and He calls us to live out that call, to be his son or daughter.  We should be different from those who don’t know or follow God.  We should be empowered by our relationship with God.  So often we are not.  We, as mere humans, seem to want to settle for less than God has given us.  We are often anxious and afraid and weak and seem to lack direction in our lives.  We claim to be “saved” but more often than not, we are lost.  While writing these words I can’t help but to think about the Apostles right after Jesus ascended to heaven, leaving them on their own for the first time in three years.  They too were lost and afraid and weak and lacked direction.  But, they did what Jesus told them.  They went up in to the Upper Room and prayed.  Perhaps their going in to the Upper Room was a way of hiding from the authorities that they were afraid of.  But it was in the Upper Room that they came together as a community, along with the Blessed Virgin Mary, and prayed.  They prayed for nine days (our first novena) and something very powerful, something very life-changing happened.  The Holy Spirit fell upon them.  They received what Jesus had promised them.  It changed them permanently.  It empowered them.  It gave them strength and power and direction.

That same Holy Spirit has been given to us to so that we might be empowered and strengthened and given direction.  It is what can help us to live fully as a son or daughter of God.  That same Holy Spirit gives us so many gifts and fruits to make our lives empowered by God so that we can be the person that God has called us to be.  We just need to be open to that Spirit and ASK it to empower us and to work within us.  The Spirit has been given to us in Baptism and Confirmation but so often it just lies dormant within us waiting for us to learn about its power and ask to be open to and to be filled with its power.  One of the best ways to learn about the Spirit and to really desire the Spirit to be at work in our lives is by going to a Life in the Spirit Seminar.  These are offered in many parishes around the world.  Another great way is to experience the video series, The Wild Goose by Father Dave Pavonka.  This is available for purchase as DVD or Blueray.  You can also watch it on Youtube.   Both of these are great tools to opening ourselves to the power of the Holy Spirit.   The scriptures and our Catechism also tell us a great deal about the Holy Spirit.  I would like to share a few scriptures with you to hopefully make you desire a better openness to the Holy Spirit.

In John 14: 16 Jesus tells us, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another helper who will be with you forever. That helper is the Spirit of Truth.”.  In verse 26 Jesus says, “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and make you remember all that I have told you.”

St. Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians (1:17-20) says, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms…”

St. Paul also adds in Ephesians 3: 16-20,  “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

Besides POWER, the Spirit gives us many fruits.  Catholic tradition follows the Vulgate version of Galatians in listing 12 fruits: charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity (kindness), goodness, longanimity (generosity), mildness (gentleness), faith, modesty, continency (self-control), and chastity.

The Spirit also gives us many gifts.  We traditionally talk about the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.  In the Book of Isaiah 11:2-3, the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are described. In the passage the gifts are considered ones that the Messiah would have possessed. Through Jesus, we also receive the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Wisdom helps us recognize the importance of others and the importance of keeping God central in our lives.

Understanding is the ability to comprehend the meaning of God’s message.

Knowledge is the ability to think about and explore God’s revelation, and also to recognize there are mysteries of faith beyond us.

Counsel is the ability to see the best way to follow God’s plan when we have choices that relate to him.

Fortitude is the courage to do what one knows is right.

Piety helps us pray to God in true devotion.

Fear of the Lord is the feeling of amazement before God, who is all-present, and whose friendship we do not want to lose.

The Spirit also gives us other gifts, sometimes known as Charisms which St. Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, tells us are given for the building up of the whole Church.  These include, the word gifts of wisdom, knowledge, prophecy, preaching and teaching.  There also are Gifts of powerincluding healing, miracles and exorcism.  There are also service gifts such as pastoral care, alms giving, leadership and administration.   Further gifts included the prayer gifts like intercessory prayer, singing in tongues, being filled and guided by the Spirit, and to contemplate and worship God.

These lists of gifts and fruits and charisms are only some of the things that the Holy Spirit can do for us and through us.  His power is amazing.  Looking at what the Spirit can do for us helps us to see how the Spirit can and will empower us to be God’s children.  Be open to God’s Holy Spirit.  Learn about the Spirit.  Invoke the Holy Spirit in all that you do.  Become alive in the Holy Spirit.  It is God’s precious gift to us.  It empowers us to be His children.

Prayer to the Holy Spirit for Universal Renewal

Holy Spirit,
fulfill in us the work begun by Jesus.
Let our prayer on behalf of the whole world
be fruitful and unwavering.
Hasten the time when each of us
will attain a genuine spiritual life.
Enliven our work that it may reach all human beings,
all who have been redeemed
by the Blood of Christ and all His inheritance.

Take away our natural presumption
and uplift us with a holy humility,
with reverence for God and selfless courage.
Let no vain attachment impede the work of our state in life,
nor personal interest divert us from the demands of justice.
May no scheming on our part reduce love
to our own petty dimensions.

May all be noble in us; the quest and the respect for truth,
and the willingness to sacrifice even to the cross and death.
And may all be accomplished
in accord with the final prayer
of the Son to His heavenly Father
and in accord with the grace
that Father and Son give
through You, the Spirit of love,
to the Church and to her institutions,
to every soul and to all peoples.
Amen.

MYSTAGOGY – AN EXPERIENCE FOR ALL OF US – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Apologetics, Blessed Virgin Mary, Charity, Church, Community, Converts, Easter, Eucharist, Evangelism, Holiness, Holy Spirit, Holy Week, Internet Resources, Life in the Spirit, Liturgy, Miracles, Mystagogy, Mystics, Penance and Reconciliation, Prayer, Resurrection, Rosary, Sacraments, Saints, Scripture, Service, Spirituality, Uncategorized

MYSTAGOGY – EXPERIENCING THE MYSTERIES

In the RCIA program, the period following the reception in to the Church is known as a period of Mystagogy.  Mystagogy is a time where the mysteries of the Church are revealed to the new Catholics.  It is revealed through their experience of the Sacraments and through all that the Church offers them.  Although teaching is involved, experience and sharing about that experience is the way the mysteries are revealed.  The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (Chicago, 1988) manual states: “. The purpose of the mystagogy is to enable the newly baptized to draw from their sacramental experience a new sense of the faith, the Church, and the world”.  As a leader in the RCIA program in my parish, I try to encourage our Neophytes to experience as much as they can, the resources that the Church offers them.  Truly, I believe that this is good for all the people of the Church as well.

Those who have gone through the RCIA program have experienced at Easter NEW LIFE.  They are, in a spiritual sense, born anew.  I have truly seen, throughout the years, a big change in them.  They are more alive in the faith.   We established Catholics have also been enlivened by experiencing all that Lent and Easter has given us.  Our faith should truly be renewed.  I believe that a period of mystagogy is appropriate for us too.  We need to experience all that the Church offers us, and there is so much.  We are constantly called to grow in our faith by using the sacraments and other tools that the Church gives us.  When we grow in our faith we become more of who God wants us to be.  When we do that, we become happier, more fulfilled and more at peace.   We can grow in our experience of all that the Holy Spirit gives us by receiving the Spirit’s gifts and fruits.  Literally, we can set the world on fire.

I would like to share some of my thoughts on how to do this.  I thought that I would do this in a list format.  Sometimes it is good to have a list of some of the things that the Church can offer to us so that we can grow in our faith.  Here is a list (certainly not a full one) of things that will help us to grow in our faith:

TWELVE STEPS TO HELP US GROW IN OUR FAITH

1 – Go to mass at least every Sunday.  The mass is the Summit and Source of our faith.  In the mass we hear God’s Word proclaimed and explained and we receive the most precious gift of His Body and Blood.   We pray together and experience community and are sent forth.  I attend daily mass because I believe it can do more for me than anything else.

2 – Pray.  When you are in Love with someone, communication is a natural expression of that Love and a way that Love can grow.  Prayer is communication with God.  There are so many ways to pray.  I love praying the Liturgy of the Hours.  It is now so easy to do and so available by placing an app on your smart phone.   I use the ibreviary app.  It is a no cost app.   Try it out, you will be glad that you do.  I would suggest at least praying Morning prayer and Evening prayer.

I also like to use what I call “gut” prayer.  This is totally spontaneous and can be done at any time.  It comes from deep within us, our “gut”.   Sometimes my gut prayer is filled with praise and thanksgiving.  Often it is filled with “why me God?”  And “why are you allowing this to happen?”   It is a prayer of honesty and truth and feelings.

3 – Eucharistic Adoration.  This is also a form of prayer, but it goes beyond regular prayer.  It is a time to adore the Lord as he is present to us in His Risen Body in the Eucharist.  It is certainly a time for prayers of thanksgiving and praise but can also be a time for prayers of supplication.  I go to Eucharistic Adoration at least once a week.

4 – The Sacrament of Reconciliation.   St. Paul tells us that we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  All means all.  Christians too sin.  Even the Pope goes to confession.  There is no doubt that when I do something that I know is wrong, or more often, fail to do something I know that I should have done, I immediately ask for God’s forgiveness.  However, it is very freeing to regularly confess our sins to a priest and to hear him give us God’s forgiveness.

5 – The Rosary.  I love praying the rosary.  I try to do it every day.  In the rosary you can meditate on the mysteries of God’s touch to mankind.  The rosary is meant to be a meditative prayer where we literally focus on many of the stories from the scriptures about our salvation.  I look at it as a mini-course on God’s love and action.

6 – The Bible.  The Bible is a special gift that the Church has given to the world.  In it we hear God’s Word and receive direction and support for our lives.  Every liturgy that the Church does has at least one reading from the Bible.  We should listen closely to it at every liturgy but it also should have a special place in our homes.  The Catholic Church has given us the Bible and it is up to the Catholic Church to help us understand it.  I highly recommend using a Catholic study guide; My favorite is The Word Among us.   Going to a good Catholic Bible study is great (stay away from Protestant ones as they can misinterpret the Bible).  There are many online resources to help us (see last page).

7 – Charity and Service.  Every Christian is called to be a person of action.  We are called to feed the poor, heal the sick, visit the lonely and those in prisons etc.  Every parish has some sort of ministry to help us do that.  Check it out and become involved.  Put your faith in to action.

8 – The Blessed Virgin Mary.  The Lord literally gave His mother to us to help us in our journey towards Him.  Since the very beginnings of the Church Mary has been held in high esteem and has helped the Church and all Christians in many ways.  It is good to learn about Mary and to ask her intercession in your life.  She loves you as her own son or daughter.

9 – The Saints.  The Saints were all ordinary people just like you and me.  They struggled with the same things we struggled with and they were able to grow so close to Jesus and follow Him that the Church assures us that they are in heaven.  They intercede for us in prayer and they love it when we ask them to do so.  Try to learn as much as you can about the Saints and learn from them how to follow the Lord.

10 – Go on a Retreat.  A retreat is simply a time set aside for you to get away from the normal distractions in life and to draw closer to the Love that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have for you.   Some retreats have themes, and some are simply quiet time with the Lord.  Try one, you will love it.

11 – Visit Holy Sites.  Throughout the world there are places that one would consider a Holy Site.  It might be one because of its history and what happened there, or it could be just an ordinary place that has been set aside for people to visit and grow closer to God.  I have been fortunate to visit many Holy Sites throughout the world, including the Holy Land, Rome and several places where Mary has appeared.  I have one Holy Site nearby, The Shrine of Our Lady of the Island that I love to visit and spend time with the Lord.

12 – Be Proud to be Catholic.  The more you learn about the Church, the prouder you will be.  Yes, the Church is not perfect (the priest sex scandal shows us that), but it is something that Jesus Himself started and maintains.  No other organization on this planet has lasted as long as the Church has.  It is an instrument of God’s grace.  Let your pride in the Church show.  Tell others about it.

There are so many other resources that the Church offers us that we should take advantage of.  I have compiled a partial list of some important Internet Resources and include that here.  There are also so many great books out there that you could (should) read.  Perhaps another time I will look in to that.  May our good Lord bless you in your walk with Him.

CATHOLIC    INTERNET    RESOURCES

CATHOLIC WEB SITES

SITES EVERY CATHOLIC SHOULD USE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THEIR FAITH:

The Vatican:                                       www.vatican.va    (choose English in the menu at top right)

EWTN:                                                 www.ewtn.com

New Advent:                                       www.newadvent.org

Catechism of the Catholic Church:   www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm

US Conference of Bishops:                www.usccb.org

Catholic Answers:                              www.catholic.com

News Vatican:                                     www.news.va

Catholic News Service:                       www.catholicnews.com

Rome Reports:  (video news)                        www.romereports.com    Choose English at top right

Jimmy Akin:                                        www.jimmyakin.com

Life Teen:  (for Youth, but….)                        www.lifeteen.com

Amazing Catechists:                           www.amazingcatechists.com

Cardinal Newman Society:                www.cardinalnewmansociety.org

Strange Notions:                                www.strangenotions.com

uCatholic                                            www.ucatholic.com

Catholic Lane:                                     www.catholiclane.com

Institute of Catholic Culture:            www.instituteofcatholicculture.org  FREE Catholic Courses

Word on Fire:                                     www.wordonfire.org

Dynamic Catholic:                              www.dynamiccatholic.org

CATHOLIC APPS FOR YOUR SMART PHONE:

Search your play store for these apps

Liturgy of the Hours:                          ibreviary

Catholic prayers and readings etc.   laudate

Novena prayers etc                            pray

Catholic radio                                     Relevant Radio

The Bible                                            Bible

Eternal Word Network                      EWTN

Mass times                                         Catholic Mass times

Catholic Dating                                   Ckiss

HE IS RISEN, ALLELUIA! an Easter Reflection by Matt Chicoine

Apologetics, Church, Easter, Holy Week, Resurrection, Saints, Scripture

Today Christianity across the world celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Easter is a celebration of a miraculous—and seemingly impossible—event. The feast of Jesus’ Resurrection holds a special place in my heart.  I wish to share the basic biblical proof of the Resurrection, examples from some saints, and my own personal experience.

Note: If you still have questions related to a more cerebral and logical argument for the Resurrection of Jesus, I highly recommend Carl Olson’s: Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?

Gospel evidence

Since there is a lot of evidence to refer to and I prefer to keep today’s post as concise as possible I will only focus on the two strongest pieces of evidence, I found to be convincing for me in showing validity in Jesus’ Resurrection. First, the witness of the women being the initial people to notice the empty tomb is strong evidence. The reason for this is due to in 1st century Palestine life women did not enjoy the benefits of voting, membership in the workforce, or even respect to be witnesses in events like today.

Why would the Gospel writers uniformly state that the first witnesses to the empty tomb and to proclaim Jesus as risen were women unless it was true? It still does not make sense to me why the gospel writers would embarrass the apostles by placing women in a place of honor at being the first evangelizers of Jesus’ Resurrection unless that was the truth!

Secondly, the Gospel of Matthew already shows alternative explanations already surfacing to explain the disappearance of Jesus’ body when the tomb was opened. According to Matthew, the priests and elders charged the Roman soldiers to create a story to explain why the tomb was empty. They [priests and elders] state, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him while we were asleep’. If any word of this gets to the procurator, we will straighten it out with him and keep you out of trouble.” (Matthew 28:13-14).  This never made sense to me. If the apostles were fraudulent, why the Matthew plainly write about the theory of the stolen body of Jesus? Such a theory only makes sense as a lie developed by the priests and elders.

Saintly Sources

Because of the vast array of saints to attest to the truth of the Resurrection, I will only focus on two for conciseness’ sake—St. Peter and St. Paul. The thing that I really love about St. Peter is his fervor to follow the gospel after Jesus’ Resurrection. In addition to being the 1st pope of the Catholic Church, Peter testified to the truth of the Gospel as a martyr via crucifixion.

St. Paul represents arguably the greatest conversion in the history of Christianity. Paul went from being a murderer of Christians to the Church’s great evangelizer and writer of almost 2/3 of the New Testament. These two men show us that they encountered someone who transformed them. Peter and Paul’s conversions are an effect of the power of Jesus’ Resurrection!

My Testimony

While my own testimony does not hold the same weight at Scripture and Tradition, I still am convinced that certain things in my life transpired due to a power outside of my control and full understanding. During my darkest days a few years ago, I learned of the power of God. He rose me up from the loss of a job and our miscarriages. God continues to demonstrate the glory of His Resurrected Son in seemingly ordinary things too. For example, I asked my cousin to pray for my wife for an important interview. My cousin told me, “Of course, and incidentally she [my wife] was the person my cousin and his fiancée scheduled to pray for, in a special way, anyways.” This is not the first time this seeming coincidence happened to my cousin.

Through Scripture, Tradition [the saints], and my personal experience with daily and extraordinary events I have come to more deeply realize the Resurrection of Jesus as an historical fact. I pray that you come to enjoy this truth in Scripture, Tradition, and your own life’s experiences!

Check out Matt’s blog at http://Thesimplecatholic.blog

Domestic Terrorism: A Good Friday Reflection – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Anxiety and Worry, Church, Death and Dying, Healing, Holy Week, Terrorism, ,
And Jesus Wept

Twenty four years ago today, April 19th, the nation suffered a horrendous loss as 168 men, women and children (19) were killed by a domestic terrorist bombing brought about by Timothy J. McVeigh and Terry L. Nichols.   The bombing destroyed or damaged 324 buildings within a 16 block radius of Oklahoma City.   The blast shattered glass in 258 other buildings and destroyed 86 cars.  Besides the 168 people killed about 680 people suffered injuries from the blast.  The emotional damages caused by the blast are immeasurable.   Truly our nation suffered greatly and families are still suffering from their loss. 

Five years after the bombing, on April 19th, 2000 the Oklahoma City National Memorial was dedicated at the site.  The memorial consists of 168 stone and glass chairs representing each life lost.  It is very sad to see them all, especially the 19 smaller chairs representing the children that were killed.   Remembrance services are held every year on April 19th.   Certainly this large tragedy can never be forgotten. 

A teddy bear sits on a chair in the field of chairs at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, April 19, 2011, on the 16th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Directly across from the site of the bombing is the oldest parish church in Oklahoma City, St. Joseph Old Cathedral.  The Cathedral was badly damaged but has been rebuilt.  The parish rectory was destroyed by the explosion.  At the site of the demolished rectory, the parish has placed their own memorial.  It is an Italian marble statue of Jesus with His back towards the site of the bombing.  Jesus has His head down and His hand over His face in sorrow.  Around the statue are pillars representing the children and unborn babies who were killed by the blast.   The name of the sculpture is “And Jesus Wept” (See picture on top).  It was dedicated in 1998.

This year the anniversary of the bombing falls on Good Friday.   I can’t help but to see a message for all of us in this.  First of all, acts of terror such as these really show the depravity of those who plan them.  They have no concern for the people who are so horrendously affected.  To call this sin would be an understatement.  It reflects the pure evil, the pure darkness that Jesus came to shed His light upon.  It shows why Jesus endured so much suffering for the sin that permeates humankind. 

Secondly, it shows how our knowledge of how Jesus suffered can help us in our own suffering.  The Catholic Church has always placed redemptive value upon the sufferings that we find in our own lives.  Somehow, our own sufferings are united with the sufferings of Jesus.  Somehow His sufferings can help us in our sufferings.  When we experience our own crosses, His cross helps us to endure.

Thirdly, we know that the sufferings and death of Jesus upon the cross led to the Resurrection of Jesus on Easter morning.  People of faith know that even though we miss our loved ones when they die, some day we will all be back together in the precious gift of heaven.  Jesus suffered and died and rose from the dead so that we might have life forever in the presence of our Heavenly Father.

We as Christians must do everything that we can to fight the evil within the world.  We must fight it with hope and with love.  The statue of Jesus weeping reminds us how Jesus joins in with us in mourning our losses and in mourning the sin and evil that can be so destructive to life.  Everything about God is about LIFE.   Everything about evil is about death.  When we work with God, we work on the side of life.  When we are caught up in sin and evil, we work on the side of death.  God calls us to choose life, not death.

THE TABLE by Deacon Dennis Lambert – a review by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Anxiety and Worry, Book Review, Church, Early Church Fathers, Eucharist, Family, Healing, Jewish roots, Marriage, Miracles, Relationships, Sacraments, Saints, The Holy Land

I actually purchased this book about a year and a half ago but due to selling one home, putting things in storage for 17 months and then moving in to a new home, I “lost” it and recently found it and read it.   What an interesting book!  I am so glad that I finally found it.  I believe you will be glad too when you find one and read it.

THE TABLE is a book that jumps back and forth from biblical times to modern times.  The link is a very special table that the grandfather of Jesus made as a result of a miracle.   It seems that blessings and miracles and peace seem to follow the table and those who own it.  I really don’t want to give you a complete synopsis of the book because there are a number of surprises in the book that I don’t want to spoil for you.  Suffice it to say that the table that Jesus’ grandfather made was not only a miracle in its time, but continued to bring miracles to people who struggled with everyday life.

I found the book to be difficult to put down.  It was intriguing on so many levels.  Deacon Lambert is a great writer who knows how to weave a great story.  The characters, whether they are from the biblical time, or from the modern time, are interesting, very human, and very likeable.  I especially liked how he portrayed Jesus and His family.  Some of the writing made me feel like I was reading an expanded Gospel that was written to fill in some of the details left out by the scriptures.  He did the same in writing about the early Church figures.  When reading about the biblical times, you actually felt like you were there.

The figures in the modern time were wonderful.  They were people that you could most definitely relate to.   Their fears and hurts and successes were ones that we too could have experienced.  In the midst of both tragedy and elation, the characters were so very human and believable.  I found myself rooting for them at the various parts of their life and tearing up for them at their difficult times.  This book certainly brought out many emotions for me.

This historical fiction provides not only great entertainment, but also serves as a way to grow spiritually.  It is a book for all people, but most certainly will speak very loudly to Catholics with its description of the mass and sacraments.  You cannot help but to read this book and see God at work in the lives of the characters and transfer that in to your own life.  God is very much alive and at work in this book.  I see it as a great gift for those who have fallen away from the faith.  They will find the book so interesting that they can’t put it down, and at the same time have their own spirituality awakened.  I believe that this is the first published book by Deacon Dennis Lambert.  I am anxiously awaiting another one by him.

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen – My Trusted Guide for Lent – by Al Smith

Books, Church, Holiness, Lent, Saints, Service, Spirituality

As I prepare for Lent each year, I ask myself the same questions: what am I going to give up, what works of mercy will I perform, or what spiritual reading might I entertain this year?

The older I get, the more I realize that I cannot go wrong with the tried and proven writings of the saints. Classics such as St. Alphonsus Liguori’s The Way of the Cross, and Lenten reflections from the writings of St. Teresa of Avila and St. Francis de Sales, are staples in my home. But to be honest, it is the writings of the Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen that continue to be my trusted Lenten companion.

I will never forget the first time I read Sheen’s book from 1939, entitled Victory over Vice. As I entered into the book, I began to feel deep, heartfelt sorrow for my sins for the first time in my life. Fulton Sheen’s words were removing the scales from my eyes. He showed me that the seven last words that Our Lord spoke from the Cross were the antidote for each of the seven deadly sins.

After reading this one Sheen book, I was convinced that I could put my trust in him, to guide me in my walk with Christ.  I desired to read every book of his that I could find, with a similar Lenten theme. Over the course of the next several months, I read books such as The Seven Last Words (1933), Calvary and the Mass (1936), The Cross and the Beatitudes (1937), The Rainbow of Sorrow (1938), The Seven Virtues (1940),  Seven Words to the Cross (1944), Seven Words of Jesus and Mary (1945), and Characters of the Passion (1946), to name a few.

I found out that during his last recorded Good Friday address in 1979, Archbishop Sheen spoke of having given this type of reflection on the subject of Christ’s seven last words from the Cross “for the fifty-eighth consecutive time.” Whether as the young priest in Peoria, Illinois, the university professor in Washington, D.C., or the bishop in New York, Sheen’s messages were sure to make an indelible mark on his audience.

Possessing a burning zeal to dispel the myths about Our Lord and His Church, each year Sheen gave a series of powerful presentations on Christ’s Passion and His seven last words from the Cross. As a Scripture scholar, Archbishop Sheen knew full well the power contained in preaching Christ crucified. With St. Paul, he could say, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2).

This confirmed what I had realized after reading many of Sheen’s books: that he desired most of all to speak about the mystery of love and suffering, more specifically, about Jesus Christ becoming man, and dying for our sins.

Recently, I came upon this great description of what a priest should be: a priest is someone who brings Jesus to the people, and in turn brings the people to Jesus. From reading Sheen’s books, listening to his audio recordings, and watching him on television, I have found that he fits this description perfectly. Indeed, he is an accomplished retreat master.  His love for Our Lord and the Blessed Mother permeates his every thought, binding our hearts to theirs. And isn’t that what Lent is all about, a time to put God in first place in our hearts?

Over the last ten years, it has been my privilege to speak about the life and writings of the Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.  I never tire of hearing the “Sheen stories,” how he is still fondly remembered by so many, and how he touched people’s lives.

As a way of thanking God for the many favors that my family has received through the intercession of Our Lady and the Venerable Sheen, I compiled a collection of Sheen’s writings about Our Lord’s passion and His seven last words.  The book is titled: The Cries of Jesus from the Cross – A Fulton Sheen Anthology, and is published by Sophia Institute Press. It is collection of seven unique Sheen titles that will take the reader on a spiritual journey during Lent like no other.

For the first time ever, Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s complete writings and reflections on Christ’s last words have been compiled into this one book. Sheen masterfully demonstrates how the seven last words of Our Lord are in fact, a full catechism on the spiritual life.  From these holy words, we learn the secrets of living the Beatitudes, ways to avoid the deadly vices of anger, envy, lust and pride, and how to cultivate the heavenly virtues of fortitude, prudence, justice, and charity. Bishop Sheen teaches us how to deal with difficult people, and how to understand pain and suffering.  And he binds all of this together with touching references to the most beautiful love between Our Lord and His Blessed Mother.

The Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen has been my trusted Lenten guide for a number of years now.  He is that faithful priest who continues to bring Jesus to me and helps to bring me closer to Jesus.  I pray that he will do the same for you this Lent.

One Beautiful Dream by Jennifer Fulwiler – review by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Anxiety and Worry, Book Review, Books, Church, Communication, Community, Converts, Ethics, Family, Marriage, Pro-Life, Relationships, Spirituality, Vocation, , ,

One Beautiful Dream by Jennifer Fulwiler – review by Deacon Marty McIndoe

When I heard that Jennifer Fulwiler had published a new book, I knew I had to have it and read it as soon as I could.  A few years ago, I read her book,” Something Other Than God”, and absolutely loved it.  She is a gifted writer and her second book continues to show how gifted she is.  I found it hard to put down, funny and thought provoking.  Her subtitle to this new book is The Rollicking Tale of Personal Passions, Family Chaos, and Saying Yes to Them Both.  The subtitle is a great description of her book.  It tells the story of her raising six children while trying to write a book.

For those of you who do not know Jennifer’s story, she is a former atheist whom God touched and led in to the Catholic Church.  You should read her first book “Something Other Than God” to find out this great story.  Jennifer is also a daily radio host on Sirius XM channel 129 as well as a noted speaker and columnist.  She also describes herself as “Mother of six with zero of the skills needed to manage a home”.  I would add that she is a gifted writer with an ability to describe life situations in ways that can only make you laugh, and sometimes cause you to shed a tear.

The beauty of her new book is that not only is it funny and interesting and hard to put down; it shows us all how it is possible to accomplish a sense of personal accomplishment in the midst of being a good, albeit struggling, parent.  I love what the book does for both men and women who find it hard to balance family life and work life.  It shows how you can incorporate both into personal satisfaction.  This book will definitely challenge any man or woman who puts work ahead of family.  However, it does show that a true balance can be made that will be very satisfying.

To be perfectly truthful, when I first started reading this book I thought it was mainly a book for women.  I even said that to my wife and told her that I knew she would enjoy it.  However, after reading the book for a while, I saw that it is for men and women.  Jennifer describes how her lifelong desire to write a book seemed to interfere with her sense that God was calling her to have a large family.  On many occasions her husband Joe was the needed instrument to help her learn to be able to do both.  At the same time Joe had to learn how to balance his work (and advancements) to fit in to their family life.  Personally I see Joe as a real hero in this story.  There is no doubt that Jennifer is the one who had to struggle and work so hard, but it was with Joe at her side and often encouraging her.  This book does so much to show what marriage and family life is supposed to be, even the messy parts of it.

The book also shows how Jennifer discovers that family is not just her and Joe and their six children, but extends to grandparents, great grandparents  and friends and neighbors and even to young girls ringing the door bell and running away (usually at the most inopportune times).  Jennifer learns that she can’t do everything by herself and it is then that family life begins to grow.  She learns how to involve her children in her writing career.  She also learns how to involve other family and friends in what she does.  In doing this she discovers that having a large family is a lot more than giving birth to many children.

I love how Jennifer is able to make us all laugh at some of the disheveled things that life throws at us.  I also like the way her faith comes forth without being preachy.  She shows herself in her weaknesses and in her strengths and we can’t help but to love her in both.  In an age where many couples have no children, or only one or two, this books delights us with the interactions of six children and the fulfillment they bring to their parents.  Jennifer is often confronted by friends and strangers for having such a large family.  I find this so sad.  Large families are a real gift that society doesn’t seem to appreciate any more.  Jennifer and Joe wanted a large family and God gave them one.  Jennifer and Joe use Natural Family Planning and Jennifer does a great job sharing how NFP has been a positive influence on their marriage.  This book certainly shows us how two people, working together in the gift of marriage, can find both personal fulfillment and family fulfillment.   There is no doubt that this is a book that I would highly recommend reading.  It is printed by Zondervan.  I bought my copy on Amazon Prime.

POWER – by A.J. Avila

Books, Church, Holiness, Holy Orders, Prayer, Relationships, Saints, Service, Spirituality

Recently my husband came home from a Friends of the Library sale. My city library sells donated books every few months, and you pay only a measly two dollars for whatever you can stuff inside a paper grocery bag. The money goes toward buying new books for the library, essential when our city has slashed the new book budget to zero.

In my husband’s bag was a book he thought I might like because it’s about Catholicism. On the back cover are quotations from many prominent Catholics—that is, Catholics who are prominent in a worldly sort of way, such as politicians and actors. One quotation struck me immediately. I’m not going to mention who said it, but it read “When my mom asked if I wanted to be a nun, I said I’d rather be a priest . . . The nuns were always wonderful, but the power was with the priest.”

When I see something like that, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. I did, however, read it aloud to my husband, and he burst into laughter. So maybe mirth is the more appropriate response to something so ridiculous.

If you think priests have a lot of power, read that quote to your local parish priest and see what his reaction is.

I guess the woman who said it had no idea what she was talking about. Does she not know why Catholic priests wear Roman collars? It’s because the collar is a symbol of slavery.

That’s right: Roman Catholic priests are slaves.

That is, they are slaves of Christ.

Ironically, that is where power—in a supernatural sense—resides, but since this woman is a politician, she seemed to be talking about worldly power.

If I had the opportunity, I would ask her who she thought had more worldly power: her parish priest or Mother Teresa. After all, Mother Teresa won the Nobel Peace Prize. She addressed the United Nations.

When’s the last time your parish priest did that?

Besides, worldly power means nothing to God, except in how it is wielded.

True power comes from conforming to God’s will, and you don’t have to be a priest to do that.

I got into this a bit in my novel Nearer the Dawn. A man who has turned away from his atheism to make an act of faith lies prone in adoration on a mountainside when he encounters God:

Here, with his nose in the dirt, he had never felt so elevated. Before, he had considered the walls of a church those of a prison or insane asylum. Now he realized the barriers he had seen were of his own construction, designed to keep him banished outside rather than let him in. At last here was Everything he had been searching for, Everything he was created for, the fulfillment of his hunger. This was not only the destination but the road that led everywhere, the key that opened all treasures. Here was the ecstasy that eternally satisfied that longing desire not only to be loved but to love fully and completely. And here was true freedom, for only by binding himself with the One he was free to be transformed, crowned with glory. No wonder he had never been able to do it alone. Relying on his own capabilities was like trying to operate on a single ohm, but now he was plugged into a Power Source mightier than all the suns of the universe, for here life overflowed with more abundance than he had thought possible.

Being a priest is wonderful, but it is God who crowns us with power and glory. The power, in other words, comes by being a saint.

The Gift of Community – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Anxiety and Worry, Church, Communication, Community, Family, Holy Spirit, Life in the Spirit, Marriage, Prayer, Relationships, Spirituality


Our Lord knew that life could be difficult at times, as well as joyful.  We were created not to be a person just to ourselves, but rather a person who reacts with other people.  This way we have someone to share the joyful moments with as well as someone to help us in the difficult moments.  In our relationships with others we often form communities.   These communities can be a source of sharing great joy as well as a support for times when life is difficult.  Communities can take on different forms.  I recently was contemplating the gift of community at a time when very good friends (and members of one of our communities) lost their daughter.  It was most difficult for our friends, but the gift of community really came forth.  I would like to share with you some of the ways that I have experienced this community in action.  My hope is this will help you to better appreciate the gift of community in your own life.  The old adage; “it takes a village to raise a child” is an old African proverb but certainly relates to all of us today.  I would change that a little to say, “it takes a community to raise and support a Christian”.

My first experience of Christian Community happened in 1972.  My wife and I started going to a Catholic Charismatic prayer meeting.  That experience brought me to know Jesus and His Church and the gift of community.   The prayer group was one where I experienced joy, teachings and support.  We met every week and I looked forward to going every time.  We prayed together in the church and often had a teaching there; afterwards many of us would go over to the diner across the street just to socialize.  Because of my relationship with that prayer group, and with Jesus, my marriage became what it really needed to be.  My wife and I grew in our relationship as we grew in our relationship in the prayer group and our relationship to Jesus and His Church.  My wife and I had difficulties having children and this weighed heavily upon our relationship.  The prayer group was a great support to us and I believe it was through the prayers there that we received the miracle of our daughter.  The prayer group always shared with us our pains as well as our joys.  It was quite a gift.

We continued in weekly prayer groups until the early 1980’s when we were invited to join a prayer community called “My people”.  This continued in the same way as the prayer meeting, but with closer ties of friendship.  We prayed together and we did things to have fun together.  The friends that I mentioned earlier are part of that community.  All of us watched our children grow in to adults and then watched as our children had children.  It was a source of great joy.  At the same time there were many difficulties, from run-away teenagers to car accidents to deaths of spouses to all sorts of things that happened.  However, we were able to experience it all together.  We were able to lend support to each other.  Over and over again, God used this community to bring His loving support to us.

Over the 40 years that this community has existed, some members retired and moved away (down south).  Every year we have a community retreat and most of those who moved away come up for that retreat here on Long Island.   In some ways it was as if they never left.  We were, and are, all one community.  Those of us who still live on Long Island still meet regularly for our community prayer meeting.  We also maintain other social ties to one another.  Last month, when we heard about the sudden death of one couple’s 45 year old daughter, we were devastated.  However, the community pulled together to support them in so many ways.  Even those who moved away came up from the south to be there for the funeral.  We stayed with the family at the funeral home the whole time they were there.  We were, literally, “there for them”.  I could tell how much it was a support to them. 

I also noticed at the funeral another example of community.  Our friend’s daughter was an EMT for a local ambulance company.  They too came out in great numbers each day of the funeral.  They also provided a funeral dinner for everyone after the last service.  Their support was encouraging to all of us and especially to the parents.  We saw that many parishioners from our friend’s parish came too.  The funeral mass was quite full.  After the mass, the hearse drove past the hospital where our friend’s daughter worked in the Emergency Room.  It seemed that every worker in the hospital came outside to give her their last goodbye.  It was amazing to see how such a tragic loss of a young woman could also show so much good from the people around her.  Community is quite a gift that God uses to support us.

We can find community in our families, in our local parish, in our work, in our neighborhood, in our volunteer agencies…….in so many different places.  Sometimes we need to work on building these communities into something that God can use to help us all experience life with its joys and with its sorrows.  Anything that is good, takes a little work. 

I would ask you to look around at the communities that you are part of and give thanks to God for them.  Perhaps you can find ways to grow closer to each other in these communities.  Perhaps you can see in your family and in your co-workers ways to grow in community.  Church groups can be a fantastic way to experience community.  My wife and I, besides belonging to the “My People” charismatic community also belong to the Teams of Our Lady group in our parish.  We cherish those monthly meetings with them and the gift of community there.  I cannot picture life without these communities.  Proverbs 27:17 tells us, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another”.   We really need community to bring out the best in us.  Hebrews 10;25-25 tells us, “ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,  not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. “

When we are in community we can experience better what it means to be “the people of God”.   1 Peter 2:9-19 tells us, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy”.   Community is also where we all can experience being the “body of Christ”.   Matthew 18:20 tells us that, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”  I Corinthians 12:12-13 says, “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.  For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink”.

My friends, let us all drink of the one Spirit and use all the gifts that God gives to us, especially the gift of community.

10 Quotes from Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton by Tom Perna

Abortion, Charity, Church, Converts, Family, Marriage, Miracles, Saints, Spirituality, Uncategorized

Today (originally published Jan 4th) is the memorial of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first Native born American saint of the Catholic Church. She was born in New York in the year 1774 to a wealthy and prosperous Episcopalian family. In 1794, she married a young successful man by the name of William Magee Seton. They would have 5 children together. Due to unforeseen circumstances, he lost his fortune and eventually his health. They traveled to Italy to find a cure for his physical ailments, but in the end, he died while living in Italy.

During her time in Italy, she became familiar with Catholicism through some friends and eventually made a Profession of Faith in the Catholic Church on March 14, 1805. Her family and friends back home were completely opposed to her becoming Catholic, but she persevered through it all. After returning home, she found herself in financial ruin because her family and friends shunned her decision to become Catholic.

After receiving an invitation from a priest, she established the first Catholic school in Baltimore in 1808. In 1809, she created a small community of religious sisters in Emmitsburg, Maryland. At first, they were known as the Sisters of St. Joseph, but eventually changed their name to the Daughters of Charity. From the moment, she became known as Mother Seton. Her small religious community grew exceptionally in 100 years going from Baltimore to New York, then to Cincinnati, Halifax, New Jersey, Greensburg, and St. Louis. From there, the community continued to spread West. They have been in my diocese, Phoenix, since 1933.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton died on January 21, 1821 in Emmitsburg, Maryland.  She was beatified in 1963 by Pope St. John XXIII. On September 14, 1975, she was canonized by Pope St. Paul VI.

Below are 10 Quotes from the great American Catholic Saint known as Mother Seton –

1. Devotional Reading: “Give some time, if it is only half an hour in every day, to devotional reading, which is as necessary to the well ordering of the mind as the hand of the gardener is to prevent weeds destroying your favorite flowers.”

2. Faith, Hope, and Love: “Faith lifts the staggering soul on one side, Hope supports it on the other. Experience says it must be, and Love says let it be.”

3. Going to the Catholic Church: “I will go peaceably and firmly to the Catholic Church: for if Faith is so important to our salvation, I will seek it where true Faith first began, seek it among those who received it from God Himself.”

4. Heaven: “The gate of heaven is very low; only the humble can enter it.”

5. God’s will before our will: “’Thy will be done’ – What a comfort and support those four little words are to my soul. I have repeated them until they are softened to the sweetest harmony.”

6. Parental Advice: “If I had to advise parents, I should tell them to take great care about the people with whom their children associate…Much harm can result from bad company, and we are inclined by nature to follow what is worse than what is better.”

7. Penance: “Penance is the purifier of the soul.”

8. Suffering: “This is not a country for solitude and silence, but for warfare and crucifixion. You are not to stay in his silent agonies of the Garden at night, but go from post to pillar, to the very fastening of the Cross. If you suffer so much the better for our high journey above.”

9. Illness/Suffering: “I never experienced so keenly the presence of this beloved Lord as I have since I have been ill. It is as if I were seeing the good Jesus, Him, and His holy Mother, here, continually seated at my side, under a visible form, to console me, cheer me, and to encourage me throughout all the hours of my long and painful suffering.”

10. Serving God: “This union of my soul with God is my wealth in poverty and joy in deepest afflictions.

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton…Pray for Us 

To read how St. Elizabeth Ann Seton gave my wife and I our miracle daughter, click here:  http://deaconmarty.com/saint-elizabeth-ann-seton-and-how-she-personally-brought-a-miracle-to-my-family-by-deacon-marty-mcindoe/

Great Start to a New Year by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Blessed Virgin Mary, Church, Eucharist, Family, Healing, Jewish roots, Liturgy, Miracles, Prayer, Saints, Scripture, Spirituality

First of all I must apologize to my readers. I haven’t written or added to my blog in quite a while. This is because I had a bad cold, closed on a new house and moved in to the new house in the midst of celebrating Christmas.
We start off our New Year with a Holy Day celebrating the Blessed Virgin Mary as the mother of Jesus (God). It is such a great way to start. The readings of this mass are filled with blessings. The first reading gives the Blessing of Aaron found in Numbers 6: 22-27. In this we hear, “The LORD bless you and keep you! The LORD let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace!” What a beautiful blessing for the New Year. In the responsorial psalm we hear, “May the Lord bless you in His mercy”. Again, such a wonderful blessing. In the second reading St. Paul tells us that Jesus came to us, born of a woman, to ransom us so that we might receive adoption as sons of the Father. We can now call our God, Abba, Father. What a blessing it is to know that we are God’s children. In the Gospel we hear of the shepherds rejoicing at the site of the new born King. We also hear a phrase that is almost identical to one we heard last Sunday (finding of the 12 year old Jesus in the temple) about Mary where it tells us that Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. We also hear of the naming of Jesus.
Personally, I cannot think of a better way to start the New Year than to hear these readings and receive the presence of the Lord in the Eucharist. God richly blesses us, over and over again. He has blessed us so much in sharing His mother with us. The love that Mary has for us is amazing. She cares so much for us and wants us to grow closer to her son. She wants to bring us His healing love and forgiveness. Starting the New Year knowing that God calls us His children and blesses us and gives us His own mother is the most important way to start anything. This year I pray that we all grow in our knowledge of God. I pray that we all grow in our knowledge of how God continues to work through the Blessed Virgin Mary, His mother. I pray that we all grow in the knowledge of our call to be children of God, for so indeed we are. I pray that we can be like Mary and ponder all of the wonderful gifts, and even the difficulties, that God has chosen to give us. May this be a New Year that we all grow closer to God.
So many of our Saints have had a close devotion to Mary. One of the most loving is Saint Louis de Montfort. I would like to end with a prayer that he gave us:
My powerful Queen,
you are all mine through your mercy,
and I am all yours.
Take away from me all that may displease God
and cultivate in me all that is pleasing to him.
May the light of your faith
dispel the darkness of my mind,
your deep humility
take the place of my pride,
your continual sight of God
fill my memory with his presence.
May the first of the love of your heart
inflame the lukewarmness of my own heart.
May your virtues take the place of my sins.
May your merits be my enrichment
and make up for all
that is wanting in me before God.
My beloved Mother,
grant that I may have no other spirit but your spirit, to know Jesus Christ and His divine will and to praise and glorify the Lord, that I may love God with burning love like yours.
Amen. St. Louis de Montfort

A Time to YEARN – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Anxiety and Worry, Church, Death and Dying, Eucharist, Family, Holy Spirit, Life in the Spirit, Liturgy, Sacraments, Scripture, Spirituality

 

We are at the end of the Church liturgical year. This Sunday, December 2nd, is the First Sunday of Advent. Advent is a very important, but very short, liturgical season. It is there to prepare us for the even shorter season of the twelve days of Christmas. Unfortunately and at the same time, our society also places demands upon us for celebrating Christmas, or as society says, “The Holidays”. These demands of society often keep us from the real preparation for Christmas that Advent calls us to. I really do believe that some of the demands of society such as Christmas decorating, parties and gift giving are important and do help us rejoice in the birth of our Savior, Jesus. But I also believe that we too often are more concentrated on these then on the spiritual preparation of the Advent season. This is something that we must work on.
I believe that at the heart of the Advent season we must recognize a yearning. This is a yearning that we have to be close to God and a yearning that He has to be close to us. The Advent readings reflect that two fold yearning. Advent is a time of yearning and a time of preparation to meet and be with the God who yearns to be with us even more than we yearn to be with him. It is a time when we celebrate the way that God comes to us. Christmas is the time we celebrate that the 2nd person of the Holy Trinity, the WORD, became flesh so that we could be with God and He could be with us. Advent helps us to celebrate better that special gift of the Incarnation. We can experience the yearning that the Jewish people had for the Messiah to come to them. The Old Testament (or Hebrew) readings help us experience that. They waited so long for His coming.
Advent is also a time for us to recognize the yearning for Jesus to come to us here and now. Life often has so many difficulties such as disappointments, illnesses and death of loved ones. We need help to live through these difficulties and we yearn for Jesus to be there with us. When we open our hearts, we can see that He is. Life also has so many great experiences and joys and it seems that we yearn to have God experience them with us, especially when we are filled with gratitude and praise. In our everyday life, in all that we do, God yearns to be present to us. If we really look within ourselves we also yearn for him to be there.
Advent also reminds us that just as Jesus came to His people on that very first Christmas, and just as Jesus joins us in our everyday lives, especially in the Eucharist, we still await another coming of Jesus. This second coming of Jesus will bring with it the fullness of His Kingdom. This too all creation yearns for (Romans 8: 19). Whether we will be alive when He comes again or not, we do know that we all will meet him when our body finally fails. Most people in ordinary life do not yearn for death, and thus this coming, but I have been with so many older and sickly people who do. They literally are yearning for their death so they can meet their Savior.
We really do not know when the Lord will come again and we do not know when our own time to meet him will come, so we must learn to be prepared.
Advent, when celebrated well, can help us do this. So how do we celebrate Advent well? First and foremost, we should try to attend mass as often as possible. If possible, every day is best. When we attend we should listen closely to the scriptures and the homily. God’s Word helps form us and readies us. Receiving Him in the Eucharist is so very important. He literally comes to us there. At home we should try to use a daily Advent devotional. There are many available at religious goods stores and online. Many Catholic organizations offer free emails every day to you. They are sent out daily at no cost. I especially like Dynamic Catholic which includes a link each day to a short video to watch. It is called “A Best Advent Ever” and can be found at BEST ADVENT .
An advent wreath is a great devotional to have in a home. It consists of an evergreen wreath and four upright candles. Four of the candles are purple (the liturgical color of advent) and one is pink or rose (the liturgical color of Gaudate Sunday the 3rd Sunday of Advent). One candle is lit for each of the four Sundays of Advent. There are prayer books to accompany the wreath (check online). This gives a great experience of waiting.
A Jesse Tree is also a great devotional for advent. We used to make one every year. All you need to do is to find a fallen branch with several branches on it and no leaves. You put it in a pot of dirt to hold it upright. You can Google “Jesse tree cutouts” and get free cutouts that you can print and cut out and color and hang on the tree. The idea is that you learn about the ancestors in the line of Jesus. This is a great way for children to learn about some of the famous Old Testament characters.
Last but not least, you need to try to find time within the busyness of the Season for some quiet. This is an especially great time of year for Penance and Reconciliation.   Go to Confession.  Take some extra time alone to pray.   God comes to us when we find a place of stillness.  He comes to us when we seek Him and YEARN for Him.  Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus.

A Veteran’s Day Reflection – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Anxiety and Worry, Church, Death and Dying, Godly Patriotism, Holy Orders, Prayer, Relationships, Trust

Even though we, as Catholics, are called to seek peace in all things, I believe it is important for us to reflect and celebrate our Veterans. We must thank them for their service and thank them for the freedom that we, and so many other people in the world, enjoy. Many of our soldiers are good Christians who often have been called to die for others. Jesus says that there is no greater gift than that. If you search our listing of Catholic Saints, over five hundred of them were soldiers, including the Peace loving St. Francis of Assisi.
Veteran’s Day, November 11th, was first known as Armistice Day because it remembered the Day that WWI ended and it remembered all the soldiers who gave so much in that war. In 1954 the name was changed to Veteran’s Day so that it would remember all the soldiers of all the wars. War is an absolutely terrible thing, but unfortunately it happens too often. With all of the evil in the world, there must be some people who will fight to keep freedom going. We in the United States of America should be very proud of our veterans and all that they have accomplished. We should pray for them. In honor of Veteran’s Day I would like to share with you a poem that tugs on my heart. I am a Vietnam Era veteran (though I was never in combat, just support) and this poem is written by a Vietnam veteran who was involved in heavy fighting. He is now a Catholic Priest and is pastor of a parish adjacent to mine.
Msgr. Charles Fink went in to the U.S. Army right after college and after training was sent to Vietnam where he was a rifleman and often a point man (most dangerous position). He was in Vietnam for one year and saw a considerable amount of battle. He lost many of his fellow infantrymen. He himself was wounded. His time in Vietnam helped him discern his calling to the Priesthood. He went in to the seminary after Vietnam and after being there for a while a nun came to talk. She talked about the Vietnam War and said things about soldiers in the war that Fr. Fink found upsetting. He said that she said things that were simply untrue and basically reflected what much in society thought at the time. He was so angered by her talk and her untruths that he went up to his room and wrote a poem entitled, “Bury me with soldiers”. In honor of all veterans from all the wars, I want to share that poem with you (permission given to me by Msgr. Fink).

BURY ME WITH SOLDIERS

I’ve played a lot of roles in life;
I’ve met a lot of men.
I’ve done some things I’d like to think
I wouldn’t do again

And though I’m young, I’m old enough
To know someday I’ll die.
And think about what lies beyond, And
Besides whom I would lie.

Perhaps it doesn’t matter much;
Still if I had my choice,
I’d want a grave amongst soldiers when
At last death quells my voice

I’m sick of the hypocrisy
Of lectures by the wise
I’ll take the man with all his flaws
Who goes, though scared, and dies.

The troops I know were commonplace;
They didn’t want the war
They fought because their fathers and
Their father’s fathers had before.

They cursed and killed and wept –
God knows they’re easy to deride –
But bury me with men like these;
They faced the guns and died.

It’s funny when you think of it,
The way we got along.
We’d come from different worlds
To live in one, where no one belongs

I didn’t even like them all and,
I’m sure they’d all agree.
Yet, I would give my life for them,
I hope. Some would for me.

So bury me with soldiers, please
Though much maligned they be
Yes, bury me with soldiers, for
I miss their company.

We will not soon see their like again
We’ve had our fill of war.
But, bury me with men like them
Till someone else does more!                                                       ©Copyright by Rev. Charles R. Fink

Please remember to thank our Veterans for their service and pray for them. So many veterans today suffer so much from what they have experienced. They need our love and our prayers.

An Infallible Pope—for Fallible Christians by Matt Nelson

Apologetics, Church, Early Church Fathers, Holy Orders, Holy Spirit, Relationships, Saints, Scripture, Spirituality

There are few dogmas of the Catholic Church that have appeared more scandalous to non-Catholic believers than papal infallibility. Consider, for example, this reflection from Protestant apologist Matt Slick in one of his critical pieces on the subject:
I can’t help but wonder what new revelations and infallible interpretations will arise within the Roman Catholic Church. Will the next six million years produce the complete deification of Mary? Will Mary become the creator of the universe in Roman Catholic lore? Or perhaps the pope might be elevated to a celestial level here on earth (Infallibility, Fallibility, and the Roman Catholic Church).
As any decently catechized Catholic will know, Slick can rest assured that neither Mary nor the pope will ever be the subjects of deification by the Catholic Church; not in the next sixty years, not in the next 600 billion years. Not ever. Indeed, papal infallibility exists to prevent such heresies. It is also fitting given the primary of the pope in the Church.
Papal Primacy
In St. Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus gives Peter alone “the keys to the kingdom of heaven” and the power to “bind and loose” (Matt. 16:16-20). Peter’s unique authority is powerfully exemplified in the Acts of the Apostles, at the Council of Jerusalem, when Peter made a definitive ruling regarding circumcision “and all the assembly kept silence” (Acts 15:12).
As the chief “overseer” of the Church, Peter—and his successors—was to maintain doctrinal purity, as well as doctrinal unity, in the Church. The eminent Protestant scholar James D.G. Dunn affirms this unitive role:
It is Peter who becomes the focal point of unity for the whole Church . . . he became the most hopeful symbol of unity for that growing Christianity which more and more came to think of itself as the Church Catholic” (Unity and Diversity in the New Testament, 386).
Writing in the second century, St. Irenaeus of Lyons gives important testimony to the primacy of the pope. Dealing with the Gnostic heretics in the second century, he asserted that the beliefs of every local Christian church must be congruent, not just with apostolic tradition, but with the teachings of every other Christian church. Why? Because the Church is essentially catholic. The primary way, wrote the ancient bishop of Lyons, that Christ ensures the unity of his Church is through the Petrine office: the church in Rome “is the greatest and most important and best-known of all . . . For with this church, because of her more powerful pre-eminence all churches must agree” (Against Heresies, III, 3.2) .
A Sensible Office
It makes sense that Jesus would establish such an authority in his absence—something like the Petrine office—because “the heart is deceitful above all things” (Jer. 17:9). We are easily fooled and distracted, and thereby often fail to hear the still, small voice of God. Yes, the Holy Spirit can and will lead us into all truth as Jesus promised—but how, exactly? Through prayer and contemplation of the scriptures, surely. But as St. Paul tells us, we are to “test everything [and] hold fast to what is good” (1 Thess. 5:21). How should we test and confirm our spiritual sentiments? Through the infallible guidance of the Church, especially realized in the ministry of the chief bishop of the Church.
Papal infallibility is often misunderstood, but not because it is a hard concept to understand. It makes perfect sense. We need an infallible teaching authority because we are so fallible.
And because this charism exists to prevent the teaching of error in the universal Church, it is only present when the pope fulfills three narrow criteria. First, he must be teaching as the supreme pastor of the universal church. Second, he must have the intention of deciding a matter finally. Third, the teaching must be regarding faith and morals.
Assisted, Not Inspired
The writers of the New Testament were also specially influenced by God as they communicated religious truth. But there’s a critical distinction to be made here. The New Testament writers were not merely influenced—they were inspired. Indeed they were inspired in such a profound manner that, although it was mere creatures who put letters to the sacred page, God was in fact the primary author. Catholic theologian Ludwig Ott affirms this distinction in his well-known Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma:
This assistance [involved in papal infallibility] must be distinguished . . . from Inspiration, which is a positive influence effected by God over an author, of such a nature that God himself is the principal author of the writing, and the ideas are consequently the Word of God.
Whereas inspiration is a positive influence to “write only what God wants written,” papal infallibility is essentially a negative—or preventative—charism that prevents the chief teacher of the Church from teaching “what God does not want taught,” that is, from teaching error.
Peter the Pitiful
Given his blunderous and impulsive character, wasn’t the apostle Peter rather unfit for the job as infallible leader of the Church? What about his successors? Precisely so—at least according to worldly standards. By gospel standards, however, Peter was the perfect fit.
Truly at the crux of the Good News is the paradoxical truth that God “has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree” (Luke 1:52). Jesus specializes in making something great out the pitiful. Indeed during his earthly ministry he took a special interest in uneducated fishermen, sinful tax collectors—even murderers like Paul—many of whom he gave the task of overseeing his ministry and tending his flock.
Riddled as he was with imperfections, the genius of Peter’s selection may not have been immediately apparent. Centuries later, however, the power of God is clear. For the Chair of Peter still remains; no power has yet prevailed over the Church. “All the empires and the kingdoms have failed, because of this inherent and continual weakness, that they were founded by strong men and upon strong men,” writes Chesterton. “But this one thing, the historic Christian Church, was founded on a weak man, and for that reason it is indestructible. For no chain is stronger than its weakest link” (Heretics). Indeed, when Jesus gave Peter the keys and charism of infallibility, he infused the whole Christian people with a principle of unity that forms an unbreakable bond.
Peter’s Faith Did Not Fail
“The prayer of a righteous man is great in its effect,” writes St. James (James 5:16). How great in its effect must have been the Lord’s prayer for Peter when he said to his chief disciple, “I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren” (Luke 22:32).
Indeed, from that perfect prayer of Christ have come two miracles that have strengthened the Church ever since. The first is the witness—the martyrdom—of Peter whose faith did not fail in the end. And the second is still with us; indeed we are living it—the indestructible Catholic Church, the community of believers in grace whose faith has been strengthened century after century by the Servant of the Servants of God, the pope.

The Seasonal Church – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Church, Converts, Liturgy, Penance and Reconciliation, Prayer, Spirituality

I am fortunate to live in the North East United States where we experience four seasons every year. Each season brings with it new sights and sounds and something special to bring us a better experience of life. It seems that there is always a change in the air going on. We usually take these changes of seasons for granted, but I remember one year when I lived in central Texas when I didn’t experience theses changes and it really bothered me. Somehow, grilling outside for Christmas while wearing shorts didn’t do much for giving me the Christmas spirit. I know that many people live in areas where there is little or no change in seasons and probably deal with it well, but I did not. I am used to seasons and I really enjoy them.
We are now in our fall season. The air is clean and crisp and refreshing. The trees are changing their leaves from green to various shades of yellow and red and brown and gold. Fall flowers such as mums are bringing new colors in to the neighborhood. The smell of fall candles and cinnamon and spices fill the house. The sky seems to be a brighter shade of blue. We spend more time inside with our families and friends. Life is good.
When winter comes we feel the sharp cold air, but it seems to refresh and awaken us. Most of the trees and flowers are bare now, but there are still some evergreen trees and bushes that remind us that life goes on. When snow falls it is one of the most beautiful sights to see. Children can be seen snow sledding and ice skating. There is nothing like coming in from the cold to sit around a nice fireplace with a roaring fire. After a while, we tire of the cold and ice but then we see signs of spring coming.
With spring comes a feeling of new life. The trees that seemed to be dead are now coming alive again. Flowers are pushing up from the ground with seamless effort. You hear the sounds of birds chirping in the trees. The air has a fragrance of flowers. The earth seems to be awakening from its sleep.
In summer we have the warm breezes touching our skin. The flowers that bloom are filled with so many different and bright colors. Many of our activities of enjoyment are found outside. We have our times for walks and our times for going to the beach or to the pool. The children are thrilled because they are on their summer break and can really enjoy the summer life.
Just as the seasons of the earth bring us new experiences and help us to live out a fuller life, the Church, in its great wisdom, offers us seasons to do the same thing. The earth gives us four seasons but the Church gives us six. The whole Church year revolves around the Church seasons. Let’s take a brief look at these six seasons and how they help us to experience God’s love better. These seasons are also filled with their own colors and sights and sounds.
The first season of the Church year is Advent. It starts in the late fall, timed to give us four weeks to prepare for the great feast of Christmas. The color for this season is violet (with one Sunday of Rose). Advent is a quiet season of joy where we anticipate and prepare for the coming of Jesus. We look towards the coming of Jesus both at Christmas two thousand years ago and His Second Coming at the end of time. It is a time of anticipation and readiness. Advent ends on December 24th.
The second season of the Church year is Christmas. It starts on December 25th and lasts until the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus. This is a season of joy and celebration and merriment. It is a time where we all give out gifts to remember the great gift given to us at Christmas, Jesus. It is a time of the smells of evergreens and baking and a time when families spend more time with each other. The color for this season is white.
When Christmas ends, we begin the third season, the season of Ordinary time. The color of this season is green. Ordinary time is a split season. The first split is right after Christmas for about four to eight weeks. It is a time when we listen to all of the stories about Jesus. It is a time for us to learn and grow in our knowledge of Jesus. It ends with Ash Wednesday.
The fourth season is the season of Lent. This season starts with Ash Wednesday and ends with Holy Thursday morning. The color of this season is Violet. It is a time for prayer and repentance in preparation for the celebration of the Easter mysteries. It is a special time for our RCIA groups to be ready for coming in to the Church at the Easter Vigil. It is a time of serious prayer and reflection and growth in our love of Jesus.
The fifth season is the Paschal Triduum. Its colors are white and red depending on the day. This season is only three days long but reflects the very act of what our Church was founded upon, the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. The first day is Holy Thursday (White) when we celebrate the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood. The second day is Good Friday (Red) when we remember the death of Jesus on the cross. The Church does not celebrate any Sacraments that day. The third day is Holy Saturday with its Easter Vigil. The vigil mass is the highest mass of the Church year. It is one that is filled with so many sights and sounds, readings, candles, water, incense etc. The RCIA candidates come in to the Church that evening. It is a time of GREAT JOY. The liturgies of all three days of the Paschal Triduum are celebrated as ONE continuous liturgy that commemorates the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The sixth season of the Church year is the Easter Season. It is a fifty day celebration that begins at the Easter Vigil and concludes on the Feast of Pentecost. The color of the season is white. We spend fifty days looking at the readings about the resurrected Jesus. The Easter Paschal Candle, lit at the Easter Vigil, burns for all liturgies during this season. Jesus is the Light of the world. He is the Resurrection and the Life. We spend fifty days celebrating this. This is what the Church is all about. We are a resurrection people.
The second part of Ordinary season starts on the Monday after Pentecost and goes until the Feast of Christ the King when the calendar of seasons starts all over again. We hear all of the stories of Jesus during this season.
It is interesting that the seasons of the earth seem to join in with the liturgical seasons. The late fall and early winter of Advent gives us a little glimpse of the stillness and waiting of Advent. The beauty of the winter white proclaims the birth of the savior. The beginning harshness of winter at Lent calls us to penance and the Spring season reflects the life and light of Easter. Just as we can enjoy the seasons of the year, the seasons of the Church can help us better experience all that Jesus has done for us and how we should respond to His love.