Category Archives: How to be Catholic

Our House of the Sacred Heart by Annabelle Moseley – a book review by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Anxiety and Worry, Blessed Virgin Mary, Book Review, Church, Consecration, Death and Dying, Evangelism, Family, Holiness, Holy Spirit, How to be Catholic, Marriage, Prayer, Relationships, Sacred Heart, Spirituality, Teaching, Women

Once in a while you come across a book that is not only interesting and inspirational, but is also something that is so needed for the difficult times we are in. Our House of The Sacred Heart is one of those books. It is a very interesting book. The writer is a gifted poet who is able to deliver both prose and poetry in a way that stimulates the intellect and makes the reader continue to look for more. I found it very difficult to put the book down. As if her writing was not enough (which it is), Moseley presents scripture quotes, words of wisdom and beautiful art work to further stimulate our very being. She tells so many beautiful stories about her family and the way she was brought up. These show us how the gift of faith, especially through the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, makes life bearable and even joyful during both times of trial and times of cheer. When I read her previous book, Sacred Braille, I thought to myself that this is truly a woman of faith. After reading House of the Sacred Heart, I now can see where that faith came from.

I also found the book to be quite inspirational. Now inspirational can mean many things from how God inspired the writing of the Bible to how a hero can inspire others to do good. This book is inspirational in both ways. Now I am not saying that Our House of the Sacred Heart is inspired like the Bible is, but I can say that the same Holy Spirit that inspired the writings of the Bible also inspired Annabelle Moseley to put together this book using her God-given (inspired) talent of writing and using the inspired scriptures and using artwork that everyone can see is inspired. For the foundation of her book she uses the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She takes the 33 titles of the litany and weaves stories around them from her family to help show what each litany means. At the center of the family stories is what she calls Our House of The Sacred Heart, or the Red House, which is her grandmother’s house. So much of what her family is, centers around that house. The house is so much more than a dwelling, it is where the faith has been taught and lived out. I particularly like the cover design showing the Red House. The cover was done by my talented friend, T.J. Burdick. I wonder how much it resembles the actual house?

This book is something that is so needed for this time. Our culture has seen family life being disrupted over and over again. It has also seen a significant decrease in people who find their faith meaningful or even relevant to their everyday life. This book shows, in so many ways, through examples from several generations, how important strong faith and strong family life is. It shows us that faith and family, together, can bring us through the darkest moments and can even bring us joy in the midst of difficulties. The book also shows us that our faith is definitely handed down from one generation to the next. This book can not help but to awaken any dormant faith within us.

Annabelle Moseley has definitely written a book to inspire people towards a better appreciation of family life and a better appreciation or our faith. The book can be used in so many different ways. It is a great book for a person to read and appreciate by themselves. It is also a book that could lead an individual to make a Consecration to The Sacred Heart of Jesus. That consecration could use the book in the popular 33 day consecration method to do this. Moseley has included beautiful prayers at the back of the book to not only lead an individual to the consecration but to also do a Consecration of their home. I also believe that this book could be used in the parish setting by offering a group study that leads to the consecration. I certainly hope that this book becomes popular and that a large number of people read it. It is most interesting, very inspirational and certainly very needed for these difficult times. Do yourself, and your family, a favor and buy and read this book. You will be glad that you did.

SPECIAL ADDITION: The author has personally told me that: “I’m leading a Consecration to the Sacred Heart through my website! For those who sign up, they’ll get on each of the 33 days leading to their Consecration a brief daily podcast reflection that includes classic prayers to the Sacred Heart, contemplation of the Litany line of the day, and a brief soundbite to inspire deeper devotion to the Sacred Heart. The consecration begins on May 9th and ends on the Feast of the Sacred Heart: June 11th (on that day participants will get access to a Consecration Day-webinar and along with an author talk will be open to participant Q&A etc).  For anyone who signs up, I will also offer a special parish Book Group “Meet the Author” zoom for any parishioners who have read the book… all they have to do is sign up and then email me at annabelle@annabellemoseley.com ” I think that we should all take advantage of this opportunity. I know that I am and have already signed up. I encourage you to do so too by using the following link. God is good.

Here’s the link: https://www.annabellemoseley.com/consecration-to-the-sacred-heart-of-jesus/

NAVIGATING THROUGH A COVID-19 LENT – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Church, Community, Eucharist, Fatherhood, Holiness, How to be Catholic, Lent, Liturgy, Penance and Reconciliation, Prayer, Relationships, Spirituality, Trust

Lent is a very special season of the Church where we are called to turn away from anything that is blocking our relationship to God. We are called to do whatever we can to grow closer to Him. Our God is a loving, kind and merciful Father who desires His children to be in a close relationship with him. Too often we gradually turn away from Him because of our busyness, preoccupation with other things (both good and bad), and the distractions of normal living. God’s desire is for His children to be close to Him. He is always close to us, but we often ignore that or cannot see that closeness. Lent is a time for us to try to get back on track. It is a time for us to slow down, stop being preoccupied and stop being distracted. Lent is a time for us to move closer to our Father who loves us so much, forgives us so much and desires us so much.

During Lent (and throughout the year) the Church asks us to turn towards him using three main tools, Prayer, Fasting and Alms-giving. These three tools were given to us by Jesus himself in Matthew Chapter 6. These three tools have often been called the Pillars of Lent. All three can have various means of expression and each individual has to discern the best expression for him/her within the situation they are in. This past year and in to the present year we have been experiencing many different ways of living out our lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people have had their lives completely turned around by loosing their job, having reduced hours working, or by working from home. Many parents have to deal with home schooled children for at least part of the week. We have lost the ability to gather together in large and close numbers and many families have lost their ability to be with each other even on special holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving and birthdays and anniversaries. Unfortunately, many families have lost loved ones due to COVID-19 and some have lost the ability to visit loved ones in nursing homes, hospitals and other institutions. There is no doubt that this pandemic has adversely affected our every day living. It will also affect the way we experience Lent. Some of this will be in negative ways, but some may actually be in positive ways.

One of the positive ways is that COVID-19 has given some people more time within their own home. Hopefully this additional time can give people time to slow down. Lent is definitely about slowing down our fast pace so that we can have more time for quiet reflection and prayer. I would like to try to take each of the three pillars and look at ways that we can use them to grow closer to God during this very difficult time.

PRAYER – We are called to be a people of prayer, every day of the year. However, during Lent we are called to find ways to expand our prayer life. The more we pray and the more we experience different forms of prayer, the closer we come to know the love of our heavenly Father. There are many forms of prayer and I would like to discuss a few. Personal spontaneous prayer is very important. For me it is the time that I spend in giving thanks and praise to God. I find that the more I give thanks to God for all the things in my life, the more I appreciate those things and feel closer to God. Praying with scripture is also a great way of experiencing God’s love and presence. Sometimes just taking a short scripture reading, perhaps one of the readings of the day, and quieting yourself and asking God to speak to us through that reading, can produce much fruit. Personal liturgical prayer is another great way to pray. This can be done by using some of the prayers that the Church has given us, such as the rosary, the chaplet of divine mercy, the liturgy of the hours, litanies, etc. These can really help us feel closer to God. Public liturgical prayer is also very important such as attending mass more often, attending Adoration and Benediction and other church prayers. Our churches all adhere to social distancing and to cleaning and are probably one of the safer public places to be. For Lent, try to attend mass or services as often as you can.

FASTING – Fasting has been part of the Christian life since the time of the early church. Even before that it was an important part of the Jewish tradition. Fasting, or giving up something, can definitely help us to grow closer to God. Sometimes when giving up food for a short time, the hunger we feel in our stomach can help us better appreciate the hunger that we have for God. But fasting is not just for food. Fasting can be from things in our lives that do not lead us closer to God. Often fasting is something that goes along with adding something. For instance, if you fast from watching tv for just one hour per day and take that one hour per day and add scripture reading and/or prayer you will see how that additional hour of scripture and or prayer can bring you closer to God. Also, fasting from something that you really love can be difficult but can help you build your own self control which can be useful in many ways.

ALMS-GIVING – Alms-giving is simply giving something that you have to the poor. It can be the gift of money, goods, or time. Both the Old and New Testaments (the Hebrew and Christian scriptures) stress how important it is for us to share with others, especially with the poor. In today’s COVID world I have experienced a new kind of poor (or needy). There are a large number of people who had great jobs or owned great businesses that all of a sudden, because of COVID have lost their jobs and their businesses or have at least had a reduction of income. They own nice homes and drive nice cars but can’t afford to put food on the table and can’t afford to pay their bills. These people, by all outward appearances do not need help but in reality are very much in need of help. Many of them are embarrassed to ask for help. We need to find ways to help them too. Personally I have found that the more I give to others who are in need, the closer I feel to God. I mentioned that giving can consist of money, goods or time. Money and goods are always something that you can get more of. However time is something that can not be replenished. Giving of your time, such as volunteering at soup kitchens, outreaches, or other charitable organizations is a real gift and a real sacrifice. At the same time it is the most rewarding.

SUMMARY – Remember that Lent is a gift given to you to help you get closer to our Father who loves us so much and wants us to be close to him. Jesus taught us the three Pillars of Lent that can help us do that. The more we put those Pillars in to action the closer we will get to God. COVID has taken so much away from us and we are really hurting from it. Now more than ever, we need to be close to God. I pray that you have a very fruitful Lent and that you better understand the great riches of being a son and daughter of the Father. I pray that you know the closeness that only a son and daughter can feel. May God bless you richly during this most Holy Season.

The Joy of Giving – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Charity, Church, Community, Discernment, Holiness, Holy Spirit, How to be Catholic, Morality, Peace and Justice, Relationships, Service, Spirituality, , ,

There is a popular Christian song that says, “They will know we are Christians by our love”. This is such a true statement. One of the best signs of being a Christian is being charitable. It doesn’t matter how many crosses you may be wearing or how many holy medals you may be wearing; the most important sign to others that you are a Christian is your love (charity). We show our love in our actions towards others. Jesus is continually calling us to recognize that we are supposed to be people who put love for others (especially the poor) in to all that we do. Mathew 5:25 tells us, “So don’t hide your light! Let it shine brightly before others, so that the commendable things you do will shine as light upon them, and then they will give their praise to your Father in heaven.” Also in Matthew (25:40) Jesus tells us that at the Judgment Day He will say to us, “When you cared for one of the least important of these my little ones, my true brothers and sisters, you demonstrated love for me” and “When you refused to help one of the least important among these my little ones, my true brothers and sisters, you refused to help and honor me. (25:45)” It couldn’t be much clearer, when we do for others, we do for Jesus and when we refuse to do for others, we refuse to do for Jesus. He will someday judge us on this.

But giving to others, especially the needy, isn’t just about the judgment that we receive. It is also about our life right now. Jesus tells us in Luke 6:38, “Give generously, and generous gifts will be given back to you, shaken down to make room for more. Abundant gifts will pour out upon you with such an overflowing measure that it will run over the top! Your measurement of generosity becomes the measurement of your return.” I am not trying to preach a prosperity gospel like many do, because I know that so many of the Saints who did good works lived in poverty and extreme hardship. Rather, I believe that the gifts given back to us in generous measure are not necessarily monetary gifts or earthly gifts. They are gifts that transcend the everyday life here and lift our inner being up to heavenly places. We can, through giving to the needy, experience a sort of heavenly bliss. The goodness that we feel when we give to the needy can be absolutely amazing. Also, the closer we are to Jesus, the more grateful we become aware of His love for us and the more we want to do for others. St. John, in his first letter chapter 4 verse 19 tells us, “Our love for others is our grateful response to the love God first demonstrated to us.” We give to others because God has given so much to us.

Giving to others can be done in so many ways. Personally I think that treating all people with respect, even if you don’t agree with them or even dislike them, is a true form of Christian giving. Also, helping others to get ahead in life, even if it means going over you, is a form of Christian giving. Jesus gave us the “golden rule” in Matthew 7:12, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. When we really follow this rule we can find great peace and satisfaction. In doing this we can also help change the world for the better. Because of our human nature, being charitable isn’t always easy to do. However, God has given us both the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the fruits of the Holy Spirit so that we can. We need to rely upon these gifts, and pray earnestly, so that we can be a people of love and charity.

Unfortunately there are many people in this world who are living lives of extreme poverty. There are many homeless people in our communities and many households that cannot afford to put a decent meal on the table for their family. In our current COVID pandemic many people have lost their jobs or had their wages reduced. Many businesses have failed and we have a new form of poverty in our communities. We have people who own their own homes and have nice cars, but because of income loss they cannot pay their bills or buy decent food. For those of us who can, we can’t just stand back and do nothing. We are called by God to help others, and the first place to do this is in our own communities. It is important to try to find ways to help others. If you pray for guidance in this, God will put you in to the right places to help others. Start first with what you are familiar with, your own parishes and their outreach ministries. Then look to local community organizations that are helping the needy. Giving money and giving time to them is essential. One of the best ways to give is by volunteering to serve in these outreaches and community organizations. Not only do you help them to do what they are trying to do to help the needy, but because you are a volunteer you usually get a chance to interact with the people you are helping. Believe me, this is something that can be very good for you.

As an example, I have found several forms of charitable service in my community. Our own parish has an outreach ministry and I support that by giving both money and non perishable goods and special gifts for Christmas and Thanksgiving and the beginning of school. I also work with two local charities, Angels of Long Island and Carroll’s Kitchen to help bring food and necessities to those in need. I also work with several Veteran’s agencies to help veterans in need. Working with these charities brings me immense satisfaction and joy and peace. We are called to support charities by giving money, but more importantly, we are called to support them by giving volunteer time. Personally, I would have to say that I get a tremendous satisfaction from giving volunteer service to them. There is no doubt that I better appreciate the gifts that God has given me, but even more than that, the actual act of giving brings me such good feelings, that it is hard to describe. In ending, I would encourage you to seek out, through prayer, what God wants you to be doing. He wants you to love and serve others, but you and He will have to decide who those others are. Once you do this, you will be more fully living the Christian vocation and you will experience a new sense of purpose and fulfillment and peace. Truly, giving to others is also giving to yourself. Author Leo Buscaglia tells us, “It’s not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something. May I suggest that it be creating joy for others, sharing what we have for the betterment of personkind, bringing hope to the lost and love to the lonely.” St. Paul tells us, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2Corinthians 9:7

TRUST – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Anxiety and Worry, Discernment, Divine Mercy, Holiness, Holy Spirit, How to be Catholic, Life in the Spirit, Prayer, Relationships, Scripture, Spirituality, Trust

A few years ago I was made aware of the truths of Divine Mercy when I read Sr. Faustina Kowalska’s diary.   I have to tell you that it was life changing for me.   In it I learned so much about God’s Mercy, but I also learned so much about trusting in Jesus.   As a matter of fact, the very popular image of Jesus as the Divine Mercy has a saying under it, “Jesus, I Trust in You”.  This has become my mantra in life.  I say it every day, many times.  Learning to really trust in Jesus brings about a peace that no one else can give to you.   Trust is such an important part of our faith.  I would like to share with you some thoughts that I have on Trust and putting our Trust in our loving God.

Trust is nothing new to us.   We experience it every day, and in so many different ways.  My guess is that right now you are probably sitting down.  I would also guess that you just sat down in that chair with full confidence that it would support you.   I doubt that you looked at the legs to see if they were cracked and I doubt that you checked the screws holding it together to see if they were loose.   You just sat down in that chair fully putting your trust in it.  That is the type of trust that God wants us to have.   He wants us to embrace the different situations in our lives knowing that He is in charge and that He knows how to handle things.  Why should we have this trust in him?   It is simple, because His love for us is so great and He has revealed to us, through the scriptures and through the lives of the Saints that we need to trust in Him.   When we place our trust in Him, good things happen.   When we don’t put our trust in Him, we start to worry and worry brings about too many difficulties.  One of those difficulties is that you don’t allow God to be actively working in your lives.

In Proverbs 3: 5-6 we read, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”  Trusting in God allows Him to straighten our path.   It allows Him to work in our lives.  This doesn’t mean that God wants us just to sit around and do nothing while he leads us around on a leash.   What He does want is for us to place our trust in Him in every situation that comes to us and to ask Him to lead us and guide us and give us direction.   Part of this trust is to know that He does this in so many various ways and it is up to us to work along with Him on this journey.

In Jeremiah 17: 7-8 we read,   “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.  They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”   When we trust in the Lord and have confidence in Him we are given the strength needed to handle anything.    We know that a tree needs water to survive and when there is a hot and dry spell it will wither unless it receives water.   We who trust in God are like a tree planted near a stream or river.  Our roots go out to receive the water.  Whenever I hear this reading and others like it, I think of the water as being God’s Holy Spirit.   As St. Paul tells us, He lavishes the Spirit upon us.

So often the dark times of our lives can be likened to the nighttime.   Every night, when the darkness comes, we go to bed, close our eyes and trust that somehow our body will wake up in the morning, and it does.   This is a real form of trust, especially in the darkness.  Psalm 143: 8 reflects this saying, “Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.   Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.”  Part of being able to trust is to know that God’s love for us is so great that He gives us every gift.  The more we show gratitude for His gifts, the more we can grow in His love and in trust.   I have come to realize that EVERYTHING is a gift.   Every breath that I take is a gift from God.   Every morning that I awake, tells me that God has given me another day.  Whatever comes that day is part of His gift to me and I can trust that He and I, working together, can get through anything.

When we know that we are in God’s presence, and personally I feel that presence in all things, then we can have true trust.   Psalm 91: 1-2 tells us “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”   The more we see His presence with us and the more we learn to trust, the happier we become.

There are so many scripture passages that tell us about our loving God who we can put our trust in.  I will share a few of these here with you for you to meditate on and to find your own way towards growing in trust of God.

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  Matthew 6:26

So we say with confidence, The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.  What can mere mortals do to me?”  Hebrews 13:6

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:19

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”  Hebrews 13:5

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.  Psalm 28:7

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres 1 Corinthians 13:6-7

A word of advice from me:   When you are hit by a storm, no matter what it is, don’t go to God and tell Him how big your storm is; rather, go to your storm and tell it how big your God is.   That is trust in God.  Please remember my favorite mantra, Jesus, I Trust in You.  The more you learn to trust in our loving God, the more happiness and peace you will have.

Fridays are Special – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Church, Death and Dying, Divine Mercy, Easter, Forgiveness, Healing, Holiness, How to be Catholic, Penance and Reconciliation, Prayer, Relationships, Resurrection, Sacraments, Scripture, Sin

Since the first century, the Church has always remembered Friday as the day the Lord died and has always practiced Penance on that day.  The forms of penance have varied over the ages but always included prayer, works of piety, almsgiving and denying oneself.  This day of Penance has helped the faithful devote themselves to living the Christian message and remembering what Jesus did for us by dying on the cross.  Many of us living today remember that every Friday we abstained from eating meat.  Presently this requirement is only for the Fridays of Lent.  HOWEVER, we are all still under the obligation of making Friday a day of Penance and remembrance of Jesus dying on the cross for us.

We are all under obligation to make Friday a day different from all the others.  For my wife and I we abstain from meat on Friday, every Friday.  We find this a great way to live out the love of Jesus and remembering what He did for us on Friday.  We also try to remember the hour that He died.  It is said that Jesus died at 3:00pm on a Friday.  My wife and I stop what we are doing every day (when possible) and pray together the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.  But, many would ask, why do all this and why remember every Friday and also the 3:00pm hour?  I would like to take a look at this by examining Psalm 51.  To me, this says it all.  The Church puts this Psalm in to every Friday morning prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours.

Psalm 51 is also sometimes known as the Misere.  It is a Psalm written by King David in response to his calling to mind his sins.  Truthfully the prophet Nathan helped him to think about the wrong things he had done (read 2 Samuel 12: 1-13).  When David was king he sinned greatly.  First of all he was a “peeping Tom” watching Bathsheba take a bath and lusted over her.  Secondly he had Bathsheba brought to him and formed an adulterous relationship with her.  Thirdly, when Bathsheba became pregnant with David’s child he had Bathsheba’s husband Uriah (one of David’s loyal soldiers) killed.  He then took Bathsheba as his wife.  To think that God’s beloved David would do all this is hard to believe.  God had given him everything, including being a forefather of the Messiah, Jesus.  He sinned greatly.  The reason that God reinstated David  to his position in salvation history is that David deeply repented of his sins.  David’s Psalm 51 tells us of God’s love and Mercy and our need to seek forgiveness.  Take a look at this Psalm.  This is the translation taken right out of the Liturgy of the Hours.

Psalm 51 – The Miserere

Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness. *
In your compassion blot out my offense.
O wash me more and more from my guilt *
and cleanse me from my sin.

My offenses truly I know them; *
my sin is always before me.
Against you, you alone, have I sinned; *
what is evil in your sight I have done.

That you may be justified when you give sentence *
and be without reproach when you judge.
O see, in guilt I was born, *
a sinner was I conceived.

Indeed you love truth in the heart; *
then in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom.
O purify me, then I shall be clean; *
O wash me, I shall be whiter than snow.

Make me hear rejoicing and gladness, *
that the bones you have crushed may revive.
From my sins turn away your face *
and blot out all my guilt.

A pure heart create for me, O God, *
put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence, *
nor deprive me of your holy spirit.

Give me again the joy of your help; *
with a spirit of fervor sustain me,
that I may teach transgressors your ways *
and sinners may return to you.

O rescue me, God, my helper, *
and my tongue shall ring out your goodness.
O Lord, open my lips *
and my mouth shall declare your praise.

For in sacrifice you take no delight, *
burnt offering from me you would refuse,
my sacrifice, a contrite spirit. *
A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.

In your goodness, show favor to Zion: *
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
Then you will be pleased with lawful sacrifice, *
holocausts offered on your altar.

There are many important things to see in this Psalm.  First of all, we all sin and God abhors sin.  Secondly, God is merciful and when we come to Him with sorrow for our sins, He forgives us.  David acknowledged his sin and God forgave him.  Thirdly, God sees all things and knows of our sins.  We cannot hide them from Him.  We may be able to hide them from others, but not from God.  Fourthly, we need to have a change of heart.  God is able to change our hearts to make them avoid sin.  And lastly, even though our sins bring consequences to us and those around us, God does not hold a forgiven sin against us.  He allows us to be who He has called us to be.

All of this is because of God’s love and mercy.  It is because God loved us so much that He sent His only son Jesus in to the world and allowed Jesus to die for all of our sins.  Just as Jesus rose from the dead, we too, once we ask forgiveness can rise up from our sins.  It is certainly right to remember every Friday as a special day when Jesus died for our sins.  It is certainly right to remember the 3:00pm hour as the hour that Jesus died for us so that we might have life.

I would urge you to make Friday a special day, a day of remembrance, a day of Penance.  Take some extra time to pray.  Take some extra time to help others.  Try giving up something, denying yourself to help join Jesus in His gift of giving up Himself.  Earlier I mentioned the Chaplet of Divine Mercy that my wife and I pray every day at 3:00pm.  If you are not familiar with the devotions of Divine Mercy, I suggest that you make yourself familiar to them and use them.  Here is a link on how to pray the Chaplet and has more information about the Divine Mercy: https://www.thedivinemercy.org/message/devotions/pray-the-chaplet

Our God is a merciful and loving and forgiving God.  We, as His children are far from perfect.   Our sins pull us away from God, but He never gives up on His call to bring us back to him.  All we have to do is acknowledge our sins and ask for forgiveness.  The Church has given us a real healing Sacrament in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, commonly known as confession.  Make use of it.  God wants you, His child, to be near to Him.  He does not want sin to separate us from Him.  Remembering every Friday helps us to acknowledge our sin and see what God has done so we can be free.

Love Is All About Giving – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Church, Eucharist, Evangelism, Forgiveness, Healing, Holiness, Holy Orders, Holy Spirit, How to be Catholic, Jewish roots, Life in the Spirit, Liturgy, Marriage, Penance and Reconciliation, Priesthood, Pro-Life, Relationships, Sacraments, Scripture, Sin, Spirituality, Teaching, Vocation

Love Is All About Giving – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

During this time around Valentine’s Day most of us are concentrating on finding just the right gift for the one that we love.  I certainly realize that giving to the one we love is something that should be done constantly in our relationship with them.  But Valentine’s Day sets aside a special day for us to do that.   If we truly love someone, we want to give to them at Valentine’s Day and throughout the year.  It seems naturally built in to us as humans to want to give.  I think that is because we are made in the image of God, who is the great giver.

We all know John 3:16 which says “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”  This is the gift above all gifts.  It is also the gift that keeps on giving, as the commercials say.  I would like to take a look at this precious gift.  To begin with, our very life is a gift given to us by God.  It is a precious gift that should be held sacred.  Secondly, the scriptures tell us that God formed us in His own image.  This too is a precious gift.  We, like God, are made to live throughout all eternity.  We, like God, are also given the gift of free will.  This is also a very precious gift, but one that has gotten us in to trouble.  Unlike God we sometimes choose to be selfish and not loving and not giving.  In order to remedy this, God decided that He would come to us and bring us the gift of salvation.   The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.  He did this for a specific purpose, for our salvation and for our formation.

I have always been interested in Social Anthropology, where we study the behavior of cultures, both ancient and sometimes contemporary.  I have found it extremely interesting that almost every culture recognizes that there is a God (or several gods) and finds it necessary to offer sacrifices to this God.  This too seems to be built in to our human DNA.  We have a need to worship God and to offer sacrifice to God.  Jesus came to the Jewish people who were accustomed to sacrifices and offerings to their God.  Jesus became for us the fullest sacrifice for our sins.  Jesus died a horrific death so that our sins could be expiated and we could obtain eternal life.  His was the perfect sacrificial offering.  However, that is not the only reason he came.  If it was, he could have been slaughtered by Herod as an infant, or one of the many times in the Gospels where the people tried to kill him.  Each time He escaped because His time had not yet come.  He had more to do.

I believe that one of the primary things that He wanted to do was to start His Church.  He wanted to find and train the right men to do the job.  When He chose the twelve apostles He was making new the Jewish Kingdom of the twelve tribes and starting the new Kingdom, the Church.  He chose Peter as the “Rock” upon which He would build this Church.  All twelve disciples were important, even the one who betrayed Him, but Peter was to be the Head of them all and the Head of the Church.  The scriptures are very clear about that.  Jesus spent three years in ministry with them to train them and show them what would be called the seven sacraments.  When the time of their training was completed, Jesus turned towards the means of His death.  He wanted His death to be a renewal of the Jewish Passover so He went to Jerusalem at the time of Passover.  He walked right in to the hands of those who wanted to kill him.  He would become the new Passover.

The death of Jesus on the cross is so much a part of the Jewish Passover Feast that we cannot separate the two.  Dr. Scott Hahn’s book, The Fourth Cup is one of the best references for us to study this.  In this book he shows us how our redemption followed a plan established by God from the very beginning of time.  When Jesus celebrated the final Passover (which we call the last supper) with His disciples it really wasn’t completed until His death on the cross.  During that Last Supper Jesus gave us an extraordinary gift, the gift of His own Body and Blood and Jesus instructed the disciples to continue to give this gift.  The Church that Jesus formed was to continue to celebrate His sacrifice and continue to give out His body and His blood to His people.  It has been doing that for 2,000 years.

After Jesus died and ascended back to heaven, He gave another gift to us all.  He gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit.   This gift of the Holy Spirit was given to strengthen us and to continue to help us in all that God calls us to do.  The gift of the Spirit has been lavished upon us.  Though the Sacrament of Baptism, the gift of the Spirit is placed within us.  In the Sacrament of Confirmation the fullness of the Spirit and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are made manifest.  Through the gift of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist we are given the very body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus.  We are empowered by Him and called to be formed in His image.  In the gift of the Sacrament of Marriage and the Sacrament of Holy Orders we are again empowered in to the Vocation that God calls us to.  When we are sick, the gift of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick brings us healing.  And when we turn away from God and turn to sin, the Sacrament of Reconciliation forgives us and brings us back to Him

All of the gifts that God gives us continue through the precious gift of the Church.  The Church gave us the gift of the Bible and helps us to understand it.  The Church gives us the gift of Tradition which was (and still is) so venerated in Jewish life.  Tradition helps fill in what the Bible hasn’t given us.  It helps us to understand where we have come from and helps us to see that we are still the same Church founded by the Apostles with Peter as the head.  The Church gives us the gift of its hierarchy, which continues (literally) what Jesus has taught us.  The present day Pope is the 266th man who has sat on the chair of St. Peter.  All of our bishops are spiritual descendents of the twelve disciples.  We can trace the lineage of ordination right back to the early Church.  As.000

  great as the Church is, we are all still human with human weaknesses.  We have had some “bad” Popes and Bishops, yet the Church continues on.  No other institution on earth has remained for 2000 years.  Jesus was right when He said that the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

In summary, God is the great giver of gifts that keep on giving.  Our salvation is a precious gift that we celebrate every time we celebrate mass.  Jesus, body, blood, soul and divinity is always present to us in the Eucharist.  The Church is always present to us as Jesus’ own body here on earth.  The Church is always giving us the gifts of the Sacraments and of God’s grace.  The Church is always proclaiming the scriptures and teaching us how to live them out.  There is no doubt that God has given us every good gift, and they keep on giving.

I’M CATHOLIC. NOW WHAT? By Shaun McAfee – a book review by Deacon Marty McIndoe

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I’M CATHOLIC.  NOW WHAT?   By Shaun McAfee – a book review by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Shaun McAfee, founder of EpicPew.com, blogger at National Catholic Register, contributor to Catholic Answers Magazine and many other Catholic resources has written a new book published by Our Sunday Visitor.  Personally I think that this is the best book he has written; and I really enjoyed his other books.  When I first saw the pre-publication announcement for this book, I immediately put in an order for it.  The title and description led me to believe that this book would be a great resource for my parish RCIA program.  I have been involved in the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) program for many years and know that those who have gone through it need a really good resource book to continue their journey after the time in the program has finished.  After reading this book I not only realized that the book is perfect for that, but that the book is perfect for all Catholics on their journey of living out the beauty of the Catholic faith.

The author of this book is a convert and has gone through the RCIA process to become a Catholic.  How I wish that all of the people who go through RCIA become as good a Catholic as Shaun and his wife have become.  Shaun’s overall knowledge of the Catholic faith and Catholic Theology (he has a graduate degree from Holy Apostles College) is amazing.  The way he lives out that faith with his wife and family is even more amazing.  Faith is made to be put in to action and Shaun certainly does that.  I have followed Shaun and his family on Facebook for almost six years and although I have never met him in person, I see the faith filled life that he leads.  That faith filled life pours over in to this book.  Shaun tells us all the things we need to know to be a good Catholic and he gives us personal examples of how to be a good Catholic.

This 335 page book consists of 100 chapters that give us a lot of information on the Catholic Church and why we do the things that we do.  I find it very refreshing that he takes the times to not only tell us the things that we should be doing to be a good Catholic, but also tells us why we do those things.  He often refers to the Holy Scriptures as well as the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  He also uses stories from the early church Fathers and the Saints to explain.   Besides that, he gives us plenty of personal examples from his own life.  He covers just about everything that you can think of that speaks of Catholicism.  He not only covers different topics but also gives us things to do.  For example, not only do we learn about Baptism, but he also gives us ideas on how to celebrate our Baptism day.  He talks to us about the priesthood and then encourages us to invite a priest over for dinner.

Shaun’s section on BEING A MODERN CATHOLIC has so much richness to it when discussing evil, relativism (a must read), marriage, sexuality, abortion, euthanasia, immigration, gossiping, giving, and consumerism.  His discussion of the current sex abuse scandal and cover up is enlightening.  He deals with all of the current issues in the Church today.  His way of facing these issues clearly shows the HOPE that we as Catholics are called to have.  Shaun ends his book with a section on EVANGELIZATION: IT’S FOR EVERYONE.  The chapters in this section remind us of our calling as Catholics to share the Good News that we have received.  He explains the “New Evangelization” and encourages us to reach out to those around us, especially to our children.

I highly recommend that ALL Catholics read this book.  The book covers serious subjects but is very easy to read.  It is informative as well as interesting.  It is a wealth of information on the Catholic faith.  This book is not only for those who have just recently come in to the Church, although it is great for them, but it is for all of us on our journey towards Jesus in His Church.  We can all benefit from the explanations and the suggestions that Shaun makes in this book.  As I write this, we are approaching the LENTEN season.  I highly suggest that every Catholic get this book and read it and study it and live it out for Lent.  It might be the best thing that you ever did for Lent.