Category Archives: Marriage

The Conversion of St. Paul – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Apologetics, Church, Conversion, Converts, Diaconate, Early Church Fathers, Evangelism, Holy Spirit, How to be Catholic, Jewish roots, Lent, Life in the Spirit, Marriage, Saints, Scripture, Spirituality, Vocation

Before his conversion, Saint Paul was known as Saul. He was a Pharisee who was born in to a devout Jewish family and he was well educated in his faith. He described himself as being “of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee”. Saul, to say the least, was a good Jew who loved the Jewish law and followed it. He loved being a Jew and he saw Christianity as a threat to his religion, a threat that had to be eliminated.

The scriptures tell us that Saul persecuted the Christians and would enter homes looking for them, drag them out, and put them in to jail. He is even listed as being at the death of the first Christian Martyr, the deacon Saint Steven. The early Christians feared Saul and saw him as one of their primary persecutors. Saul hunted down Christians in Jerusalem and even received permission to go to Damascus to hunt them down. On his way to Damascus, something amazing happened. The risen Jesus appeared to him.

Acts Chapter 9 tells us; “ 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.” In Damascus, Jesus sent Ananias to heal his sight and to baptize him and to teach him the good news. Saul, after his conversion, became Paul. He would soon become probably the greatest Christian evangelizer ever. Paul experienced a profound conversion. He went from being a zealous persecutor of Christians to being a vessel of God’s grace and intense sharer of the Good News of Jesus.

Conversion, in the Christian sense, is turning away from what is not Jesus and turning towards Jesus. Conversion can be a very profound thing like Saul/Paul experienced, or it can be as simple as turning away from tv and reading more scripture. Throughout our lives, God is continually calling us to conversion. We are called to turn away from what is not leading us towards Him, and turning to things that do lead us to Him. We are called to transform ourselves in to the very image of Jesus.

Conversion can also be seen in the large sense of turning form someone who is not Catholic, to someone who is. The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is a program within the Church to help non-Catholics do that. Over 50 years ago, I went through the RCIA program, and my life was changed forever. I was brought up as a Methodist and during my younger years attended Sunday School and Church. As I got older, I started to question my faith and by the time I was in college, I thought that religion was not important and that God was only a force that held the universe together. I married a good Catholic girl and was actually quite unkind as to what I said to her about her faith. After almost three years of marriage, we were quite unhappy. We knew that we loved each other, but there was something not right (my lack of faith). We were close to separating when God stepped in. Through some miraculous events, we were brought in to a Life in the Spirit Seminar. In the seminar, I experienced people talking about God as if He was someone who they knew and talked to. I still questioned that type of God, but I wanted a faith like they had.

The Life in the Spirit seminar is a series of weekly talks which talk about God’s love, his gift of Salvation, the need for repentance, the gift of His Spirit and it prepares the person to ask God to touch them and fill them with His Spirit. I still remember the fifth week night when my wife and I were prayed with to experience God and His Spirit. I had a remarkable experience of God loving me. For the first time in my life, I saw God as a person who loved and cared for me. There was no bright light or voice of Jesus like St. Paul had, but it was so very real for me. It changed my life forever. I had a real desire to know Him better so I began reading scripture and spiritual books. Since this all happened in a Roman Catholic church, I decided to look in to that faith. I started reading the documents from Vatican II and decided to become a Catholic. I went through the RCIA program and became Catholic. Our marriage was made anew and later on I received the call to become a deacon. God did so many marvelous things in our life. I still find God calling me to more conversion in my daily life.

For the season of Lent, which begins soon, I will be doing more articles on the call to continuing conversion. Right now I want to celebrate my major call to become a Roman Catholic. It has fulfilled me so much. In line with this celebration I would like to mention some famous people who have become Catholic. There are thousands more.

  • Actors: John Wayne, Gary Cooper, Jim Nabors, Faye Dunaway, Vincent Price, Susan Hayward . Patricia Neal and many others
  • Academics and intellectuals: Hadley Arkes (Amherst), Mortimer Adler (Great Books), Robert Bork (Yale) and G.K. Chesterton
  • Royalty; King Charles II (Great Britain)
  • Artist : Peter Paul Rubens
  • Heroes of the Old West: Kit Carson, Buffalo Bill and Doc Holliday
  • Musician: Dave Brubeck
  • Famed coach: Knute Rockne (Notre Dame)
  • Playwrights: Tennessee Williams and Oscar Wilde
  • Novelists: Ernest Hemingway, Evelyn Waugh, Sigrid Undset and Dean Koontz

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/

SHARON by Kevin Williams written 11/22/20

Abortion, Anxiety and Worry, Converts, Death and Dying, Drug Use, Family, Forgiveness, Healing, Marriage, Morality, Prayer, Pro-Life, Relationships, Resurrection, Scripture, Service, Spirituality, , , , ,

Fifteen years ago, Today, the Love of my Life died of cancer.

On the evening of Sharon’s death, I was all alone except a friend who came over, probably for suicide watch. We were in my shop when I had my first experience of the odor of Sanctity. The shop completely and instantly filled up with the scent of the most beautiful, Heavenly perfume I’ve ever smelled. I kept asking my friend if he could smell it but he couldn’t. I even went outside and walked all around the shop to see if I could discover it’s source. It was several months later I gave my Life to the Lord and He delivered me from an 18 year meth addiction. I had not yet even heard of the phenomenon of the Odor of Sanctity but I had a conviction I had a Heavenly visitor that night.

About six months later I wept all over a mountain side that was covered with wildflowers. It was like a botanical garden. I was picking wildflowers with the intention of covering Sharon’s grave with them when I came out of the mountains the following day. As I was picking them I kept saying ”These are for You Baby.” I would instantly collapse into a weeping sobbing heap remembering all the lies I told her about my drug use and whereabouts. I was begging Sharon and begging God to forgive me for who and what I had become. I would recover and resume picking flowers again only to say “These are for you Baby” and Thud… I would collapse into a weeping, sobbing mess again… and again… and again. I finally had a feeling come over me that I was supposed to write something to or for Sharon so I gathered up my wildflowers and returned to my camp and started writing this letter to her. When I wrote the first line I looked up and saw what I call an angel. Honestly, I don’t know what it… He… She was but it was glowing and it looked like it had arms outstretched toward me. It just drifted away until it was out of sight. What I do know is that something Supernatural happened to me that day.

On the anniversary of Sharon’s Death I published what I started writing that day as a Tribute to her in local Obituaries.

“Baby, As long as I live, I will never forget your innocence of a child’s glee smile. It was Christmas time, several years ago and you were watching the Santa Clause you had just bought. I was setting behind you watching this five foot Santa articulating and singing thinking to myself: “I wonder how much this stupid contraption cost?” When you suddenly turned around and looked at me with that smile. That smile of enraptured delight just emanating from your expression. In my lifetime I have never seen such innocence and transparent childlike glee before. Not even close! It was like someone had opened up the window of your soul and right then and right there I saw your heart. That your heart was a true heart. A pure and simple and innocent heart and of more value than anything in this world.

I’m sorry I was a fool. I am so very sorry Baby. Seldom. Very seldom does a day go by that I dont break down and cry when I think of you. The way you were/are. I will never forgive myself for the things I did that hurt such a gentle soul. You were always so kind and generous and loving. It was something that just came so natural to you, like water flowing, like the sun shining, like clouds drifting. Even now I feel your love affecting and influencing my life, my health, my everything. I ALWAYS feel your gentle nudge in my heart. I will NEVER forget your kindness to me. Like the way you took your “storage” room and made it into a “Kevin” room. You made every little detail to the way you thought it would bring a “feel at home” and “make Kevin feel welcome here” essence about it and it did. I want you to know this. Like every endeavor you started you finished with a loving and caring touch. Like Jake’s “dog cabin” you built. With a front porch, breezeway, insulated with an electric heater and two double pane windows so Jake could look out. It was complete with a cedar shake roof and a weather vane on top. Not that Jake ever even once slept in it because you would say: “Tobyyyy Kitty, Jakeyyy, time go bed.” And Jake would instantly climb off the couch and head for the waterbed. I will NEVER forget all the love you showered on me, Jake and Kitty Toby. On EVERYONE Who’s life you touched you imparted a gracious essence of “you”. Like all the help you gave your Mom and Dad, Windy, Barb, Izzy, Jean and everyone else. Like the way you had Christmas and Birthday presents bought and made two and three years ahead of time for many of us. If a person or any creature was Sharon McCarthy Sterling’s Friend, they truly had a friend. A friend in deed. A friend in truth. I love you Baby. I know that God took you because one such as you has an intrinsic value and you will apply yourself to good works in God’s Kingdom, for His Eternal Purpose and for His Glory. I Miss you Baby. I will never forget you Sharon and I will never stop loving you. I long for the day I see you again, and I know I will, and when I do, if you don’t have a hammer or a saw or a paintbrush or a gardening trowel in your hand, I KNOW you will have that same smile of innocent childlike delight glowing on your face.

Luv, Me

“Jesus said unto her “I Am the resurrection and the life. He that believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live and he who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25 -26

There is a lot more to this that words just get in the way of expressing. How in living and in dying, Sharon has helped turn and continues to turn my life around. “Except a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies it abides alone. But if it falls into the ground and dies it brings forth much fruit. It’s a debt I cannot repay. It’s about how “the blinding light of God’s Grace can come breaking through with a sweetness that’s only tasted by the forgiven and redeemed.” If you or someone you love is traveling along that same dark and desperate path of drug addiction and sin that I once travelled, perhaps I can point you to Someone Who can and will help you. Someone doesn’t have to die to deliver you from Satan’s hand. Someone already has. I would feel and truly be blessed if I could humbly point you to that Someone. His Name is Jesus.”

On Memorial Day, two years ago I stood by Sharon’s grave and I asked God if it was wrong of me to have my conviction that she gave up her life for mine. Several minutes later a friend in Mississippi texted me a Bible verse “No greater love has anyone than this, to give up their life for their friend.”

On August 2018 While on a Pilgrimage to the Sharon Camp where I encountered God in 2006 I recorded this event:

“At sunset yesterday I picked a bunch of wildflowers and took them to the Sharon tree. I spent some time there praying and talking to Sharon and God.

Earlier, I asked God something I don’t recall ever asking Him before. If I could have some sort of a special visit with Sharon. I wondered if such a request was proper or even admissible, or perhaps what it even meant and why I was asking it? I didn’t know it would play out quite like this.

I told Sharon that largely because of her story I’ve pleaded for the lives of thousands of children. That every time I plead for a child not to be aborted, her child that was aborted did not die in vain. That every time I point post abortive women to God’s mercy, forgiveness and healing that it honors her and that her broken heart was not in vain. I didn’t understand why, but I found myself asking her if she greets these aborted children in heaven and if they are now her friends there? I then had the clearest visual of Sharon, surrounded by beautiful children, full of joy, walking through a beautiful meadow, she was beaming, looking down at them and they were all skipping and dancing looking up at her.

A few minutes later I remembered something that happened a couple years back. It was first thing in the morning and I picked up my Bible to start reading it. Normally I do my prayer time first so I laid my Bible aside. As I did I sensed the Holy Spirit say very clearly. “When you get done with your prayers I have a special Word from the Scriptures for you.” When I finished my prayer time and picked up my Bible the first Verse I laid eyes on was Isaiah 65:10 “Sharon shall be a fold of flocks”

I will never forget the way Sharon was sobbing the day she told me about her abortion. She was crying uncontrollably when she told me that she had always just wanted to be a mother.

I feel that we are somehow “In this Together!”

“Sharon shall be a fold of flocks.” Isaiah 65:10

We have a Strange and Merciful and Magnificent and Beautiful God!!!!

THE GIFT OF RELIGIOUS LIFE: FOR ALL PEOPLE – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Charity, Church, Community, Diaconate, Holiness, Holy Orders, Marriage, Religious Life, Saints, Service, Spirituality, Vocation

From its very beginnings, the Catholic Church has always followed the command of Jesus to go out in to all of the world and preach the Good News.   That is the Church’s primary mission, evangelization.   In order to do that the Church also has to maintain a community of believers who are continually learning more about the faith and their relationship to God and are continually receiving the gifts that God gives them to grow and complete their purpose.   The Church, by its very nature, is communal.   It is a body of people who work together to learn more about the faith, grow in the faith and then spread the faith.  Jesus himself relied upon a group of believers, the 12 apostles, and  the many followers and “the women” to start His Church and to spread the Good News.  The need for community is strong and the benefits of community bring about strength.

The Church has had many different forms of community over the ages.   For many years religious orders grew in large numbers and helped to accomplish the Church mission.   Recently, especially in the Americas and in Europe, the number of people entering religious orders has decreased, but at the same time there has been an increase in lay people becoming involved with the traditional religious orders to work with them.  I really believe that this has been a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit at work.  I know of so many good Catholics who are part of “secular” or “third order” movements working with the traditional Franciscan, Dominican, Carmelite (etc) orders where they experience the gift of this community and continue the work of this community without giving up marriage or jobs or family.  They continue the order’s mission right in the midst of today’s culture.   They become like monks or sisters right within the workplace of everyday living.  They also bring with them the fruits of these orders.

I have been fortunate to be one of the people to do this.   I have been a member of the Franciscan Deacons of Rockville Centre and I would like to share with you some of the experience I have had there with this community.  To do this, I would like to share a little history of our group.

The Society of Franciscan Deacons of Rockville Centre started over a dozen years ago by three deacons of my diocese who had originally started in formation to become brothers in Franciscan orders.   After some discernment during their formation, they felt the call to marriage and to work within the normal workplace.   After many years of marriage and secular work, they then felt the call of the Holy Spirit to become Catholic Permanent Deacons.  God’s Spirit later put upon their hearts the original call to Franciscan spirituality and they began meeting to discern how to answer that call within the life that God had called them to.   After meeting for some time, they felt called by the Lord to make a decision to follow Franciscan Spirituality and meet together as a group.   One of the members is a Canon lawyer and Judge in our Diocesan tribunal.   He was able to use his canon law skills to develop a way to form a legal society of deacons who follow Franciscan spirituality.   He then approached our diocesan Bishop who thought the idea was a good one and the Society of Franciscan Deacons of Rockville Centre was formed.  It started with the three original founders and has grown to over a dozen members.   I am so blessed to be one of them.

We meet together as a group once per month where we pray together the liturgy of the hours, talk about our journey with the Lord, plan charitable actions for the group and do a study together as a group.   Sometimes we study a book, and sometimes we study a movies series such as Fr. Dave Pavonka’s Wild Goose series.   We also go together on retreat every summer for 5 to 6 days.  In the midst of all of this we try to grow in our Franciscan spirituality to strengthen our work as parish deacons and evangelizer’s of God’s Word.

All of us have to take the vows of the Third Order Regular Franciscans and have gone through the normal stages of community life, Aspirant (someone thinking of joining), Postulant (praying with the group and learning about the group), Novitiate (continued training and beginning of temporary vows, Solemn Profession (taking perpetual vow to be a full member).  The vows for the Franciscan Deacons are centered on poverty, chastity and obedience.   Since Permanent Deacons are usually married men who own homes and have jobs, these three vows are further explained.   Poverty for us is embracing a simple lifestyle, especially regarding possessions.  Chastity for us is being true to our marriage commitment.  And obedience to us is continued obedience to our Bishop and to our faith.  Part of our foundational training and additional training is learning more about St. Francis and Franciscan Spirituality.  We have read and studied together several books on both Francis and Claire.  The gifts that these two people brought to the Church are both simple and profound.  Studying these two great people and their relationship to God has most certainly helped my spiritual life and desire to serve God’s people.

All of the religious orders emphasize prayer and community and we certainly do that in our meetings.   We often have dinner together in a restaurant before our meetings and that helps the sense of community grow among us.   Most orders also emphasize work of some sort.   Now in our Society, we are all diocesan deacons who are assigned work within our own parishes (and the diocese) and this is seen as our main form of work.  However, we also keep a tie with the Franciscan Society of the Atonement in Graymoor, NY.    Several of the men in our group actually attended their formation there when they were thinking about becoming friars and brothers.   We have a very close bond with the Friars of the Atonement and part of our “work” is with them.  We often go up to Graymoor for weekends to help with the retreats and special days that we run.   Several members of our community have advanced that by becoming Tertiary’s of the Atonement order.   They still meet with us in our group but have expanded their connection with the Society of the Atonement.

I am so glad that the Lord drew me in to the Society of Franciscan Deacons of Rockville Centre.  I have always loved St. Francis, even when I was a Methodist.   I was actually ordained a deacon on October 4th, the Feast day of St. Francis.   Our society has helped me form closer relations with my brother deacons and has helped me grow in my own spirituality and in my service to the Church.  Yes, I am saddened by the lack of vocations that many of our orders are experiencing, but I am also thrilled with what the Lord is doing with “third order/secular” groups today in the Church.  If you are feeling a need for more community especially as lived out by a particular Saint, I would suggest you seek out a “third order or secular” group near you.   I know that my involvement in our group has greatly helped me in my walk with the Lord and has helped me to grow in my service to Him and His people.

Epic Saints: Wild, Wonderful and Weird Stories of God’s Heroes by Shaun McAfee – Review by Steven R. McEvoy

Anxiety and Worry, Apologetics, Book Review, Charity, Church, Communication, Community, Converts, Death and Dying, Demons, Ethics, Eucharist, Evangelism, Forgiveness, Heresy, Holiness, Holy Orders, Holy Spirit, Life in the Spirit, Liturgy, Marriage, Miracles, Morality, Mystics, Penance and Reconciliation, Prayer, Priesthood, Pro-Life, Purgatory, Relationships, Relics, Resurrection, Rosary, Sacraments, Saints, Scripture, Service, Sin, Soldiers, Spirituality, Teaching, Trust, Vocation, Women,

I enjoy writing book reviews of books that I have read and then posting them on my website.  However, I didn’t feel comfortable writing a book review for this book since I am one of the contributors to it.  I did read the book and really enjoyed it and would recommend it to my readers.  For the review, I turned to my friend, Steven R. McEvoy and obtained his permission to post the review that he had written and originally appeared on his website:  www.bookreviewsandmore.ca  .  Steven does a great job of reviewing books and you should check out his website.  Here is his review of Epic Saints.

Epic Saints 
Wild, Wonderful, and Weird Stories of God’s Heroes

by
Shaun McAfee 


TAN Books
ISBN 9781505115123
ASIN B083Y67LD7

I love books like this one. I love reading about saints and am currently reading books from 4 different series about saints. But what a book like this does is introduce me to a few new saints, it gives me some more information and examples from saints that I am more familiar with. This was an EPIC READ that I could hardly put down. It is mostly eBook about specific saints and But there is also a lot of great information about the process of saint making, and the canon and calendar of saints. But the volume is not just the work of Shaun McAfee there are several contributors. Those contributors are:

Alex R. Hey
Sarah Spittler
Jessica Mcafee
Theresa Zoe Williams
Brooke Gregory
Deacon Marty Mcindoe
Shaun Mcafee
Laura Hensley
Mike Panlilio
Maggie Van Sciver

The essays interspersed through the biographies are:

Have Saints Always Been Canonized The Same Way?
What Is The General Roman Calendar?
Can These Stories Be Allegorical?
Are We Really Expected To Believe These Stories?
Why Are Some Saints Not On The Calendar?
What Is The Process For Canonization?
What Should We Do With Saint Narratives That Contain Errors Or Inconsistencies?
Why Are Some Canonized Quickly While Others Have Been In The Process For Centuries?
Can I Become A Saint?

And on top of that are profiles of 74 saints. Shaun and the other contributors do an amazing job or highlighting so many saints in such a short space. There are almost a dozen saints I need to go find further readings on. And my son is already looking forward to my rereading this book with him. 

In this volume there are a few tales about dragons. Saints pulling practical jokes and pranks. A bilocating death and many, many more stories of saints, of Martyrs and holy men and women. 

Though I will be honest with you, the pieces in this volume are so well written you might have a hard time picking a favorite. And you will definitely want to read more on at least some of the saints. An excellent read that I highly recommend. 

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

Abortion, Apologetics, Blessed Virgin Mary, Book Review, Church, Community, Converts, Creation, Death and Dying, Demons, Diaconate, Divine Mercy, Early Church Fathers, Easter, Ethics, Eucharist, Evangelism, Family, Fatherhood, Forgiveness, Gnosticism, Healing, Heresy, Holiness, Holy Orders, Holy Spirit, How to be Catholic, Lent, Life in the Spirit, Liturgy, Marriage, Miracles, Morality, Mystagogy, New Age, Penance and Reconciliation, Pope Francis, Prayer, Priesthood, Pro-Life, Purgatory, Relationships, Relics, Resurrection, Rosary, Sacraments, Saints, Scripture, Service, Sin, Social Media, Spirituality, Teaching, Trust, Vocation, Women, , ,

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.

WOMEN AND THE POWER OF GOD – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Community, Creation, Discernment, Family, Holiness, Jewish roots, Marriage, Penance and Reconciliation, Prayer, Pro-Life, Relationships, Scripture, Sin, Spirituality

WOMEN AND THE POWER OF GOD – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

In Genesis we read, “When God created human beings, he made them in the likeness of God; he created them male and female.”  Even though we call God “Our Father”, and Jesus was a man, I believe that the true likeness of God cannot be seen by just looking at the masculine; nor can it be seen by just looking at the feminine.  To truly see the image of God we must look at both the masculine nature and the feminine nature of humankind.  Throughout the scriptures there are plenty of examples of both but there does seem to be preponderance of the masculine.  Too often the women of scripture are in the background and don’t get the attention that they deserve.  This is probably due to social and cultural partiality.  I want to bring to the reader’s attention some of the women of Scripture that show God’s power at work.  Since there are so many, this article will be in three parts.  One, the women of the Hebrew Scriptures; Two, the women of the New Testament; and Three, women Saints of the Church.

PART I – POWERFUL WOMEN OF THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES

EVE:   In the creation account, Eve is seen as the mother of the living.  She is also seen as Adam’s companion and helper.  In Christian traditions, Eve is the one who led Adam astray by sharing the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge with him.  When God confronts Adam about his disobedience he blames not only Eve for his transgression but also blames God for giving him Eve.  Eve in turn blames the serpent for tempting her to eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.  While it is easy to think of Eve as being weak because of this, we must remember that Eve had to be a strong woman.  She, according to the Genesis account, was the first mother.  She had no one else to be an example of what motherhood was all about.  She had no mother to show her how to take care of her children.  She had no other women friends to help support her.  In the Genesis account she was the only mother.  It is in her that humanity receives life.  The Church traditionally recognizes Eve as a Saint, along with Adam and celebrates their feast day on December 24th. 

SARAH:  Sarah was the wife of Abraham and is the first woman mentioned in scripture after Eve.  She had to be a strong woman to accompany Abraham on his long journey to the Promised Land.  She also was a woman with a good sense of humor.  When God told Abraham that he and Sarah would bare a son, even though they were a century old, Sarah laughed.  However, she also was a woman of faith because she took God at His Word.  The letter to the Hebrews tells us that, “By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised.”  Can you imagine how much strength she would have to have to bring up children at her age?

SHIPHRAH AND PUAH:  These two women were Hebrew mid-wives in Egypt who were ordered by Pharaoh to kill the newborn Jewish boys when they were born.  Pharaoh felt that the Jewish people were getting too strong and too powerful so he ordered the midwives to kill the baby boys.   Shiphrah and Puah knew the sanctity of life and did not do this and lied to Pharaoh about it.  They knew that their stand on life could cost them their own life, but they were strong enough to follow their conscience.  They are a great example to us of people who hold life sacred and of people who can stand up to an evil government through civil disobedience.  Because of them, many Jewish lives were saved, including Moses.

SOBEKNEFRU:  Was the daughter of the Pharaoh who had ordered the Hebrew children killed.  She is the woman who found the baby Moses floating in a basket.  She had the strength and courage to go against her father and raise Moses as her own child.  Fortunately, she used Moses real mother, Jochebed as the nursemaid.  Jochebed must have had a lot of strength and love for her son Moses to disobey Pharaoh and keep her son alive.

MAHLAH, NOAH, HOGLAH, MILCAH AND TIRZAH – THE FIVE DAUGHTER OF ZELOPHEHAD:  Zelophehad was a descendent of Joseph who left Egypt with Moses and died in the wilderness.  He had five daughters and no sons.  Under the Jewish law only sons could inherit the property of their father.  The five daughters of Zelophehad went to Moses and Eleazar and petitioned them to change the law.  Through divine intervention, God told Moses to give the land to the daughters and to change the law so that if there were no male offspring, the estate could go to the daughters who would rightfully own it.  Because of the vision and persistence of these women, Jewish law was changed forever.  They had the strength to stand up against the established leaders and fight for equality.  God honored their fight.

TAMAR:  Tamar was married to Judah’s son, Er.  Er was a wicked man and died and Judah asked his other son Onan to provide offspring for Tamar (a Levirate union) so that the family line would continue.  Onan slept with Tamar but because he didn’t want her to have a child, he kept “spilling his seed on the ground”.   Onan was more interested in a larger share of Judah’s estate, than continuing the Family line.  Tamar knew that it was necessary for the family line to continue so she disguised herself as a prostitute and slept with her father-in-law, Judah.  He did not recognize her.  From that Union she brought forth twin sons to continue the family line.  The one son, Perez is an ancestor of Jesus.   Even though Tamar’s action seems odd in today’s world, Tamar received a great deal of respect from Judah for the bold thing that she did.  Not only was she strong and bold to do this, but she was very bright to come up with a way to prove that Judah was the father (read Genesis 38).  Because of her strength and cunning, the Davidic line continued on.

RAHAB:  Rahab, who is listed in the genealogy of Jesus, is a most unlikely person to be an ancestor.  First of all, she was not a Jew but was a pagan Canaanite.  Secondly, she was a prostitute.  Rahab lived in the city of Jericho and when the Jewish people were ready to attack that city Joshua sent in some spies.  Rahab, was quite intelligent, perceptive and well informed.  She recognized the two Jewish spies and told them that she had heard of their God and how He had set His people free from the Egyptians.  She told the spies that all of the Canaanites were fearful of the Jews and their God.  She even spoke a phrase of faith by saying, “For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below”.  She told the spies that if they could spare her and her family, she would help them.  Rahab went against her king and and her country and religion and she hid the spies in her home.  Because of this, they were able to obtain tactical information.  The Jews conquered the city and spared Rahab and her family.  Rahab later married a Jewish man and continued the Davidic line to Jesus.

RUTH:  During the time of the Judges rule of Israel, there was a famine in the land.  Elimelech and his wife Naomi left their home in Bethlehem with their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion to go to the land of the Moabites and escape the famine.  They were there several years and Elimelech died.  Both sons had married Moabite women.  Mahlon married Ruth and Chilion married Orpha.  After about ten years both sons died and Naomi decided to go back to her homeland.  She told both widowed daughters in laws to return to their families and to remarry.  Orpha did return to her family, but Ruth decided to stay with Naomi and go back to Bethlehem.   Ruth said to Naomi, “For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”  Ruth went with Naomi to Bethlehem.  It must have been very difficult for Ruth to leave her homeland and her family and to travel to an unknown land.  Her relationship to Naomi and the witness of faith that Naomi provided gave her the strength to do go to Bethlehem.  There Ruth supported herself and Naomi by gleaning in the fields of a man named Boaz.  Boaz had heard of Ruth’s loyalty to her mother in law and saw her great kindness.  He also saw her as a hard working woman.  Boaz was a close relative of Naomi’s deceased husband Elimelech.  He bought the land that Elimelech had owned and married Naomi.  Together they had a son named Obed and a grandson named Jesse who would be the father of King David.   

HULDAH:  Most of the time when we think of Prophets, we think that they are all men.  In the book of Kings, there is one female Prophet named who was most important to the Jewish heritage.  She was one of seven women prophets (Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail and Esther) mentioned in scripture.  The scriptures tell us that Hidlah was a prophet who the priests and royal officials would often consult.  She could tell them of their fates and the fates of surrounding nations.  She spoke stern commands to the leaders and was seen as someone who could determine if writings were from God or not.  When they were rebuilding Solomon’s temple, a script was found and brought to Huldah to determine if it was God’s Word.  Huldah declared that it was God’s Word and that the temple and people would suffer because they had failed to follow it.  She told King Josiah that because of his repentance he would be spared.  Her prophecies about destruction came true.  Huldah was a woman who could stand up to anyone, commoner or king.  She was well respected for her gifts of discernment and was a woman who helped turn the people back to God through repentance. 

We can see that God chose these women, and many more besides, to help continue the Line of David and to help bring people to Him.  Even in the Middle East several thousand years ago, when women were seen as subservient to men, God used their strength and their cunning and their faith to help build his Kingdom.    This concludes Part I on the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament).  In a few days we will take a look at Part II, Women of the New Testament.

Unplanned: A film about Love, Mercy, and Forgiveness By Tom Perna

Abortion, Anxiety and Worry, Book Review, Family, Fatherhood, Healing, Marriage, Morality, Movie Reviews, Pro-Life

Ever since we started hearing about the film on how Abby Johnson left the abortion industry, my wife and I have been talking about seeing it. I wasn’t completely positive what the theatre release was going to be for the film, but over the last week, my wife kept seeing that it was going to be in a theatre close to our home. At the beginning of the week, we decided to go see the film on Thursday night. Not knowing what to expect, we entered the theatre, watched the previews, and then, as the film began…our senses were shocked.

Without giving away too much of the film, one of the first scenes in the movie is a pivotal scene. It’s a scene that stays in your mind throughout the film, and it rocks you again as the storyline of the film catches back up with that scene. As I reflect on what we witnessed last night, I can see very clearly the scene and still feel the raw emotions that came pouring forth from my eyes and my heart. The last time I had tears in my eyes in the film this much was when I watched the Passion of the Christ. Tears poured from my eyes and down my cheeks for nearly ¾ of this film.

I found this film difficult at times to watch, but also realized that it must be seen by as many people as possible on both sides of this debated subject. The film is truly a testimony of love, mercy and forgiveness. Although I could put into words exactly what I mean by those three points, it would be better if you went and saw the film yourself. I can tell you that my wife and I held hands nearly the entire film, especially in the scenes that are truly hard to endure. Thoughts of my unborn child growing in my wife’s womb flooded my mind different times in the film and I often looked over at my wife and her bump/belly.

As a Catholic man, who is now a husband, and soon-to-be father, one point that kept coming back to me (and my wife and I talked about it in the car on the way home) was the unshakable support and love that Abby’s husband gave to her, even loving her and marrying her when they had opposing views on Abortion. I personally know Doug, and although I don’t know him incredibly well, what I do know of him was reflected in this film perfectly. He is the unshakable foundation of his family and rock that always has Abby’s back.

I highly encourage you to see the film this weekend. Opening weekends and the first week for films are important because it will determine if the film will remain in the theaters on a long-term basis. If you have children that are 17 years of age and under and you are hesitant to bring them to this film, let me say that the “R-Rating” this film was given is a farce. I have seen more graphic images in PG-13 films than what is in this one. Furthermore, there are more graphic images of aborted babies online than in this film.

If you have the means to do so, I would also encourage you to support 40 Days For Life and Abby’s organization, And Then There Were None. Get involved with your local Pro-Life activities and pray, pray, pray for end to Abortion.

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.

From Selling Abortions to Sidewalk Counseling – by Doug Johnson

Abortion, Books, Community, Family, Fatherhood, Marriage, Morality, Pro-Life, , ,

From Selling Abortions To Sidewalk Counseling – by Doug Johnson

For the entire 8 years my wife was involved with Planned Parenthood, her primary job was to sell an abortion to every pregnant woman who walked into the clinic. Even as a volunteer, Abby’s job was to make women feel safe and comfortable as they walked through the doors of Planned Parenthood for their abortion. No matter what her title was, the push was always for abortion, because that is where the money is. When she was an escort, get them in the door. When she was working the front counter, smile, tell them the protesters are nuts, and get the money. When she was in charge of community outreach, Abby was passing out condoms to coeds, giving “sex ed” talks that resulted in new customers, and doing everything she could to normalize abortion. Finally, when she became the clinic director, here’s your abortion quota, Abby!!!

Abby’s first priority and passion project when she left the abortion industry was praying outside of clinics and sidewalk counseling. It wasn’t speaking or writing a book. It wasn’t her movie or starting a ministry to help other clinic workers leave the abortion industry. All that came later. What really motivated her was the opportunity to come face to face with women and sharing the truth about abortion. To tell them what really happens behind the doors of an abortion clinic. She racked up a lot of hours in that first year. I’m not sure why, but it was well over a year before I ever even got to see her live and in action outside of a clinic. The first time I saw Abby get a save… I was in awe. I was inspired. I couldn’t have prepared for how powerful that moment would be and the impact it would have on me supporting my wife moving forward.

It was going to be a normal Saturday with my wife. We were headed to the Austin area in Texas for some reason or another. Who knows? Probably to see friends and maybe do some house hunting. Before we could get to the fun stuff, we needed to stop and drop some materials off with volunteers outside of the Whole Women’s Health in Austin. There were a couple of familiar faces outside the clinic praying, and they told Abby that they were performing abortions that day. Whelp, our leisurely day was going to have to take a pause. It was go time for Abby.

“Ok. Then we are staying until the last customer leaves.”

Now, I had zero experience in this department. I could pray, but I wasn’t about to try my hand at sidewalk counseling. I stood back by the road and watched Abby go to work. The CONFIDENCE she had to call out to everyone that walked in? I was blown away. She knew what to say, how to say it, and how to respond to anything that came her way. I mean, I have always known Abby is a bad-ass, but this was just a cool moment.

We had only been there for about 30 minutes when a couple pulled into the lot and parked right behind the fence facing the sidewalk. A woman stepped out of the passenger side and made a b-line for the building. Her head down and she was clinching her purse. My wife didn’t have an opportunity to say anything to her because just as she was scurrying off, her husband was pointing a finger at us and the first words out of his mouth where…

“You know what? You guys are assholes! You are wasting you’re time and you can’t change my mind!!” 

At first, I took this as a personal affront to my wife. How dare this dude address my wife and the other women like that?! Fortunately, I had seen my bride handle confrontation before.  Still,  I positioned myself just close enough to hear the conversation, but not close enough to escalate things. Besides, I could tell that he was only being protective of his wife. I’m sure he told his wife to hurry in while he distracted us. He didn’t actually want to get into a fight with anyone. Either way, if he was just running interference, he chose the wrong gal to wag his finger at, because it was Abby’s turn to talk.

I don’t remember any exact words. I don’t even remember if Abby started with her experiences in the abortion industry, or if she asked if that was his wife, or if she asked him why he automatically assumed that she’s an “asshole.” She may have started out asking what year his Camero was.  My memory picks up somewhere in the middle. Abby managed to keep him engaged in idle conversation and it didn’t take long for his aggressive tone to fade. I remember him saying that the woman was his wife, this wasn’t their first abortion, and that he was a professional MMA fighter. Then I remember Abby asking him about the medallions he wore around his neck. They were saints and they were given to him by his aunt. Abby asked him what his aunt would think about him being here for an abortion, and he said she would be pretty disappointed. I’ll never forget the next thing that came out of his mouth…

“I actually DON’T want her to have an abortion, but it’s up to her, right?” 

In my brain, there were thousands of voices yelling, NO!!! It is not just up to her!!! That is your wife and child in there. That is your family. If you’re a fighter, then why don’t you go in there and fight for your family. I bet she is in there waiting for you to man up and lead. Tell her you want a family. Tell her you’re committed . Just say something. Anything!! Don’t just leave her alone to figure this out.

Abby handled it much better than I would have. She asked him if he had told her about his objection to her getting an abortion. He said, no. Abby told him, “You need to share your feelings with her. She is your WIFE and this is a conversation you need to have before it’s too late. Go be her husband. She needs you.”

They didn’t say much more before he went in to talk to his wife. About an hour later, they walked out holding hands and looking very at ease. She still didn’t say anything to us, but she smiled at Abby as she got into the car. He looked like he was going to get into the car without saying anything, but he paused. He told us that they were going to lunch and they weren’t coming back. They had decided AGAINST getting an abortion. Abby just smiled and congratulated them. He nodded at us and got in the car. They drove away, and we never saw them again.

I was in such awe of what I had just seen. My wife, a woman that had spent so many years selling abortions had just saved a life. So this is what conversion and change of heart looks like. So this is what it looks like when God recruits you and you accept. You get to save lives.

On a side note: I HATE that even in an equal partnership, men feel silenced about abortion. I guess that’s why I remember this story so well. Men should have a say on the issue of abortion. Not just pro-abortion men. Not just anti-abortion men. ALL MEN!!! Maybe if we stepped up our game, women would feel more supported and never even consider abortion if they knew we were committed. I believe women should lead the conversation, but that doesn’t exclude men in their responsibilities regarding families and abortion.

Check out Doug’s blog at: https://www.dougontap.com/

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.

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/

Hierarchy by A.J. Avila

Charity, Communication, Family, Marriage, Morality, Scripture

When you read the Bible, you can sometimes see a hierarchy in the way things are listed. For example, each list of the twelve apostles shows Peter first and Judas last.
There’s another hierarchy you can find in the Old Testament: the Ten Commandments. The initial three, often depicted by themselves on one stone tablet, deal with our relationship with God. And the very first one is the most important: “I am the Lord thy God; Thou shalt not have other gods before me.”
Further down the list, we see the hierarchy still in play. “Thou shalt not kill” is obviously more important than the prohibition against adultery, which is greater than the one against stealing, which in turn is more important than not lying. And you can see how those are of more concern than coveting, whether of your neighbor’s spouse or goods.
But then there’s this one Commandment that seems—at least by today’s standards–to throw a monkey wrench into the whole idea of such a hierarchy.
“Honor thy father and thy mother.”
It’s the fourth Commandment, right after keeping the Lord’s day holy and right above “Thou shalt not kill.”
Really? Honoring one’s parents is more important than not committing murder?
Yet that’s where God chose to place that Commandment. And God doesn’t make mistakes.
You’d never know, by watching any current television program, that God gives it such weight. When, for example, is the last time you saw a TV show in which a child honored his parents?
Instead, parents, it seems, are supposed to honor their kids, bending over backwards to win their children’s affection. Nowadays parents—especially conservative ones—are portrayed as idiots who need to learn how to love. A parent is supposed to not only accept but honor his child’s life choices, even if he is constantly breaking the sixth Commandment by having sex without the benefit of marriage. Anybody who doesn’t is portrayed as a cruel, doddering old fool standing in the way of true love.
Of course we should all show respect for each other, but I honestly don’t think parents honoring their kids’ sinfulness is what God had in mind when He wrote that Commandment, and especially when he chose to place it where He did.
But I digress. What I should really be looking at is how well I myself have kept that Commandment.
I have to admit I went through those ridiculous teenage years in which I thought my parents weren’t terribly bright–as if my life experience was so much greater that I knew better than they did. Mom and Dad, whom, when I was little, I had accepted as almost God-like, suddenly didn’t know their right from their left. How lucky for them that they had a teenage daughter who could set them straight.
Of course, as I got older, I realized I was the one who hadn’t been so bright.
As Mark Twain once put it, “When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.”
Both of my parents are gone now. Dad died in 2001, and Mom followed him five years later. Sometimes I wish I could go back and show them the honor and respect I should have.
After all, God seems to think such honor is very important indeed.

You can visit A.J. Avila’s blog (Reflections on My Catholic Journey) at Reflections on My Catholic Journey

The Birth of Mary and the Protoevangelium of James by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Angels, Blessed Virgin Mary, Church, Early Church Fathers, Family, Fatherhood, Holy Spirit, Jewish roots, Liturgy, Marriage, Miracles, Prayer, Relationships, Saints, Scripture

If we asked most Catholics who Mary’s parents were they would probably answer Anna and Joachim. But if we look in the Holy Bible there is no mention of Mary’s birth or the name of her parents. So how do we know their names? The simple answer is through tradition. As Catholics, we believe that God reveals His truths to us through the Holy Bible AND through tradition. Tradition was sacred to the Jews (we all know that great song from Fiddler on the Roof) and is also sacred to us. St. Paul tells us to “stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter” (2 Thess. 2:15).
On September 8th we celebrate the birthday of Mary. This is exactly nine months after we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8th. This feast was celebrated no later than the 6th century. An eastern Saint, St. Romanos, a deacon who composed numerous liturgical songs, wrote a hymn celebrating the birthday of Mary. The hymn was quite popular and used in liturgies to celebrate the birthday of Mary which helped lead us to the feast day. The Eastern Churches first celebrated it and then within a century the Roman Church celebrated it. St. Romanos relied heavily upon the apocryphal writing, The Protoevangelium of St. James, in composing the lyrics to his hymn on the Nativity of Mary.
As an apocryphal writing, we must realize that the Church decided that this book was not inspired as scripture and it was not placed in the canon of the bible. However, this writing has been seen as a good source of tradition from the earliest times of the Church. Most scholars believe that it was composed around 145 AD. Because of this, and the language structure, we know that St. James did not write it. However it came from an area where St. James had followers and there may be some things passed on from him in the writing. In view of all of this, and with a certain amount of caution, I would like to share some of the points covered in the Protoevangelium concerning Mary and her birth and upbringing.
The Protoevangelium does repeat many items found in the scriptures concerning Mary and the birth of Jesus. But it adds details prior to that not mentioned in the sacred scriptures. It tells us that her parents were named Joachim and Anna and that Joachim and Anna were unable to conceive for many years and that both of them became depressed at not being able to have children. It tells us that Joachim became so depressed that he went out to the desert to live in solitude in a tent where he fasted for 40 days and 40 nights pleading with God. At the same time, Anna grieved not having Joachim with her and not being able to become pregnant. She prayed that God would bless her as He had blessed Sarah with Isaac. The Protoevangelium tells us that an angel appeared to Anna and told her that God had heard her prayer and that “you shall conceive and bring forth; and your seed shall be spoken of in all the world”.
About the same time, an angel appeared to Joachim and told him that God had heard his prayers. He was told to go to Anna and that Anna would conceive a child. Nine months later Anna gave birth to a little girl and they name her Mary. The Protoevangelium tells us that at the birth Anna said, “My soul has been magnified this day.” The writings go on to say that Mary walked at six months old. When she was one year old, Joachim held a great birthday feast for Mary and invited the priests, scribes and elders and all the people of Israel. The priests blessed Mary saying, “O God of our fathers, bless this child and give her an everlasting name to be named in all generations”.
The Protoevangelium tells us that at the age of three Joachim and Anna took Mary to the temple to be raised there hoping that her heart would be captivated by the Temple. When they gave her to the priest he kissed her and blessed her saying, “The Lord has magnified your name in all generations. In you, on the last of the days, the Lord will manifest His redemption to the sons of Israel.” The priest put her down on the third step and the grace of God came upon her and Mary danced with joy and the people loved her.
The Protoevangelium goes on to tell us that Mary stayed in the temple until she was 12 years old. At that time the chief priest received a visit from an angel while in the Holy of Holies telling him to assemble the widowers of the people and that God would give a sign as to which widower He chose for Mary. When all of the widowers assembled the High Priest again prayed to God for a sign to show which widower would receive Mary as his wife. When a dove appeared and landed on Joseph’s head, the high priest declared him to be the one who was chosen. At first Joseph declined saying that he had children and was an old man and it wasn’t good for him to take such a young girl. The chief priest reminded Joseph that it was God’s will and Joseph said to Mary, “Behold I have received you from the temple of the Lord; and now I leave you in my house and go away to build my buildings, and I shall come to you. The Lord will protect you”.
As interesting as all this is, we must remember that the Church refused to recognize the Protoevangelium as sacred scripture. We cannot be sure of any truth found here, but as I said earlier, this is a very early writing that passes on at least some of the tradition handed down about our beloved mother, Mary. It might help us imagine a little better the life of the most significant woman who ever walked the earth (and rule in Heaven). Hail Mary full of grace…….
As Saint Augustine said, “She is the flower of the field from whom bloomed the precious lily of the valley. Through her birth the nature inherited from our first parents is changed.”
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOTHER MARY….WE LOVE YOU

 

Angel Altars and Mistaking Heaven by Patrick Sullivan

Angels, Demons, Jewish roots, Marriage, Miracles, New Age

The wedding night of Sarah and Tobias  by Jan Steen

One of the greatest dangers with new age thinking on the angels is actually as old as the oldest stories in the world. It is the confusion of earthly things with heavenly things; it is the confusion of the things that are below with the things that properly find their home above. And so one finds in the ancient world men bowing their heads and bending the knee to the very things that were beneath their feet. The soil, the stone, the wood taken from the tree; these very earthly items could and often did become idols because we mistook and misunderstood their participation in creation. And the more the thing from below seemed to participate in God’s beauty or power or knowledge, the more this confusion embedded itself in our common experience.

A Healthy Body, Mind and Spirit by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Church, Divine Mercy, Eucharist, Healing, Holy Orders, Life in the Spirit, Liturgy, Marriage, Penance and Reconciliation, Prayer, Sacraments, Theology of the Body

There is so much emphasis today on taking care of the body.  I just read a statistic from STATISTIC BRAIN that says Americans spend about 24 BILLION dollars on annual gym and health club memberships each year.  That is a lot of money!   People go to health food stores and shop for healthy products.  This is quite commendable.  The body is a very special gift that God has given to us and we should take good care of it.  What I find disturbing is that people are often very concerned with the physical body and forget about the true wholeness of who we are.  We, as a person, consist of so much more than just the physical body.  We have a mind that needs to be taken care of, and a spiritual side that needs to also be cared for.  Unless we properly feed and exercise all three parts of our person, we will suffer.  I would like to take a look at the body, mind and the spirit and how we can help them to grow healthy.  I see three main things to consider: Intake, Avoidance and Exercise.  I will look at all of these in relation to the body, the mind and the spirit.

BODY – The body is a wonderful creation.  It gives us mobility, sight, hearing, touch, sex and reproduction and the ability to experience so much in God’s creation.  Anyone who studies the body quickly realizes that it is a complex mechanism.  God knew what He was doing when He created our body.  It is up to us to keep the body what it is meant to be.  In order to do that, we need to consider three main things:

1 – Intake:  The foods and drinks that we take in should be healthy for us.  We really should be eating whole grain foods, and lots of fruits and vegetables and nuts.  There is a lot to be said for true organic foods as well as healthy meats.  Our body also needs a great deal of water.  Water not only replenishes the body but also helps to remove toxins.

2 – Avoidance:  Fast foods, processed foods, “recreational” drugs, soda.  Red meats should be kept at a minimum and only healthy oils such as Olive and Canola oils should be used.  It is also good to keep alcoholic beverage to low or moderate use.

3 – Exercise:  Walking, running, swimming and aerobic exercises are very important.  Weight lifting is also a positive thing to do.

 

MIND – There is a saying that “the mind is a terrible thing to waste”.  This slogan was adopted by the United Negro College Fund in 1972.  It was actually one of the most successful campaigns in television history.  The saying is so true.  Our mind needs to be educated and stimulated.  There is no doubt that the mind/brain is very complex.  It, like the body, needs sustenance, avoidance and exercise.

1 – Intake:  The brain/mind is made to take in as much information as possible.  For me that means reading good books and studying various subjects.  I take many various courses, both online and in person.  I also read many different types of books and I love researching things on the internet.

2 – Avoidance:  Pornography is a very serious assault on what the mind is meant to do.  Spending time mesmerized in front of the television is also counterproductive.

3 – Exercise:  When you are reading you are definitely exercising the brain.  When you study for courses you are exercising the brain.  When you just take time to think, you are exercising the brain.   Things like cross word puzzles are great too.

 

SPIRIT – The “thing” that gives us our personhood is the Spirit or Soul.  This is the most precious gift of all.  With that we are like God in that we will live forever.  The Spirit is ultimately what is in charge of the body and the mind.  It works along with the mind to bring us thoughts and reason.  It lifts us up to far above the ordinary.  This Spirit needs Intake, Avoidance and Exercise too.

1 – Intake:  There is no doubt that graces are given to our Spirit by the sacraments of the Church.   Baptism starts the journey and the Holy Eucharist is food for the Spirit.  Confirmation strengthens the work of the Spirit within us and gives us many gifts.  The Sacrament of Reconciliation can lift the Spirit out of the difficulties that sin causes us.  Holy Orders and Matrimony empower our Spirit to work in the vocation that God calls us to.  Even the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick heals the Spirit as it heals the body.  For me, the reception of the Eucharist each day is my daily bread that enlivens my Spirit.  The sacrifice of the mass, and participating in it, again lifts our Spirit.  The pondering of God’s Word in the Bible feeds the Spirit.

2 – Avoidance:  We must stay away from the occult, even things such as Ouija boards.  We must stay away from all the temptations of the Devil.

3 – Exercise:  We should make ourselves available to all of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  We should read and pray the bible.  We should spend a considerable amount of time each day in prayer.  Specialized prayers such as the rosary and divine mercy chaplet are great forms of spiritual exercise.  The Church’s Liturgy of the Hours is a fantastic way to pray.  I always recommend that people find a Spiritual Director.

 

In conclusion, we must remember that the Body, Mind and Spirit are all so interconnected that failure to take care of any one of them may harm the whole person that we are.  Because of this interconnection, some things that I mentioned in one subject will actually help not only in that subject but in others as well.  We are one unbelievable miracle and creation of God.  We must take care of who we are.

Romans 12: 1-2

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Forgiveness, a Truly Miraculous gift by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Church, Communication, Ethics, Family, Godly Patriotism, Marriage, Miracles

Detective Steven McDonald and his son, NYPD Officer Conor McDonald.

               In a previous post I talked about miraculous healings that have occurred in the scriptures and throughout history in to this present day.  I even shared some that I personally witnessed; but what about the person that doesn’t seem to receive a miraculous healing?   Does that mean that God has ignored him or her or that God is not at work?   First of all I think that God is at work in all things.  Secondly, what we see as a lack of healing, or lack of a miracle, is just another way that God has chosen to work.  Often the real miracles are those that are not apparent.  I would like to give you an example of this in the Life of Detective Steven McDonald of the New York Police Department.

               On July 12, 1986, New York Police Officer Steven McDonald went in to Central Park with Sergeant Peter King as part of their normal, everyday duties.  They were on alert for petty crimes as well as looking for clues to a recent string of bicycle thefts in that area.  They saw a group of suspicious looking teens who began to run as soon as they saw the police.  The police officers chased them, Steven McDonald going in one direction, and his partner in another direction.

               Steven McDonald stopped several of the boys to question them.  He tells us that he spotted a bulge in the sock of one of the youngest boys and believed it to be a gun.  He bent over to examine it and a tall 15 year old boy came and pointed a gun at the police officer’s head.  Officer McDonald said that he then heard a deafening explosion, saw a muzzle flash and felt the bullet strike him just above his right eye.   He immediately fell flat and the boy shot him a second time hitting him in the throat.  Then, while still lying on the ground, the boy shot him a third time.  Officer McDonald recalled, “I was in pain; I was numb; I knew I was dying, and I didn’t want to die. It was terrifying.  My partner was yelling into his police radio: “Ten Thirteen Central! Ten Thirteen!” and when I heard that code, I knew I was in a very bad way. Then I closed my eyes…”

               When the first officers to respond arrived on the scene, they found Sergeant King on the ground, covered in Steven’s blood, cradling him in his arms.  Sergeant King was crying. They knew that every second counted so they carried Steven into the back of their vehicle and rushed him to Harlem’s Metropolitan Hospital, twenty blocks away.  There the medical staff saw the severity of the shooting and worked hard to stabilize him.  They did not expect him to live.  The Chief Surgeon told the Police Commissioner, “He’s not going to make it. Call the family. Tell them to come say goodbye.”   But Steven’s will to live stood firm.  His survival is a miracle itself, but his injuries left him completely paralyzed from the neck down.  He couldn’t even breathe on his own.

                 Officer McDonald had been married just eight months to his 23 year old wife, Patti Ann.  She was three months pregnant.  Together they would have to face the unbelievable changes that being paralyzed causes.  Not quite fair for a young married couple.  It would be very easy for them both to be filled with self pity, hatred and spite.  But these two practicing Catholics decided to choose another course.  At Detective Steven McDonald’s funeral, 30 years after his attack, Mayor Bill de Blasio said that Steven McDonald inspired New York City by choosing a spiritual journey over self-pity and spite.  He inspired not only NYC, but the world.  To me, Steven McDonald exemplifies how God can work, even in the worst of situations.  I know it was a miracle that he survived, but there was no miracle to bring him healing of his paralysis.  Perhaps the biggest miracle is what Steven did with his life.

               About six months after being brutally assaulted with gunfire by Shavod “Budda” Jones, Officer Steven McDonald made a statement, through his wife, saying, “I forgive him and hope he can find peace and purpose in his life”.  This defined the rest of McDonald’s life.  Jones was sentenced to ten years in prison for attempted murder.  McDonald said, “Strangely we became friends. It began with my writing to him. At first he didn’t answer my letters, but then he wrote back. Then one night a year or two later, he called my home from prison and apologized to my wife, my son, and me. We accepted his apology, and I told him I hoped he and I could work together in the future. I hoped that one day we might travel around the country together sharing how this act of violence had changed both our lives, and how it had given us an understanding of what is most important in life.”  However, three days after his release from jail, Jones died in a motorcycle accident.  That hope was never realized, but McDonald continued his crusade for forgiveness and peace.

               The New York City Police Department kept McDonald on their roster in a special position.  He was eventually promoted to the rank of Detective.  Pat Lynch, president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association called McDonald “a true American hero.”   At his funeral Lynch said, “Steven McDonald was the most courageous and forgiving man I have ever known.  Despite the tremendous pain in his life, both physical and emotional, his concern for his fellow police officers and for the people of New York City never wavered. Since that fateful day in 1986, Steven dedicated his life to fighting hate and encouraging forgiveness through his actions. He was a powerful force for all that is good and is an inspiration to all of us. His, was a life well lived. We join his family, a true New York City police family, his friends and fellow officers in prayer and mourning the loss of a truly special man.”

               The influence of Detective McDonald was felt not only in New York, but worldwide.   He took his message of forgiveness and peace to Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Israel.  He met with world leaders such as Pope John Paul II and Nelson Mandela.  He spoke at two Republican National Conventions.  He was interviewed by Barbara Walters on TV and attended many civil and religious functions in his area.  I was fortunate to see and hear him and can attest to the fact that he was a man of deep faith, and love of God and His people.  He was a die-hard hockey fan of the New York Rangers.  His relationship over the years with them has been a source of real blessing to so many.  The Rangers named an award in his honor.

               About six months after the shooting, Steven’s son Conor was born.  Conor followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather and great-grandfather in becoming a NYC Police Officer.  I have a good friend who is a NYC Police Officer who worked with Conor and praised him for being such a good person and good Police Officer.  A family of faith and desire to serve keeps bringing forth good men.  In an article by Johann Christoph Arnold, he states,

                              “When visiting Steven in his Long Island home (since meeting in 1997, we have become close friends), I am often struck by the extent of his incapacitation. Life in a wheelchair is hard enough for an elderly person to accept, but to be plucked out of an active, fun-loving life in your prime is devastating. Add to that a tracheotomy to breathe through and total dependence on a nurse and other caregivers, and life can seem pretty confining at times. Steven is matter-of fact about this:

                              “There’s nothing easy about being paralyzed. I have not been able to hold my wife in my  arms for two decades. Conor is now a young man, and I’ve never been able to have a catch with him. It’s frustrating – difficult – ugly – at times.”

                              So why did he forgive? Again, he himself says it best:

                              “I forgave Shavod because I believe the only thing worse than receiving a bullet in my spine would have been to nurture revenge in my heart. Such an attitude would have extended my injury to my soul, hurting my wife, son, and others even more. It’s bad enough that the physical effects are permanent, but at least I can choose to prevent spiritual injury.”

                             ” When I was a very young kid, Dr. King came to my town in New York. My mother went to hear him speak, and she was very impressed by what she heard. I hope you can be inspired by his words too. Dr. King said that there’s some good in the worst of us, and some evil in the best of us, and that when we learn this, we’ll be more loving and forgiving. He also said, “Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it’s a permanent attitude.”  In other words, it is something you have to work for. Just like you have to work to keep your body fit and your mind alert, you’ve got to work on your heart too. Forgiving is not just a one-time decision. You’ve got to live forgiveness, every day.”

               This is a lesson that the world needs to take in.  Steven McDonald spoke and lived out that lesson.  Sure, it was a miracle that he lived through the gunshots and it would have been a great miracle if he could have been freed from his paralysis, but to me the greatest miracle is what Steven did for so many other people working through his disabilities.  His faith and desire to spread the message of forgiveness and peace resounds throughout the world.

               Detective Stephen King, New York City Police Officer, husband, father, devout Catholic and ambassador of forgiveness and peace died of a heart attack on January 10, 2017 in his Long Island home.  His life continues to touch many.

              

 

 

              

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton and How She Personally Brought a Miracle to My Family by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Anxiety and Worry, Blessed Virgin Mary, Church, Converts, Family, Holy Spirit, Marriage, Prayer, Saints

               January 4th is the feast day of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton.  She is the first native born American to be canonized the Church.  She is a convert, was married with children, and the woman who started the first Catholic School in the United States.  She was a prolific reader and loved the scriptures and the Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin Mary.  She also gave me the gift of my daughter (see below).

               Elizabeth was born two years before the American Revolution and was from the upper class of New York City.  She married a wealthy man and was extremely happy for many years.  Unfortunately, her husband became quite ill and lost his import business.  She cared for him and his younger siblings when his parents died.  Elizabeth brought her sick husband to Italy to help his health, and they stayed with friends, but he finally died there from tuberculosis.  While in Italy she was influenced by their friend’s Catholic faith and converted to Catholicism.  She returned to the United States to settle in Baltimore.  There, at the suggestion of the president of St. Mary’s College, Elizabeth started a secular school.  It didn’t take long for Elizabeth to decide to change it to a Catholic School.  She started an order of sisters known as the “Sisters of Charity” (following closely the rule of St. Vincent de Paul in France) who helped children by establishing schools and orphanages.  Even though Mother Seton contracted tuberculosis herself, she worked tirelessly guiding the order.  Mother Seton died in 1821 at the age of 46, only sixteen years after becoming Catholic.  She was beatified by Pope John XXIII in 1963 and canonized by Pope Paul VI on September 14th, 1975.

               Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton is very special to me.  I attribute the gift of our daughter to her.  My wife and I desperately wanted children but after many years of trying and then going to doctors, we decided that God wanted us to adopt.  The doctors never found anything wrong with either of us, but we were never able to conceive.  Back in the 70’s it was very difficult to adopt.  I didn’t have the money to go through a private adoption and I was worried if we would ever have any children.  One day, both my wife and I felt, through prayer, that the time was right for us to go through an agency to try to adopt a baby.  We really wanted a newborn, but most agencies just laughed when we told them.  However, we felt inspired to not give up and to keep trying.  We called the Long Island Adoption Services number and they told us to give a call to New York Foundling Hospital in Manhattan.  They said that this hospital offered classes twice a month on ways to adopt.

               When we called NY Foundling Hospital, the woman on the phone seemed so excited.  She told us to come in to the next meeting that they were having on September 14th, 1975.  We signed up for that and drove in that day.  We found ourselves in a room with eleven other couples and one single person.  The social worker came in and said she would explain different ways to go about adopting.   She first said that she would show us pictures of some older children that were awaiting adoption.  Most of them were special needs children that really tugged on your heart.  They were also older children.  She then explained ways that you could adopt younger, normal (I really don’t like that word, but that is what she used) children.   At that time, Korean children were popular and she explained how to get them.  She also told us that there were a number of black American children available and how to get them.  She then paused for a moment, quite dramatically, and said that she had something very important to tell us.  Both Martha and I were sitting there a little stunned by all that had been presented to us.  We were quite curious what was left to tell.

               The social worker said to us that for the first time in about eight years, their “white infant” list was growing short.  Their adoption committee decided that they could not advertise that they were taking new names for this list because too many would apply.  Since they placed only two or three babies per year, they decided to open the list only to the people who showed up at the next adoption class, the one we were attending.  Martha and I both looked at each other, recognizing that this was no coincidence that we were here.   We knew God was at work.  We immediately put our names in and were told that we would be contacted in within 30 days by a social worker.  Martha and I walked out of the class and went downstairs and went in to the chapel to thank God.  We knew we were there as part of His plan.   I remember a large statue of Elizabeth Ann Seton just outside the chapel.   If I didn’t know better, I would have thought that she winked and smiled at us.  We later found out that New York Foundling Hospital was operated and founded by the Sisters of Charity who were founded by Elizabeth Ann Seton.   We were told that the process could take several years, first we had to be checked out, and then we had to wait until we were next on the list and a baby arrived.  Martha and I drove home to Long Island praising and thanking God.

               A little before Christmas in 1976 we were called and told we were next up.  It was a great Christmas for us.  On January 4th, 1977, we were called and told that our daughter was born the day before and we could pick her up at New York Foundling Hospital on January 7th.  I looked on the calendar and we were called on the Feast of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.  We had remembered that when we were driving in to the initial session in September 1975 at New York Foundling, the radio was covering the news that Elizabeth Ann Seton was just canonized that day.  We had received our daughter through the Sisters of Charity, the order she founded.  We saw the hand of God at work in all of this and felt that St. Elizabeth Ann Seton was an integral part of his plan, and knew we had to name her Elizabeth Ann McIndoe.  Our social worker told us that she had been doing this for many years and had never seen a baby go to a couple that shared so much of the same ethnic background as the child.   Not only was our daughter from basically the same Irish, English and a little Italian background, but her mother was Catholic and her father protestant, just as Martha and I had been.  Our social worker told us that Elizabeth’s birth mother became pregnant in High School and would not abort her baby due to her Catholic faith.  I thank God that her birth mother saved her life and offered her for adoption.  She was a very strong, faith filled young woman.  Our social worker told us that many of the babies that they placed were born to drug addicted mothers and needed special medical help.  Elizabeth was born from a drug free mother and in perfect health.   God is so good. 

               The evening before we had to pick our daughter up in Manhattan a winter storm was brewing.  We woke up to find about 11 plus inches of snow on the ground.  The roads were not good and we had to drive almost 60 miles in to the city.   I called the hospital and told them that we planned on coming no matter what the weather.  It was a slow trek in to the city, but we made it.  Nothing was going to stop us from getting our daughter.  A last worry was parking near the hospital.  If anyone has been to NYC, they know that parking is always a problem.   When you have a snow storm, it becomes much worse as there is no place to put the plowed snow.  I remember coming up to the hospital, praying that God would get us a parking spot close to the hospital.  Just as we pulled up to the entrance we needed, a parked car pulled out and gave us a place.  God answers prayer, even for parking spots.

               We drove home with our little miracle adopted baby.  We were so very happy.   To this very day, exactly 40 years later, our daughter has brought us so much joy.  She has also given us three wonderful grandsons who light up our life.  There has never been a time that I haven’t thanked God for the precious gift he gave us, through adoption, of our daughter, Elizabeth Ann.

               Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, we thank you for your role in bringing us our FANTASTIC daughter.  God works through His Saints.  God is so good!