CONVERSION and LENT – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

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On January 25th I wrote about the conversion of St. Paul and how he went from being a good Jew who persecuted Christians to being a Christian himself. This was a major change and a significant conversion experience. For most of us, our conversion is not as dramatic as St. Paul’s. However, I do believe that we are all in need of continual conversion and Lent is the perfect time to do this. By continual conversion (or ongoing conversion) I mean that we recognize that conversion is an ongoing process where we hear the call of Jesus to be more like him. We don’t do this all at once, it takes time and effort to even try to be more like him. As Christians, we have the responsibility to follow our Lord Jesus and to try, to the best we can, to be Christ-like. I cannot think of any better time than Lent to try to accomplish this.

The last three weeks we have looked at the three pillars (or disciplines) of Lent; Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving. Keeping in mind that these are essential to our growing close to the Lord, and thus being more like Him, we must keep these as our base. There are many other things that we can do to become more like Jesus. I would suggest that we take a look at these and try to put them in to practice also. Lent is definitely a time for us to turn away from sin and to be faithful to the Gospel message of Jesus. The Lenten season is filled with many graces, or gifts from God, to help us accomplish our goal. Here is a partial list of ways to obtain these gifts, or graces, from God. By doing these, we can’t help but to draw closer to God and to become more like Jesus.

1 – Read the scriptures: I would suggest using the Church’s readings of the day. This is easy to do, especially if you have access to a computer or smart phone. There are many smart phone apps to bring you the daily readings, and some that offer a commentary. Even an easy Google search for readings of the day can be done. Try to start with ones from Catholic sources like the USCCB (US Conference of Catholic Bishops); EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network) founded by Mother Angelica; Vatican News; Catholic Online and others. Reading the scriptures and reading their Catholic commentaries will give you a familiarity with Jesus, so you can get to know Him and follow Him.

2 – Attend Mass as often as you can. The mass has two parts: The Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. In the liturgy of the Word we concentrate on the scriptures and in the Liturgy of the Eucharist we concentrate on the Pascal sacrifice and actually receive the Body and Blood of Jesus. We partake of His very presence and He leads and guides us to grow closer to Him. There was a famous nutritional quote from a nineteenth century Frenchman made popular in the US by author Adele Davis, “You are what you eat”. I personally think that this fits so well to the Eucharist. It helps us to become Jesus present to others.

3 – Attend a retreat. I you have the time and money to go to a retreat house for a week or more, that would be tremendous. However, if you do not, most parishes offer some kind of local 2 or 4 day retreat. If your parish doesn’t, don’t be afraid to attend a nearby parish that does. A retreat gives us the time to get away from distractions and to concentrate on Jesus and what He is asking of us.

4 – Spiritual reading. There are so many good Catholic books out there that can help you to grow more in your faith and to grow closer to Jesus.

5 – Do something Christ-like. Great examples of this are to help out in a Parish Outreach or some other organization that helps the poor. You can also visit people who are in nursing homes, hospitals, prisons, or shut ins within their own home. If you are an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist, bring hosts with you to give to them (Catholics).

6 – Spend time alone in prayer. Jesus tells us to go to a place of quiet and to pray. The more we do that, the closer we get to him. Prayer can be anything from complete silent meditation to praying the rosary or chaplet of diving mercy.

7 – Spend time with other people who you know are living out the faith. The role of community, where like minded people of faith gather, is of extreme importance. This could be anything form having coffee with a friend, to attending a large prayer group.

8 – Be fillled with gratitude for all that God has given you. So ofter Jesus started His prayers by thanking the Father. The more we are filled with a sense of Gratitude, the more we will be like Jesus.

9 – Repent. Take a good look at your life and see the things that are not of God and determine to turn away from these things. Jesus started His ministry with the word Repent. The Sacrament of Reconciliation can be a big help with this, especially when there is serious sin in your life.

10 – Follow God. Make it a point to try to do what God wants you to do. Hopefully the more you are in prayer and follow the above steps, you will see what God wants from you. When you do find out, do it.

11 – Practice Humility. Jesus makes it pretty clear that He does not like people who think of themselves too highly. He loves people who are humble. His very life is all about humility. Think about how the Almighty, Powerful God humbled himself to become a man. We need to embrace this humility.

12 – Play religious, worship music. Music lifts the soul to new heights. When we play religious music, it lifts us up and helps us to embrace all that God has for us. Try it, you will like it.

Certainly there are many other ways to grow closer to God and to be more Christ-like, but since the scriptures love the number 12, I will stop there. Remember that God wants us to be His presence to others. Our call is to be more like Him. Our conversion needs to be ongoing.

FASTING: The Second Discipline of Lent – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

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Last week, on Ash Wednesday we heard the gospel telling us how Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving are at the heart of our Lenten disciplines, and I wrote about Prayer. This week we will look at the Second Discipline, fasting. It appears that fasting has become very popular in today’s culture for health reasons. HEALTHLINE says that fasting does many things to help the body. It promotes blood sugar control, fights inflammation, enhances heart health, boosts brain function, aids weight loss, increases hormone secretion, extends longevity and can even be an aid to cancer prevention. That all sounds, and is very good. However fasting can also help us in our Spritual Life.

Throughout history, many different religions have promoted fasting. Besides Christianity, it is used in Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism, Judaism and Taoism. For the Catholic it is mandated for adults on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and is recommended for all of the Fridays of Lent. Note: abstaining from meat is also mandated for the Fridays of Lent. In Catholicism, fasting usually means reducing the amount of food that you take in, so that the whole day is not beyond one meals worth. In contrast, in Islam, fasting usually means staying away from all food, drink, and sexual relations from sunrise to sunset for the days where it is required. They also devote one month, their month of Ramadan, to 30 days of fasting.

As Catholics, we fast in order to build our self-mastery, to embrace God more fully in our lives. During Lent, fasting (along with prayer and almsgiving) helps us to better prepare for the JOY OF EASTER! We even “fast” from singing ALLELUIA during Lent so that our EASTER ALLELUIA means more to us. We “fast” from singing the GLORIA and ringing the bells during mass. Our altars “fast” from having beautiful flowers on them. This is all to help us truly celebrate the heart of the Christian message which is the EASTER ALLELUIA, THE LORD IS RISEN.

Fasting should make our prayers more meaningful, more serious. It should show us how denying ourselves something physical can strengthen us in our spiritual life. It should teach us more about making a commitment to something, namely God and His mission for us. Fasting should also help us in detachment, namely giving up something that we may have become too attached to. When we have too many attachments, our life gets too cluttered and there is little room for God. Fasting helps us get back to what really matters in our life, our spirituality, our relationship to God.

The scriptures are filled with verses about fasting, both in the Old Testament (the Hebrew scriptures) and in the New Testament (the Christian scriptures). Our roots are in the Hebrew Scriptures so I would first like to include some to help inspire us in the need for fasting.

Joel 1: 12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;

Ezra 8:23 So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.

Exodus 34: 28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

Nehemiah 1: 4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

2 Samuel !: 12 They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the LORD and for the nation of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

Esther 4: 16 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

The New Testament also has many verses on fasting.

Matthew 6: 16-18 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Acts 13:2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

Acts 14: 23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

Luke 2: 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.

Luke 18: 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

Luke 4: 2-4 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”

Fasting is good for our bodies and for our spirituality. It can also be good for others. We will talk about that next week when we look at the third Lenten discipline, Almsgiving.

THE MOST PRODUCTIVE LENT EVER

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A look at Prayer and the Garden of Gethsemane

by Deacon Marty McIndoe

The Gospel that is read on Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, gives us three disciplines to use during Lent. They are Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving. I personally think that the first discipline, Prayer is the most important one, because it can help us to determine how to put fasting and almsgiving to work for Lent. It is the one that puts us in to a special communion with God. After all, how can you grow closer to someone without spending time with him and communicating with him? For me, personal prayer starts off with praising God for all that He has done for us. I then often take to Him my intentions, and then I wait in silence for what He might have to say to me. Yes, I believe that prayer truly is communication. I speak to Him and He speaks to me. Sometimes we are so busy and our surroundings are so noisy that we don’t experience that. Lent is a great time to quiet down and listen to God.

Lent is a time set aside by the Church for us to work a little harder at becoming the person that Jesus wants us to be. The Church gives us many tools to help us do that, but I would like to share with you some thoughts on how to really begin. Whenever you read the Gospels you can’t help but to notice that Jesus, even when He is working hard in His ministry preaching and healing, takes time to go away from His disciples and His ministry work to spend time alone with God in prayer. Sometimes He goes up a mountain, sometimes He goes in to a desert, and sometimes He just goes outside of town. No matter where He goes, He finds a place where He can be alone with God in prayer. Jesus, by His own example tells us that we too must find time to pray. It isn’t enough to just work for the Lord, but we must also pray to the Lord.

Saint Benedict chose as a model for himself and for his follower the phrase, “Ora et Labora” or in English, “Prayer and Work”. St. Ignatius tells us, “Pray as if everything depends on God; work as if everything depends on you.” Both Saints, when they mention WORK are talking about the work that God calls us to, not just going out to milk the cows or whatever labor we have to do. Psalm 127:1 tells us, “Unless the LORD builds a house, they who build it labor in vain; Unless the LORD guards a city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” For a Christian, we cannot do anything without prayer to God. That is so true in our desire to become who God calls us to be. Before we start any endeavor, we must bring it to the Lord in prayer. We must listen to anything He tells us about it and we must do as He directs. We need His direction and Blessings on all that we do.

Lent is also a time to prepare us to better understand what Holy Week is all about. It prepares us to better understand Psalm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter event. Let us now pause for a moment and look at the center of Holy week, what happens on Holy Thursday evening. After Jesus celebrates His last supper (and Passover) with His disciples on Holy Thursday, He goes out to the Garden of Gethsemane with His disciples to pray (and to be betrayed by Judas). Jesus knows what an ordeal He has to experience, and He knows that He needs the strength of prayer to do the work of the Father. He leads the disciples in to the garden, but then goes away, in solitude, to pray. It is a very difficult prayer for Him. He comes out of the prayer strengthened to be able to face the betrayal, the trial, the rejection of the people, the lashing, the carrying of the cross and finally the Crucifixion itself.

Since Jesus has set for us such a great example of going to a place of prayer, and at the time of His greatest ordeal, we must recognize that He does this to show us how we too need a place to pray and be alone with God before we face any of the work that the Father has for us. Lent is a time of work that the Father has for us and it must be a time of prayer. There is so much strength in prayer and we often forget about it and leave it by the wayside. I propose to you that during this Lent, you start taking time each day away from all you activities to pray. I also suggest that you find, or perhaps make, a prayer place.

Late last Spring, my wife and I went to visit one of my favorite authors, Annabelle Moseley, to have her autograph a book that I was giving to a dear friend of mine. While there, she told me about her new book which would soon be coming from the publisher. The new book was called, AWAKE WITH CHRIST – Living the Catholic Holy Hour in Your Home. She told me that the book talks about how important it is to have your own place of prayer in your home, your own Garden of Gethsemane. She showed me the one that she had made right outside her home in her garden. She also gave me a pre-publication copy of the book to read and to do a book review on. I read it and, like her other books, I fell in love with it. I purchased some books to give away and posted a review on Amazon (you can see it there). I would HIGHLY encourage you to get your own copy of this book as a way to start off your Lent. I think that you will find that it has practical answers on how (and why) to build a prayer place in your home. She even tells you how to do it for children. This book is not only an explanation of the importance of prayer, but it is a book to help us learn how to pray. It is a book that talks about how we need a special place to pray. It is a book that is perfect for LENT.

As she does with her other books, Annabelle refers continually to scripture and to the wisdom of the Saints to help us on our Prayer journey. Again, she also uses her poetic gifts to charge the book with poems and to lift us high towards God. Along with that, her love of gardening motivates us as we prepare our own Garden of Gethsemane. The practical explanations of how to make a prayer space (inside or outside), as well as how to make a Holy Hour is great for adults and for them to teach their children. Jesus, on the night that He was betrayed, said to His disciples, “Could you not watch one hour with me?” – Matthew 26: 40 This book will help you be happy to stay with Jesus for His Holy Hour. It will help you to have the most productive Lent ever.

Wisdom and Knowledge – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

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I began writing this on the Feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr of the Church. It is also the day after we celebrate the birth of our Savior when, filled with joy, we sing, “Joy to the World”. God, in His Wisdom, had the Church put the two right next to each other. Christianity is not supposed to be just joy and it isn’t supposed to be just difficulty, it is both. Our everyday life is the same; joy along with difficulty. This last year has had more than it’s fair share of difficulties for me and this is my first time writing in quite some time. My wife has been ill for over a year, needing my care. In November she passed from this world in to the Father’s hands. She was a wonderful, faith-filled woman and she bore her suffering with great courage and dignity. She never lost her faith in the God who loved her; for all of eternity.

Martha was always teaching me something, and she continued to do that even after she passed. So many of the people that she knew, told me that my wife was truly a woman with a great deal of Wisdom. Several of the couples that attended our old “pre-cana” (marriage preparation) classes said to me that even after 30 or more years of marriage, they were still using some of the Wisdom that she imparted. Some of her previous co-workers (my wife was a Social Worker) mentioned to me that when they had difficulty figuring out something, they would go to my wife for her Wisdom. Some of our parishioners mentioned the same to me. That didn’t surprise me, because I did the same. My wife truly had God’s Wisdom in her. I miss that so much now.

I have always had a great memory and have always done well with school grades and on civil service tests. For quite some time I worked as a Computer programmer and Network programmer. I could beat just about anyone on Jeopardy and Trivial Pursuit. Because of this, my wife always said that I was the smart one (knowledge). Truth of the matter was, I had a great deal of knowledge, but lacked Wisdom. The two are really quite different. I am so thankful that my wife had Wisdom. God knew what He was doing when He put the two of us together.

Too often Wisdom and knowledge are seen as the same thing. In truth, they are not. Wisdom is something that is given to a person from God. Knowledge is something you obtain yourself (God does give us the intellect to do so). Wisdom is a gift. Knowledge is produced due to your studying. The important thing is; Wisdom comes from God whereas knowledge comes from your own work. Don’t confuse the two. I love this comparison, “knowledge is understanding that a tomato is botanically a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put a tomato in a fruit salad!” I should mention that there is a Spiritual Gift called “Knowledge of the Lord”. This is a gift from God, that we may know Him. We are not talking about that right now.

So how do we obtain knowledge? It is simple, The dictionary says that knowledge is facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education. If you want knowledge, you work hard at education either through school or through experience. It is something that you do yourself, for you.

So how do we obtain Wisdom? This is not as simple, since Wisdom is a gift given to you from God. You certainly can ask God to give it to you. Perhaps He will, but God doesn’t always easily give us everything we ask for. Since Wisdom is a Spiritual Gift, and St. Paul tells us that God gives us the Spiritual Gifts for the building up of the Church, I would suggest that if you ask God for Wisdom you should only be asking for it because you want to build up the Church. James 1:5 does tell us that if we want Wisdom, we must ask God for it. God knows our hearts, and knows why we ask. The scriptures do tell us that there are some other things we can do to obtain Wisdom.

Proverbs 2: 3-5 tells us that we must raise our voice for it, we must seek it like silver, and search for it as a hidden treasure. It would seem that God doesn’t like us to be lukewarm in what we do. Psalm 19:7 also reminds us that the more we devote ourselves to God’s Word, the more we open ourselves up to His Wisdom.

St. Louis Marie de Montfort speaks a great deal about Wisdom, and how to obtain it. He starts by quoting the beginning of the book of Wisdom Chapter 6 by saying, “Wisdom is better than strength and prudence is better than courage. Listen, therefore, kings, and understand. Learn, you judges of the nations… desire ardently to know my words, love them and you will find instruction in them… Wisdom is resplendent and her beauty never fades. Those who love her will have no trouble in recognising her; and those who seek her will find her… she goes around seeking those worthy of her, graciously shows her ways to them, guides them and provides for them with loving care.”

Montfort acknowledges that there are other forms of so-called “wisdom” – the “wisdom of the world”, or “natural wisdom” – but believes that these can never lead to real happiness. God’s wisdom, revealed to us in Jesus Christ, is alone able to do that. And so he sees Jesus Christ as the personification of that wisdom of God, which is “eternal” (having existed from all eternity) and “incarnate” (manifested in the human flesh of Jesus).

St Louis Marie speaks of the principal means to “acquire” and “preserve” divine Wisdom. They are, he says, four:

  1. An ardent desire (for Wisdom)
  2. Continuous prayer
  3. “Universal” mortification
  4. A loving and genuine devotion to the Blessed Virgin.

This last means (devotion to Mary), he says, is “the greatest means of all, and the most wonderful of all secrets for obtaining and preserving divine Wisdom”.

So then, why is Wisdom so important? As a gift from God, it is a means of building up the Church. It is a way that God can make his will known to us, so that we can do it. It is a way that we can understand things from God’s point of view. It is a way for us to see God at work through us and in the world. It gives us the ability to understand the divine truth and then judge and direct our affairs towards that truth. Wisdom perfects the virtue of love. The Catholic Catechism says that Wisdom “is a breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty”. Now I ask you, isn’t that something that you want?

If the answer to the above is YES, then I suggest you do the following (in summation of above):

1 – Love God: Solomon says that the fear of God is the beginning of Wisdom

2 – Ardently Desire Wisdom: desire it with all our heart

3 – Pray for the Gift of Wisdom: St. James tells us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (James 1:5).

4 – Study God’s Word: We must immerse ourselves in prayer and study of the Word of God

Do these, and Wisdom will be yours. God is good!

“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” James 3: 17

ALMSGIVING: The Third Discipline of Lent – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

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We have already, in the last two Wednesdays, covered the first two Disciplines of Lent; Prayer and Fasting. Today we look at ALMSGIVING, the third. Some people refer to these disciplines as the Pillars of Lent. The interesting thing is that these are really meant to be part of the every day Christian life. Lent emphasizes these to help us know better what following Jesus is all about. All three are complementary to each other and really should be done together. Today’s Discipline is very related to last weeks article on Fasting and we shall look at that shortly. First of all, it is important to define what is meant by ALMSGIVING.

In it’s simplest form, Almsgiving is defined as the act of giving charity to another. For the Christian, it is about sharing one’s blessings with those who are poor. It is about following what Jesus has asked us to do. Almsgiving isn’t always about giving things to the poor, it can also be about giving your time to the poor. Some examples of Almsgiving range from putting your money in to the poor boxes at church to giving time to people who are lonely and need someone just to talk to. Personally, I think that the example that Jesus gives us in scripture in his parable on the Judgment of the Nations by the separating of the sheep (those who practice almsgiving) from the goats (those who do not) serves as a great example. I will include that here:

Matthew 25:

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.

”Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Jesus makes it very clear that our going to heaven is dependent upon how well we loved; how good we were at almsgiving.

Almsgiving is also found through out the Old Testament, the Hebrew Scriptures. One of my favorite passages is from the Prophet Isaiah (58: 6-11) where God speaks to His people saying:

Is this not, rather, the fast that I choose: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking off every yoke? Is it not sharing your bread with the hungry, bringing the afflicted and the homeless into your house; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; Your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: “Here I am!” If you remove the yoke from among you, the accusing finger, and malicious speech; If you lavish your food on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; Then your light shall rise in the darkness, and your gloom shall become like midday; Then the LORD will guide you always and satisfy your thirst in parched places, will give strength to your bones And you shall be like a watered garden, like a flowing spring whose waters never fail.

We can see that both the Gospel Parable and the Old Testament Prophecy are a real challenge. Christianity isn’t made to be easy, it can be quite difficult, but it is how we can really obtain fullness of Life, both in this world and the next.

Earlier I mentioned that Fasting and Almsgiving are closely related. When we fast, we are giving up something, This allows us to use what we gave up to give to others in Almsgiving. For example, if we give up having that fancy coffee from the Baristo each day and take that $5 to $9 each day and use it to buy food for the poor, we accomplish both Fasting and Almsgiving. If we give up watching television each night for 2 hours and instead use that time to call or visit the sick, we accomplish both Fasting and Almsgiving. When we add prayer to this in order to know what to give up, and how to share our resources, and with who, then we move more in to building up of the Kingdom of God..

Prayer and Fasting and Almsgiving are great to practice during Lent, However, they should be continued during the ordinary times of our lives. The benefits that gives to us, and to our brothers and sisters is immeasurable.

The Conversion of St. Paul – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

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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

A CHALLENGE FOR ALL MINISTERS OF THE EUCHARIST – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

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A Challenge for Eucharistic Ministers, both Ordinary (Bishops, Priests and Deacons) and Extraordinary (delegated lay people) – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

We as Catholics know that the Eucharist is a very special gift that God has given to us for our spiritual growth. Jesus was very clear (read John Chapter 6) that we are called to eat His body and drink His blood so that we might have abundant life now and forevermore. We also know that the normal way for us to receive Him in the Eucharist is to attend mass at least one time per week on Sunday (or Saturday evening vigil). Unfortunately for many Catholics this is impossible due to advanced age or sickness. All of our parishes have a number of people that are not able to attend mass. They can watch it on TV, but they can’t receive the precious gift of the Eucharist unless we bring it to them. It is so important for us to reach out to them in their need for the Eucharist. We as ministers of the Eucharist should see this as part of our ministry. For those who are not Ministers of the Eucharist, I would suggest you seek out the Lord in prayer to see if He is calling you to do that. If so, talk to your local parish priest. None of us are worthy to be so close to the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, BUT God calls us anyway.

I bring the Holy Eucharist to the homes of about a dozen people every week after our 10:30 am Sunday mass. Most of these are people who used to attend mass regularly but now can’t due to old age or health impairments. They now watch the mass first on TV or Social media and are anxious to receive when I come to them. Every week they are excited to receive and so very thankful for being able to receive. I have one 96 year old woman that starts clapping for joy when she hears my knock on the door (her caretaker tells me this). As excited and happy as the people are who I bring the Eucharist to, I think that I get even more excited. It is a very reverent thing that we do in bringing the Eucharist to them, but it is also a very exciting and rewarding thing that we do. I do have a couple of people who are dealing with some form of dementia, but as soon as we begin praying with the sign of the cross, they know exactly what they are doing. It seems that the prayers and the Eucharist breaks through their dementia.

Besides bringing the Holy Eucharist to the home bound, I always bring a copy of the weekly bulletin and try to share with them something about the homily. All of my people watch the mass on TV and have heard a homily, but I like to share what was said in our local parish. They seem to have a need to continue their connection to the local parish. The bulletin and the sharing on the homily help to do this. I also try to share anything that is going on in the parish. The home bound seem to really love this. After they receive and the prayers are done, I try to take time to sit and talk with them. I have found that many of the people I bring communion to do not have a lot of visitors. They need personal contact and we can help provide that.

It is so easy to for both Ordinary and Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist to JUST see the mass as their ministry. My challenge to all is that you expand your Eucharistic ministry to include visitation to those who can not attend mass. For those of you who are Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist you will hopefully find that visiting the home bound and bringing the Eucharist to them is a ministry that is very very important and rewarding. There is no doubt that EM’s are a big help in the Church at mass every Sunday. However, many have not used their ministry in reaching out to those who can not go to church. Not only are the home bound missing out in receiving the Lord in the Eucharist, but those who are able to bring the Eucharist are missing out in a very important ministry. It is a much needed, and very rewarding ministry.

I would thus challenge all ministers of the Eucharist to visit the home bound on a regular basis. You will definitely reap the rewards of your ministry by doing that. For those of you who are not Eucharistic Ministers I would encourage you to pray about becoming one and then go visit your parish priest to talk to him about it. If you do become an Eucharistic Minister, then make sure that you remember to serve the home bound members of your parish. The Eucharist is a very special gift that God has given to us. It is an honor to be part of His plan to bring His Body and Blood to His people.

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/

Saint Joseph: What a Special Gift – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Angels, Anxiety and Worry, Blessed Virgin Mary, Church, Demons, Fatherhood, Healing, Holy Spirit, Jewish roots, Lent, Pope Francis, Saints, Service, Spirituality, Teaching, Vocation

St. Joseph – What a Special Gift

Today, March 19, 2021 is the Solemnity of St. Joseph occurring within the Year of St. Joseph as proclaimed by Pope Francis. This is such a special gift to the Church. For me, it is a real gift since I today completed my 33 day Consecration to St. Joseph as detailed in Father Don Colloway’s book Consecration to Saint Joseph – The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father. A few years ago I did a 33 day Consecration to Jesus through Mary and was so happy with what it did for my Spiritual Life. When Pope Francis declared this year as the Year of St. Joseph, I decided to do a consecration to St. Joseph. I am so very glad that I did. My wife and I have been doing this together using Fr. Colloway’s book and listening to his video every day on YouTube.

Father Colloway’s book has been fantastic. It is probably the best $14.95 that I have ever spent. After I fully complete the book, I plan on doing a review. His 33 day daily video series has also been amazing. Putting the two together has been wonderful. This has been one of my best Lents because of this 33 day consecration exercise. I have learned so much about St. Joseph and have come to really appreciate the gift that he is to the Church and to me personally.

St. Joseph has been in the background for so many years of the Church’s history. Many of the Saints have sung his praises, but, in general, the Church has kept him in the background. It wasn’t until a few years ago that Pope Francis added the name of St. Joseph to the Eucharistic liturgy. I still remember seeing my pastor write in the name of St. Joseph in to the book (we are a poor parish and wouldn’t order a new book just because of one insert). St. Joseph is known as the protector of the Church, but even that didn’t start until about 150 years ago. This year has been named the Year of St. Joseph by Pope Francis and the Church is celebrating it world wide. There have been a number of books, such as previously mentioned, and it would appear that St. Joseph is finally getting the attention that he should have. The timing is perfect.

2020 and 2021 have been difficult years due to the COVID pandemic. Other political changes have made life more difficult for the Church and I think that bringing out the riches of St. Joseph at this time is very appropriate. There is no doubt that the more we learn about this “silent” Saint, the more we can learn what he can do for us. Through these 33 days of consecration I have learned so much about St. Joseph and now appreciate him so much. I definitely see him as my Spiritual Father. It makes so much sense that not only would Jesus share with us His Mother, but would also share with us His earthly father. In today’s mass we read the Gospel about finding the 12 year old lost Jesus in the Temple. As I was reading it I was really “hit” by the verse where Mary said to Jesus, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” and Jesus said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” What hit me was when Mary referred to Joseph she said your father (small f) and when Jesus replied He referred to God His Father (large F). Jesus had two Fathers, one in heaven and one on the earth.

Joseph was Jesus’s father here on earth. Joseph took care of Jesus and protected Him, even moving to Egypt to avoid Herod trying to kill Jesus. St. Joseph nurtured Him and taught Him and loved Him probably better than any father cares for his own flesh and blood son. Jesus called him daddy, abba, and I can only imagine the great relationship that the two of them had. Jesus must have admired Joseph tremendously, especially for his love and devotion to Jesus’s mother, Mary. I can only believe that God chose Joseph as the “father” of Jesus because of what a great man that he was. I can only believe that Jesus and Joseph were closer than probably any other father and son. It is so important to honor a man who was given such a great honor as caring for the God-Man, Jesus.

In his book, Father Calloway is continually giving quotes from the many Saints who have had a great devotion to Joseph. They honored him as well as sought his aid in the many difficulties in their lives. Everyone needs a good father to look up to as well as to receive help from. Saint Joseph has been given to us by Jesus and it is important for us to see the gift that Saint Joseph truly is. We can most definitely use this precious gift. I would like to share with you just a few of the numerous quotes so that perhaps you will see how precious this gift is.

“This flower of Israel (St. Joseph) had the faith of Abraham, the piety of David his ancestor, the wisdom of the prophets, a patience more heroic than that of Job and Tobias, and a zeal greater than that of Elizah for the glory of God.” – Blessed Gabriele Allegra

“The holy example of Jesus Christ who, while upon earth, honored St. Joseph so highly and was obedient to him during his life should be sufficient to inflame the hearts of all with devotion to this saint.” – St. Alphonsus Liguori

“If you want to know St. Joseph’s obedience, look at how he rose at night at the angel’s voice and, giving no care to hunger, hardships, or cold, went to Egypt where he led a hard life until the next command of God” – St. Joseph Sebastian Pelzcar

“Truly, I doubt not that the angels, wondering and adoring, came thronging in countless multitudes to that poor workshop to admire the humility of him who guarded that dear and divine child, and labored at his carpenter’s trade to support the Son and the mother who were committed to his care.” – St. Francis de Sales

“Those who are devoted to prayer should, in a special manner, cherish devotion to St. Joseph. I know not how anyone can ponder on the sufferings, trials, and tribulations the Queen of the Angels endured whilst caring for Jesus in his childhood, without at the same time thanking St. Joseph for the services he rendered the Divine Child and his Blessed Mother.” – St. Teresa of Avila

“To be faithful as humble collaborators with the divine plan over our lives, we need, along with the protection of the Virgin Mary, that of St. Joseph, a most powerful intercessor.” – St. Pope John XXIII

“The Church invokes St. Joseph as her Patron and Protector through her unshakable trust that he to whom Christ willed to confide the care and protection of His own frail human childhood, will continue from heaven to perform His protective task in order to guide and defend the Mystical Body of Christ himself, which is always weak, always under attack, always in a state of peril.” St. Pope Paul VI

Ite ad Ioseph – Go to Joseph

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!!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Joy of Giving – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

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

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

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

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

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

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

TRUST – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

PUSHING GOD AWAY – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Anxiety and Worry, Church, Community, Evangelism, Godly Patriotism, Holiness, Life in the Spirit, Morality, Relationships, Sin, Spirituality, Uncategorized

I would suppose that every generation, as it gets older, laments the changes that occur in the world that they have been used to.  I am now in my early 70’s and I am beginning to experience that sadness when I see the changes from what we had, to what we now have.  Sure, there has been tremendous growth in technology, and the ability to do things easier and more efficiently.  I love most of those changes, but what makes me sad is how our society today has pushed God away.  When I was growing up in the 50’s and 60’s God was very present in society.  People talked about Him, popular songs mentioned Him, television made positive remarks about Him and prayer was a part of everyday life, especially in school.   Going to church was the norm for most families and life was respected and people cared for each other.  God and religion were seen as a normal part of everyday life.

Slowly, but determinedly, God has been pushed away in our society.  Not only has God been pushed away, He, and his believers have been made fun of and even vilified.  Our money still says IN GOD WE TRUST, but my guess is, even that won’t last much longer.  Prayer is no longer allowed in school and it is even difficult to get permission for a God based group to use school space, even for students.   People do not attend Church the way they used to.   Many churches and religious schools have had to close due to non-attendance.   There is a tremendous shortage of vocations in all of the churches.  Sex scandals have plagued the churches and things seem hopeless.  Along with that, family life has suffered greatly.  The number of divorces continues to grow and so many children have lost their way to drugs and alcohol.  Our entertainment venues (TV and movies) are filled with violence and sex and drugs, and it is very difficult to find anything that is wholesome.  Our youth are experimenting not only with drugs and alcohol and sex, but also with finding a new way to identify themselves sexually.  Getting married seems to be a thing of the past while young adults just choose to live together openly.  I could go on and on, but even I am getting depressed, I don’t want you to.

So what do we do?  Do we throw up our hands in to the air and say, “that is the way things are, we just have to accept it”?  .  .  .  .  .  .   No, we don’t!  If anything, this is a time for us to stand up tall as Christians and tell the world about the love and mercy of God.    This is a time for us to live in hope and not despair.  I know that it is not easy, but when we look at the history of the Jews and Christians  throughout history we see that often things like what we are going through have happened, yet God raised up a remnant of people and anointed them with power to be able to turn others back to God.   When everyone else seemed to be turning away from God, He has continually used a small group, or remnant, to bring the faith out again.  My friends, we are that remnant.  He will anoint us with His power to bring people back to Him.

I really believe that this gradual turning away from God and all that is associated with it is the work of Satan, the great deceiver.  He wants people to turn away from God and he works very hard to accomplish that.   He entices people to think that the things of this world are far better than the things of God’s Kingdom.   He uses our own human weaknesses for destruction.  I think that the priest sex scandal is a great example of this.  But as much as Satan wants us to fall and turn away from God, God himself wants even more for His people to come back to Him.  He has given each one of us the Holy Spirit inside of us to help us accomplish this.  St. John tell us that, “greater is he that is in YOU, than he that is in the world.”

It is up to us, along with the Holy Spirit within us, to listen to God and to go to the people and places that He tells us to lead others back to Him.  We need to tell others of the great Mercy and Love that God has for us.   We need to lead by example showing people that good and God centered living brings true happiness.  We cannot be afraid to share with others what God has done in our lives and what He continues to do.  We need to be proud of being good Catholic Christians and we must announce the Good News to all that we see, especially those who have gone away from it.  I have no doubt that our God is a strong and powerful God who can accomplish great things through us. We just need to say YES to Him and allow Him to use us.    We can change the world.  We can help to bring God back in to our society.  With God there is still HOPE.  When we end every mass, the deacon or priest gives us a mission.  He tells us to GO FORTH… “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord” and “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life”.   These are serious times; let us take our mission seriously.  Let us be a people of action.

Fridays are Special – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

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

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

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

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

Psalm 51 – The Miserere

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SACRED BRAILLE – The Rosary as Masterpiece through Art, Poetry, and Reflections by Annabelle Moseley Review by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Anxiety and Worry, Blessed Virgin Mary, Book Review, Books, Church, Holiness, Holy Spirit, Prayer, Rosary, Spirituality, , ,

Leonardo da Vinci said, “Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.”  It seems to me that the purpose of both art and poetry is to lift us up beyond what we normally can see and feel.  They both reach in to our very being, our soul, our essence, to lift us up higher than we can imagine.  This book by Annabelle Moseley does all of that.  It is filled, literally filled, with art and poetry about our Mother Mary.  The poetry by the author and the art work that was chosen by her help us to reach in to the depths of truth and intimacy with Mary, especially through the Rosary.  This book brought tears to my eyes several time as it helped me to internalize the love that Mary has for us.  I had just previously read Keith Berube’s book on Mary and the Rosary which did pretty much the same thing.

I feel very blessed to have had these two books brought together for me at the same time.  I also find it interesting that each of these two authors write in the introductions of each other’s books.   Also the Foreword in SACRED BRAILLE is written by Bishop Richard Henning who I first got to know when he worked in my parish many years ago as a young priest.  Bishop Henning is a good and holy man and one of the most intelligent men I know.   Also much of the art used in the book is taken from the Seminary that I attended for my diaconal training, The Seminary of the Immaculate Conception.  It brings back many good memories.  More important than that, the artwork stimulates the soul and lifts us up above the ordinariness of everyday life.  It helps us to see that we are much more than we appear to be and that our God has reached down to us to help us to better realize that.

I cannot overstate that the original poetry of the author and the amazing art work inside the book are ethereal.   The poetry especially fascinated me.  It is complex, but understandable.  Some of it follows traditional elements of poetry but some of it takes on a unique nature of its own.  I was especially moved and impressed by the “Mirror Sonnets” contained throughout the book.  I cannot even imagine how difficult it is to write these sonnets where the first section is read and then the second section is read line by line in reverse order of the first and they both make complete sense.  You have to read this to believe this and to even understand what I am saying so I will, with the author’s permission, share one Mirror Sonnet with you.

                                             Mirror Sonnet*: Mary Recalls The Prophecy of Simeon

A mother knows her son’s hands like her own.

She studies them from birth—each fingernail

is halo-shaped. Soft skin over strong bone,

each line and dimple forms a Sacred Braille.

While Simeon foretold, I held Christ’s hand.

And that was when the blade first pierced my soul.

I knew that to redeem a broken land,

my child’s palms could not remain smooth, whole.

The earth is punctured, seeded, before sprouts

grow forth. Then fruit is gathered, branches pruned.

There must be something for the soul who doubts

to press their fingers into, like a wound.

The piercing of my soul provides a sieve—

for sifting death from those who long to live.

For sifting death from those who long to live,

the piercing of my soul provides a sieve—

to press their fingers into, like a wound.

There must be something for the soul who doubts.

Grow forth! Then fruit is gathered, branches pruned.

The earth is punctured, seeded, before sprouts.

My child’s palms could not remain smooth, whole.

I knew that—to redeem a broken land…

And that was when the blade first pierced my soul.

While Simeon foretold, I held Christ’s hand.

Each line and dimple formed a Sacred Braille,

was halo-shaped. Soft skin over strong bone,

I’d studied them from birth—each fingernail.

A mother knows her son’s hands like her own.

                                                                                          * a new poetic form created by the author.

Throughout this book, the author’s writing shows me the deep love that she has for Mary and the Rosary.  I can’t help but to believe that the Holy Spirit inspired her to write this about the Spouse of the Holy Spirit.  The writing is way above the ordinary, and seems quite inspired.

The Preface by Annabelle Moseley sets the stage for what is to follow.  It also contains within it some interesting date-coincidences (more like God-incidents) in Annabelle Moseley’s life.  She then begins with the Seven Sorrows of Mary before leading then to all four of the Mysteries of the Rosary.  The poetry and art reflections on each mystery will bring new life to your own reflections on the mysteries as you say the Rosary.  After completing all four mysteries, she has a section with discussion questions for all of the poetry from the Seven Sorrows through the four mysteries.  This could be used either by you or in a group.

After the discussion section, Annabelle Moseley gives us a workbook for a three day retreat.  This workbook is filled with ideas on how to do the retreat including settings, readings, exercises, activities and even music to play.  I am still thinking of ways to put this in to action for myself and for my parish.  After this section the author teaches the reader how to pray the Rosary.  She then has a section listing the fifteen promises of Mary concerning the Rosary.

As if all of this is not enough, Annabelle Moseley teaches us three different ways to enhance our reflection on the Seven Sorrows and the four mysteries of the Rosary.  The first way is the “Visio Divino” where she lists several great works of art pieces to contemplate.  The second way is the “Lectio Divino” where she gives us several scripture passages to reflect on.  The third way is the “Audio Divino” where Annabelle Moseley gives us various pieces of music to use while contemplating.  The book ends with a call to make a Living Rosary and to see the Rosary as a true Masterpiece in itself.

 I have always had a deep appreciation of art and poetry and music.  The individual pieces within this book are Masterpieces themselves, but taken together this book is a true, and very rare, masterpiece that helps to transform you in to who God calls you to be.  Mary gave the perfect YES.  We too are called by God to say our YES to Him.  What better way is there than to follow the Mother of Jesus as she leads us to her son Jesus.  This book helps us to do this with beauty and style.  Do yourself a favor, buy this book and keep it out to be used often.  You will be glad that you did.

NOTE:  I am writing this review at the time of a world-wide pandemic.  People are getting sick and dying and most stores and businesses have had to shut down.  There is no income coming in for many and everyday living seems to be quite traumatic.  People are hurting and in need of healing and consolation.  Our mother Mary is the great Consoler who can bring us to her Son, Jesus who is the great healer.  Just as Mary consoled Jesus at the foot of the cross, she can console us at the foot of our pandemic cross.  The beauty and the message of this book is a great means of receiving consolation from our Mother who loves and cares for us so much.  Hopefully this pandemic will be over soon, but all of us know that we are in need of consolation throughout so many stages of our life.  This book could be a real spiritual medicine for us.

You can visit Annabelle Moseley’s website by clicking here.  www.annabellemoseley.com

MARY – The Rosary, the Relationship, and Dragons by Keith Berube – review by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Anxiety and Worry, Blessed Virgin Mary, Book Review, Books, Church, Communication, Death and Dying, Demons, Healing, Holy Spirit, Miracles, Prayer, Purgatory, Relationships, Rosary, Saints, Scripture, Spirituality, Women

Books are one of the true treasures of mankind.  They entertain us, they move us, they help us to grow and they are so readily available to us today.  Keith Berube’s new book (Mar 2020) on Mary is all of that and more.  This book is one of the best treasures I have found in a long time.  It did something to me that I thought was impossible.  It helped me to love the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Rosary more than I ever had; and I am a person who says the Rosary every day and have been doing that for well over 20 years.  It has caused me to grow in an intimacy with Mary that I never had before.

There is one thing that you need to understand.  I was brought up as a Protestant (Methodist) and converted to the Roman Catholic faith when I was 25 years old.  My conversion was based mostly upon my reading of the 6th Chapter of St. John’s Gospel about the Eucharist and my study of the Vatican II documents.  One thing that I had trouble accepting was the role of Mary in the Church.  Like most Protestants, I thought that the Church overdid devotion to Mary.  However, gradually I was drawn to read more about Mary and to start praying the Rosary.   This helped me to develop a strong (at least I thought) devotion to her.  This book has brought me much closer to her than I ever imagined.  I can see her now in so many different ways.  She is not only MY Mother, but also my Queen.  She is not only an example of faith but she is THE best example of faith.  She is the Mother of the Son, the daughter of the Father and the Spouse of the Holy Spirit.   She is the Immaculate one and the one who loves to spend time with me.  She is the one who protects me.   She is the one who keeps leading me closer to God.  Keith Berube’s book helped me to know all of that with a new enthusiasm.

Keith Berube divides his book in to three parts.  The first part is all about the Rosary.  After saying the rosary daily for over 20 years, I thought that I knew it well.  This book revealed to me so much more about the Rosary that I never knew.  It especially helped me to see the Rosary as a time when I was present to a Mother who loved me so much, and earnestly desired to be with me.   The book taught me that saying the Rosary was the living out of a love story.   It was where I could meet the Mother who always wanted to hear from me.  It was where I could tell her I love her, in response to her love of me.  It was a way that I could touch her, through the tactile feel of the beads.  It was also a time where I could join her in her own mission of praying for others and leading others to her loving Son.  The Rosary is life changing to those who pray it and to those who are lifted up in its prayers.  The Rosary is something quite mystical in the way it lifts us up in to Spiritual joy.   It is also one of the strongest weapons we have to use against the evil one.

The second part of the book is entitled, “The Veiled Dynamics of the Rosary”.  In this section we hear more about Mary as woman (or girl as the author often refers to her) and the way her femininity causes not only us, but the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit to relate to her.  It shows how her being a woman affects our communication with her and her communication with us.  This femininity also shows how the Rosary is relational to us and how we in our own sexuality (male or female) relate back to Mary.   This part also talks about how we see Mary not only as Mother but also as friend and one who reveals to us the secrets of her heart and also consoles us.

The third part of the book provides a short synthesis of Parts I and II.  It helps us see that in praying the Rosary, we are giving flowers to the one who loves us so much.  Every Hail Mary that we say is also a way of saying, “I love you” to Mary.  The mysteries that we contemplate help us better understand the way God the Father has loved us through the Son and the Holy Spirit.  The Rosary itself is very scriptural and helps us to meditate on the stories of our Salvation.  It is also a time when we are joined by our guardian angel and the other Angels and Saints in prayer to God.

In the first Appendix Keith Berube includes some beautiful and moving poems.  In the second Appendix he lists some other forms of the Rosary.  In the third Appendix he talks about the CONSOLATIO MARIAE, a Private Association of the Catholic Faithful.

Throughout the book Keith Berube uses scriptures, stories and quotes from various Saints , and illustrations to enhance his writing.  You can most readily see the author’s own love for Mary.  As I said earlier, this book taught me to appreciate and form a new INTIMACY with Mary and a new appreciation of the Rosary as both a form of relational prayer and as a true weapon  to fight those “dragons” that attack us.  There is no way that this short review can tell you of the wonders of this book.  You need to experience this yourself.  Do yourself a favor and read this book.

Note:  A publisher friend of mine sent me a copy of SACRED BRAILLE by Annabelle Mosely and asked me to review that.  It is interesting that both books are about the Rosary and really complement each other.  I love God’s timing.  Annabelle Mosely did the forward to Keith Berube’s book.  I really loved her book and will post a review shortly.

The National Shrine of Divine Mercy – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Blessed Virgin Mary, Church, Divine Mercy, Easter, Eucharist, Forgiveness, Healing, Holiness, Penance and Reconciliation, Relationships, Saints, Spirituality

The Second Sunday of Easter is DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY and normally thousands of people flock to the National Shrine of Divine Mercy in Stockbridge Massachusetts.  Unfortunately, this year that will not happen due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Since we cannot go there physically, I thought that I would share some pictures of the Shrine that I took a couple of years ago.

In the year 2000, Pope John Paul IIl canonized Sr. Faustina Kowalska who originally received the Divine Mercy image of Jesus and promulgated Jesus’ message of Divine Mercy.  During her canonization he said, “It is important then that we accept the whole message that comes to us from the word of God on this Second Sunday of Easter, which from now on throughout the Church will be called “Divine Mercy Sunday”.  

Sister Faustina had written in her diary the words of Jesus that came to her, “My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and a shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day are opened all the divine floodgates through which graces flow. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My mercy.

I have written three previous articles on the Divine Mercy that you might want to check.  Here is a link to each of them:

Divine Mercy by Deacon Marty
Divine Mercy Too by Deacon Marty
Divine Mercy and our Youngest Canonized Saint – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Welcome to Eden Hill, the home of the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts run by the Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary.  Enjoy the pictures and hopefully you can visit it someday.  It is a HOLY place.

The Outdoor mass area.
The church used for indoor mass
The Church and attached buildings
Inside the church
Close up of the altar
Statue of John Paul II
Indoor statue of Pope Saint John Paul II
From Pope John Paul II
St. Faustina with Our Lady of Guadalupe looking on
Statue of St. Faustina right outside the church

The Shrine has beautiful, large and realistic Stations of the Cross. Here are a few examples of them:

The Shrine also has beautiful walking paths and shrines along the way

When you go there, take time for Mass and for praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet

The grounds of the National Shrine consist of 375 acres of land nestled in the beautiful Berkshire hills in western Massachusetts. The name of the property is called “Eden Hill” because of its natural beauty. The Shrine church is normally open 365 days a year, including all holidays and holy days. Go and visit. You will love it. The town that it is in is a beautiful old historical town with great restaurants and inns. The Shrine itself has a fantastic book and gift store. Remember God’s Mercy.

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.