The Holy Family

At Mass today, we recognized the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

Alicia, Lorenzo, Lily and I went to Mass together. As I was listening to the Liturgy of the Word and the homily, I was also watching Lily sleeping in her infant seat and thinking, “This is probably the same feeling of love that Mary and Joseph had for the baby born in the stable.”

As I meditated further on this today, it hit me. As much as I love Lily and my own children, Mary and Joseph’s love for Jesus was so much more. After all, they had it on good authority (the Angel Gabriel) that their Son was the Son of God.

Further, Mary’s love must have been bittersweet. On one hand, she knew that her Son was destined to bring salvation to the world. On the other hand, she also knew the scriptures and that Jesus was to be killed to bring that salvation. No parent wants to lose a child. So when Simeon told her that her heart would be pierced with sorrow, I think that she was not surprised, but dismayed nonetheless.

As we all know, however, it all worked out for the best. (What an understatement that is!)

Pax vobis*

Eternal God, this joyful day is radiant with the brilliance of Your one true light.

May that light illuminate our hearts and shine in our words and deeds.

May the hope, the peace, the joy, and the love represented by the birth in Bethlehem fill our lives and become part of all that we say and do.

May we share the divine life of Your Son, Jesus Christ, even as He humbled Himself to share our humanity.

Bless us all today. Let us be thankful for our families. We are thankful for Your most recent gift to us, Liliana Noelle. We especially thank You, Eternal Father for the one, true gift of Christmas, Your Son.

Merry Christmas, Everyone!!!!!
*Pax Vobis--Peace be with all of you.

"OomPa's" Incredible Adventure or, Who Can Doubt That God Is With Us?

I got to Mom's apartment at 7 o'clock in the morning. She had a few things for me to do before we left for Bob's house in Simi Valley-- A couple of "chores" around the apt. and then a little shopping and a permanent for Mom. We figured on leaving no later than 9:30. Everything went as planned and we were on our way on time. I thought we could stop every couple of hours to stretch our legs and grab a water. Highway 5 would be the quickest way to get to Simi. We wanted to be there by 3pm, visit a bit with Bob, and wait for Marilyn to get home. Then we would go to Mass, eat dinner, and I would head back towards home. If I didn't feel like driving all the way back, my intention was to stay at the apartment that U-Haul has set up for me when I work in Bakersfield, then drive home in the morning refreshed.

We got as far as the Westley rest stop when I saw the "Amber Alert" sign on the highway saying that there was a delay going over the "Grapevine" into LA due to inclement weather. I called Bob and told him I thought we would cut over to the 101 and come down that way, even though it would add an hour or two to the drive. At the same time, I wondered why there was inclement weather on the Grapevine when it was cold, but clear all the way to Kettleman City. Mom and I discussed it and we thought we would play it by ear. We ate lunch in Kettleman City and no sooner left the restaurant when Marilyn (my Marilyn) called and said that Alicia's water had broken and she was in the hospital waiting for our first grandchild. That pretty much made up my mind for me. I was going to go over the Grapevine. That way, I could get back sooner and be on hand for the delivery.

We got to Laval and the snow started coming down--mixed with rain first, then just snow. Lots and lots of snow. Several accidents were strewn all over the highway. I just took it slow and steady. Mom and I decided not to take any chances, and we recited all 4 mysteries of the rosary and the Divine Mercy chaplet, asking Our Lady for her protection from the storm. Yeah, you guessed it. Our "Mom in Heaven" came through again. Not only did we make it without any trouble, it was absolutely beautiful! All of that pure white snow made the drab countryside look as brand new as if God had just created it! We made it to Simi at 3 in the afternoon. I checked in with Marilyn and there was still no change with Alicia. But the CHP closed Interstate 5 just after we went through! (Thank you, Heavenly Mother!) So, I made the decision to go home via the 101. I figured it would take about 6 and a half to 7 and a half hours vs the 5 and half it took to come down, but I had to get back. While it was the right decision, it  took over 8 and half hours--all the traffic that would have been using I-5 was now using 101! It took me 4 and a half hours just to get to Paso Robles! It could have been worse, though. Traffic coming back the other way was bumper to bumper for 23 miles! At least I was moving. I had my rosary to fall back on (as I always do) for the times I got frustrated. So I was able to say 3 or more rosaries when I got really frustrated and I felt better afterward. All I could think about was that Alicia was going to have her baby and I wouldn't be there. I took my vacation this week specifically so I could be with Alicia for the big day. It was So I kept asking our Lord to let her hold on until I got to the hospital. I finally got there at 11:30 pm. There was still no real change in Alicia's condition. I went in and kissed her and asked her how she was doing. She was in a bit of pain (naturally) but excited to get the show on the road. But Lily wasn't ready yet. Marilyn, Sarah, Marilyn's sister Carolyn and her daughter Frankie were there as well. After a few pleasantries we decided we were going to go to the waiting room and try to grab a few z's. Right. I was so keyed up, I must have walked 3 miles pacing back and forth, up and down the hallways and I said (I think) 2 more rosaries asking our Lord to make her labor easier. I tried to lay down, but no use. I finally got so tired I thought I could maybe get to sleep, but the minute I did, Sarah came and got me to tell me Alicia had permission to "push." You know, Alicia is my first baby and it was tearing me apart to hear her screams in labor. After about 45 minutes of agony mixed with laughter (at Lorenzo, who was making some really funny statements throughout the ordeal to keep Alicia's spirits up), I went to sit down and get away from the moans. Again, I no sooner sat down, than Sarah came to tell me that Lily was now crying! After shedding my own silent tear of gratitude with a prayer of thanksgiving, I ran down to see the baby. She is beautiful! It reminds one that, while biology plays a part, only God creates new life. Lorenzo was so excited! It was good to see him so happy and at the same time I think it hit him that he was actually a father with some pretty awsome responsibilities. He seemed nervous in his excitement. I think it was good for him to have so many of us there to support him and Alicia. He kept saying "Oh, my God!" I know he knows exactly what he was saying. He is a pretty devout catholic to be and knows who was really responsible for this life. Sarah, too, was holding Lily and saying, "It's hard to believe that this beautiful little girl was in Alicia's tummy just a few minutes ago!" She didn't come right out and say it, but she was acknowledging the fact that life is a gift from God. Things are good.



ps. I finally got out of the hospital at 6am this morning and decided to skip mass and go home to sleep. It wouldn't have been good to fall asleep in the middle of the homily! I got a couple of hours, then got up, took a shower and headed back to the hospital to see Lily, Alicia and Lorenzo again. When I got there, I was hungry and Lorenzo volunteered to escort me to the cafeteria so I could get a lunch. I know what he's been going through. There were enough women on hand to watch Lily. He is so tired (he's been up for almost two days now) and needs some masculine company...(unfortunately he had to settle for me! lol). On the way back from the cafeteria, we stopped in at the gift shop just to stall going back for a few minutes more and Lorenzo asked me, "How soon should we wait to baptize Lily?" I couldn't have been prouder. Being Catholic is truly a big thing with him (Thank God!). I told him the rule of thumb is to get her baptized as soon as possible. I reminded him that the Godparents must be active Catholics who will take the responsibility seriously, but to check with the priest when he takes Lily out to church the first time. He said Alicia and he had been discussing it already and thought they would asked me to be the Godfather and his sister to be the Godmother. I told him I couldn't think of a higher honor. More to come on this. Sometimes things change. They may actually have other Godparent options they haven't thought of yet. But I will be more than ready to step up to the responsibility if need be. The thing that I am constantly struck by is Lorenzo's commitment to becoming a Catholic...as Darth Vader would say, "The force is strong in this one."

Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe

In 1531 a "Lady from Heaven" appeared to a humble Native American at Tepeyac, a hill northwest of what is now Mexico City. She identified herself as the ever virgin Holy Mary, Mother of the True God for whom we live, of the Creator of all things, Lord of heaven and the earth. She made a request for a church to be built on the site, and submitted her wish to the local Bishop. When the Bishop hesitated, and requested her for a sign, the Mother of God obeyed without delay or question to the Church's local Bishop, and sent her native messenger to the top of the hill in mid-December to gather an assorment of roses for the Bishop. After complying to the Bishop's request for a sign, She also left for us an image of herself imprinted miraculously on the native's tilma, a poor quality cactus-cloth, which should have deteriorated in 20 years but shows no sign of decay 476 years later and still defies all scientific explanations of its origin.It apparently even reflects in her eyes what was in front of her in 1531.

Her message of love and compassion, and her universal promise of help and protection to all mankind, as well as the story of the apparitions, are described in the "Nican Mopohua", a 16th century document written in the native Nahuatl language.There is reason to believe that at Tepeyac Mary came in her glorified body, and her actual physical hands rearranged the roses in Juan Diego's tilma, which makes this apparition very special.An incredible list of miracles, cures and interventions are attributed to Her.

Yearly, between 18 - 20 million pilgrims visit the Basilica, making it Christianity's most visited sanctuary.Altogether 25 popes have officially honored Our Lady of Guadalupe. His Holiness John Paul II visited her Sanctuary four times: on his first apostolic trip outside Rome as Pope in 1979, and again in 1990, 1999 and 2002.The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is celebrated on December 12th. In 1999, Pope John Paul II, in his homily from the Solemn Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, during his third visit to the sanctuary, declared the date of December the 12th as a Liturgical Holy Day for the whole continent. During the same visit Pope John Paul II entrusted the cause of life to her loving protection, and placed under her motherly care the innocent lives of children, especially those who are in danger of not being born.

At mass yesterday, Father Armistead reminded us that today would be the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and that the celebration would begin with the "procession" at 5am, with a rosary at about 5:30 and mass after the rosary. He said if we showed up at 6:30 for the regular weekday mass, we would miss it. If we didn't want to get up earlier we "should make arrangements to go to the 8:00 am mass at St. Bernadette's. This got a laugh out of the nuns who call St. Bernadette's home, but attend the 6:30 at Annunciation because they also teach and it works better for their schedules. Father said if we didn't want to be late for mass at Annunciation we should be there by 5:45 am. I figured, "what the heck. I'll just go earlier to mass. It will give me an earlier start."

So I got up earlier than usual and got to the Cathedral at 5:35 and the rosary had just begun--in Spanish! It got me thinking. What a truly wonderful Church we have! I can say the rosary, attend mass, pray a novena---whatever the devotion--in any language and still get the same feeling as if I understood the other language. I had the same feeling when I attended mass in Ecuador last year. We all sit, stand, kneel, pray, and praise as a unified body no matter where we are. The only drawback is that I don't understand the homilies! That's not entirely true, though. I have attended enough masses in Spanish over the last couple of years to have picked up some of the more common phrases and words and know their meanings. And at one of the churches, St. Edward's in Stockton, the priest will recognize me in the pew and perform a "Spanglish" mass. He gives two homilies, one in Spanish and the other in English. This makes me feel special, because he looks straight at me when giving the homily in English. The drawback to this mass (if you want to call any worship of Christ a "drawback") is when he says the introductory prayer to the Consecration or asks for the Our Father in English and I am the only one responding. Fortunately, I can have a booming voice when needed. lol.

At mass this morning, it was truly an "ethnic happening". Many in the congregation, from the smallest, youngest child to the oldest adult was dressed in traditional Mexican attire--serapes, flowered dresses, ornate hair ribbons. I was struck by the fact that I seemed to be the only non-Mexican (other than Father Armistead, who speaks fluent Spanish, by the way) in attendance and I was in my usual daily mass attire--my work shirt, pants and boots. The church was filled with hundreds of Mexican(American?) Catholics who share a DEEP devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe. It also occured to me that there is a completley different "attitude" among the Mexican catholics and the rest of us when it comes to how we worship. I am more comfortable when things are quiet in the church, especially right after Communion. Today I was a bit taken aback when, after receiving Communion and walking back to my pew there were families taking pictures(!) of their children in front of the mural of Our Lady. Here we are at the most important part of the mass, and these parents are not paying attention to Christ, but to how pretty their children look all dressed up in their traditional clothing! Not only that, but they are speaking in normal voices, telling their children how to pose for the pictures! Forgive me, Lord, but this irritates the heck out of me! On the other hand, though, at least they really threw a gala event for our Blessed Mother. So all in all it caused confusion in my feelings toward my fellow catholics.

OK, enough ranting for now. May Our Lady of Guadalupe bring our praises and petitions to Our Father through her Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

A Christmas Tradition

When four of Santa's elves got sick, the trainee elves did not produce toys as fast as the regular ones, and Santa began to feel the pre-Christmas pressure.

Then Mrs. Claus announced that her mother was coming to visit, which stressed Santa even more. When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three of them were about to give birth and two others had jumped the fence and were out only heaven knows where.

Then when he began to load the sleigh, one of the floorboards cracked, the toy bag fell to the ground and all the toys were scattered. Frustrated, Santa went in the house for a cup of apple cider and a shot of rum. When he went to the cupboard, he discovered the elves had drank all the cider and hidden the liquor.

In his frustration, he accidentally dropped the cider jug and and broke into hundreds of little glass pieces all over the kitchen floor. He went to get the broom and found the mice had eaten all the straw off the end of the broom.

Just then the doorbell rang. The irritated Santa marched to the door, yanked it open, and there stood a little angel with a great big Christmas tree.

The angel said very cheerfully, "Merry Christmas, Santa. Isn't this a lovely day? I have a beautiful tree for you. Where would you like me to stick it?"

And so, my friends, began the tradition of the little angel on top of the Christmas tree.

Hope I got it right! I am pretty sure I did.

I had a 2 hour drive with a good non-catholic Christian friend of mine today. We are also co-workers, so most of our conversations center around work. Today was different.

I don't know what brought it up, but we started talking about the Catholic faith. I was holding my own, talking about those topics I am confident in answering, and telling him I will research and get back to him on those I was unclear on. Then came the "whopper" (in my mind, because I was not prepared to go into heavy duty apologetics.)

We were talking about the similarities of the Anglican church and the Catholic church and out of the blue he asked why women can't be ordained as priests in the Catholic church. I was stumped for a few minutes. I couldn't breathe! I didn't want to get it wrong, because if my friend was really looking for the Truth, I wanted to make sure he got it. I took a deep breath and asked the Holy Spirit to help me.

All of a sudden, it was like the "fog" that had clouded my mind disappeared! I told him the reason why the Catholic Church teaches (and will always hold to the Truth) that women cannot be priests is that:
1. God chose the form of a man for his Incarnation.
2. When dispensing the Sacraments, priests act "in persona Christe". How can a woman act in the "person of Christ" if Christ is a man?
3. Jesus chose only men as his Apostles.

Did I miss anything? Is there a stronger argument? I actually felt pretty good about my answer as my friend reacted with an understanding assent that what I had said made sense.

All in all, it was a pretty good day on the apologetics front for someone not really into the "teaching by words" method. Thank You, Holy Spirit!

A Christmas Story

So there I was this morning--at Mass and "in the zone" (at the end of the Consecration prayer). We all stood up to say the Our Father. The couple in front of me were holding hands (kind of a pet peeve of mine) so I looked around to see who else was holding hands, and who did I see? SANTA CLAUS! in the orans position, reciting the Lord's Prayer with solemnity and conviction. I couldn't stop watching him. He beat his chest humbly while saying "Have mercy on us" during the Agnus Dei. He genuflected before receiving the Eucharist. It was a very poignant moment for me. My first thought was, "Here is the Number One icon for a secular Christmas showing devotion and humility to the True King who is to come and the REAL reason for Christmas! The funniest thing about it is that I didn't see him until just after the Consecration! Did he sneak in? I don't think so. Was it magic? Nah. As I said, I was "in the zone" and paying attention to Christ on the altar and the Crucifix and in the Eucharist until He wanted me to notice that even the make-believe saints love and adore Him.
By the way, this guy was a PERFECT Santa. No extra do-dads or gimmicks. He had the white hair and beard. No hat--showing respect for our Lord. Just the right shape for Santa, if you know what I mean. The belt and the boots were glossy and his cheeks were red (naturally, like he had just come in from the snow). The glasses fit at the tip of his nose just where you would think they should be. He was the right age, too--you know, grandfatherly, but not OLD. He looked like he could circle the globe in a single night pulled by reindeer without breaking a sweat.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

A Thanksgiving Day Grace

Over the last several years, it has fallen to me to lead the Grace before meals. There is always the good old standby "Bless us O Lord, and these Thy gifts....", but I like to say special prayers on special occasions. Not that Our Lord really prefers this type of extemporaneous prayer over the tried and true, but hey! He's worth it!
I sometimes spend days thinking of just the right words. I even surf the internet looking for ideas, but most of the time, I end up just with a simple prayer of thanks, petition, and praise.

Anyway, here is what I came up with for this Thanksgiving Day. I think it pretty much covers everything. Of course, if I did miss anything, I know He knows what is in our hearts and minds. I hope He's pleased with what I came up with. Please feel free to use it or adapt it to your own special needs if you want to.

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for this special day, a day to remember Your goodness to us.

Thank you for giving us roofs over our heads, and more than enough food to eat.

Thank you for the family You have given to us, who have gathered together to eat this Thanksgiving Day meal.

Thank you for the family and friends who are not able to be with us today.

We remember those who are not so fortunate as us. Please bless them and keep them warm and safe as we begin this season of Advent, when we prepare for the birth of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen

Faith is the greater part of belief

I had to drive to Fresno today for a meeting tomorrow. It gave me time to pray, reflect, and pray some more. I had forgotten how much more "quiet time" I get when I have to drive. I can turn the cell phone off (or, as I like to say "let the battery die") and just think. Obviously, I keep my attention on the road as well, but I must admit there have been times when I have no idea how I got where I was. I guess if you're in conversation with God, he protects you until you're finished.

Anyway, I was thinking today about the words "belief" and "faith" and what the difference might be. A lot of people seem to confuse the two when they are speaking of their relationship with Jesus Christ. I think I have it nailed, though. I am quite sure that most people "believe" that Jesus Christ is their "personal Lord and Savior." And that's another thing! What is this "personal" business? Christ died 'once for all'. And He rose 'once for all.' That means each and every one of us. I digress.

The difference between belief and faith, in my opinion, is that faith is the confidence we have in our beliefs and the feeling of assurance that Christ IS King! When you believe, you hope your prayers will be heard. With faith, you know that your prayers will be heard and answered, according to God's will. Does that make sense? It does to me, but I'm really tired right now and it doesn't read the way I'm trying to write it.

This 'n that

Yesterday was my birthday. We celebrated it today because my youngest, Sarah, had meetings yesterday and couldn't be home for dinner until tonight. It's strange. Up until this year, I made requests for what I would like as birthday gifts. This year, I really didn't want anything other than to have my family around me. Maybe the older I get the less materialistic I become. I hope so. There is so much more important than "things". Of course, I thank the family for the nice gifts they got me anyway. And especially thanks to Mom, I now have a complete set of the Liturgy of the Hours.

God, I am so excited about the impending birth of my granddaughter, Lilliana Noelle! She is due on December 15. I pray that she is healthy and that Alicia and Lorenzo continue their journey back to the catholic church. We sent for Lorenzo's baptismal certificate today so he can enroll in RCIA (at his request). He and Alicia have been attending mass every Sunday. We attended together this morning and I am impressed with his apparent devotion. He is a nice young man and it is evident that he loves Alicia very much. I could do a lot worse.

I was watching a couple of football games yesterday and today. Was I thinking about the games? No. All I can seem to think of and marvel at is how many people were in the stadiums. The marvel of it, if you think about it, is that a stadium holds 70,000 to 80,000 people. I heard somewhere that this is the estimated number of people that Jesus preached to over the 3 years from the proclamation of His Kingdom to His death on the cross. Can you imagine seeing and hearing Our Lord face to face? Even then, only a fraction of those who heard Him believed him to be the Son of God. From that small number of believers who believed because they had seen, there are now billions of Christians who believe on faith! This staggers my mind and shows the love and hope that the Word of God brought forth those many years ago are the same Word that continues to bring those gifts today.

Proposition 4--Just another example of irresponsibility by a self-centered culture

Self-described Catholics, Christians, married couples and parents approved of Proposition 4 – the family notification before a minor’s abortion initiative – by wide margins on Nov. 4, but their support was not enough to pass the measure. The Secretary of State reports that Proposition 4 failed by a margin of 52.1% no to 47.9% yes.

Details on the breakdown of how Californians voted were published in an Election Day exit poll commissioned by the Sacramento Bee and conducted by the polling firm Edison/Mitofsky, which interviewed 2098 voters.

According to the Sacramento Bee exit poll, 60% of voters who identified themselves as Catholic voted in favor of the family notification initiative, while 59% of those who described themselves as “Protestant/Christian” voted yes. Respondents who said they belonged to no religion voted 84%-16% against Proposition 4.

Among voters who said they attend church weekly, the margin was 76% yes to 24% no, while those who said they attend church “occasionally” voted 56% to 44% against the initiative. Those who said they never attend church voted 78% to 22% against Proposition 4.

Married voters, according to the exit poll, favored the measure 59% to 41%, with unmarried voters opposing it 66% to 34%. Parents approved of Proposition 4 by a 10% margin – 55% yes to 45% no.
The poll also identified respondents by race, finding that whites voted 54% to 46% against the initiative(?); African-Americans favored the measure 54% to 46%; Hispanics voted 55% to 45% in favor; and Asians voted 58% yes to 42% no. Proposition 4 lost among Democrats and independents, the Bee reported, with Democrats voting 63% no to 37% yes, and independents rejecting the measure 54% to 46%. Republicans overwhelmingly favored the initiative, 70% yes to 30% no, the poll found.

Where has common sense gone? Abortion is a SURGICAL PROCEDURE! That, in itself should have been enough to persuade an overwhelming majority to vote for Prop 4. I'd be willing to bet that if the word "abortion" were taken out of the proposition, and replaced with "molar extraction" it would have passed! It occurs to me that abortion has been politicized to the point of an "issue", rather than the EVIL it actually is. I think the above figures bear this out. Another thing that gets me is that those who have no responsibility to others--whether it is God, another adult, or their children decided that they would continue in their irresponsibility.
One might ask, "What makes you think I should be responsible for another's actions or decisions?" I would answer with Mt 22:36 ,“[Jesus], which is the great commandment in the law?” And he said to him, ’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.”
Loving my neighbor means wanting the best for him or her. The best is wanting to see my neighbor in Heaven. We will not get to Heaven unless we become imitators of Christ. Does anyone truly believe that Christ approves of the inherent evil of abortion? Loving my neighbor means taking responsibility for his or her soul by informing him that he is in danger. If he then makes the wrong decision, my responsibility for his soul is over. Children are placed in the care of adults by divine providence. When adults abrogate their responsibility to their children, the sin is theirs. Please, God, what is it going to take to make your children realize this?

Heaven's Currency

I’m no St. Joseph. I don’t believe God will speak directly to me through my dreams as He did with the prophets. I usually get my “marching orders” from the daily readings and Gospel when I attend daily mass. But every now and then I begin to wonder about His sense of humor and the ways He gets me to thinking.

Yesterday, I had to be at work by 6AM and I didn’t get off until 8PM. That meant no mass (or Eucharist!) and a late dinner—a sure recipe in my case for heartache (from missing my Lord!) and heartburn (from NOT missing my dinner!). Both made for a listless sleep with a very strange, frustrating, but somehow uplifting dream. The details are really fuzzy, because that’s how dreams are—vivid while you’re having them, but hard to remember when you wake up, unless they are so traumatic or horrible that you can’t forget. I haven’t had any of those in a long time, but I do remember bits and pieces now and again that keep me thinking of my life and God’s plans for me.

In my dream, there were human beings being loaded onto commercial airliners and angels (yes, the child in me still recognized them because they had wings!) were helping them board. No one told me so, but I understood that the destination was Heaven. Some were bound for a stopover in Purgatory, but there was no mistaking that the final destination was Heaven. There were no faces; rather, there were faces, but they were basically the same. But somehow I knew who they were. As I think about it now, I recognized them as the souls of my family and friends past, present, and future.

I asked someone how I would get a ticket, and he told me that he didn’t know, he just knew he had one. I was frustrated and saddened because I felt deep in my soul that I was supposed to be with my family and friends on their way to Heaven, but I had no ticket. I was sad because I was found unworthy to have a ticket.

Finally, (just before I woke up), one of the angels asked me why I was so sad and not on the plane. When I explained that I didn’t have a ticket, he laughed and said, “You don’t need a ticket! You have helped pay for all of the other tickets! You’re flight is free!” I said, “How is it that I paid for the tickets? I haven’t got that much money!” The angel laughed again with a great howl and replied, “In Heaven, faith and prayers are currency! Keeping your faith through good times and bad and the prayers that you have said petitioning Our Lord Jesus Christ for mercy have purchased all the tickets you and everyone you prayed for ever needed to share a life everlasting with Our Father, His Son, and the Holy Spirit in the company of our Queen and the saints! Welcome aboard!”

And you know what? I was upset today because it seems to me that my subconscious, (where dreams come from, and psychologists say reflect your true “id”) is so full of hubris that there’s no room for humility, which is the basis for faith in the first place. I guess I’ll just have to keep working on pushing my pride and self-righteousness out of the way to make room for more humility. Going to daily mass to receive Our Lord and listening to His word have become necessary for me to keep focused on this goal. I hope and pray He’s listening!
Please pray for me, in case my prayers fall short and I can’t afford my own ticket!

My version of the "Audacity of Hope"

My brother Bob sent this e-mail to me today:

After being numb last night today I am feeling profound sadness for the direction the people of this country has chosen.

Especially , since according to exit polls the No.1 reason for their vote was the economy.

Sadness for all the Catholics and the Christians who say they are pro-life who voted for Obama.

Sadness and concern that some racist might attempt to take Obama out.

Sadness that all the messages from Heaven that have warned about events if this country does not vote pro life went unheeded.

Sadness that this year despite the fact that more Bishops spoke out about voting pro-life than I can remember they went unheeded.

Sadness wondering if one of the first things Obama will do is what Bill Clinton did and that was enact more pro abortion laws.

Sadness because I think we are more vulnerable now to terrorist act.
Sadness and concern for our children and grandchildren and if they have a future here on earth.

Sadness for all those who are blind and cannot see what this election means.

Thankful for all the powerful prayer warriors that have spent hours and hours in prayer at overnight Adorations, prayer groups, and praying hours and hours day and night for pro-life .

May God have mercy on the United States

I must confess that I had the same sadness. I made time to spend one hour both on Wednesday and Thursday in the presence of Our Lord in Eucharistic Adoration to try and sort out my feelings of sadness and despair. On Wednesday, as I was spending quiet reflection with Jesus, a group of children (about 11 or 12 years old, I'm guessing) from the CCD classes came in with their teacher. She had to instruct them in the proper etiquette when in the presence of Christ, but once they settled down and began to pray quietly by themselves, it struck me that this might be Jesus' way of telling me that all is not lost. These children are possibly our future leaders, and if they are taught at this early age that Our Savior has not abandoned us, but rather with us always if we just look for him, perhaps there is still hope for the world.

Then today, while meditating on the impending state of affairs as I see them coming down, I was comparing the election of Barack Obama to some of the worst disasters the world has seen in recent years like the tsunami, the hurricanes, and the earthquakes. I questioned God (may He forgive me!) asking, "Why would You allow this to happen?" He answered me in a quiet voice "For the same reason I allowed those other catastrophes to happen--it is all to bring about a greater good than you can even imagine!" I can't tell you how comforting that thought is!

But, being the pessimist that I am (or is it realist?), I just have one more thing to say those members of my family and my friends who were fooled by the glitz and glamour and messianic message of Obama; There's an old saying that goes "When something sounds too good to be true, it probably is." Time will bear out God's plan and I trust in His providence that all will be well. Let's try to remember that while we are in this world, we are not of this world--we are God's children and there is a better place waiting for us. Patience, prayer, penance and fasting will get us through. We need to give a reason for the hope we have to the people we meet day by day. That means we have to know our faith, and also be ready to explain it and, if necessary, defend it.
We need to seek creative ways to shine the light of the Gospel into every corner of our society. We can do this most effectively by the witness of a life well lived in our families and in the wider community, and amid the activities of the secular world of work and entertainment. Vatican II spoke of the universal call to holiness, and whatever our role in society or the Church we can make our baptismal commitment real by living day by day with Christian integrity as we go about our tasks in the world. All that we do, we do well, because we do all for the Lord. And wouldn't it be a "feather in our cap" to be the catalyst for the conversion of the Obamas, the Pelosis and the Bidens of the world?

A Novena request to protect America's future

This is a Novena request from Fr Corapi. Please send it to your loved ones in this and other countries as well so they can pray with us and for us. We need God's intervention!

A Call for a Rosary Novena
By Fr. John Corapi, SOLT
www.fathercorapi.com

Among the most important titles we have in the Catholic Church for the Blessed Virgin Mary are Our Lady of Victory and Our Lady of the Rosary. These titles can be traced back to one of the most decisive times in the history of the world and Christendom. The Battle of Lepanto took place on October 7 (date of feast of Our Lady of Rosary), 1571. This proved to be the most crucial battle for the Christian forces against the radical Muslim navy of Turkey. Pope Pius V led a procession around St. Peter's Square in Vatican City praying the Rosary. He showed true pastoral leadership in recognizing the danger posed to Christendom by the radical Muslim forces, and in using the means necessary to defeat it.

Spiritual battles require spiritual weapons, and this more than anything was a battle that had its origins in the spiritual order a true battle between good and evil. Today we have a similar spiritual battle in progress: a battle between the forces of good and evil, light and darkness, truth and lies, life and death. If we do not soon stop the genocide of abortion in the United States, we shall run the course of all those that prove by their actions that they are enemies of God: total collapse, economic, social, and national.

The moral demise of a nation results in the ultimate demise of a nation. God is not a disinterested spectator to the affairs of man. Life begins at conception. This is an unalterable formal teaching of the Catholic Church. If you do not accept this you are a heretic in plain English. A single abortion is homicide. The more than 48,000,000 abortions since Roe v. Wade in the United States constitute genocide by definition. The group singled out for death: unwanted, unborn children.

No other issue, not all other issues taken together, can constitute a proportionate reason for voting for candidates that intend to preserve and defend this holocaust of innocent human life that is abortion.

I strongly urge every one of you to make a Novena and pray the Rosary to Our Lady of Victory between October 27th and Election Day, November 4th. Pray that God's will be done and the most innocent and utterly vulnerable of our brothers and sisters will be protected from this barbaric and grossly sinful blight on society that is abortion. No woman, and no man, has the right to choose to murder an innocent human being.

May God grant us the wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and counsel to form our conscience in accordance with authentic Catholic teaching, and then vote that well‐formed Catholic conscience.
Please copy, email, link and distribute this article freely.
God Bless You
Fr. John Corapi

NOVENA FOR THE ELECTION

PLEASE JOIN IN BY PRAYING A NOVENA AND THE ROSARY FOR THIS GREAT INTENTION. BELOW IS A NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF VICTORY WHICH INCLUDES A LITANY TO OUR LADY, SALVE REGINA AND MEMORARE. ALSO GO TO CONFESSION AND MASS (DAILY IF POSSIBLE) DURING THIS TIME.

ADD THIS PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF ALL NATIONS:

LORD JESUS CHRIST, SON OF THE FATHER, SEND NOW YOUR SPIRIT OVER THE EARTH. LET THE HOLY SPIRIT LIVE IN THE HEARTS OF ALL NATIONS, THAT THEY MAY BE PRESERVED FROM DEGENERATION, DISASTER AND WAR. MAY THE LADY OF ALL NATIONS, THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, BE OUR ADVOCATE. AMEN.

WHEN YOU PRAY THE ROSARY, BEG GOD’S MERCY FOR THE SAKE OF THE ABORTED BABIES, THE UNBORN BABIES, THE INFANTS AND CHILDREN OF OUR COUNTRY, YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS OF OUR COUNTRY AND FOR THE LEGACY OF OUR COUNTRY AND THE WORLD.

NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF VICTORY
Lord, have mercy on us,

Christ, have mercy on us,

Christ, hear us,

Christ, graciously hear us.

God, the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.

God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.

God, the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.

The response for the following greetings is Pray for us.

Our Lady of Victory,

Victorious daughter of the Father,

Victorious Mother of the Son,

Victorious Spouse of the Holy Spirit,

Victorious servant of the Holy Trinity

Victorious in your Immaculate Conception,

Victorious in crushing the serpent's head,

Victorious over all the children of Adam,

Victorious over all enemies,

Victorious in your response to the Angel Gabriel,

Victorious in your wedding to St. Joseph,

Victorious in the birth of Christ,

Victorious in the flight to Egypt,

Victorious in your exile,

Victorious in your home at Nazareth,

Victorious in finding Christ in the temple,

Victorious in the mission of your Son,

Victorious in His passion and death,

Victorious in His Resurrection and Ascension,

Victorious in the Coming of the Holy Spirit,

Victorious in your sorrows and joys,

Victorious in your glorious Assumption,

Victorious in the angels who remained faithful,

Victorious in the happiness of the saints,

Victorious in the message of the prophets,

Victorious in the testimony of the patriarchs,

Victorious in the zeal of the apostles,

Victorious in the witness of the evangelists,

Victorious in the wisdom of the doctors,

Victorious in the deeds of the confessors,

Victorious in the triumph of all holy women,

Victorious in the faithfulness of the martyrs,

Victorious in your powerful intercession,

Victorious under your many titles,

Victorious at the moment of death,

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, Spare us, Lord.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, Hear us, Lord.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, Have mercy, Lord.

Pray for us, blessed Lady of Victory. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

The Novena Prayer
Let us pray: Our Lady of Victory, we have unshaken confidence in your influence with your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Humbly we ask your intercession for all of us associated under your title, Our Lady of Victory. We beg your powerful assistance also for our country. (Please mention here your special intention in you own words.) In your maternal kindness please ask Jesus to forgive all our sins and failings, and to secure His blessings for us and for all the works of charity dedicated to your name. We implore you to obtain for us the grace of sharing Christ's victory and your forever in the life that knows no ending. May we join you there to praise forever the Father, His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, on God, for all the ages to come. Amen.

Let us pray:
Salve Regina (Hail Holy Queen)
Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To Thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To Thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn, then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us. And after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of Thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary, Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God: That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray: The Memorare
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that any one who fled to Thy protection, implored Thy help, and sought Thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto Thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To Thee I come; before Thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate! Despise not my petitions, but in Thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

All this we ask of The Father in the name of Mary's Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with Him and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

I'm sorry if I offend some people by this, BUT

I am the guy that never responds to e-mails that end with "send this on to everyone in your address book", or "send to 10 more people and back to me, so I know you care", or, as I got today, "If you believe in God and in Jesus Christ His Son .. Send this to all on Your buddy list. If not just ignore it. If you ignore it, just remember that Jesus said. 'If you deny me before man, I will deny you before my Father in Heaven. "

Talk about a guilt trip! It's a good thing I am secure enough in my faith to know that Jesus will know that I didn't ignore Him or His Word by refusing to send pictures to everyone I know (no matter how beautifully they portray our Lord's Passion!). I sometimes feel like I'm being blackmailed by this type of e-mail. I know this is not the intention of the sender, and that he or she is just passionate about what they have sent. But please understand that my feeling is that we need to be out "there" preaching the Truth the way Jesus did--quietly, but forcefully, through example and good works. Seems to me that trying to force Jesus onto someone is not what He intended. Our love for Him and one another will be much greater if it is given out of love, rather than fear, or shame, or embarrassment. I think evangelization is much more effective through one on one interaction and living in and through Christ in our daily lives.
And if you are one of those in my circle of family or friends who actually believe that I don't care simply because I didn't respond to your e-mail or send it on, please believe me when I say I love you all with the Heart of Christ that is within all of us. God be with you. And you don't need to send this message to 10 more people. I would hope that they all know how much I love them by now.

We must pray and back it up with our actions

I have my intenet page set up to show me headlines from around the country and every once in a while one will entice me to read the article. Of course the article is never as sensational as the headline. At the end of these articles they have a section for “ordinary” citizens to post their thoughts and comments. I am not naïve. I am quite aware that most of these comments are made by juveniles whose only source of entertainment is to cause strife on the internet. But some of the comments can be downright evil.

A story today dealt with the police finding a young boy who had been kidnapped by some drug dealers who happened to be of Mexican descent. The following comment was not the only one to anger me, and certainly not the vilest. However, it brought home to me just how insidious the Evil One is. Whether the poster is an adult or a child should not matter—the pure evil that it embodies created a dread in me that I felt to the bottom of my soul.

“I don't care how much I'll end up paying for tomatoes or turnips, every illegal alien needs to be rounded up, branded (for ID purposes) and booted back across the Rio Grand. Those that return should be shot on sight. Their bodies can be fed to livestock in the area. Anyone that hires an illegal alien should be hung from the nearest strong tree. Yes, these measures may seem a little harsh to some, but they are necessary lest we lose our country and our peaceful way of life.”

Yeah, right. THIS guy is peaceful. May God help us all if this person is old enough to vote. And please, God, if it is a child, let him find his way out of this darkness into the light of Your Son’s promises before it is too late.

When we see problems in our society (and there are plenty to go around!), we need to look at them through the eyes of Jesus Christ. How we treat the poor, fight for better programs for the needy, and pursue justice for those who are misjudged or misguided can change the world one soul at a time. We must take a stand for what is right, even if it is looked upon as unpopular. We cannot stand idly by anymore while Satan takes control of our young and poisons their minds with thoughts that other human beings are expendable. We are all children of God.
As children of God, we have access to heavenly wisdom, which we can apply to every earthly situation. This means that we must use every opportunity afforded us by circumstance to “inject” the Truth of Our Lord Jesus Christ into others. This can only lead to more awareness of His presence and force our leaders to act with more compassion, humility and justice.

“Holy Spirit, may your breath blow through the halls of governments everywhere. Send me out to transform my society. Move world leaders to place your concerns first, so that every nation on earth will be free to adore you!” This prayer is courtesy of The Word Among Us” magazine.

See you later(?), Aunt Barbara

Whenever one of our loved ones dies, friends and family ponder, “What did she leave behind?” “What will we remember most about her?” “What will we cherish the most?” That’s only human.

At the same time, the angels in Heaven are asking, “What graces has she brought with her?” “Did she serve our Lord well during her time on Earth?” “Did she live her Earthly life leading others to Christ through her example?” “Did others see Christ in her?”

Because, you see, it’s all about Him. Aunt Barbara knew that. And she lived her life accordingly. You know this is so, because she was so blessed by God. She had a devoted, loving husband in Uncle Babe. Together, they had 6 children. Those 6 children had more children. And grandchildren. When you ponder the fact that every child is a GIFT from God, you realize that God did indeed look favorably upon His servant, Barbara.

What made Him look so favorably upon her? I think it quite simply was because she took the time to talk to Him as often as she could, with humility and perseverance. She knew that she could tell Him anything, and He would listen. She could ask favors, and if it was His will, she knew they would be granted. She did not begrudge Him if the answer was no. Even when she became ill and was suffering, she suffered in a quiet dignity, knowing that it would be redemptive.

Many times she spoke to Him through His Blessed Mother, and St. Joseph. She was downright proud of the St. Joseph statue that was displayed in her living room. I’m not sure I’ve known anyone with more rosaries than my mom, but Aunt Barbara has to be a close “second”.

Many of you may not realize this, but I have had a really special place in my heart for Aunt Barbara that dates back to my college days. Mom, Tom and I had moved to Jackson. I was working at McDonald’s on Pacific Avenue full-time and going to Delta College full-time as well. Even for a 17-year old (going on 18) the pressure was incredible. Aunt Barbara and Uncle Babe opened their home to me between “gigs” so I could sleep on the recliner (and give their cat someplace to sleep as well—later on it would be Sue’s son, ? , who would like to sleep on my chest), have the occasional dinner with them, and use the “doughboy” pool when it was really hot. Many nights I was just too tired to continue on to Jackson, so I would point my car to Lodi and ring the doorbell. It happened so many times that finally, Uncle Babe said, “Why in the hell do you always ring the doorbell? Just come in! You’re family, for God’s sake!”

My affection for Aunt Barbara has especially blossomed the last couple of years. She has been a huge help to my Mom ever since she moved to Lodi. My regret is that I was never vocal enough in my appreciation to her for always being there when Mom needed someone and I couldn’t be there. In fact, I’m sorry to say I feel like I took her for granted. But the last couple of years it grew into more than just a familial relationship. It had matured into a spiritual relationship, as well. We would share stories of our spiritual journey and pray together. Never anything formal, though I would have if she wanted to. Most of our prayers were said by just sitting quietly together in the same room. No words had to pass between us. We knew that He was listening, and would answer. I was extremely touched when Mom told me that Aunt Barbara had asked me to say a few words about her when the time came. It’s nice to know that I am able to repay her in a very small way for the graces she has helped me attain along my journey. As I said in a recent blog, I consider Aunt Barbara a personal “saint”. Saints are those souls we look to for help in getting to our final reward in God’s grace. Aunt Barbara was never anything less to me.

Thank you, Aunt Barbara, for your hospitality, your help, and your love. May God show you the place he has prepared for you since the beginning of time. It must be magnificent. Perhaps we'll share some more prayers some day. Rest in peace. Amen.

God Bless the USA? Still? What Great Love!

Matt 21:33-43
Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: "Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned. Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, 'They will respect my son.'But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’ They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?" They answered him, "He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times." Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit."

Christ was speaking of the Pharisees, who pretended to obey God and insisted others follow the “law”, all the while simply letting ambition, arrogance and pride dictate their own lives. These traits made it impossible for them to recognize the Savior even when he was in their midst preaching nothing but Truth. As Ronald Reagan would say, “Well, here we go again!” The trouble with a lot of “Christians” in America these days is that, while they profess to believe in the risen Christ, they can’t seem to grasp that He is still with us today, preaching the Truth and watching us trample all over it. We kill 5000 babies per week, and claim that “it” isn’t really a person until “it” has taken “its” first breath unaided by “its” mother. We claim that it is our “choice” to decide when life begins. If the pregnancy is inconvenient, or worse yet simply “unwanted”, we claim the right to terminate the fetus. In my mind, this is the greatest tragedy of all time. It wouldn’t surprise me if someone told me we have killed more human beings in the USA in just the last 40 years (since abortion became “legal”) than all of the wars since the beginning of man. Then we try to negate the importance of a SACRAMENT! A Holy Law and covenant! Marriage is more than just a contract between two individuals. The reason God created Marriage was to join a man and a woman together with Himself, and through that union to produce more children in His own image! He thinks so much of marriage that it is one of the two Sacraments (out of seven total) through which He bestows a physical gift (a child!). [Of course the other Sacrament is His own Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, which is incomparable]. Then, not only do we make a mockery of this sacred covenant, we refuse the gifts He bestows upon us with violence! How angry this must make God! It’s the greatest testament of His love for us that He hasn’t allowed us to be conquered and subjugated to other countries by now! How great His love for us must be! Why do we keep testing it? The ONLY solution is prayer and fasting. Ask Christ’s Mother to help you. Believe in Jesus Christ and follow the commandments He stated so succinctly—Love God with you whole heart, your whole mind, and your whole strength, and love one another. Or He might just find another country to bless so abundantly.

Bits n' Pieces of thought today

First of all, thanks to Mom and Bob for going out of their way to respond to my last blog. I hold your advice and kind remarks close to my heart. Sometimes I get thinking so deeply that I don't see the obvious. Thanks again.

Then, there's some pretty terrific news, for me! I subscribe to Liguorian magazine. It's published every other month. In each edition, there is a crossword puzzle (that I never have trouble with) and a "Bible knowledge" quiz that has 25 questions where you match the question with an answer. I have to admit that this one usually gives me trouble. After taking the quiz the scoring is as follows: 11-15 correct, and you're a NOVICE. 16-20 correct answers is GOOD. 21-25 correct and you are judged OUTSTANDING. I usually get about 8-12 right, and these are "gimmies" (example: Jesus told him, "Feed my sheep"_____. Obviously the answer is Peter. You would have to have absolutely NO exposure to the Bible to not get this right!) Anyway, this month I got 23 right! I had two answers transposed. But I guess this shows progress, right? Daily mass is paying off, I suppose. The "Word on the Street" (pun intended) is that if you attend mass every day for 3 "cycles" of readings, you will have read every word in the bible. I am finding that true. What better way to "study" the Bible than to have it reinforced with a good homily, then cemented in your memory by receiving the very Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ, Himself?

Aunt Barbara's suffering will earn her "Special" attention from our Father

When I was a kid, I remember actually feeling jealous when my brother Tom would do something dumb and hurt himself badly enough to have to go to the hospital or the doctor to get stitches. Maybe it was the attention he got from Mom and Dad. This is not to say I didn't get attention from them--I just didn't get that "extra" loving that Tom got simply because he was accident-prone. I remember this feeling because I keep thinking of the suffering Mom has gone through in her life and the strength she seems to get from it. She's had several miscarriages, lost her husband and two children and (if memory serves) 4 younger siblings, yet she continues to gain strength from each of these tragedies. It is her faith that sustains her. I can only hope to have the same level of faith. And it's not just Mom. Other relatives, who have gone on to see our Savior face to face and who I consider very close personal saints--Aunt Jenny, Aunt Teresa, and this week--Aunt Barbara were all very special, very devout Catholics who suffered greatly while on this earth and were (and continue to be) a great example to me. My brothers (Tom included) are also examples of great faith through suffering. Therein lies my dilemma--compared to all of these great Catholics, I have NEVER had to endure the suffering they have. I have not had my faith tested in the manner they have. Despite the fact that there have been times that I have turned away from our Lord out of ignorance or hubris, or anger, He keeps sending the Holy Spirit to keep my faith alive, even when I feel I don't deserve it (and He knows I'm grateful). Today's readings are related to this in a way. For example, Mom, my aunts and uncles and brothers are all listening to Jesus when, after one of His disciples says "I will follow, you Lord, but first let me say goodbye to my family" or "Let me bury my dead", He says “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.” They have kept their eyes on the pearl of great price in the manner of Job, who kept his faith in the Almighty even after losing EVERYTHING! I am looking back to see where I went wrong and why I can't have this GIFT of suffering. In a way, I am jealous of the suffering they have endured, because I know that it will earn them "special" attention from our Heavenly Father and His Son. Just as I was jealous of the extra attention Tom received when we were children. On the other hand, I am at times scared that I will have to suffer as greatly as these family saints, and I'm afraid I won't be up to the task. Please pray for me, as I try to pray for each of you.

Prayers for Aunt Barbara

It was quite a shock to hear of Aunt Barbara's condition. As I said in a previous post, she has a special place in my heart. Not only for her unselfish help to Mom with her medical problems last year, but for being there to help me when I was in college--giving me a place to stay, sharing meals, and making me feel less apprehensive in a new environment after leaving LA just out of high school.

I have been praying and asking God for the right thing to say in this time of concern--something I can say (or do) for Barbara and her family. I even decided to search the internet to see if I could find a "special" prayer for her. You know what? All I can think of is saying the rosary! And the Divine Mercy!

Look at what I just wrote! I said "ALL I can think of is saying the rosary", as though it is a minor act of mercy! As soon as I wrote it, I thought "What is more POWERFUL than the rosary?"

Please help me

I was at a meeting with some General Managers yesterday. These are my friends (thank God!) and I can depend on them to say what they feel. They truly let their "yes mean yes" and their "no mean no" (Matthew 5:37). We were speaking about some topic or the other and my training methods came up. One of the GMs made an off-hand remark, saying "Steve is a good trainer, but he gets really grumpy and short with you when you don't learn fast enough." This got a laugh out of the group (and I joined in with them), but I put that little bit of information away, thinking I might speak with the individual later and find out exactly why she felt this way, as I didn't realize this is one of my faults. A little later, I was doing a "hands-on" demonstration of a procedure that I have to do in my position out in the field. Often I have to drill out tumblers from locks before I can auction goods that have been in storage and the customers have not paid. I have to have a witness when I do this. Usually it is a GM. Anyway, as I was demonstrating to the GMs this procedure, one of the guys who watches me drilling locks a lot, said, "Steve, that's not how you always do it. You have to use the "Catholic language". I looked quizzically at him and he said, "You know, when you swear at the MF'n customer for not paying his bill or for not putting the lock on the right way that will make it easier to drill, or you'll swear at the lock for being too difficult to open once you've drilled it." This again got a huge roar of laughter and a lot of nodding heads as the rest of the team agreed with his assessment of my demeanor when faced with frustration.
It also got me to take a deeper look at myself and the pride I take in being a Catholic. Is this the picture I want to paint for others as to how Catholics behave? I am ashamed. I am going to try (starting yesterday) to think before I speak and ask Jesus to send the Holy Spirit to help me remember that, just as I see Christ in others, others should be able to see Christ in me. How can you help? I would like any of you who witness me falling into this type of behavior (using swear words), please remind me that it is not how a good Catholic behaves.

The Triumph of the Cross

Today was the feast day of The Triumph of the Cross. For the first time in a long time I went to mass last night, the Saturday vigil. I don’t usually go on Saturdays because I have a personal problem recognizing it as the “Sabbath.” The “problem” arises because I usually work on Saturdays, and so, I haven’t “rested”. I went, because I was visiting Mom and she likes to go on Saturdays. However, she wasn’t feeling up to it, so I went by myself. Now, Sunday is a different kettle of fish, so to speak. I am in the habit of getting up early on Sunday and going to either the 8 AM or the 10 AM mass, depending on how fast I can get my act together. Then I spend the rest of the day either meditating on the mass, going to the forums on Catholic.com to learn more about my Church, or visiting Mom and the rest of my family. This is a fairly recent habit—ever since Lorenzo started doing the yard work I used to do on Sundays. But I digress. I don’t know if it’s because I went to confession and said my rosary before mass or just the Holy Spirit filling my mind for His own purposes, but during the mass I kept focusing on the crucifix and trying to understand how anyone who truly believes in Jesus Christ and calls himself a Christian isn’t moved by the sacrifice Christ made for us. I tried to pay more attention to the mass, but my eyes kept returning to the crucifix and the wounds Christ suffered for ME. I was getting choked up every time I thought of His wounds. Each time I looked at the cross, I tried to see the cross again for the first time, as though I was truly at Calvary (which is exactly where we are at every mass!). I looked at Jesus’ suffering, His cruel death, and His resurrection as something He did for ME (and does at every mass), something that brings me new life, no matter how bad the problems I may think I am facing at times.

From "The Word Among Us" today

He spent the night in prayer to God. (Luke 6:12)

This verse isn’t one most people remember, but it speaks volumes about Jesus. Before he made the crucial decision about whom he would choose as his apostles, he prayed. It shows how completely dependent Jesus was on his heavenly Father. He never made a move without asking which way he should go. And when the decision was important, he didn’t just offer a quick “Our Father”! As in this case, he went to a place with few distractions and spent long hours listening in prayer.
If we’re serious about doing what Jesus did, we have to pray too. Of course, if you’re new to prayer, you won’t begin by staying up all night on a mountaintop! Your starting point can be just knowing that God wants to speak to you personally and reccognizing that you want to hear his voice. It all begins when you trust in God’s promise: “When you look for me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).
The fact is, there is no magical secret to prayer. We simply have to turn to him, and God will answer us. So in part, it really is up to us. We have to take the time and effort to listen. We have to decide whether we will follow God’s plans or our own—and we have to discern how we’re going to implement them. We may even need the help of a trusted friend to help us along the way. But through it all, God will be right beside us!
If you haven’t done so before, why not start today to ask God about the decisions you are facing? You can begin by making small steps at listening and trying to put into practice what you hear. Tell the Lord about your schedule, and ask him to direct your steps. Read the Scriptures, and see if the Spirit gives you some sense about what you should do in a situation. Like anything else, prayer takes practice. And the better you get at hearing the Lord, the more confident you will become—and the more effective you will be at building his
kingdom!
“Lord, I ask for your guidance today. Help me to hear your voice and to know your will, even in the small decisions I’m facing. Speak, Lord, your servant is listening!”

A prayer for Aunt Barbara

My Aunt Barbara is special to me. She was a great help to me when I was a young man attending college and trying to grow up. She and her family have always been there for me and my family. She is not doing very well recently, and can use our prayers. I would like to offer the following prayer for her. I will post the prayer on Mom's blog, as well.

Holy Mary, we ask that you wrap Barbara in your loving embrace and help her through this trial. Keep her free from worry and pain.

Dear Jesus, Divine Physician and Healer, we turn to You on behalf of Your servant Barbara. O dearest comforter of the troubled, alleviate our worry and sorrow with Your gentle love, and grant us the grace and strength to accept this burden.

Dear God, we place our worries for Barbara in Your hands. We place Barbara and all our sick and troubled under Your care and humbly ask that You restore Your servant Barbara to health again. Above all, grant us the grace to acknowledge Your will and know that whatever You do, You do for the love of us. Amen.

Reverence

Today, it's two posts for the price of one! I've been meaning to post this thought for a while, but after my daily dose of Catholic.com, I posted the previous thought first. Oh, well I guess the mind wanders..........

I spend most of Mass with my eyes closed. Why? It's a fault of mine that I am (possibly) over-critical of how others are "worshipping", and it is a distraction to watch what I perceive as irreverence or disrespect for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and especially the Eucharist. Keeping my eyes closed is one tactic I've come up with to keep me from possibly misjudging others and (more likely) to keep from having to look at the 'plank in my own eye'. I've written before about the disrespect one shows when they enter God's house and neglect to genuflect or bow to the Altar and acknowledge His presence, then carry on with conversations as if He is not there. You know the people I am talking about...those who are at Mass because it's an obligation, not out of love for God, and the gifts He has given us. I think most of us at Mass are there to give thanks to Jesus for His sacrifice at Calvary (as if we could ever thank Him enough!) and worship Him and give Him due reverence. But there are always one or two who (forgive me, Jesus, if my assessment is wrong) have no idea why they are there. Then they present themselves to recieve our Lord in a manner as if the Sacrament were just a symbol, rather than the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ Himself, under the 'appearance' of bread and wine. Some will "take" the Host, rather than "recieve" Him, some will wait until they are back at the pew before consuming Him, some will talk in the procession line! I read somewhere a writing of an early church father about the reverence one should have when receiving the Eucharist. (Yes, in the early days of the church, the Sacrament was received in the hand--it's not new, since Vatican II). The father said when you present your hands for the reception of the Host, form a "throne" out of the left hand for the priest to place the King of the Universe upon, gaze upon the King, then, with reverence, and a prayer, consume Him. I think if more people thought of recieving with this sort of image in mind, I could open my eyes again during Mass. God forgive me for judging others without really knowing what is in their hearts, but it's my perception, and I hope I'm wrong.

Pray. Listen. Act.

The following is a post from Catholic Answers (catholic.com) in response to the question, "Do you think every feeling or thought you get about God, Mary or anything else spiritual is a prompt from God, or sent from God? Like God is giving you a nudge? Like, Oh, I think I’ll say the Rosary, or, Oh, I’ll go visit the church - is that always God giving us a hint?”

And here is the wonderful response to that question:

If I could boil down everything I’ve learned about spirituality. . .it would go something like this:

1) Pray always, in all times and circumstances.
2) “Tune-in” to the world around you . . . the people, events and circumstances of your immediate surroundings. This is where the Holy Spirit meets you and speaks to you . . . if we can learn to listen. And “seeing” what’s around you is the first step in listening. Combined with an habitual prayerful attitude (#1), this is how we are made receptive for His prompts and inspirations. Oh, how we tune out the world as we go about “our” business. So many missed opportunities in all our present moments.
3) Act upon any good impulse that pops into our mind as it occurs.
If we are diligent in #1 and #2 it will be amazing how many times #3 occurs in any given day. Just a few examples that come to mind . . .
* One moment we might feel drawn to give a word of encouragement to someone who is feeling down.
* The next moment we might bite our toungue when that particularly troublesome co-worker rags on you again.
* A moment latter, we praise God for a small act of virtue we see in this very same co-worker.
* Another moment, we stop our day dreaming to silently adore Him in our heart.
* The next moment, we “change the subject” of the train of thought going on in our mind when we recognize it has the potential to lead us to sin.
* The next moment we pick of that piece of trash in the parking lot instead of stepping over it.
* A moment latter we smile and nod at a person passing our way.
* The next moment we say a silent prayer because someone we haven’t thought of in a long while popped into our mind.
* On another moment we pitch in and give a helping hand.
* Another moment, we give up our recreation and down time to spend time with a family member.
We could go on and on forever about these types of prompts and inspirations that come to us in the present moment . . . for they are endless really.
Pray, listen, act.

Mt 25:14-30Jesus told his disciples this parable:“A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one– to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five. Likewise, the one who received two made another two. But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the groundand buried his master’s money. After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five. He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person,harvesting where you did not plantand gathering where you did not scatter; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.’ His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I did not plantand gather where I did not scatter? Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside,where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’”

In the parable, the master entrusts his servants with a portion of his wealth, but no more than they can handle. My Master has entrusted me with His "wealth"--faith. My faith is not something I am supposed to keep to myself, buried in a hole, where it will not even earn interest. Rather it is to be shared, and thereby multiplied, through witness and example.
The proof of this in in the fact that every single time I have shared my faith with someone else, I can actually feel my own faith increasing exponentially. God knows how much I enjoy sharing His wealth, because He is constantly putting my faith to work for Him. He has recently put 4 people in my path who are looking for more spirituality in their lives. I am not an apologist, and I have very few answers to give them. But I do give them a share of my own faith by answering their simpler questions and inviting them to go to mass with me. At the very least, I want to be able to show my Master that I attempted to increase His wealth when He comes back and asks me to account for myself. I know this sounds as if I am sharing my faith to keep from being "thrown into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth", but the fact is that the more I share, the more I get, and the more I get the more I realize I am sharing my faith out of love for God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit and my desire to spend eternity with Him.

Here's a thought for today

"When something turns out not very well or even badly, do not be disturbed nor think it a real evil; but be humble before God and be confident that from it He will draw some good. "- St Anthony Mary Gianelli (1789-1846)

I could have used this quote yesterday!

I get it

Today started out as a real bummer. First, I overslept, so I missed Mass at 6:30. Then, at work, it was hot, we were short-handed, the customers seemed wierder than normal, and I missed my lunch hour--so naturally, I was short-tempered, rude and stressed. I didn't like myself much by 4pm, and I'm sure my employees felt the same way about me. I hadn't eaten, and only had about 16oz of water and a candy bar all day. I was mad at the world, and felt like the weight of the world was coming at me all at once. So, at 4pm, I decided to call it a day at work and maybe sit in front of the Blessed Sacrament and say a rosary before Mass started at 5:45pm to try and calm down. I drove over to St. Joseph's in Modesto and the doors were locked! There was another guy there who tried the doors with the same result I had. I told him, "Great, the way my day's been going, I NEED to get in there and talk to Jesus, and the door is locked!" Right next to the entrance to the church is the Adoration chapel, which has a combination lock on it (I didn't have the combination). I told the guy if I didn't get in to see Jesus soon, I was going to bust! And lo and behold, some lady comes up, opens the door to the chapel and goes in! It took me and my new acquaintence a couple of seconds to realize what had happened! We kind of gave each other that look of "Whoa! He must have heard me!" So my friend knocked on the door, the lady opened it, and we went in. There were about 6 people in there already. I took out my rosary and started praying for calm. 20 minutes later, I had forgotten what a rotten day it had been and felt I was in the proper state of mind to attend Mass and recieve Jesus in Holy Communion. And by now, the church doors were open. But did Jesus stop at merely calming me down? No, as He often does to those He heals, He also admonishes them to stop doing whatever it was that caused their lapses in faith in the first place, so to top it all off, the Gospel is Matthew 22:34-40,

When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them [a scholar of the law] tested him by asking,
"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"
He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."

OK, Jesus, I get it. I'm sure I'll fail to love my neighbor over and over again by being rude and short-tempered, but I get it. I also know that You'll be there to catch me every time, and by the grace of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit I can live up to these commandments.

Song To Be Sung by the Father of Infant Female Children

I was watching an OLD rerun of Bishop Fulton J Sheen. He was reading this poem. I thought it was pretty good—especially since I am the father of female children, and shortly will be the grandfather of a female child:

Song To Be Sung by the Father of Infant Female Children
by Ogden Nash

My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky;
Contrariwise, my blood runs cold
When little boys go by.
For little boys as little boys,
No special hate I carry,
But now and then they grow to men,
And when they do, they marry.
No matter how they tarry,
Eventually they marry.
And, swine among the pearls,
They marry little girls.
Oh, somewhere, somewhere, an infant plays,
With parents who feed and clothe him.
Their lips are sticky with pride and praise,
But I have begun to loathe him.
Yes, I loathe with loathing shameless
This child who to me is nameless.
This bachelor child in his carriage
Gives never a thought to marriage,
But a person can hardly say knife
Before he will hunt him a wife.
I never see an infant (male),
A-sleeping in the sun,
Without I turn a trifle pale
And think is he the one?
Oh, first he'll want to crop his curls,
And then he'll want a pony,
And then he'll think of pretty girls,
And holy matrimony.
A cat without a mouse
Is he without a spouse.
Oh, somewhere he bubbles bubbles of milk,
And quietly sucks his thumbs.
His cheeks are roses painted on silk,
And his teeth are tucked in his gums.
But alas the teeth will begin to grow,
And the bubbles will cease to bubble;
Given a score of years or so,
The roses will turn to stubble.
He'll sell a bond, or he'll write a book,
And his eyes will get that acquisitive look,
And raging and ravenous for the kill,
He'll boldly ask for the hand of Jill.
This infant whose middle
Is diapered still
Will want to marry
My daughter Jill.
Oh sweet be his slumber and moist his middle!
My dreams, I fear, are infanticiddle.
A fig for embryo Lohengrins!
I'll open all his safety pins,
I'll pepper his powder,
and salt his bottle,
And give him readings from Aristotle.
Sand for his spinach
I'll gladly bring,
And Tabasco sauce for his teething ring.
Then perhaps he'll struggle through fire and water
To marry somebody else's daughter.

Time to vent!

There are a few things that bother me lately when I go to Sunday Mass. The first is the talking. People chat away before Mass, during Mass (even during the consecration!), and after Mass. You'd think they could wait until they were outside to visit. I personally like to get to the church early and try to prepare myself for the miracle that is going to occur. It's hard to concentrate on prayer when you are forced to hear the latest gossip (complete with laughing!) from the parishoners around you. Kids (teenagers) are the worst offenders. What are the parents teaching them? Where is the reverence for our Lord? I think it's actually getting a little better, but not fast enough for me.

And what's with the clapping at the end of Mass? Christ doesn't need our applause! We have just been to Calvary! We should be somber. Oh, wait! The organist and soloist have PERFORMED for us! We should applaud! NOT! The Mass is not entertainment. It is worship. Let's treat it as such!

Those that go to daily Mass are a lot more reverent, in my opinion. At least I'm not as distracted at those Masses. I think the reason they go daily is that they realize exactly WHO they are there to see and worship.
Ok, I'm off my soapbox.

Prayers of thanksgiving are as important as prayers of petition

When I was listening to a program on EWTN radio this morning before mass, the hostess asked the following question.

When God answers your prayers, do you spend as much time thanking Him in your thanksgiving as you did in petition? It really is a good question. Some of us can spend years in prayer waiting for a petition to be answered, and when the answer to our petition is YES, do we spend years in giving thanks? Even if God's answer is a clear NO, do we thank Him for His answer anyway? And with the same fervor?

Early in January, a very faithful little girl decided she wanted a pony for Christmas (don't they all?) So she prayed every day, all day, almost a full year, right up until Christmas morning knowing that God would answer her prayers. She got a lot of great gifts for Christmas that morning, but no pony. When she was asked to say the grace at Christmas dinner, she thanked God for answering all of her prayers. Her uncle was taken aback. "You didn't get your pony! Why are you thanking God for answering your prayer?" he asked her. She replied "I guess the answer was NO!"

Today's Reading is Scary! (Until you know the rest of the story)

Ez 9:1-7; 10:18-22The LORD cried loud for me to hear: Come, you scourges of the city! With that I saw six men coming from the direction of the upper gate which faces the north, each with a destroying weapon in his hand. In their midst was a man dressed in linen, with a writer’s case at his waist. They entered and stood beside the bronze altar. Then he called to the man dressed in linen with the writer’s case at his waist, saying to him: Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and mark a “Thau” on the foreheads of those who moan and groanover all the abominations that are practiced within it. To the others I heard the LORD say: Pass through the city after him and strike! Do not look on them with pity nor show any mercy! Old men, youths and maidens, women and children–wipe them out! But do not touch any marked with the “Thau”; begin at my sanctuary. So they began with the men, the elders, who were in front of the temple. Defile the temple, he said to them, and fill the courts with the slain; then go out and strike in the city.Then the glory of the LORD left the threshold of the temple and rested upon the cherubim. These lifted their wings, and I saw them rise from the earth, the wheels rising along with them. They stood at the entrance of the eastern gate of the LORD’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was up above them. Then the cherubim lifted their wings, and the wheels went along with them, while up above them was the glory of the God of Israel.

Wow! This is one of those Old Testament readings that scare young children and those of little faith. But that's only because they don't understand the whole story. I must admit I didn't much care for it until I heard Father Pacwa's sermon on EWTN today. Then it seemed to make sense. It is another of those visions that foresee the mercy of the Lord towards all who believe in Him. The people who were saved were those who did not worship the false idols and disobey the laws. These were marked with the "Thau". Father Pacwa said the "Thau" was in the shape of a cross, made with two branches of the olive tree. So those who believed in the God of Israel and followed His commandments were "blessed" with the "sign of the cross" and thereby saved through their faith and their prayers to Him imploring Him to stop the idolatry.

The reading for today got me thinking. In case you missed it, here it is, along with my insights. I hope they're not too far off the mark!
Ez 2:8—3:4The Lord GOD said to me:As for you, son of man, obey me when I speak to you:be not rebellious like this house of rebellion,but open your mouth and eat what I shall give you.It was then I saw a hand stretched out to me,in which was a written scroll which he unrolled before me.It was covered with writing front and back, (Sounds like the Word of God to me!)and written on it was: Lamentation and wailing and woe!(This sounds like Christ's passion!)He said to me: Son of man, eat what is before you;(The Eucharist?)eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel.(After receiving the Word, share it with the world!)So I opened my mouth and he gave me the scroll to eat.Son of man, he then said to me,feed your belly and fill your stomachwith this scroll I am giving you.I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth(Again, the Eucharist?).He said: Son of man, go now to the house of Israel,and speak my words to them.

Sometimes the stories of the prophets are, well, prophetic. Here we have God telling Ezekiel to eat the Word. Of course we all know that the Word was with God and the Word IS God, (or Jesus). Ezekiel describes the Word as lamentation and wailing and woe. This speaks to me of the passion of Christ. Then Ezekiel is told to go to the house of Israel and speak the words to them. After we recieve the Word of God and His Son (the very Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ) in the Eucharist, we are sent to evangelize through our faith and works. This plays right into what Christ said: That He came into the world not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. There are so many of these parallels between the Old Testament and New Testament that I think my next step should be a bible study. But I just don't have the time! Does anybody know of a good online bible study?

The urgency of prayer

Father Hayes' sermon tonight was short, but to the point. He said while he was in the hospital recently for an extended period of time, they had him so drugged that he didn't have the right attitude for prayer. He said he would start to pray, but before the first prayer was over, he would fall asleep, and when he awakened the rosary would be bunched up under him and leave little bead marks on that part of his body. It got to the point that he didn't care whether he prayed or not. It made him realize how important prayer is when you are properly disposed and in right mind. We all like to think that if we were just laying in bed all day, we would be glad to just pray, pray, pray. But the fact of the matter is that because we are human, we have only so much patience. Why wait until you are faced with a life or death situation before you think of prayer? Why not just one Our Father right now?

Who do YOU say that I am?

As promised, here is a nutshell version of last night's homily.

The human heart, a person’s deepest self, is where God has written his covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34; CCC #s 1764-1765). How else do we know, instinctively, that there is a God? And why do we turn to our Creator in times of distress or sadness? It's because God has written his names (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) on our hearts since before we were born. It's like a newborn baby. He (or she) is not "taught" to look for his mother's breast when he's hungry. He just knows that is the source of his nourishment. Or how does he know which woman is his mother in a crowd of mothers? By the special "scent" that is a bond between mother and child. If you think about these things, you KNOW they are true. It is the same with knowing that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He is truly present in each of us. Even atheist have to make a choice to ignore this instinctive knowledge. When Jesus was with the Apostles and asked them, "Who do people say that I am?", they replied that some thought he was John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others thought he was one of the other prophets. But when he asked his friends, who knew him best, "Who do YOU say that I am?", Peter blurted out "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!" This was revealed to Peter by God, according to Jesus. (Luke 9, 18-24) And it was. But it has also been revealed to each of us through Scripture and Tradition. Even without Scripture and Tradition, if you really search your heart you know this to be true. Gaze upon a crucifix. Imagine that Christ is looking at you with the same loving look He gave his friends that day and He is asking YOU, "Who do YOU say that I am?" When I did this during Mass last night, I almost blurted out Peter's answer myself--it's the reason I try to attend Mass daily, when possible--to give thanks to Our God and His Son for the daily gifts of the Holy Spirit upon my life. I caught myself--it would have been inappropriate, but my heart was almost bursting with love for Christ! I know that He is the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world!

When you find YOUR answer to the question, then ask yourself why He would put Himself through the pain and suffering of the crucifixion. It's for ALL OF US, that we may finally be with HIM as was intended from the beginning. Then try to understand that we could never suffer as much as HE did, and He is STILL willing to accept even more pain and suffering (the pain and suffering we offer up to Him) for the greater glory of the Father.