Take God with You

July and August are the most popular vacation months.  Perhaps you are planning to go to a favorite resort, or maybe you’re just staying in the area, enjoying the week off from work.

Whatever you do, remember to keep God with you!  For all Christians this is a must, and Catholics are required to attend Mass on Sundays.  Going to church while on vacation can be a very inspiring experience.  Many cities are home to old, in some cases ancient, Cathedrals.  These churches were built to hold hundreds of people and they took years to build, some over a century.  The statues in these magnificent works of art were meticulously and lovingly carved and the churches tower high and above surrounding buildings.

Unlike today's smaller, more modern churches these large, beautiful Cathedrals demonstrate the importance of God in the lives of the people at the time the old churches were built.  Houses of worship back in the era in which they were crafted were seen as a source of knowledge and wisdom and the architecture reflects that.  The old churches were obviously the center and pride of the city and their crafters worshipped God through the long, hard hours and much patience it took to build them.  Many of those workers began building these awesome churches knowing they would not live to see them to completion, yet they tallied on all for the glory of God.

The devout Christian will especially appreciate what all the details of these churches imply.  They are breathtaking and well worth visiting.  As you observe these old churches you will be struck by how much love and attention went into building them.  There is a sharp contrast indeed between the churches of old and our small, modern, well-lit churches of today. 

As you worship in these beautiful works of art, don't be surprised if your experience is different than it is on other Sundays.  These buildings were made specifically to help people worship more fervently.  The Catholic Church is sometimes criticized for using expensive resources for their churches.  But the atmosphere of a church can make a big difference in the way in which people worship.  Churches are houses of God and Catholics believe that by making God’s house beautiful and by providing a prayerful atmosphere people will be more open to feeling God’s presence while honoring him.  Our relationship with God is all important, so it only makes sense to do all we can to encourage, inspire and guide people to God.  More than anything, God wants us to love him and to show our love by obedience, by putting him above all, and by helping others to know him.  Making God’s house a place where his people go to better feel his presence and worship him more fully is a great place to start.

Our Dear Lord never forgets us, nor does he leave us.  No matter how far we travel, he is near.  It is worth the small bit of extra preparation to attend church while you are away.  Remember, no matter what your accomplishments you would never have achieved them without the help and love of Almighty God.  He watches over you and guards your health and safety.  Give him the proper thanks and praise while you are away.

Old churches built all those years ago have a story to tell.  Once upon a time God was the center of the lives of most people and it showed.  So while you are on vacation, you might want to resist the temptation to go to the most convenient church if there is an old church full of history in the area.  But no matter what church in which you choose to worship, be sure to keep the Sabbath holy.  The Lord will smile upon you and your soul will bask in the glory of his love.


Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.

Hebrews 13:5



 

Prayer for Religious Liberty

 

                              

        

Mary Immaculate

Patroness of Our Country

Pray for Us    

 

 

 

A Prayer for Religious Liberty

 

O GOD OUR CREATOR,

 

from your provident hand we have received our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  You have called us as your people and given us the right and the duty to worship you, the only true God, and your Son, Jesus Christ.  Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit, you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world, bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel to every corner of society.

 

We ask you to bless us in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty.  Give us the strength of mind and heart to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened; give us courage in making our voices heard on behalf of the rights of your Church and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.

 

Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father, a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters gathered in your Church in this decisive hour in the history of our nation, so that, with every trial withstood and every danger overcome - for the sake of our children, our grandchildren, and all who come after us - this great land will always be " one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

 

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

 

Amen.

 

 

 

*Copyright 2012, United States of Catholic Bishops, D.C.  All rights reserved.

Honor Thy Father

 

 

Honor Thy Father

What are you doing to honor your father this Father’s Day?  Scrambling to find the appropriate gift or card?  Trying to find time in your schedule to visit your father?  Perhaps you and your father never speak to nor see each other.  Maybe you never knew your father or possibly do not even know who your father is and you’re thinking, “I’m off the hook.” 

Not so fast, my friend.

Fatherhood can be the best experience of a man’s life and fathers are extraordinarily important to the family.  Of course they must be loving and giving for this to work out the way God intended and when men accept the role as dedicated father to their biological or adopted children, they make a world of difference in the lives of their children.  Even God gave Mary her beloved spouse Joseph to look after her and to be the earthly guardian of Jesus.  That’s a pretty strong testament to the importance of fathers.

If your father has been loving and loyal try to honor him on his special day, even if it interferes with your busy schedule.  A good father should be recognized and praised for his dedication, hard work and perseverance in raising you trouble makers (you know who you are).  Stopping by, if at all possible, and spending time with him will probably mean more to most fathers than the fanciest gift.  If you cannot be with him, remember him in some way that will stay with him.  He’s always been there for you.

Unfortunately, there are many people who grew up with bad fathers.  They may have been abusive, substance abusers or just not selfless enough to be the father they were called to be.  Then there are the absent fathers, those who have abandoned the family.  There is often anger, even hatred, towards such men by their own offspring.

When people have serious issues when their children are born, they are often not ready to be parents.  It is very hard to be as self-giving as we need to be in order to be good parents when we are burdened with problems that sometimes result from our own poor choices or for no fault of our own.  Some fathers even honestly believe that the family will be better off without them and so they are absent, not because they wish to forget about their children, but because they actually believe they are more of a burden than a blessing.  But how can this be?  Don’t they understand they are needed in the family?  The idea that fathers are not important has been long in the making.

Since the Women’s Movement in the sixties, women have been praised, encouraged, hired for important positions that some were not well qualified for.  Women are granted leave from their jobs to have children and they have been given victim status for many things.  It’s gotten so outrageous that a woman only need claim she’s been hit or raped and the man she has accused is arrested with no questions asked.  Women complained that it wasn’t fair they could not be firefighters even while most do not have the physical strength to carry out the job as well as most men, so criteria was lowered in order for women to pass the physical test.  The same goes for the military, police work and most other jobs that require a lot of physical strength.  Single moms have been praised by the media for having “courage” for years.

 

At the same time, men have been given a bad rap.  They are constantly seen as buffoons who can’t fold a shirt to save their lives on sitcoms.  Joke after joke is told about men that would not only be seen as unfunny if a man told the same joke about a woman, but people would be outraged.  There’s an entire industry dedicated to slogans such as “girls rule,” girls can do anything boys can do, only better”, etc.  Imagine men with similar slogans.  They would be called sexist by most of the media, held up as women-haters and some would have to take “sensitivity training” at their place of employment.  These constant hits can’t help but eventually have an impact on the way men see themselves and their roles in everything, including fatherhood.

Not all men are deeply faithful to God.  Those who are realize it is what God thinks that is important, not women, the media, etc.  But even the deeply faithful are surrounded by this negative talk about men on such a regular basis that some of them even begin to doubt their own abilities and their place in society and the family.  This is not an excuse for a man to abandon his family, nor is it a get-out-of-jail-free card.  It’s simply an explanation.

If you grew up with a loving, dedicated father in the midst of all this, count yourself truly blessed.  Men who are loyal to their families are much harder to come by today than they were before the age of feminism.  Thank God for blessing you with such an amazing father.  But if you have had an absent or abusive father and you still feel anger or resentment in your heart, you must forgive him.  There may have been no excuse for his behavior and you may believe your life would have been galaxies better with a loving, supportive father, but as a Christian you are obligated to forgive him.  It doesn’t matter what your mom says about him, either.  Some women have forgiven the men who abandoned them and their children, but there are others who take their downright hatred of these men to the grave.  Your life will be much lighter, happier and pleasing to God if you forgive and forget, just as our Lord Jesus Christ forgives us when we repent.

Let us also remember that the Lord commands us to honor our father and our mother.  It does not say in the bible that we are to honor them unless they were absent, workaholics, alcoholics or abusive.  Through all their faults, fathers were chosen by God to be a part of the miracle that is you.

This Father’s Day, give our Heavenly Father a real gift.  Forgive your father for anyway in which he has hurt or harmed you, offer it up to the Lord and get on with what it is you are here to do.  We never know how much time we have left regardless of our age.  Don’t waste another second on carrying a grudge, self-pity or hatred.  Wrap your mind around the imperfections of the human race and on Father’s Day formally forgive your father, offer your past and present suffering up to the Lord and praise Him.  He will smile upon you.

So Happy Father’s Day to all the awesome dads on earth!  And especially, Happy Father’s Day to Our Heavenly Father.   

Judge not and you will not be judged;

Condemn not and you will not be condemned;

Forgive and you will be forgiven.

Luke 6:37

 

 

 



Oh True Love

 

Oh True Love

June is just around the corner and many happy couples are about to stand before God and the community to recite their vows to love and cherish one another forever.  Their promises to love, come good or bad, will be such that only death itself will be able to part them.  What a truly joyful occasion it is!  Marriage, children – the family – is one of the most sacred institutions on earth, which is why the Catholic Church calls it the domestic church.  The sanctity of this union is often expressed by the couple’s decision to be married in a church, for the bride to wear a white gown and to include Biblical Scripture during the ceremony.

True love is a much more difficult concept than many people realize.  Feeling warm and fuzzy towards someone and imagining the perfect life you will have together is easy and often a distortion of reality.   True love always seeks to serve others before themselves.  This can be tough when we are in bad moods, having trouble at work, tired.  But true love perseveres regardless of how hard it can be.  Following God and pleasing him are all important in our quest for a long and happy marriage.  We simply cannot have a good married life without serving others and thereby serving God.

Most couples today have already offended God by living together and/or having pre-marital sex.  Christians know this is wrong but they rationalize that because they love each other it’s okay to engage in sexual activity as long as it is only with one another.  Besides, you’re getting married anyway, right?

The truth is that it is never okay to be sexually active outside of marriage.  There are reasons why it’s important to God that we wait until we are formally married before we engage in sexual activity.  Couples who are sexually active and are not married do not have to fret or stop reading this column because they don’t want to face what they’ve done.  The solution is to go to confession, then wait until you are married before engaging in further sexual activity.  God will forgive and forget as long as you are sincere.

Let’s face it, today even many Christians are more secular than they are Christian.  To be fair, it’s difficult not to fall into the traps of secularism.  It’s all around us and “everybody is doing it.”  It’s gotten so bad that chastity until marriage is not even looked at as important anymore.  But it is very important to God and it is important for our souls. True love always, always does what is best for the other person.   And it is never good for one’s spouse-to-be or for oneself to give into the very strong temptation to engage in sex before marriage.  While living in the here and now, we cannot afford to forget about our souls.  True love is taking care of the soul of our beloved first and foremost.  If we give into their request for sex before marriage, even though it is wrong in the eyes of God, we do not love them the way we think we do.  We love ourselves before them and we are putting both ourselves and our beloved before God who was so gracious to have made our beloved and bless us with him or her.  We may not want our spouse-to-be to get mad at us or make us feel uncomfortable for refusing to have sex before we take our vows.  It’s certainly much easier to give in.  But whenever we put others before God or ourselves before our beloved, we can be sure we are not demonstrating true love, regardless of how we feel.

Lust is a very dangerous sin.  According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, lust is described as “disordered desire for or inordinate enjoyment of sexual pleasure.  Sexual pleasure is morally misordered when sought for itself, isolated from its procreative and unitive purposes” (par 2351).  Our Dear Lady of Fatima told the visionaries that more souls are condemned to Hell for disobeying God’s command to purity than for any other sin.

Not long ago I heard a woman say she had been living with a man for several years and they had intended to get married.  She said they have two children with a third on the way and the man who was supposed to marry her now has changed his mind.  You see, this sort of thing can always happen – and it does happen more than you might realize – regardless of how positive you are that you will eventually get married to the person you are living with.  But even if you do get married after engaging in pre-marital sex you are not off the hook.  Taking your sacred vows before God is crucial because, believe it or not, sex is sacred.  It is holy, when carried out with the right attitude of giving (which consists of leaving open the possibility of children) and not abusive or abused.  Sex is not meant to be a recreational activity.

The best gift you can give to one another is to be as pure as possible.  Even if in the past you have failed at this you can redeem yourself and start anew.  By continuing to engage in something that is meant to be sacred you make yourself less and less pure.  It also gets more and more difficult to see the marital act the way God intends for us to see and experience it when we have disordered sex that is not giving and loving, but is done primarily for the sake of feeling good.

Like everything else, this will be more difficult for some people than for others.  Some people may not be engaged to a spouse-to-be who follows his or her Christian faith or he or she may not be Christian at all.  This is something to think about because if you are to live a good Christian life your spouse should be on board with your doing what is right in the eyes of God.  If abstinence until you are married is particularly difficult, you must pray for the grace to be pure every day, several times a day.  Stay clear from anything that may tempt you, that might give you lustful thoughts or feelings.  Finally, stay humble.  Remember that you cannot rely on yourself if you are to remain pure.  You need God’s grace.  So remind yourself that you are nothing without God and that you can do nothing without Him.  Then pray that God might help you to be pure.

Once you are married you must continue to guard your soul against lust.  While sex within marriage is a great gift the misuse of it leads to the destruction of the soul.

Blessings to all of you who are married or about to be married!  May you and your family be surrounded by God’s grace.

Let neither gluttony nor lust overcome me,

And do not surrender me to a shameless soul.

 

Sirach 23:6

 

 

 

God in Human Suffering

 

 

God in Human Suffering

 The God who loves us more than anyone can comprehend, more than our parents or spouses love us, more than we love our children allows us to suffer.  What sense does this make?  Do we not shield our loved ones from suffering when we can?  If God is so merciful how can he allow horrific tragedies, illnesses and life-changing injuries?

If you feel forgotten by or even punished by God you are certainly not alone.  Many people who figure they do not deserve the heart-wrenching circumstances they are in feel abandoned by God.  How, after all, can God love us yet still allow the suffering we see day in and day out?  Why does God not punish those who do horrible things rather than those who are simply trying to serve him by raising their families and teaching their children about God and his great wonders?

God is not some far off spirit who looks down upon us waiting to zap us for failing to pray enough, for getting angry, eating too much, (insert your vices).  God wants to be – and is – part of the human condition.  Think about that.  God who is perfect and is worshipped by the angels and saints chooses to be part of all the faults, disappointments and imperfections that is the human condition.  So why doesn’t God jump in and heal us when we are suffering?

God allows us to suffer because we are called to be saints and saints suffer.  Jesus suffered and as Christians and disciples we are called to follow Jesus.  To heaven, yes.  But let us not forget the road Jesus traveled.  We are called to follow him on the road laid out for us.  This is naturally going to involve suffering because even Jesus suffered and he suffered much more than any one of us ever will on this earth.

This can be a very difficult concept to grasp and especially to accept.  When you are ill, it is not a natural reaction to think “Wow, this is great!  I’m preparing for sainthood.”  Most of us are more of the mindset, “I hate being sick” then proceed to be annoyed because we caught the latest bug going around.  It can be even worse when we have something more serious.  “Why did this happen to me?  I didn’t do anything that bad to deserve this.”

I was once watching Mother Angelica’s show on EWTN when a caller asked the nun why a particular relative suffered so much.  The caller’s relative was a very devout Catholic and the caller did not understand why God would allow this suffering by someone so loyal to God.  Mother Angelica told the caller that maybe because this woman is so devout that she suffers.  Jesus suffered and all saints are called to suffer.  Let’s not forget too that God allows us to do some of our purgatory on earth.  No matter how hard our circumstances are here, our being disallowed from being with God (Purgatory) until we are ready will be much harder.  We will have seen God and we will want more than we every wanted anything to be with him.  Yet we will not be allowed to do so until we are cleansed to the point when we may enter heaven.

If you feel you’ve been abandoned by God, take heart.  You have been called to sainthood!  How we handle our woes can please or displease God.  If we carry on complaining and feeling sorry for ourselves, this is obviously not the kind of behavior God is looking for from us.  Rather, we need to learn to offer up our suffering to God because of our love for him. 

“Lord, I offer up my suffering to you because of my love for you.  Please stay close to me and help me.  Above all, your will be done.”

This simple prayer is pleasing to God because in it we accept our suffering. In addition, we ask for God’s help and closeness but we ask that God’s will – not ours – be done.

Remember, God knows you.  He knows the areas in which you need to be healed and sometimes suffering is the way he heals us. He also realizes that disappointment and sadness are normal in harsh circumstances, so do not feel guilty for failing to rejoice when say, you are up all night with the latest version of the flu or going through a bout of depression.  Feeling gratitude for our suffering is a process and it takes time to get to where God is leading us so do the best you honestly can.  And be patient with yourself just as God is patient with you. 

Do not concern yourself with those who seem to “get away with everything” while they leave others to suffer in their wake.  Such people have problems of their own even if those problems are not obvious to us.  Not knowing God, not loving God and failing to serve God is suffering in itself.  And while many Christians believe that all who simply believe that Jesus is the Son of God are going to heaven regardless of what they do or how they act on earth, Catholics believe no such thing.  Catholics believe that we have decisions to make.  Anyone can, after all, say they believe that Jesus is the Son of God but many do not realize the full weight of their assertion.  We cannot simply accept Jesus as Lord to “be on the safe side” and expect to enter heaven.  Those who cause, do or permit evil in the world have more problems than the worst suffering cancer patient.  The cancer patient may well be preparing for heaven, but the evil-doer is preparing for a different place entirely.  He must turn from his evil ways because there is no place in heaven for evil.  Unfortunately, we are all sinners and none of us are perfect or guaranteed a place in heaven.  But the cancer patient is beginning his healing process while the healthy, oppressive evil-doer has a long way to go if he ever gets there.

God will not abandon you.  He wants to be close to you and the closer you draw to him the closer he will draw to you.   In suffering, consider yourself blessed.  You are in training for sainthood and to enter the Kingdom of God.

 



 



How to Survive the death of a Loved One

How to survive the death of a Loved One

When a loved one passes there is simply nothing anyone can say or do to relieve the pain we feel from their absence.  Even the words of Jesus Himself can sound more like clichés than the Truth we should take comfort in.  Priests and ministers, family and friends all attempt to help us feel better and once in a while someone’s words may have an immediate positive affect, but it’s usually temporary and we are left feeling sad, alone and perhaps frightened, angry or both.

The grieving often wonders why their beloved was taken from them.  Comments such as “it’s always sad when it happens to the good ones” are common.  Some people blame God and get angry with him.  Others just withdraw into a state of depression.  And some feel compelled to begin or join in an effort to help others who might be in a situation similar to that which led to the death of their beloved.

While the grieving process must run its course, there are some things to consider that might help you through one of the most difficult times, if not the most difficult time, in your life.

Remember you are not alone.  While you may feel terribly lonely, God, Jesus and Mary are always by your side.  You may not be able to feel them through your despair, but just the knowledge that they are there might offer some consolation.  As difficult as it may be, try to pray and ask for God’s help, Jesus’s comfort and Mary’s intervention, even if these prayers are short.

There are also countless forums, blogs and other social media outlets you can eventually join where you can network with those experiencing similar emotions.  Chatting online will give you a sense of community as you connect with those who understand what you are going through.

Reflect on how you made your loved one happy.  Remind yourself how, while he or she was alive, you showed your love to the departed and of the joy you brought them.  This will help you to realize that your loved one was happy during his or her life and that you are part of the reason.

Most of us assume our loved ones are going to heaven and perhaps they are.  But there are certainly some who worry about what is going to happen to the departed. Catholics believe in Purgatory, a place where they are not yet with God.  There, those who have died are preparing for heaven because they are not yet ready to be in that perfect place. Whether or not you believe in Purgatory you may be concerned about your loved one for any number of reasons.  Perhaps he or she did not worship God.  Maybe the deceased left the world with mortal sin on his or her soul.  Believers, unbelievers, worshippers, non-worshippers and those who have a chip on their shoulder about religion or are angry at God are all going to pass.  Here are a few things you might want to think about if you are concerned about where the one you loved is, especially if his or her soul was not in the best spiritual shape at the time of their departure:

God is Just.  Even if your beloved was not particularly religious, God takes everything into account.  He will only hold us accountable for what we can control and only God really knows what that is. 

God is Merciful.  There is not a single person that God does not want to have with him.  While God is just he is also merciful.  Because he knows every part of us, he alone knows our strengths and weaknesses.  If you believe in God’s tender mercy, your heart will feel a bit lighter. 

Trust in God.  Because Jesus died for us, it is obvious that death is a part of God’s plan.  We cannot be with him until we die.  Therefore, trust that the departing of your loved one is part of God’s perfect plan. 

Give it Time.  God is the ultimate healer and it seems that one of the tools he uses is time.  The suffering you do now, if endured in the spirit of Christ, may be part of your penance.  The saints certainly believed that to be true, so much in fact that many of them sought out ways to suffer and gave thanks for their suffering.  Saint Margaret of Scotland lost her husband and son in war and was devastated, but she gave thanks to God that she could suffer for her sins.  Most of us are nowhere near that level of commitment and when we first lose a loved one it is probably not the first thing on our minds.  But it is something to work on in the future.

Here are some things to consider depending on the type of death your loved one suffered:

Sickness:  Most of us would rather die a quick, painless death than hang on for months or years ill and dependent on others to care for us.  But if we endure our sickness in a Christ-like manner perhaps God will accept our illness as part of our penance.  While God may or may not will us to become sick, he certainly uses it for good.  Countless people have gotten closer to God during or after an illness.  If your loved one was terminally ill, part of God’s mercy may be that your beloved will be with God sooner because of the suffering they endured on earth.

Accidents:  Fatal accidents are difficult because we don’t know they are coming.  Having a police officer appear at your door and tell you a loved one has passed has to be a grueling experience.  The fatal accident, in some ways, is the opposite of a terminal illness.  While it is sad to think of an otherwise healthy person dying from an accident, it is also true that they are free of any further pain.  They have also been blessed that they did not suffer the type of death most of us fear.

Early Deaths:  Some theologians believe that God will not allow anyone to die an early death who would have eventually repented.  If your loved one suffered an untimely death, God may have spared him or her from some terrible pain down the road.  It is also true that regardless of how good a person is, they can always lose their way.  If they are right with God at the time of their death, not only are they spared from further pain on earth, but they will not have the chance to turn away from God.

Murder:  If he or she has been murdered God will take care of that in his time.  The offender will have to go before God and answer to him for what they have done.  No punishment on earth can match that.  It is in your best interest to do all you can to eventually forgive the person who killed your beloved.  God knows how to handle what happened.  Leave it to Him.

Suicide:  This has to be one of the most difficult situations to be in.  Taking one’s own life is clearly against God’s law.  But remember that God alone knows exactly what was in the heart of the beloved.  God knows the soul of the departed.  Trust that God is all loving, merciful and giving.  He will always do what is just.

The idea that God can do anything leaves out an important exception and that exception is anything wrong or sinful.  God can only do that which is good because he is perfect and that means his love is perfect.  Tough times are often opportunities to get closer to God.  Take that opportunity, hard as it may be at the time.  Some of us naturally turn to God when we are grieving.  But the death of a loved one is such a severe tragedy that some Christians cannot turn to God because they are too sad or too angry.  Sadness and anger are not of God.  These emotions are part of the human condition – a condition that God longs to share with us.  Imagine that.  The love of God is such that the Almighty wants to suffer with us and to help us through it

He will wipe away every tear…

Imagine your loved one in Heaven, seeing God, Jesus, Mary and all the saints.  Yes, you are left here without him or her.  But the very image of your beloved more joyous than they ever could be on earth in the company of God, Jesus, Mary, the Apostles, the angels and saints will lift your heart.  And remember, you will eventually join them.  Your time has not come.  God still has plans for you.  Try to focus on those plans and stay faithful to God.

How will you live without them?  One second, one moment, one day at a time.  There is nobody we need but God.  He alone is sufficient.  God will provide for us if only we ask.  This does not mean it will be easy, it means it is possible.  God made us to be strong and courageous and you will eventually be okay.  Your beloved is in God’s hands completely.  Put your life in God’s hands, too.

When a loved one dies they take a piece of us with them.  So if your loved one is in Heaven, a little piece of you is also in Heaven.  And that is a reason to rejoice.