Can anyone really live the Catholic faith? Sure. It's easier to strive for holiness when you have a traveling companion on your spiritual journey, though. Come walk along with this Catholic mom who shares life day by day, both the joys and the sorrows, the saints and the demons, our Lord Jesus Christ and our Blessed Mother. Mary will help us live our Catholic faith!
You are invited to enter into the mystical realm of the Divine Mercy of Jesus Christ. The first-class relic of Polish Saint Sister Faustina Kowalska has arrived at St. Joseph's, a parish with a devotion for Blessed Pope John Paul II, who was also Polish. According to Pastor, Father Marek Ciesla, Schr, Saint Faustina, who was canonized by Pope John Paul II, is going to be busy here. "She'll be available all the time; she is here for the people. If they want to come close and touch her, we will let them do that." You can read more about parish relics and the process to attain St. Faustina's relic here.
On Friday, November 4, 2011, St. Joseph's Polish Catholic Church will host the national touring production "The Message of Jesus, The Divine Mercy."
The schedule is as follows:
6pm Confessions
7pm Mass
8pm "Tell All Souls About My Mercy" Presentation by Mother of Mercy Messengers
Today is a holy day of obligation. Please be sure to go to Mass. It's All Saints Day. Let's remember all those who have gone before us, and let us ask for their intercession.
Today is a great day to pray a Litany, so click on one of these and join me in a beautiful and powerful prayer. We all need prayer, someone you know needs prayer. Let's do it! You can follow along with the words here.
There is a young person, not quite a teenager yet, whose mother makes it a rule that the television is kept on EWTN just about any time that it is on to add a counter voice to the lives of those in the household who get bombarded every day with pagan and secular and anti-Christian messages from everywhere else. It may seem to her that her son is opposed to learning anything related to spiritual matters, but much to her surprise, going to Mass each Sunday, praying the Rosary each evening together as a family, and the daily influence of this Catholic channel have begun to impact him.
As a part of his education at home, he was required to write an essay. About anything he wanted to write about. There was no prompting on any subject. Her son has no habit of writing anything to please her. Here is the ultimate surprise produced by the hands of her child...
Why we need priests
We need priests. If we did not have them then the world would be more corrupt. We need priests because God wants us to have them for Mass. In Mass the priest makes bread and wine into the body and the blood of our Lord. The priests also are the mouth and hands of God. Like Confession and the Eucharist. The priest makes the bread and wine body and blood, and Confession he absolves us of our sins.
Without priests there would be no church and no one going to church. That is why we need priests. We would not be forgiven of our sins and it would be harder to go to heaven. Lots of people have been saved because of the priests. They are very important in our life.
My heart is thankful to the priests who have set good examples before my son, and for the vocation that they have chosen to serve us in the Catholic Church. I am grateful to Mother Angelica and all who serve us at EWTN through so many excellent programs. And I wish to especially give a shout out to those who usually go unnoticed by the rest of us who still exist in this physical world.
My family was thoroughly impressed with the excellent performance and creativity that made this one-man drama successful in bringing St. Jean-Marie Vianney to life. I especially appreciated being introduced to St. Philomena.
We are no strangers to theatre, my very good Jewish actor friend was very impressed as well, expressing great admiration for the gifted Defilippis, the creation of this exceptional drama, and for the mission of Saint Luke Productions that was presented. The concluding prayer, while in costume and character, that Defilippis led the audience in was very moving.
There is no doubt in my mind that the Holy Spirit inspired this production and is working through it to reach hearts and minds for Christ. We all have so much to learn; and the message of sacrificial love that Jesus demonstrated for us was lived out in an exemplary way in the priesthood in the life of St. John Vianney, and was brilliantly portrayed in the performance by Leonardo Defilippis.
My prayers are with your great ministry and all who are a part of it from the most visible actors to the unsung invisible persons working behind the scenes, all servants of God. This was a refreshing affirming word about Catholicism, the holy Sacraments of the Church, the noble vocation of the priesthood, and the on-going communion of the ever-living and active saints.
I encourage everyone to see this powerful stage presentation...and to bring a friend or family member who has doubts about our Catholic faith. This is a great gift to share with them.
Yesterday while praying the Rosary along with Mother Angelica and the nuns on EWTN, at the end of the Mystery of the Transfiguration, as I contemplated on being transformed into the image of Christ, I remembered something from long ago. I'd like to share it here.
Someone had placed a rosary into the dead hands of my mother for a proper Catholic funeral, an adornment that I had never seen her pray with. The whole family and friends of my mother came to the funeral home to pray the rosary. That is the first time I ever heard that prayer. I doubt I was the only one who did not even know to contemplate on the mysteries as we prayed the prayers over and over. I assumed this was to help my dead mother in some Catholic funeral ritual of some superstitious nature. Before my mother's burial, I believe I was given that rosary. I did not know it was anything other than a token for remembrance of my dead mother.
After Mom was buried, I never saw anyone in my family ever pray the Rosary again, either. Nor did any priest or nun tell me to pray the Rosary even though I was searching for God, had a lot of questions, and was even ripe for becoming a nun myself. Neither did they suggest this devotion to me for myself or for my deceased parent even as I questioned them about where my mother might be since she had killed herself.
There are so many ironies connected to that memory that I experienced yesterday that I am not going to get into here. But there is something very important that I want to say.
Like many other Catholics, I have a rosary hanging from my rear-view mirror in my car. Yet a rosary is not a decoration. It is not meant to be put into a corpse's hands. It is meant to be for the living to run to and use as a holy weapon of spiritual warfare. Better still, it should be always handy in a pocket, ever ready, as a knight is not w/o his sword nor a soldier w/o his weapon on the battlefield. Use that rosary, pray the Rosary, and pray it often, every day.
If you would like me to help you to learn about the Holy Rosary please contact me or leave me a comment and I will help you. How many years has my mother been suffering in purgatory because there was nobody to pray for her? I do not know. Pray for the poor souls in purgatory. Like me, you may have never been told that you can pray for your deceased loved ones. Now you know. So pray for them.
I sought a close-up picture of a rosary in the hands of a corpse to go with this post. And can you believe it, out of 365 days, this post and the first and best photo that I could find is this one that accompanies this entry. It is a picture of St. Bernadette. And as I looked for information about who is in the picture, I read that today is also her feast day. Yes, it just "happens" to also be her feast day on the very day I publish this entry. And you don't believe in miracles? What, do you think that this is a coincidence? Think again.
This St. Patrick's Day is one historical day. People have something to say. It is a spiritual battle and here are just a few of the details. While the Catholic Bishops oppose the Senate version of the health care bill, making news in the Catholic press, what gets plastered in headlines of the secular news that reaches everyone is that Catholic nuns support and endorse the bill, and hey, THEY are the ones who work with the people, so they are supposedly the real voice of the Catholic Church. They are "progressive" they claim. Liberals, socialists, communists, and the pro-death sites are running with this in gleeful distribution of this Catholic support of their views. Here is one: http://www.feministing.com/archives/020405.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Feministing+(Feministing)&utm_content=Twitter
It is important to note who is pleased with the "Catholic nuns" who are opposing the stance of the USCCB because this tells you something.
Archbishop Chaput linked to his statement on facebook. Finally we are beginning to call these people out and name them. Here it is: http://www.archden.org/index.cfm/ID/3614
TO THE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY OF NORTHERN COLORADO
In the past two days, congressional leaders and the White House have brought tremendous pressure on prolife Democratic members of Congress to support a fatally flawed Senate version of health care reform.
Regrettably, groups like Network and the Catholic Health Association have done a grave disservice to the American Catholic community by undermining the leadership of the nation’s Catholic bishops, sowing confusion among faithful Catholics, and misleading legislators through their support of the Senate bill.
Do not be fooled. Nothing has changed. The Senate bill remains gravely flawed on the issues of abortion funding, conscience protections and the inclusion of immigrants. Unless seriously revised to address these issues, the Senate version of health care is unethical and should be firmly opposed. Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. Archbishop of Denver James D. Conley, S.T.L. Auxiliary Bishop of Denver
Catholics United has an ad that they are airing, it looks like in the prolife Democrat districts to sway minds in those areas stating that the Reform is endorsed by the Catholic Health Association: http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0310/Catholic_group_pushes_back_on_abortion_claims.html?showall These people are using the "Catholic" title to confuse people. How many people know that this is a liberal group that is breaking with the Catholic Bishops who are opposing the Senate version of the health care bill? We Catholics must begin to understand and to accept the fact that there are real wolves dressed in sheep's clothing in our Holy Catholic Church. RealCatholicTV call them "snakes"...
As Catholics, we are very much in tune with not pulling up the weeds and letting them grow along with the wheat, just as our Lord, Jesus, told us to do. And yet, the Holy Scriptures must be taken as a whole, not in part. They must be interpreted along with our Tradition, and Jesus Himself cried out: "You are of your father, the devil" to the Jewish leadership. These people who are priests and nuns who are hurting our people, need to be shown the door forthwith. We have excommunication. It is high time we began to implement this service. And certainly it is a service to save the souls of many millions of Catholics who are otherwise deceived and taught that Marxist belief trumps even the sanctity of human life for Catholic faithful believers. It is time for this to end. Let the word, the title, Catholic, mean something again.
Glenn Beck has recently stated that if you are in a church that teaches "social justice" you should leave that church. Some people were shocked, and they say he was attacking the Catholic Church. I agree that he was. And I also agree that he understands very well this code wording of "social justice" that ultimately means communistic thought, leaving the redeeming of souls out of their personal mission inside of the Church. The virtue of justice is being used as a useful good, a tool for conversion, capturing hearts, destroying lives, and causing the loss of souls. This is not true virtue. But how successfully deceptive. Take a look at how "good" these caring Catholics seem to be: http://www.catholics-united.org/?q=about Since they care to much about people who are victims of injustice, why are they opposing the Catholic Bishops who are upholding the sanctity of human life? Jesus said, "you shall know them by their fruits" and this is fruit positive of their views.
But I disagree with Beck on what needs to be done about the problem, the infiltration of heretics and "progressive" new age deceivers. Show them the door. They are in our church for one reason--to twist the teachings of our Church and to deceive as many as they can. They are a cancer in our midst, spreading their lying poison. Here is something insightful that Glenn had to say on St. Patrick's Day: Obama is Marxist:
Some 59 "Catholic nuns" signed a letter in support of the bill that was sent to members of Congress on the 14th of the month, yet even today all over twitter the word is that 59,000 Catholic nuns support the bill. Lies of this sort, exaggerated and hyped are being regularly retweeted by liberal, pro-death, and homosexual groups. They want the word out that Catholics are for the passage of the bill because it serves their purposes. Keep telling the lie and it is seen as the truth. Supposedly the smaller number of nuns represent the larger number of Catholics in their groups. If that is true, all the more reason to begin kicking them out of our Church. Today if possible. The faithful Catholic laity welcomes this to save our true Catholic identity.
Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, the president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has already refuted that claim with his own letter opposing the bill.
George pointed out the slew of flaws that the U.S. bishops find “deeply disturbing” in the Senate health bill, including its lack of conscience protections, [lack of] Hyde-amendment protections against federal abortion funding, and the millions in new funds for Community Health Centers which will be available to fund abortions.
“It expands federal funding and the role of the federal government in the provision of abortion procedures,” he explained. “In so doing, it forces all of us to become involved in an act that profoundly violates the conscience of many, the deliberate destruction of unwanted members of the human family still waiting to be born.” http://www.lifenews.com/nat6140.html
St. Patrick was a Bishop. May God bless our faithful Bishops. And may our Bishops be faithful to our Catholic laity by driving out the snakes. Amen. St. Patrick, please pray for our people in the Catholic Church and in our great country, the United States of America. Amen.
St. Joseph and St. Patrick pray for us.Strengthen us Catholic patriots to take a courageous stand in the upcoming days as this tyrannical government take over becomes the law of the land w/o even a vote. I believe this will happen with the socialist health care bill, I figure the left knows it is now or never. If I'm wrong, great.
St. Joseph was and is a man of God, a man of great faith, obedient to our Lord, protector of and provider for the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Christ Jesus, the Holy Son of God. St. Joseph pray for us for our families are at stake along with our country.
St. Patrick converted Ireland. He risked his life and stood strong. We need the Catholic Church to stand strong now in America and speak the truth to our youth and lead the pagans or secularists to Christ. This does not mean just the priests or the Pope or good Catholic schools. It means YOU and it means ME. St. Patrick, pray for us and for our country.
Catholics would really do themselves a service and educate themselves on reconciling in their minds things like going to war and worrying about if it might be gossip or bad to call out leftist deceitful Catholics by reading the book of Judith. Also let us faithfully take out our most powerful weapons, our Rosaries. Contemplate, contemplate, contemplate. Amen.
During the first week of the new year I feel almost happy. There are so many hopeful aspirations that I am either already working on or will soon do so. As always, I have far too many goals to ever complete a drop in a huge overflowing bucket but this is how I function best.
I probably get so much done compared to those I've known who were adults while I was still a child. I do not in any way discount a full-time job, but outside of working to earn money, I didn't grow up seeing many adults doing much in the way of charity involvement, assistance with family members who had struggles, or even individual accomplishments in life.
It isn't quite the same as a New Year's resolution to look forward to a brand new year to identify and plan to tackle new things or to be better at things that I've noticed I need some improvement in. For me, the new year beginning is about more possibilities and opportunities, it is about recognizing whatever it is that I will see, and trying to actively take some action to help someone or something in our world.
How best to describe that feeling is like I'm watching a flower very slowly blooming all night long and then there it is in full bloom in the morning. Before it happens, I know it is going to be wonderful, but I am going to take a seat close to it, peering from a hiding place to discover the secret unfolding before my eyes as I spy on it. It is excitement, awe-filled, expectation, hope, freshness, birth, desire, drive, determination, treasure, hopefulness, youthful, playful, charismatic, aromatic, mysterious, glorious, richness, golden, blooming, perfectly beautiful, and full of life :)! Oh, such a thrilling and marvelous feeling!
January 4th is Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton's feast day. I was so intrigued to learn about her, very pleased with what I read, and glad to be able to share a little bit about her in an essay that I wrote for Examiner.com in my column. She had a real devotion to Our Blessed Mother, she was a single parent with 5 children to care for yet her family wasn't happy with her because she converted to Catholicism, and she was found to be in a state of ecstasy before the Holy Eucharist at times in her adoration. Wow! She was also the Mother Superior and listened to our Lord quite well in her life of servanthood for the sake of others. She founded the American Sisters of Charity. My essay is here: http://www.examiner.com/x-4317-Denver-Roman-Catholic-Examiner~y2010m1d4-With-Gods-help-you-will-accomplish-things-that-youve-never-even-dreamed-of .
To tell you the truth, I just can't wait to see what my Lord and my Lady do with me and with my life. This very well could be an omen, a hint of sorts about my own future.
Tonight, after what seemed a trying and difficult day, I went to the Byzantine Catholic Liturgy. My children noticed right away that the Blessed Virgin Mary window high up at the top of the church looked blue. I looked at it and thought that perhaps she was sad like me. Somebody had put a blue light bulb up there. Well, it worked for me. I felt like it was a sign that the saints know how difficult my life is right now, and that they care about me. The Blessed Virgin Mary was interceding for me.
If I had been in better spirits, I'm sure that I would have remembered more of what was said by Father Michael. I know that it was fascinating, that I'd never heard of such a thing before. And that I wanted to know more about it. I also knew that there was no way that I was in any state of mind to properly remember what he was saying to us, as Father Michael gave us the days of the week being designated for certain saints and angels to intercede for us. Yet I did pick up the calendar to have the saint days so that I know who I am supposed to pray to as I will now join in with the rest of the world-wide church community. Wow! I never knew this before. And I will pray with the Latin saint as well.
This is the first and only time that I went to the Holy Byzantine Liturgy and just felt the need to be comforted by being there. I go there to worship God the best way I know how. Today, I did that, but it was different. I needed to be there for me, too. And you know, it's a funny thing--it's the first time that I was ever in Holy Protection of the Mother of God that I thought it could have used a few more icons. Imagine that, there were so many bare spots on the walls that I'd never noticed before!
Today I am blue like that light bulb. The light is still there within me, of course, but it is darkened and without joy. And with this blue attitude, I saw more of the white walls than the many holy icons of the saints. Perspective change. Interesting. A different view of reality. A different experience brought on because of what is inside of me. The saints did not seem so powerful tonight. In fact, they seemed fewer. And smaller.
But they were still there. If I hadn't gone to the holy Liturgy, they would have seemed altogether invisible. I'm glad the Virgin Mary window was blue tonight. It helps me remember that to all of the holy saints, I exist and I am not invisible. We need to go to church and be with others who believe. And we need to see our holy saints. I thank them all for being there for me today. Sometimes you just need to hang out with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Like salve on a wound, it really helps :).
