A Day Late - St. Francis

October 4th is the Feast of St. Francis. yesterday it was trumped by Sunday, because Jesus is a little more important. However, the Feast of St. Francis is a great day for me and Joe. Both of us have a great love for St. Francis and St. Claire, (of which the long story will come in another post) and it is the one year anniversary of the day we were engaged (outside of our favorite Adoration chapel with a statue of St. Francis)!

I still receive daily Eucharistic emails, and this was the email on the Feast of St. Francis.

"I beg you to show every reverence and honor possible

to the most holy Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ,

in whom all things in heaven and on earth

are set at peace and are reconciled to Almighty God.

Let us love God and adore Him

and offer Him praises by day and by night."

St Francis of Assisi

b.1181 d.1226

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love;

for it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

Ste Francis, ora pro nobis!

Little Flower

St. Therese of Lisieux (The Little Flower), born Therese Martin, was a young French girl, passionately in love with Jesus Christ, who became a Discalced Carmelite nun at age fifteen and died of tuberculosis at age twenty-four in a monastery in Lisieux, France.

Therese experienced extraordinary breakthroughs in what is possible in a human being's relationship with God and with other humans. Since her death, she has fascinated countless people. Her memoir, "Story of a Soul," became the religious bestseller of the 20th century. Countless miracles have been attributed to her intercession. She was canonized in 1925 and, in 1997, named a Doctor of the Church. She is often called the "Little Flower."

"My mission: to make God loved, will begin after my death. I will spend my heaven doing good on earth. I will send a shower of roses."

"Jesus, help me to simplify my life by learning what you want me to be - and becoming that person."

"Let us see life as it really is... It is a moment between two eternities..."

"To Call God my Father and to Know myself His Child, that is Heaven to me ..."

I highly recommend reading this.

St. Therese, pray for us, that we may be

simple, humble, and love Christ with a child-like faith.

Amen

Mapping Out Our Nations Sin

The link below is to a posting on Faith and Family Live - It is a study of our nations sin.

What’s your hometown’s sin of choice?

A team from Kansas State has mapped out our nation’s hot spots for the 7 deadly sins by plotting per-capita statistics of things like violent crime, STDs, and numbers of fast food restaurants.

Some might question the “science” of these findings, but the maps sure are an interesting way of looking at our country’s regions.

I especially like the fact that the map for pride is an aggregate of the other six maps “because pride is the root of all sin.”

http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/mapping_out_sin

Feast of the Archangels

"O, angelic spirits, who guard our tabernacles, wherein

lies the adorable treasure of the Holy Eucharist,

defend it from profanation and preserve it for our love."

St Josemaria Escriva

"Michael and his Angels battled against the dragon...

Satan, the seducer of the whole world, was driven out."

A Sermon of Pope Saint Gregory
From the Third Nocturne of Matins of the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel

We speak of nine orders of Angels, because we know, by the testimony of Holy Scripture, that there are the following: Angels, Archangels, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Dominations, Thrones, Cherubim and Seraphim. It must be realized that "Angel" is the name of their office, not of their nature. For the holy Spirits of the heavenly homeland are always Spirits, but they cannot always be called Angels; they are Angels only when they are announcing something. Those who announce less important things are called Angels, and those who announce the highest things are called Archangels. And so not any Angel but the Archangel Gabriel was sent to Mary; for this ministry, it was fitting to have the highest Angel, since he was to announce the greatest news of all. These Archangels are also given special names to describe their particular virtue. For Michael means "Who is like to God?" Gabriel means "Strength of God," and Raphael "Medicine of God."

Whenever something is to be done needing great power, Michael is sent forth so that from his action and his name we may understand that no one can do what God can do. Hence that old enemy who through pride desired to be like God is shown at the end of the world, left to his own strength and about to undergo the final punishment, as destined to fight with Michael the Archangel, as John says, "There was a battle with Michael the Archangel." Similarly, Gabriel was sent to Mary; he who is called "Strength of God" came to announce Him who deigned to appear in humility to conquer the powers of the air. And Raphael is interpreted, as we said, "Medicine of God," for when he touched the eyes of Tobias to do the work of healing, he dispelled the "night of his blindness."

St Michael, St Gabriel, St Raphael, pray for us

and defend us in battle!

Lexington and Nashville to visit my favorite Sister, Kathy.

Here are some pictures of my trip to see one of my favorite people in the whole world -
Sr. Katherine (soon to receive a new name!)



Bye Bye Kathy!

When you give your life to Jesus, He takes good care of you, check out the castle they live in.

More of the castle ...

And still more....

Marian garden at the cemetery.

More cemetery garden....

Lovely Holy Family statue at the 'vent (that's what I call the convent!)

Hanging out in Kentucky.

Sr. Katherine relearning how to use a cell phone.

The Dynamics of Celibacy - an article

Spirit & Life®
"The words I spoke to you are spirit and life." (Jn 6:63)
Human Life International e-Newsletter
Volume 04, Number 18 Friday, May 15, 2009

The Dynamics of Celibacy

Some recent high-profile priest scandals have put celibacy back in the limelight as a topic for the pagan world to rage about, but rarely will you hear what the Catholic Church actually teaches about it. I hope that the following insights will be a short-course in the dynamics of a marvelous life of grace: namely, celibate chastity. The world needs to hear “the other side” of the story.
Number One: Celibacy is a gift to the world, not a rule imposed by the Church on a few seemingly-abnormal men. Celibacy initiates men into a life of spiritual fatherhood in a strikingly positive way for others.

We are called “father” for a reason: we bring spiritual life to our people through the sacred mysteries which we handle, and they are drawn into a spiritual family thereby. A truly dedicated priest has thousands of spiritual children who sometimes make immense demands on him—I often wish I had only seven children like my father! In an age where men have massively renounced their sacred duty to generate, protect and nurture families, there are myriads of selfless, celibate men sacrificing themselves in a truly manly way for the sake of God’s family and, indeed, even for the sake of many individual families. The fact that some priests fail at it does not make the gift of celibacy anything less than a true blessing; in fact, its failures force us to reflect more deeply on its quiet successes.

It’s hypocritical to think that we should throw away the gift of celibacy (i.e., make it “optional”) based upon a miniscule percentage of failures of its practitioners. We don’t say the same thing about the much higher percentage of failures in marriage. Should we allow polygamy just because some married men can’t stick to one woman? This is the time to reaffirm the genuine beauty and value of celibacy, not change this immense gift to us.

Number two: Celibacy is the personal renunciation of the legitimate goods of marriage and family as a fruitful sacrifice for the kingdom of God. The astonishment of this generation that a perfectly normal, red-blooded male could make that particular sacrifice is exactly the point of celibacy. The world needs to know that there are some men walking around who are not bound either by the expectations of society or by the terms of our fleshly human nature. They are bound by only one concern; that of a kingdom that is not of this world, and they are willing to sacrifice everything for it.

The presence in society of men who make this sacrifice is profoundly challenging to a culture that wants to reduce everything in life to the pleasure principle. Such a total renunciation is truly counter cultural: it’s like choosing to live with a permanent wound in the heart that never heals but out of which flow “rivers of living water” (Jn 7:38) that heal countless others. Celibacy is not easy for anyone to live, in fact, it is a constant death to self; but it is enormously life-giving to others, and the Church has not lost sight of that for two thousand years.

Number three: vows are vows. Married men make vows and so do priests. A vow is a promise before God of fidelity to a particular person or state in life. From a spiritual point of view a vow in marriage has the same significance as a vow of celibate chastity: it is permanently binding on the individual and requires total fidelity. We all know that vows are broken by weak and fallible men, but we also know and have seen that vows can be repaired, sins repented of, amends made and forgiveness granted to those who have offended others. Who of us does not depend in some way on the Mercy of God and those we have hurt when we have fallen? The return to fidelity breaks our pride and chastens our passions. What we must never do is make excuses or justify our compromises with pop cultural moral relativism. For example, the fact of “falling in love” with someone is no more an excuse to abandon the celibate priesthood than it is to abandon a wife and family for another woman. I have known many married men who have had that experience and then, in a more rational moment, picked themselves up, dusted themselves off and returned to fidelity—sometimes at a great cost.

Thankfully God gave us a rational will, in addition to our lower passions, so that we have something other than whimsical feelings to govern our actions. Fidelity is always possible for those who desire to return to their deepest commitments.Well, although a short article on celibacy is not enough to explain such a beautiful mystery, it is just enough to witness to a very dynamic way of life whose adherents have given life to millions throughout the centuries. In this time of great secular challenge to our faith, let us pray for the celibate men and women who have served us so well in this life and especially for those who are still trying to return to fidelity.

Sincerely,

Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer,
President, Human Life International

Easter in St. Paul

Hard to believe I just celebrated my 4th Easter at the Cathedral of St. Paul. When I was "On the Road" with NET - we went as a team to the Easter Vigil - and I have been going back ever since.

The Easter Vigil is perhaps one of my favorite liturgies of the year - with the lighting of the candles in the pitch black Cathedral, bringing in the light of Christ. I wish I could have taken a picture inside as the lighting was happening. As all the lights were out, it was still a little light outside and the stained glass windows looked more beautiful than I had ever seen before.

Divine Mercy and "7 Secrets of the Eucharist"

FRED BERRETTA'S EMAIL TO VINNY FLYNN
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Subject: Passenger of Flight 1549

Vinny,
I sincerely hope this email finds its way to you. I was a passenger on flight 1549 and my name is Fred Berretta. You might have caught a glimpse of me or heard me on CNN or Fox the night of the crash. I interviewed with Lou Dobbs, Wolf Blitzer and Bill O'Reilly and discussed the crash that night. I had been on a one day business trip to NY and sat in seat 16A just behind the left engine.
My trip was a last minute decision the day before. I finished my meetings early on Thursday and realized I had time to attend the 12 noon mass at St. Patrick Cathedral. It was unusual for me to have the extra time, but that day I did. After Mass, I stopped by the gift shop just across from the cathedral and purchased your book, "7 Secrets of the Eucharist." As I waited to board flight 1549 bound for Charlotte, where I live, I began reading your book. I continued reading while we taxied until just after take off. I think I got through about half of it and then decided to close my eyes and reflect on the incredible insights your book gave me regarding the Eucharist. We were climbing out and just a minute or so into the flight I heard the impact of the bird strikes and then the explosion in the left engine. I could see it on fire and the cabin began to smell like jet fuel.
As a private pilot, once I realized the second engine was also not functioning, things became quite tense. While I had known about and prayed the Divine Mercy chaplet years before, I had not really focused on it in quite a long time. Ironically, I had prayed the chaplet the day before at 3 pm. I had forgotten that in my briefcase I had long kept a copy of a booklet of the Divine Mercy chaplet which had excerpts from St. Faustina's diary. When I arrived in NY, I had some time at my hotel and decided to clean out my briefcase, something long overdue. I found the Divine Mercy booklet, prayed the chaplet, and read some of the words of Jesus to Faustina. Before we hit the water, I thought about the words Jesus said, that nothing would be refused if asked for during the hour of mercy.*
I really thought there was a good chance myself and others would die that day, but I asked God to be merciful to us, I prayed the Lord' prayer and a Hail Mary. I then prayed to St. Michael, and we impacted the water. The odds were not with us that day, but God clearly was. I believe it is the only jet airliner to successfully ditch in the water without fatalities in the history of aviation. I just want you to know that your book gave me comfort as we were going down, and for that I am grateful.
I know a lot of people prayed on that plane, and I believe the Miracle on the Hudson was a testament to the mercy of God, and a sign of hope. Take care and may God continue to bless your ministry and all you do to spread the message of Divine Mercy and the wonders of Holy Communion.

Best regards,
Fred Berretta

Presentation of the Lord

“Simeon gave back Jesus to His Mother, he was only suffered to keep Him for one moment. But we are far happier than Simeon. We may keep Him always if we will. In Communion He comes not only into our arms but into our hearts.”

St John Vianney

Picture by: Greg Olson--Simeon blessing the baby Jesus in Jerusalem

Luke 2:25-35

Daily Eucharistic Emails

I am on a Daily Eucharist Email list - A beautiful women here in the cities sends daily Saint quotes, book quotes, inspirational quotes with a picture as well - etc. Also, once a month she offers adoration for the intentions of everyone who receives the emails. It is beautiful. Today, I particularly enjoyed the quote and picture.

(Let me know if you want to be on the list!)

"At that hour of the Sacrifice, at the words of the Priest, the heavens are opened, and in that mystery of Jesus Christ, the choirs of Angels are present, and things below are joined to things on high, earthly things to heavenly, and the service is both a visible and an invisible event."

~St. Gregory the Great († 604)

Psalm 23

Goodness and Love will follow me .....

Clicking on the above link will be good for you. I promise.

A tribute to 3 people who have blessed my life ...

Last night at Kyle's going away party, I was able to recognize how truly blessed I am to live in the place I do, and know the people I know. Kathy, Kyle, and BP (Brian), have become very close friends over the past 3 years, and all three of them have answered the call our Lord has placed on their hearts, to give up everything and follow Him.

Kathy left on August 8th to join the Nashville Dominicans. She has been there for about a month now and and the end of her 1st letter to me, she wrote, "I am joyful, content and peaceful. His Will is my joy." Also, she wrote, "He is ever drawing me near to His heart. I long to breathe prayers moment by moment, and I am learning to. I don't forget who I'm doing this for and I don't forget that I am a woman in love with women in love."
In about a year, Kathy - Sr. Katherine, until next year when she gets her new name - will get her habit. Currently she wears a white blouse and jumper, with no veil.

And then there is Kyle, who the party was for last night. Kyle was my co-supervisor my 1st year on NET staff. We were about to supervise 2 teams, travel all over the country, and have a good time. Kyle is joining the FPO's - Franciscans of the Primitive Observance - they broke off of the CFR's years ago to live a more radical call of the Gospel. They have no money, no possessions, and live as close to how St. Francis lived as possible. They beg for food to eat, hitch-hike or get rides donated somehow --- and I could go on and on. I wrote a post about them a few months ago, but they asked Kyle (who had it on his blog, i just copied and pasted it) to take it off because they didn't want the "publicity". Pray for Kyle, his health, well-being, continual self-denial, and pursuit of holiness.

Here Kyle is trying to look like St. Francis De Sales - he is doing a pretty good job. This was the day I tried to honor Kyle by putting on a beard from the prop closet - - he liked it.And now for BP - Brian Park- Thankfully he hasn't left us like Kyle and Kathy. BP is a seminarian for the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis. BP was my supervisor when I was on the Home Team in 05-06. And for the past few years we have been able to be every day friends - which is wonderful. This was taken with BP and some of the priests and seminarians from the Archdiocese went to visit the Pope in New York. I think it is a pretty cool picture. BP has been an wonderful brother and friend over the past few years, and I am so thankful to have people like Kyle, Kathy and BP in my life!

Only the Lord knew all the things he had in store for me when I moved to Minnesota!