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Friday, August 29, 2014

Fatherhood

For Fathers:


1. Our vocation is to get our families to heaven.
2. Our children are always watching us. They will likely model later in life what they learn at home.
3. We are made for heaven, not this world. Let’s act accordingly.
4. Our children are God’s gift to us. The love and care we show our children is our gift back to Him.



Dads, I encourage all of us to take the four points listed above to prayer. Let’s not allow our pride to keep us from asking for help. Seek the intercession of the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph. Let’s pray for each other, challenge each other, and encourage each other. Let’s live out our vocation to fatherhood with courage and honor, for as Archbishop Gomez of Los Angeles said, “It’s a promise to be faithful to the vocation of being a father. Even after a long day of work, even if he’d rather be doing something else—instead he will smile and laugh and take delight in spending time and playing games with his kids. Because that’s what fathers do. They keep their promise to love.”


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Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Healing the Soul

We are called not to admire the love of Jesus, we are called to imitate His love.  Jesus sacrificed Himself and died for our sins.  this is real love.  We are called not to let this go to waste and allow Him to forgive us - so we can be free!
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Sunday, August 24, 2014

Conscience

Conscience...is an act of a person’s intelligence, the function of which is to apply the universal knowledge of the good in a specific situation. . .[32-3] This according to our former pastor, Pope John Paul II in his encyclical Veritatis SplendorLink to article


Conscience therefore is not creating our own personal, subjective truth and following it.  Man, through his pride, has had an urge to "play God" from the beginning - see Adam in the book of Genesis.  This only leads to misery and suffering (as Adam and Eve found out in the garden).


Therefore, we must ultimately and humbly submit to the laws of God objectively (Church teaching) not our own (i.e. my intellect might be telling me that artificial birth control is morally acceptable, but this is wrong  - the law of God as given through the Church says otherwise).  We must submit to the objective, universal knowledge of the good first (not our own, subjective knowledge), then act on it.  If we do this, we will find peace.


St. Paul referred to this as the transformation and "renewing of our mind", Romans 12:2, and putting on "the mind of Christ", 1 Corinthians 2:16.


Dying to self is a very difficult thing to do, but Christ will help us do it, if we are willing.



Friday, August 22, 2014

Illness

An inspiring story about a faithful priest who endured suffering:




A Memorial Mass is scheduled August 30, 10:00 a.m. at Holy Angels in Arcadia for Fr. Stuart Long, 50, who died June 9 in Helena, Montana after a long illness.  Fr. Stu joined Holy Angels through the RCIA and was a longtime parishioner there before becoming a priest.


Fr. Stu felt a call to the priesthood as he was baptized in 1994 at Holy Angels by Monsignor Norm Priebe, and decided to teach Religion at Bishop Alemany High School in Mission Hills for three years before entering the seminary.  Fr. Stu also coached wrestling.


Fr. Stu graduated from Carroll College in Helena, Montana, playing Saints football for two years and developing a passion for boxing, in which he excelled.  He won the 1985 Golden Gloves heavyweight title for Montana and was runner-up in 1986, the year he graduated from Carroll, having earned a degree in English literature and writing.  


Although Fr. Stu studied at a Catholic college, at the time he wasn’t a believer.  His indignant attitude toward faith often caused disruption on campus, antagonizing priests and fellow students.  Fr. Stu later described it as carrying a “huge grudge” as he wasn’t concerned about taking his frustration out on others.  


After graduation, Fr. Stu channeled his aggression to plan a career as a prizefighter, but that was nipped in the bud by reconstructive jaw surgery after a fight, so at his mom’s suggestion he moved to Los Angeles intent on breaking into the movies.  As Fr. Stu once said in retrospect (quoting from St. Augustine’s Confessions), “God was working behind the scenes.  He was with me but I was outside”. 


Though he made some commercials and had a few bit parts, Fr. Stu became disillusioned with the seedy industry and eventually took a position with the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, where he rose to become manager.


Riding his motorcycle home from the museum one evening, he was struck by a car at freeway speed, then run over by another.  The emergency room doctors left little hope for survival.  His father and girlfriend were summoned to pay their last respects.  


It was at this fragile point of his life, as it was hanging by a thread, when God finally got Fr. Stu’s attention.  He later described “mysterious encounters” which would inextricably change his life forever.  This close brush with death was the turning point that prompted an exploration of a religious faith he once deplored, ultimately leading to his baptism as a Roman Catholic.  He miraculously left the hospital one week later and approached the nearest Catholic Church.  There Stu met a holy priest who took him under his wing and guided him through RCIA. 


During his conversion Fr. Stu was influenced and deeply moved by the lives of the saints especially St. Francis, St, Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Ignatius Loyola and St. Padre Pio.  He developed a deep love for the Tradition of the Church and appreciated the spirit of the martyrs.  He joined his parish Legion of Mary, acquiring a Marian spirituality while participating in door to door, pro-life, hospital and homeless ministries.  He also helped spearhead a community effort that effectively stopped the construction of a proposed Planned Parenthood clinic in the City of Monrovia, CA.


Fr. Stu flourished, absorbed with the love of Christ and graced with a desire to share it; he brought the faith to others.  He accredited effective evangelization to sound Church teaching often quipping, “People are ultimately drawn to the Truth”.           


His mentor, Fr. Benedict Groeschel C.F.R., fostered his devotion to St. Francis, but Stu was too old at that time in his life to join the Franciscan community.  So at his spiritual director’s suggestion (and insistence for an “orthodox” formation) he enrolled at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio.


There Fr. Stu earned a Master’s degree in philosophy and then received his priestly formation for the Diocese of Helena at Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon. He was ordained a priest by Bishop Thomas on Dec. 14, 2007, at the Cathedral of St. Helena.


While a seminarian at Mount Angel, Fr. Stu underwent surgery to remove a tumor discovered on his hip. He was diagnosed with inclusion body myositis, an extremely rare autoimmune disease that mimics the symptoms of ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease, and for which there is no cure. By the time of his ordination, Father Stu was walking with the aid of crutches.  Father Stu found his great love serving as a priest, administering the sacraments and counseling his flock.


As his illness weakened him the diocese of Helena brought him home in 2010, where Father Stu took up a new life and ministry at Big Sky Care Center. Now using a power chair, and with the tireless assistance of his dad, Bill Long, Father Stu spread the faith throughout Helena’s parishes. He celebrated Mass regularly at St. Mary’s and Big Sky Care Center, as well as traveling wherever asked to perform the duties of his calling.  His Masses were known to be very devout and his homilies very faithful to Christ and His Church.  


Father Stu brought a servant’s heart to each and every minute of his ministry, his love increasing in power as physical strength declined. Father Stu became a beloved priest, confessor and friend to countless people. He taught by example, willingly accepting the pain and weakness each day brought; Stu said it was the best thing that ever happened to him, because it allowed him to shed the pride he had felt for most of his life.


Fr. Stu’s physical suffering sanctified him.  He endured his pain without complaint, giving thanks to God always.  Fr. Stu’s witness brought dozens (if not hundreds) of Montanans into the Church as was evident by the overflow crowd and personal testimony of those who attended his funeral.  


Father Stu will be missed, but his legacy of love and selflessness lives on in the hearts and minds of all he served.  Many on the Diocese of Helena feel he will someday be a canonized saint, a true priest. 


He is survived by his parents, Bill and Kathleen Long; siblings Jennifer, Scott (Kathy) and Amy (Tom) from Corona; and many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins.




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Thursday, August 21, 2014

Confession

3 REASONS TO GO TO CONFESSION

Many men are embarrassed or afraid to go to confession. They avoid it as long as possible, and make excuses for not going. If that’s you, here are three reasons you should go to confession as soon as possible.
1. A new beginning – No matter what you’ve done (think of the worst thing you could possibly do), you can find mercy and healing in the sacrament of penance. When you walk out of the confessional, you are as sin free as you will ever be. Why would you notwant that gift?
Even if you haven’t committed any serious sins, going to confession is like  taking a bath. While they don’t kill us spiritually, venial sins wound our soul and make it dirty, so to speak. Don’t let your soul become smelly and dusty with venial sins. Go to confession.
2. Concrete forgiveness - Our Lord does not keep us guessing about whether or not we are forgiven. When the priest utters the words of absolution, your soul is instantly and completely healed. Sacramentally, Jesus is present in the confessional in the person of the priest. If he were here on earth, wouldn’t you ask him for forgiveness? If you want to experience the Divine Mercy in a real way, confession is the way to do it.
3. You receive graces - There is a mistaken notion that confession is just getting rid of our sins. But that’s not true. We not only have our sins taken away and cast into the bottom of the sea, we also receive graces from Christ that we desperately need to live a holy life. The more you go to
confession, the more graces you receive.

Monday, August 18, 2014

Holy Hours and Healing

Christ in the Blessed Sacrament is a powerful source of healing.


Through many dark days and nights, Jesus the Eternal High Priest carried me through tumultuous waters. My encounters with Jesus during daily Holy Hours undoubtedly saved my family as the cross bore down upon us.


Read Rest

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Be A Leader

When we feel we have some control over our own lives, our suffering diminishes.  The idea is to be a leader, to regain personal freedom.

1. Don’t compromise your principles

‘One must compromise.’ Compromise is a word found only in the vocabulary of those who have no will to fight — the lazy, the cunning, the cowardly — for they consider themselves defeated before they start.

2. Don’t waste time

Don’t let your life be barren. Be useful. Make yourself felt. Shine forth with the torch of your faith and your love.
With your apostolic life, wipe out the trail of filth and slime left by the corrupt sowers of hatred. And set aflame all the ways of the earth with the fire of Christ that you bear in your heart.

3. Pay attention to the little things

Will-power. A very important quality. Don’t despise little things, for by the continual practice of denying yourself again and again in such things — which are never futile or trivial — with God’s grace you will add strength and resilience to your character. In that way you will first become master of yourself, and then a guide, a chief, a leader: to compel and to urge and to inspire others, with your word, with your example, with your knowledge and with your power.

4. Embrace sacrifice

The Lord’s calling — vocation — always presents itself like this: “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
Yes: a vocation demands self-denial, sacrifice. But how pleasant that sacrifice turns out to be — gaudium cum pace, joy and peace — if that self-giving is complete!

5. Pray boldly

Be daring in your prayer, and the Lord will turn you from a pessimist into an optimist; from being timid, to being daring, from being feeble-spirited to being a man of faith, an apostle!


Read Rest

Saturday, August 9, 2014

Salvation of Souls

The Church's mission is not to solve poverty. In fact, Jesus said that we would always have the poor with us (Mark 14: 7). The Church's mission is the salvation of souls. When a crowd of people went searching for Jesus and found Him on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, they said to Him, 'Rabbi, when did you come here?' And Jesus answered them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you; for on Him has God the Father set His seal." The crowd said to Him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" And Jesus answered them: "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him who He has sent." (John 6: 25-29).




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Wednesday, August 6, 2014

What We Fear Controls Us

What we fear controls us. Satan knows this and so do marketers. And while the story here features a company using fear to save lives, the more frequent use of fear is to control people for less noble purposes.
A good bit of marketing does not merely target our needs but also our fears. Thus many commercials begin their appeal by subtly indicating that we are not pretty enough, or not popular enough, or that we might have bad breath, or that we haven’t really lived and will not reach our potential unless we use “Product X.” If we do not have or use “Product X” we are inadequate; our life is a failure and others will surpass us or look and be more successful than we are. Other commercials warn us of every disease, calamity, or possible trouble. Then after inciting these fears, they offer to sell us medicines, insurance, alarm systems, or financial securities.
Of themselves, these sorts of appeals are not evil, but they do show how effective fear is in motivating and even controlling us. Companies spend billions on these commercials because they know that they work. 
Satan, too, uses fear to control us—especially the fear of rejection. Most of us have a natural desire to get along with others and to avoid unnecessary conflict. But given our fallen nature, we have this desire to a great fault. The desperate desire to fit in and be approved is one of the deepest wounds in the human heart. So pervasive is this sinful drive of fear that I have often wondered why it isn’t the “Eighth Deadly Sin.” As a sinful drive, this fear leads us to countless other sins.
So much do we fear rejection and not being popular that we will sin in very serious ways in order to gain the approval of others and the world. Young girls will give away their bodies to mere boyfriends in order to be approved. Young men will join gangs and get in all sorts of trouble to be approved and accepted. People will spend enormous amounts of money buying things they cannot really afford just to impress people they do not even really know or like. People will walk up to a group engaged in very ugly gossip or unchaste conversation and join right in just to gain entrance to the group. People will dress and act immodestly, even if it’s uncomfortable, just because “everyone else is doing it” and they feel they must also in order to be accepted and approved.
The list could go on but you get the point. What we fear controls us.

Saturday, August 2, 2014

God Erases Guilt

Here is a good anecdote for overcoming suffering due to guilt:


Growing up, Beth Bayman had a life of privilege.  “I would say flat spoiled actually,” she said.  Beth was passionate about horse riding and wanted to pursue it as a career, but her parents told her it could only be a hobby. “They wanted me to grow up and go to college and be a career woman.  As an only child I was used to getting what I wanted and when I didn’t get what I wanted I went directly to the most drastic measure to get attention.” 
As a teen, she began to rebel against her parents by sneaking out, drinking, and cutting.  “I think that it was a scream for attention.  I was still very angry, very hurt that the career choice I wanted was not taken seriously by my parents.”  At 16, Beth continued to push the limits.  One night, she was arrested for drunken driving, that’s when her parents decided to send her off to boarding school.  
She graduated high school and started college, but she couldn’t balance the books and her new drug habit.  “There was a void to fill and I filled it with the excitement of partying and drugs and I started getting into LSD in college and lost my scholarship.”
She didn’t give up the nightlife. She met a man in a bar, and fell in love, but she says he started to abuse her. Then Beth became pregnant.  She says he pulled a knife on her when he found out.  “Denied being the father to the child, held the knife to my stomach and said that he was going to gut me and the son that wasn’t his,” said Beth.
Fearful of her boyfriend, she chose to have an abortion.  I remember at the clinic, the receptionist.  I was crying, filling out paperwork and she said, ‘Honey, It’s not going to hurt a bit.  We’ll take good care of you.’  And I looked at her and I said 'I’m not crying because it’s going to hurt. I’m crying because of what I’m doing.'  I never really forgave myself for that abortion,” Beth said.
She turned to Methamphetamine to fill the emptiness and was instantly addicted.  Despite the abuse, Beth married her boyfriend and gave birth to two children.
“I had already decided I was going to Hell for having an abortion.  I knew that I was, and I figured I would be sterile for the rest of my life.  So when I found out that I was pregnant I was absolutely overjoyed.”
She says after several years of abuse, she divorced her husband.   Later, she met Jason and quit using meth, but the couple started abusing prescription drugs.  Jason was drunk one night, when he jumped out of a moving car after an argument with Beth.
During his recovery Jason repented, gave up drugs, and surrendered to God.  “I picked up the Bible started reading it and He started changing my heart.  I would read a story out of the Bible and it would speak to me and I would immediately come to her,” Jason explained.
“He would read me all sorts of Bible stories and different scriptures, then before you knew it he turned on the Christian television, then I was getting into it.  I said, ‘Jason, do you think I’m going to Hell for that abortion?’ He said, ‘I don’t think I’m the one to answer that.  I think you need to write Jesus a letter.’ And I did,” said Beth.
With pen and paper Beth poured out her heart to God.  “I said to Jesus, 'I would like to ask for forgiveness for the abortion that I had.'  And I said, that 'I realize now, why you went to the cross. 'And I could feel my heart responding to the words that I had written.”
Beth realized the letter was more than words on a page. “I read out loud what I had written and that’s how I knew what Jesus had done.  I knew the meaning of the cross.  I knew the meaning of forgiveness.  If He could forgive me for killing my own little baby… That’s when it all became real,” she said.
Beth forgave her first husband.  She says the hole in her heart is now filled with true love. “I found in Jesus everything that I’d been searching for.  Chasing down drugs.  Chasing down a party.  Chasing down company.  Jesus has been my ‘ah-ha’ moment.  My, This is what I’ve been missing,” said Beth.
Today Beth is drug-free.  She’s Jason’s wife and a stay-at-home mother. She’s thankful for God’s forgiveness and a fresh start. Beth said 2 Corinthians 5:17 reflects her testimony the best.  “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  Old things have passed away.  Behold all things are made new,” Beth read.


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