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Thursday, October 30, 2014

Rebuild Lives

Five years ago this spring, Greg Thomas sat on the crumbling steps of an abandoned church.

Contemplating how to serve his creator during what he believed were his final days, he came upon the idea of restoring the tiny wooden church outside Montgomery, Minn. He never imagined that in doing so, he would restore his own health as well.

“It’s an amazing story,” said Thomas, 61. “I can’t tell you how many things have transpired because of that church.”



Suffering with cancer

Monday, October 27, 2014

Suffering That Saves

The cross is a sign  of contradiction.  It is the best and worst event in history.  To embrace suffering as Jesus did is to overcome suffering and attain redemption.


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Sunday, October 26, 2014

Prayer for a Son

Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.


Build me a son whose wishes will not take the place of deeds; a son who will know Thee—and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.


Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail.


Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.
And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, and the weakness of true strength.


Then I, his father will dare to whisper, “I have not lived in vain. ”


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Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Marriage and Suffering

Now that the Extraordinary Synod on the Family is over, do you find yourself saying, “I wish I could have said this to them …”? And with the Ordinary Synod on the Family just a year away, do you find yourself saying, “I hope I can say this to the next synod …”?

Here’s what I would like the Synod Fathers, this year’s and next year’s, to think about. I’d like them to think about my friend, Pete. (I have permission to relate this story.)

Pete’s an old friend, active in his parish, as generous a man as you can ever hope to meet. About four years ago, after 30 years of marriage, his wife walked out on him. He was devastated. “Father, I wouldn’t wish this pain on my worst enemy.”

After the civil divorce was finalized, relatives and friends, many of them self-identified Catholics, told Pete to take off his wedding band and “move on.” Their advice, in various forms, came down to this: “She’s never coming back. Your marriage is over. There are other fish in the sea. God wants you to be happy. There’s no point to your suffering.”

Pete, to his credit, didn’t listen to them. He pointed to his ring, and told them all, “I’m a married man. We knew what we were doing on our wedding day. We knew what we promised to each other and to God; we knew what God had promised to us.” Pete immersed himself in the sacraments. He cannot live without Eucharistic Adoration, the Rosary and the Divine Mercy. “I will not stop praying for the restoration of my family until the day I die.” Because I know Pete so well, I believe him.


Read rest

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Who Is Man?

Christian anthropology is the study of humanity as it relates to God.  In this sense, how God interacts with humanity.


God shares in humanity's suffering.  We must share in God's. In this sense, men specifically are called to be like Christ, to be true men.


Who is Man? Ultimately He is Jesus Christ, the Perfect Man who shows us who we are meant to be. In becoming more like Christ we are ipso facto becoming more fully human.


Who is Man? The answer was given unwittingly by Pontius Pilate as he showed the scourged Christ to the people. Ecce Homo. Behold, Man!


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Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Blessings Defeat Curses

A blessing means to "speak well of" another.  We encourage others when we bless them.  A curse is the opposite. 


The church liturgically gives blessings through the priest.  


Blessings themselves are not sacraments; they are not of Divine institution; they do not confer sanctifying grace; and they do not produce their effects in virtue of the rite itself. They are sacramentals and, as such, they are held to produce the following specific effects:
  • Excitation of pious emotions and affections of the heart and, by means of these, remission of venial sin and of the temporal punishment due to it
  • Freedom from power of evil spirits
  • Preservation and restoration of bodily health
  • Various other benefits, temporal or spiritual
All these effects are not necessarily inherent in any one blessing; some are caused by one formula, and others by another, nor are they infallibly produced. It depends altogether on the Church's suffrages that persons using the things blessed derive supernatural advantages. There is no reason to limit the miraculous interference of God to the early ages of the Church's history, and the Church never accepts these wonderful occurrences unless the evidence in support of their authenticity is absolutely unimpeachable.


A curse is an action that is done to harm another with the help of demons. There are specific curses to kill, to cause one to be possessed, to make things go bad in business, and to make someone sick, etc. …Curses are effective only if God allows them to have effect. The more one prays the more one will be protected against these things.


The following highly effective weapons if one believes he is the victim of a curse. One cannot go wrong with these!
  1. Pray the Rosary
  2. Read the Bible
  3. Speak with God every day
  4. Attend Mass frequently, even daily
  5. Place a blessed crucifix and an image of the Blessed Mother in one’s house.
  6. Make the sign of the cross with holy water daily.
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Sunday, October 12, 2014

Righteous Anger

Anger is o.k. (righteous) if it is directed toward justice (righting a wrong).  Jesus shows us this in the temple.  Anger is dangerous when it becomes revenge (wrath).  This type of anger causes suffering and depression when turned inward.  Meditation and contemplation can help diminish wrath by helping us not to react to it.  Do not respond to the devil.


The devil is full of impotent and irrational rage. His fury against God and all that is good is impotent because he has no power against God. It is irrational because Satan is the Father of Lies, and where there is no truth there is no reason or rationality. When this impotent and irrational rage surges up in our own lives it shows the face of the deadly sin of wrath.


In one of the wisest observations in sacred Scripture we read, “Be angry, but sin not.” In other words, anger is permitted. Psychologists say that depression is often caused by repressed and unacknowledged anger. Righteous anger is the desire for justice being expressed. It is permissible, therefore to be angry but we are to express anger in a rational and powerful way. Anger should be expressed with an aim to resolve the injustice and move toward forgiveness, reconciliation and a positive solution to a problem.


Wrath, on the other hand, has no desire to bring about justice. St Thomas Aquinas said wrath was the desire for justice distorted into a longing for revenge. Wrath therefore surges forth from impotence and irrationality. Wrath is pointless and destructive anger. It lashes out intemperately without reason and without any desire for a positive, pure and powerful solution. When this kind of volcanic rage explodes from us the borderlands of hell—where irrational and impotent rage rules all—is glimpsed.


What can be even worse than this explosive rate is when the wrath is repressed within. Then we mull over our anger. We plan revenge. We think what we “should have said.” We rehearse our anger, lick our wounds and pick at the scabs of our injuries. Sullen, introspective and dark brooding is wrath turned inward and the poet Dante observes that suicide is the ultimate expression of wrath turned inward. In an act of suppressed irrational rage the human person takes the final act of desperate wrath and destroys himself.

The virtue that counters wrath is patience. Patience is not simply putting up with an offense with a kind of determined forbearance. Instead patience is a fruit of the spirit growing in the human heart. Patience is evidence of true charity in the human soul. Do you remember that old saying, “Be kind. Everyone you meet is carrying a heavy burden.”? That is an example of true, grace filled patience. The patient person does not respond in irrational rage and impotent wrath. Instead they live a daily life infused with rational patience and powerful love.


This kind of patience can only be experienced through the alchemy of forgiveness. Through the transaction of first receiving forgiveness than extending that forgiveness to others we experience and extend patience in the world. Patience is a virtue that the dark forces of hell cannot even comprehend, and its existence in a believer’s life is one of the sure signs that God is doing that work of inner transformation that finally brings the soul to the beautiful shores of heaven.


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Thursday, October 9, 2014

Be A Man

Much suffering comes to women when "men" fail to be men.  Christ is the model for men. 


Spiritual growth is a process of transformation, and the ideal goal of that process is the formation of the character of Jesus Christ within each one of us. To accomplish this heady goal, men need to "imitate Christ".  Unfortunately, men are doing the opposite, and women suffer as a result.   


Our culture needs men to "man-up".  Prayer, Mass, the Sacraments and living the Catechism are good places to start.

Saturday, October 4, 2014

A Man of Suffering

Fr. Benedict was a priest who lived the passion of Christ.  He dedicated his priesthood and surrendered his will to his Father in heaven.  His earthly ministry taught us much about suffering and how to endure through God's grace.  His talks are timeless and inspirational.  May he receive his reward and rest in peace.  It's only fitting he go to the Lord on the Feast of St. Francis.


Pray for us

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Guardian Angels

On the Feast of the Guardian Angels it does well to remember that God gives us angels to assist and protect us in time of need.  Call on your guardian angel in your struggle.


Psalm 91:9-13
Because you have the LORD for your refuge
and have made the Most High your stronghold,
No evil shall befall you,
no affliction come near your tent.
For he commands his angels with regard to you,
to guard you wherever you go.
With their hands they shall support you,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
You can tread upon the asp and the viper,
trample the lion and the dragon.

Exodus 23:20-26
My angel will go before you and bring you to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites; and I will wipe them out. Therefore, you shall not bow down to their gods and serve them, nor shall you act as they do; rather, you must demolish them and smash their sacred stones. You shall serve the LORD, your God; then he will bless your food and drink, and I will remove sickness from your midst; no woman in your land will be barren or miscarry; and I will give you a full span of life.


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