Five ways to keep Christ in Christmas

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!  But it can also be the most stressful time of the year.  Shopping, card writing, final exams, concerts, pageants, work and family parties, grab bags, cooking, baking, and all other festive chores and celebrations come towering down on us during this short season. 

But where is Christ among this list?  It’s a shame how secular Christmas has become and how we allow ourselves to get so stressed out to the point of forgetting the true reason for the season!  Below I offer five simple suggestion for keeping Christ, and your sanity, this Christmas. 

1)      Get an Advent Wreath (no, it’s not too late)

Whether you are living alone, with a roommate, or your family get a wreath and light it!  The most appropriate times to light it is when you eat dinner and/or when you pray.  I have an advent wreath in my room that I light every time I sit down and pray (once in the morning and once in the evening).  This simple, and decorative, action keeps you grounded in the spiritual season of Advent.  

2)      Get a Nativity Scene!

Don’t just get a nativity scene for decorative purposes but use it for prayer!  “No one, whether shepherd or wise man, can approach God here below except by kneeling before the manger at Bethlehem and adoring him hidden in the weakness of a new-born child.” (CCC #563)  I have seen a number of nativity scenes at Walgreens for very inexpensive prices.  And if you have the option, don’t put Jesus in the manger until Christmas day. 

3)      It’s ok to have you Christmas tree up.

Even though Christmas doesn’t begin until December 25 it’s ok, in my opinion, to have a Christmas tree up in your home.  It allows for you to fully enter the joy of the season.  Just because it’s Advent doesn’t mean we can’t joyfully await the coming of Christ in the manger.  So put up your Christmas tree and make it fun!  Listen to some carols, drink some eggnog (with some rum), and even watch A Christmas Carol!  Make it a fun evening with friends/ family.

4)      Go receive the Sacrament of Penance

Advent is a time of preparation for the coming of Christ.  We clean our homes before the guests arrive for our parties, we clean our kitchens before we start baking and cooking, and so we need to clean our souls for when Christ comes into our lives in this very personal way.  The King of Kings and Lord of Lords lowers himself to being born of a virgin in a barn.  He becomes one of us.  God becomes man.  He enters our lives in a powerfully personal way and we need to be ready physically and spiritually.  Cleansing our souls of the sin we have committed is the best way to prepare spiritually for Christ coming again into our lives.

5)      PRAY!!!

When you feel stressed, overwhelmed, under-appreciated, or just tired then you need to share that with Jesus.  Hand over all your worries, cares, suffering, and joy to Christ in prayer and he will be there with you to care for your pain and increase your joy!  Even taking five minutes to just pray an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be is enough to calm and center yourself.  This can be done in the car as you await a parking spot at the mall or waiting for your guests to arrive. 

Of course all five of these suggestions are built on the foundation of receiving the Eucharist weekly on Sunday.  The Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith and so it is essential to receive the Eucharist and pray the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass each week.  This is the #1 way to prepare for Christ coming…attending the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass each week on the Lord’s day to give him thanks and praise! 

 

I hope these suggestions help you to keep Christ in Christmas.  May you have a prayerful Advent, a very Merry Christmas, and a Blessed New Year!

#sluttyconfessions

The other night I was looking through some posts on twitter and I decided to look at what was trending.  I was very surprised to see #sluttyconfessions was trending on twitter.  My interest grew and I wanted to see what people were posting.  The following are some examples (and not the R rated ones) of what I read:

•   "Getting naked with my crush"

•   "I sent these nudes to a guy once"

•   "I just want to cuddle & make out with someone. I just don't care."

•   "Friends with Benefits"

•   "When kissing scenes come on TV I don't close my eyes"

•   "I gotta slow my rocker and stop breakin boys hearts"

•   "I sleep naked"

•   "Sometimes when I walk up the stairs at school I look at people's butts"

•   "I'm a virgin"

          What I truly don't understand is how our culture has evolved to degrading the human person as a trending topic on social media.  When did we lose sight of our own self-worth?  In a culture that is so self-centered how can we also be so self-degrading?  It would seem to me that in our self-centered culture our sexuality would be last thing we would want to compromise.  And yet here are all these people throwing their sexuality to the masses as a game.  Even to joke on one’s own sexuality just blows my mind.  Sex is a Holy act that reveals God.  In my own case (living a celibate life) sex is more mystical because the Eucharist is the nuptial for the Church- "This is my Body given up for you."

          All I can think of is that these sexual self-degrading acts are really a cry for love.  I think these people are searching for love.  They want an intimacy that they aren't receiving from their friends with benefits, online relationships, and superficial friendships.  They think that by giving away one of the best gifts God has given us they will find the love and intimacy they seek.  If only they knew that true love and intimacy only lies in a relationship with God.

          We will find true love in God.  But to be in love we need to fall in love and then let the love deicide everything.  To fall in love with God is the vital point of energy for every choice that follows and is the sustaining truth that endures throughout ones relationship with God.  Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said this about falling in love with God: "it's a longing so great that it passes human nature."  This is a falling in love with God that opens the door to a chaste life (which we are all called to live) and turns you into an eschatological person/sign. As an eschatological sign you will show others what sainthood looks like.

          The nature of love is about decimation.  God will destroy our selfish self.  For those called to be married your spouse will kill your selfish self.  There is no other reality that contains the true intentions of God toward us other than the cross.  We MUST live at the foot of the cross with our Blessed Mother and behold Christ.  This is the reality of the Saints!  We must allow this mystery to wash over us and live on us so that we may remain in love with God.  Another way to remain in love with God is to be explicit in our prayers with Jesus so that he can heal our wounds.  Be deeply specific and vulnerable with Christ and he will meet us in the pain.  By doing this we will experience a profound dying to all that is kept secret and hidden in our souls.  To keep secrets from Jesus (and others for that matter) is giving in to Satan.  Jesus wants our WHOLE HEART!  We can't keep anything from Jesus!

          God has made visible the invisible.  We are images of God created "very good" according to Genesis.  We need to respect ourselves, especially our sexuality!  All humans yearn for love and intimacy and God waits to be intimate with you.  God already loves you and is seeking you.  Go and find him.  Go and fall in love with him.  And hopefully the next trend will be #holyconfessions. 

How he is NOT a Roman Catholic

This past Sunday as I was enjoying breakfast at the rectory table my pastor came up to me and asked if I had come across Roger Ebert’slatest journal article in the Chicago Sun Times.  I had not read it and so my pastor pulled it up online for me to read in his office.  This is proof of how terrible catechesis has been in the Church and why we are now focusing on the New Evangelization. 
 

Roger makes a great point at the beginning of this article when he states that the Papacy, along with the Catholic Church, is the oldest human institution on the planet.  Of course any good Catholic would know that the Church is not simple a human institution, but a divine institution, which is run on earth by humans.  I remember eight years ago when Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was elected, Francis Cardinal George was interviewed about the attached picture.  The interviewer was curious as to what Cardinal George was looking at.  He was looking out at ancient Rome, at the ruins left of the ancient eternal city, the Colosseum (where hundreds of early Christians were persecuted), at the remnants of the Emperors monuments, and the Circus Maximus.  He was thinking of all the Monarchs and Emperors that have come and gone throughout our world’s history and how they are all gone, yet the Catholic Church, and the successor of St. Peter himself still remain.  

The moment when I started to second guess Ebert’s intelligence was when he stated the Church “continues to regard it [homosexuality] as a sin.”  That is not true.  Homosexuality is not a sin.  It is a sexual identity just like Heterosexuality is.  The sin lies in acting on one’s homosexual temptations.  Just as a heterosexual person sins when they engage in sex outside of marriage so too does a homosexual person.  Of course those of homosexual nature cannot get married because they are unable to fulfill the vows of Holy Matrimony but this is a discussion for another topic.  I just wanted to point out Mr. Ebert’s ignorance on basic Catholic moral teaching.

While I am glad to read he is against abortion it made me sad to read he is still pro-choice.  I used to be of the same mind.  Even though I encouraged non-abortion options I still believed that the woman should have options.  But I was foolish to believe that and Mr. Ebert is just as foolish as I was.  Clearly he believes there is a child in the womb from conception.  So if you believe there is a child then why would you allow a woman the legal right to kill that child?  I don’t have the legal right to kill any person because they inconvenience me so why should a mother have that legal right?  See, this logic does not make sense. It is wrong to take the life of another who is not trying to take your own life.  But this point he makes on abortion is not what troubles me the most but his belief that the Church is proportionalist in our moral theology.  The Church does not simply seek a greater good compared to a lesser evil.  The Church seeks to do the good and avoid evil.  We do not compare the consequences (consequentialism), seek the greatest happiness an action may or may not bring (hedonism), nor do we judge an act by the situation we find our self in (situation ethics) but we as Catholics follow the Natural Law which is inscribed on our hearts and we have discovered through revelation and tradition.  Again, this is a larger topic for another time.

THE BIGGEST AND MOST UNBELIEVABLE STATEMENT ROGER MAKES IS THIS: “I cannot believe in God.”  WHAT?!  Then why does everything prior to this statement matter if there is no God?  Why does it matter that you prefer women not kill their children?  Why do you care that the Church you claim to be a member of doesn’t allow homosexuals to get married?  Why is the Pope so important to you?  All of these items come from Divine Revelation (God speaking to man).  If there is no God then you can’t have divine revelation and that makes all the above points’ human positive law which can be argued and changed as many times the culture wishes.  Mr. Ebert did nothing but waist his own time writing this article and his readers time.  I was so upset that I had wasted five minutes reading and getting upset over his article until I realized that people probably read this article agreeing with him and that made me more scared. 

Now I want to make a clear distinction between doubt and nonbelief.  Roger Ebert says “I cannot believe in God.”  He does not say that he doubts Gods existence nor does he allude to any misunderstandings on the existence of God.  He comes right out and denies his belief in God.  A supreme being, an unmoved mover, the first cause, alpha and omega, creator, Father, and so on.  If he were to doubt Gods existence and still considered himself Catholic believing in the teachings of the Church then that would make sense.  Many of our great Saints doubted the existence of God including Blessed Teresa of Calcutta and Therese of Lisieux.  Both of these great Saints doubted the existence of God but they didn’t let that stop or hinder their faith.  They were women of great Faith, Hope, and Love.  Their doubt was a means to increase these Saintly virtues.  Roger passed doubt a long time ago.  The evil one grabbed him in his ignorance of the truth and led him to the state of nonbelief.  Sooner or later, and I pray never, Roger will realize that without God nothing matters.  We are simply here by accident and will someday leave by accident.  This is when Satan wins.  I pray that Mr. Ebert never makes it to that point but finds the truth that God DOES EXIST!  I pray he reads some Thomas Aquinas!  Robert speaks on his love of reason and science, well then Thomas should be his intercessor and teacher!  

 

I do believe that the foundation of secularism is the nonbelief in God.  We as a Church, not just the Bishops, but all of us within the Mystical Body of Christ need to catechize and evangelize first on the existence of God, second on the Blessed Trinity, third on our Creed, and then let the Holy Spirit flow.  We can’t expect people to fall in love with Christ and the Trinity without first believing in God.  Thomas’ argument from contingency explains it all.  Nothing in this world has to exist.  There is no necessity for any one of us or anything in the universe.  Yet we all exist.  Why?  To give praise and glory to our creator.

I am sorry Mr. Ebert, but you are not Catholic.  You are a misguided and confused atheist.  And until you are able to figure out who you are please stop confusing more Catholics and leading them to sin.  I pray that St. Thomas Aquinas intercedes for you, that Our Lady wrap her mantle around you, and that you have the courage to allow the Holy Spirit to guide your reason.  In the same way I pray for those who, like Mr. Ebert, have lost their foundational faith in God.

Fool Me Once...Shame On Me.

On Tuesday, January 20, 2009 I watched the 44^th President of the USA take his office.  I remember where I was (in my friend Danny’s basement) and how proud I was to be an American that morning.  I was watching the first African American take the highest office of our county.  I have two unfortunate confessions to make here: first, I did not vote for the President that year and two, if I had voted it would have been for Barak Obama. 

At the time I was pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, pro-helping the poor, and anti-anything republican.  All I needed was a tie dye shirt, bandana, and some illegal drugs to complete my hippie persona.  To complete this horrible picture I have painted for all my good Catholic readers out there I was against the Church on almost everything yet still called myself “Catholic.”

Some may be asking now “how did you get in the seminary?” “do you still believe in these things?” Please allow me to explain.  I went to the seminary because I felt God was calling me to priesthood (and I still do).  It was in the seminary when the TRUTH was FINALLY taught to me!  I learned why the Church is against abortion and the notion of “pro-choice”, I learned the reasons behind Church teaching that marriage is only for one man and one woman, I learned the TRUTH!  So do I still believe today all the evil things I believed in 2009?  Not the evil ones (such as abortion & gay marriage) but I still believe in my good ones (end all unjust wars, help our immigrants, help the poor, affordable health care, etc).  

Now the ultimate question: will I vote this year and for who?

I will be voting this year but NOT for Barak Obama.  NO CATHOLIC IN GOOD CONSCIENCE CAN VOTE FOR PRESIDENT BARAK OBAMA!  I say this for three HUGE reasons. 

1.  Barak Obama is taking away “Our First, Most Cherished Liberty.”  With President Obama in office we will lose our religious freedom.  You don’t even have to be Catholic to, in good conscience, agree with this point…you just have to be religious. 
   
2. Barak Obama is Pro-Death!  By giving away (and forcing others against their conscience to give away) free birth control and giving more funding to Planned Parenthood to assist women in abortions Barak Obama is advocating a pro-death country.
   
3. Barak Obama supports gay marriage.  As Catholics we believe that God created Man and Woman so that together they can co-create out of love with God.  Two men and two women cannot co-create with God.  Catholics cannot be pro-gay marriage. 

These are three reasons why no Catholic can, in good conscience, vote for Barak Obama.  We will lose our religious freedom, millions of people will die, and families will be destroyed. 
 

While Romney is pro-life, pro-natural marriage, and pro-religious freedom he isn’t perfect either.  Romney is not very charitable in his immigration policies along with some other things, however, he is on the side of the Catholic Church on the above three points.  

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) tells us “In the Catholic Tradition, responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation.” (Faithful Citizenship)  However, it is possible for a Catholic not to vote for anyone if they feel they can’t in good conscience. 

I am not sure who I will be voting for yet, if I feel I can vote at all, but I do know this…I will NOT be voting for Barak Obama.  

Please bring this important decision we will all have to make in November to prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to guide your conscience so that you will be able to vote for the right candidate.  All Catholics, as disciples of the Lord, are called to protect Holy Mother Church.  Let us keep that call in mind as we make these important decisions.  

A tribute to my friend.

On August 12 my best friend, James Weging, lost his six year battle with Leukemia.  His family asked me to give the eulogy at his funeral mass.  I wish to share it now on here.

James was amazing and gifted at many things from athletics to the arts.  But one thing James was never good at was answering his phone.  Most of the time I would just text or call Sara because I knew she would answer. I'm mentioning this because for those of us who would call James are all to familiar with his voice mail message: "You have reached the one and only James W. Weging."  He really was the one and only.  

James was a very unique individual who was created in the image and likeness of God.  There was nothing normal or average about him.  Everything he did was unique including: his sense of fashion.  Only James could pull off wearing a bright yellow jacket with a top hat to parties.  His dance skills were also very unique.  For those of us who attended school dances or even out at the clubs James would regularly bust out his famous dance move...the bus driver.  Of course James was also unique in his music.  James did more than just play the piano...he brought life to his music.  James put his whole heart, body, and soul into his music and made it come alive in a way that I can't properly describe to you.  James took classical music, which is not very popular today, and made it exciting to listen to.  James was ready to change the world through his music. Another unique quality of James was his ability to make people laugh.  Last night as I was swopping stories and memories of James with friends and family there was not one story that didn't end in laughter.  James knew when it was time to be serious but he always knew there was time to laugh.  And the last, and most important, piece of James that is unique was his ability to love.   

James loved with his whole heart.  I say this is the most important because St. Paul tells us "the greatest gift is love."  Without love, St. Paul tells us, we are nothing.  James was certainly something.  It was James ability to love that made him such an amazing guy.  I know that every single person in this Church was touched in at least one positive way by James.  I know my life changed for the better because of him.  James truly modeled his life after Jesus Christ and remained strong in his faith his whole life.  This past Christmas when James was in the hospital I asked what he wanted me to get him for Christmas.  He told me he wanted the Eucharist.  James understood that it was Christ alone that could save him and he relied on Christ to comfort him.  James knew that the message of the Gospel is to love and James loved every single one of us each and every day.   

James is not with us here on earth any more and we will all miss him and his sense of humor very much.  But I know that St. James is watching from that heavenly kingdom and I will be praying for his intercession and that I can live my life as he did and love as he loved. Yes James W. Weging, you are the one and only.  A unique, special, talented, trustworthy, loving individual who was created in God's image and likeness.  I saw God every time I saw and spoke to James and I know that St. James will continue to strengthen my relationship with God.  Let us all pray for James to intercede for us and continue to make us laugh as we recall the wacky and fun memories he has made possible.  

 Requiescat in pace.

Chicken Anyone?

It was a few weeks ago while I was on Facebook that I became aware of the most recent Chick-fil-A debate. I was confused at first as to what was going on because of certain meme's I saw (such as the one posted below). After I researched what was going on I thought it was funny the few people that were making, what I thought at the time to be, a big deal out of something very small. Boy was I wrong! The days following put this event at the top of the media charts! Government officials threatening to ban the restaurants from expanding, boycotts, and overwhelming support both for and against the fast food chain. I couldn't believe what came from this one mans personal opinion.

One of the government officials that came out swinging against Chick-fil-A was Chicago's own mayor who threatened to end the companies business in Chicago saying "their values are not 'Chicago values'." Our beloved Archbishop Cardinal George addressed the mayors comments in a blog post that also made the local news (to which of course the mayor did not respond). Cardinal George asked the simple question "since when does the government get to decide my value system?"

What still confuses me is why we are all fighting over who to blame for this controversy. Do we blame Mr. Cathy (CEO of Chick-fil-A)? Do we blame the entire Chick-fil-A corporation? Or do we blame our government? Why do we need to blame anyone? What is there to assign blame for? All a man did was speak his mind. Why is there a need to feel like protesting and boycotting and even celebrating the fact that a man had the courage to share his opinion?! What that says to me is we live in a society where people are afraid to speak their mind.

I have always been a "loud mouth" and my father is always quick to remind me. I always speak my mind and share my opinions. But seeing how the country has reacted to this recent announcement has caused me to think that speaking your mind isn't normal. I say this because of the debates and arguments that have come from Mr. Cathy taking a public stance on the definition of marriage. The names he has been called, the attacks on his business, the support of his business, and the political questioning are just mind boggling to me. Mr. Cathy probably had no idea how much his words would impact the nation and his company.

Personally, I applaud Mr. Cathy! Not just for his stance on the definition of marriage but for his courage to speak his mind and stand strong in his beliefs! All of the Saints, especially martyrs, we're not afraid to speak their mind and they shared Christ's Gospel to all the people's that they met! We are called to be Saints! We are called to be Christ like to all those we come in contact with. I pray that we may all have the courage of the Saints and of Mr. Cathy to stand strong in our beliefs so that we, as Catholics, can better the world we live in.

The "Little Way" through Suffering

Today I was fortunate enough to be an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist at a nursing home near my parish. These are people who are only about to attend Mass once a month but through a wonderful ministry in my parish they are able to receive the Eucharist and pray as a community once a week. I was surprised to find out that I had prepared the wrong readings for our prayer service we had so I had to think of a brand new reflection on the spot, however, the Holy Spirit was with me and guided all of us through a great discussion that I wish to share here. The readings we read were for this coming Sunday (Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time) where St. Paul asks God to help him overcome the thorns in his side coming from the devil, to which God replies "You have all the graces you need." In the Gospel Jesus is confronted by many people who do not have any faith in who he is and because of their lack of faith Christ is not able to help them. As I was reading these out loud I couldn't help but think of the Little Flower, St. Therese of Lisieux. St. Therese left us many gifts, including her Little Way. St. Therese offers us, within her Little Way, a practical formula for coping with pain and suffering. Rather than allow herself to be overwhelmed by her pain, she focused only on the moment at hand, praying for the patience and strength to move through it.

"If I did not simple suffer from one moment to another, it would be impossible for me to be patient; but I look only at the present moment [and] forget the past; and I take good care not to forestall the future." Therese wisely points out that we tent to magnify our suffering when we project it into the unknown future, or dwell on suffering from the past. Instead, Therese was able to draw strength from her confidence that God would provide the grace she needed at any given moment.

"God gives me courage in proportion to my sufferings. I feel at this moment I couldn't suffer any more, but I'm not afraid, since if they increase, He will increase my courage at the same time." We, too, can have confidence knowing that while a cure or instant relief for our pain or suffering may not be at hand, we can turn to God for the courage we feel is lacking. And when the strength to do more fails us, we can simply offer our suffering to God, as Therese did. And just as the Lord told St. Paul "You have all the graces you need." God always provides us with the graces and tools needed to deal with temptation, weakness, suffering, etc. We just have to have faith, unlike those Jesus encountered in the Gospel and could not help, and God will provide us with the graces and tools we need. It is my continued prayer, through the intercession of St. Therese, that we always remember to have faith in God and seek his graces and blessings at all times.