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.

Fortnight for Freedom (Solemnity of St's. Peter and Paul)

Ever since Thursday, June 21, we have been involved in the Fortnight for Freedom. This is a religious campaign meant to educate, pray, and fast for religious freedom in our country. I have been asked by my Pastor to schedule a series of events during the Fortnight and this evening we held Solemn Vespers (St's. Peter and Paul) for religious freedom. My Pastor also asked me this evening to give a reflection on religious freedom. I wish to share my reflection on here as well:

Pope Benedict XVI recently referred to us, meaning all of us Catholics here on earth, as the Church Militant. The use of this phrase by the Holy Father has been controversial but he couldn't be more correct in using it...especially at this point in the history of our world. The Church Militant (Ecclesia Militans for our Latin scholars) comprises christians on earth who are living...also known as the christian militia, who struggle against sin, the devil, and, as St. Paul says "the rulers of the darkness of this world against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Ephesians 6:12) Two of the greatest leaders the Church Militant has ever had are being celebrated this day. Saints Peter and Paul. They were two heroic and courageous leaders of the Church Militant and they both tragically, and gloriously, lost their lives fighting to preserve the truth of Jesus Christ! Pope Pius XII said: "We belong to the church militant and she is militant because on earth the powers of darkness are ever restless to encompass her destruction." In our recent struggle for religious liberty in this country I think we are at a point now more than ever to stand together and fight for our rights! That is the whole purpose of this Fortnight for Freedom. Our Bishops have asked us to stand together and pray as a community of faith for our religious liberty to be protected. Now more than ever we need to be united in our Church, faith, and unite around our Bishops. They are the Shepherds who guide us to Christ and it is through our Bishops that we are able to meet Christ. Some of you may be sitting in the pew wondering why uniting around our Bishops is so important? You may be asking yourself what more can we do? Yes, there are plenty of political actions we can make such as writing to our congressmen, signing petitions, rallying in the streets, and refusing to pay taxes and fines. Doing those things are a great way to make our voices heard! We should take advantage of our rights to do those things before the government takes those away from us next! But it is equally important to stand behind our Bishops because of who they represent and the power their office holds. Our Bishops represent the Apostles living on earth. Through their Apostolic succession they ARE the closest men to Christ! It is through the Bishop that we are able to receive Christ and his Sacraments! Our Bishops are our Shepherds and we are their sheep. We must follow them and obey them. Our government wants to make divisions in the Church! Our government wants us to stop listening to our Bishops! The government loves the fact that most catholics disagree with the Church teaching on contraception and homosexual marriage. The government loves when religious orders protest decisions made by the Bishops. The government wants one thing and that is for the government to be the only voice Americans will listen to and obey. The Bishops of the Church were chosen by the Holy Spirit to bring Christ's Gospel to the world and proclaim it loud for all people to hear. We must listen to that Gospel and rally around our Bishops, not against them, and help them proclaim Christ's message to the world, and especially our great nation. The Bishops know the truth and they want to share it with all of us. We must be courageous in following their example, listen to their truth, and help them proclaim and share it. We are the Church Militant and our Bishops the leaders of our militia. Pope Benedict XVI said: "We see how evil wishes to dominate the world and that it is necessary to enter into battle with evil. Evil is seen in many forms of violence masked with goodness and precisely this way destroying the moral foundations of society." Our Holy Father, THE VICOR OF CHRIST ON EARTH, said these words just weeks before the HHS mandate was made public. The Holy Spirit was preparing us for the battle yet to come. It is our duty now to stand up with our Bishops and fight against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. Is the Devil behind this mandate? I don't know. And I like it that way. But I do know this. If we don't stand as one Body of Christ behind the authority of our Bishops, and with the Communion of Saints, we don't stand a chance. We are in a spiritual warfare. Let us pray that it never becomes physical.

With Liberty and Justice for ALL

Just a few months ago I heard Cardinal George speak at a dinner and the main point of his talk was on religious liberty. He said that if our government continues to act the way they currently are then in his lifetime (Cardinal George) he sees the Church going underground. At first I laughed at that! I thought there is no way that will ever happen in this country! However, due to recent laws and practices I am beginning to think that Cardinal George may not be so crazy.

This month the federal government issued a mandate that every employer is required to offer in their health plan to employees certain contraceptive, sterilization, and abortion drugs. This mandate goes into effect August of 2012 or as soon as the insurance is renewed (normally January 1). For religious institutions the government has been “generous” enough to allow us a suspension until August 2013. Thanks be to God that individual Churches and whole Diocese are exempt from this mandate but hospitals and universities are not. Besides the fact that this mandate is a HORRIBLE idea it is even worse that religious institutions are being forced to cooperate with it even though it goes completely against our moral conscience. This does not only effect Catholic institutions but a number of other religions such as the Jews and other Christian denominations. This is how the government is slowly taking away our religious liberty. First, our tax dollars are funding abortions, now our hospitals and universities have to give out immoral drugs to employees, what’s next? Are we going to be seen as a non-equal opportunity employer because woman can’t be priests and be forced to ordain them? Are we going to have to offer students in our schools and universities contraceptive drugs and condoms? Will the Church be forced to marry same sex couples? I have no idea what our government is going to try next but we are going to be in a lot of trouble when they do.

You may be asking yourself the same question I did a couple months ago: “What will it take to make the Church in the USA go underground?” Well, let’s say any of the above does happen. The Church cannot do any of those things because it goes directly against what the church teaches. Because we are going against the law we will lose our tax-exempt status and our Church leaders, the Bishops, will probably be arrested. After that who knows what could happen. Sunday mass could be seen as an illegal protest of some sort and be shut down, because all the Bishops are in jail and Diocese have lost their “business” status in the country actual Parishes will probably be shut down, and who knows what else could happen. It really is scary to think about. My brothers and I are particularly scared because we will have to be the ones with solutions to these problems. We will have to stand up for Mother Church and protect her against the wickedness of the men running our government.

So, how can we prevent this? I wish I had a good answer. One way to start is by electing officials that will stand up for religious liberties and protect them. We all have rights in this country! Just because we separate Church from State does not mean Church can’t have a voice in State decisions! We are all supposed to be equal in the country! So let’s vote in candidates that will stand up for religious liberties! Write to your senators and congressmen letting them know how important your religious liberties are to you! We also need to spread this news around to all our brothers and sisters! It is my fear that no one will realize these injustices until it is too late. We need to let everyone know what is at stake in this country right now. The last, and most important thing, we can do is pray. Pray that the Lord looks upon our government leaders and that the Holy Spirit may descend upon them to lead this country in a just way keeping in mind that all people have liberties and all are equal and should be treated with respect from conception to natural death! As always, pray for the intercession and protection of our Blessed Mother.

I am the 1%

Amid all the recent protests around the world against the “1%” I really didn’t pay much attention to the matter. I thought the Occupy Wall Street protest was just a one day thing where a lot of people just needed to vent. However, when I saw that this Occupy Together movement was growing throughout the country and the world it started to grab my attention a little more. While I still don’t think I completely understand the point of these protests I have begun to reflect on a few things related to this movement.

A wise priest once told me that there is only one luggage rack on a hearse. When, God willing, the Lord calls us home to his Heavenly Kingdom we will not be going with any luggage. We will not be able to take our cell phones, computers, iToys, money, jewelry, real estate, or any other material possessions. We will only be taking ourselves. I am mentioning this because this is an important lesson that we all forget. If nothing material in this world is going to last an eternity then why do we need to spend so much money purchasing these items? Why do we need to have hundreds of thousands of dollars saved up when we don’t need a penny of it in Heaven? Of course, parents want to, and should, provide their children with excellent education, and all people should be able to live a healthy lifestyle. However, a healthy lifestyle is the bare essentials.

“…give us this day our daily bread.”

The Catholic Church teaches that all human life is to be treated with dignity and respect. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church the teaching of Christ’s greatest commandment is re-stated as “respect for the human person proceeds by way of respect for the principle that ‘everyone should look upon his neighbor (without any exception) as another self, above all bearing in mind his life and the means necessary for living it with dignity.’” With that said, all human persons should be working to receive food, shelter, clothing, and health. We are not entitled to these things. We do have to work for them but these are the bare essentials that we should be happy with.

When looking at the Occupy Together movement I first ask myself “why?” Why are all these people gathering to protest the “1%” of people who are extremely wealthy? Especially here in America where our countries dream is to be a business owner and become rich! I think that amid all these ideas of getting “rich” and “having it all” that we lose sight of what it really means to be rich and to have it all. My own family does not have very much money. We almost live from paycheck to paycheck as many families are doing now. My family hasn’t been on a vacation is years, my father is rarely home because of all the extra hours he tries to work, and we don’t have any “fun money” to throw around. However, I still consider my family to be having more, and am richer, than even Bill Gates himself. We have shelter, food, health, and clothing. More importantly we have love, each other, and most importantly, we have our Lord, Jesus Christ. Because my family is able to attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass every Sunday and praise God for the many blessings in our life that alone makes us richer than any of the 1%. Unfortunately, so many people have lost sight of Christ that is may just be about 1% of people who agree with me. My gift of faith, and the greatest gift of all, the Eucharist, is all I need to sustain me for the rest of my earthly life, and will help me to one day, God willing, be welcomed into the Heavenly Kingdom where, with the Saints, I can praise God forever and ever.

So, in conclusion of this reflection, I think we all need to do less occupying of our cities and Occupy the Eucharist. May the Blessed Mother guide us, St. Michael protect us, and Almighty God Bless us all.

A reflection on my summer internship

St. Francis de Sales tell us: “To be perfect in our vocation is nothing else than to fulfill the duties which our state of life obliges us to perform, and to accomplish them well, and only for the honor and love of God.” That was my personal theme during my internship this past summer.

Unfortunately, I was not perfect this summer and I made my fair share of mistakes, but I knew that I was working for the greater glory of God and it was my duty to keep trying my best.
My summer internship was at St. Christina Parish on far Southwest side of Chicago in the Mount Greenwood area. Living on the Northwest side my whole life I really didn’t have any idea what to expect, and while it was a whole other world, it was much better than I had initially assumed. I was fortunate enough to be working with my home parish’s previous pastor, Fr. Larry Sullivan. Fr. Larry has known me since I was in Kindergarten. However, I did not know the other three priests living in the rectory or any of the 2,400 families that congregated at the parish.

The whole parish was extremely welcoming and kind to me all summer. They were very spiritual people and also very fun! They each touched my heart and strengthened my vocation very much. I really fell in love with that parish. I enjoyed my time there so much I ended up sticking around for an extra two weeks after the internship was officially over. I was sad when I had to leave but I assured everyone I would be coming back to visit as often as I could.

It’s hard for me to say exactly what I did because no two days were the same. Honestly, I did everything except administer the sacraments. The most consistent thing I did was visit the sick and the home bound. I visited the same people in their homes weekly and made stops at various hospitals to visit parishioners or their families. Other activities I helped with were Vacation Bible School, Adult Bible Study, alter server training, senior citizen trips, eighth grade trip, eighth grade dance/awards, vocations talks with school kids, Baptismal prep, Sacristan, Reader, Eucharistic Minister, attended finance, school board, parish activity board, athletic committee, picnic, raffle, youth ministry and staff meetings, I attended Deanery meetings, and theology-on-tap sessions, and in any other free time I found I was shadowing one of the four priests on staff on different visits or meetings. It was a very busy summer to say the least. One thing I couldn’t wrap my mind around was that their schedule slowed down over the summer and I was still busy all day, every day.

As I mentioned before, this experience really strengthened my vocation. Many times over the school year I would ask myself “Can I really do this? Can I live in a parish and work with people all day?” Well, after this experience I now know that I can do it and that I love doing it. Once I started working with the people I fell in love with them. They invited me into their homes for meals, camaraderie, and faith sharing; I was with some of them when they lost a loved one, and celebrated weddings and baptisms with other families. These parishioners were so welcoming and friendly that I felt as if I had been a part of the community my whole life.

One part of the experience that I was not good at was my own personal prayer life. I never learned how to set time aside to pray the Office, or any other private devotions. The only consistency in my prayer life was daily mass and weekly confessions. Because every day was so different than the previous, it was hard for me to really create a set schedule. I now know that at my next parish assignment I need to create a set schedule for my prayer life. Unlike some of the other seminarians at their parishes, the priests in my rectory didn’t pray or eat together. Once a month the priests, and myself, would choose an evening to go out, but, we still never prayed together. That isn’t a bad thing, but I know that I can’t always rely on a set schedule like we have in the seminary. I have to be hard on myself and create my own prayer schedule.

There was one specific experience that really touched my heart from this summer. As I had mentioned before, my only consistent ministry was visiting the home bound. I saw the same people, on the same day, every week. After week three it started to feel very routine and in a way meaningless. For a stretch of three weeks I felt like I was walking in, having the same conversations, and leaving. I didn’t feel like I was really helping these people. I didn’t feel like my presence was worth their time. It wasn’t until my last visit with one woman and her care giver that I felt I was making a difference in their lives. Her name was Joan, and I never knew her care givers name. On my last day with Joan, I rang the doorbell and the caregiver, who is probably in her late 60’s, answered the door in a nice dress and makeup on. I thought it was strange to be dressed that way at 11:00 A.M. but I thought “maybe she is going somewhere fancy for lunch.” Then as I walked to the living room I see Joan sitting on the couch, also dressed up with a ton of makeup on. I knew something was up. Then Joan started to rush me to start the prayers and give them the Eucharist, which was not like her to be in a hurry, so I thought they did have somewhere to go. Once I finished Joan told me to go in the kitchen, and waiting for me in the kitchen was a small lunch with very fancy china and silver where. They told me that they appreciated me and my company all summer that they wanted to see me off right. We sat and talked over lunch for about an hour and a half. It really made me feel loved and showed me that, even when it doesn’t feel like it, I am making a difference in these people’s lives. The rest of my visits all gave me a huge hug and their tears drenched the shoulder of my shirt as I said goodbye to them, even the men. It was truly a humbling week for me.

For my brothers who will be doing their internship this coming summer I pray that they will get a community as warm, holy, inviting, and loving as my parish community was to me. I felt the Lords presence every day and felt stronger and stronger in my vocation. I still have a lot to learn, and I am nowhere near ready to be in a parish full time, but if the Lord is calling me to priesthood, I am more than willing to continue walking this journey with him to that blessed day when I am ordained into the priesthood of Jesus Christ.

This really is the month for Mothers!

The month of May has always been a special month! We celebrate our mothers and the Queen of all mothers, the Blessed Virgin Mary! But for my family it is an extra special month because my mothers birthday is this month as well! Actually, today is her birthday! I would like to wish my mother a very happy birthday! I love her very much and can't thank her enough for loving me, supporting me, and for giving birth to me! Without her love I would not be alive or the man that I am today. So thank you mom! I love you!

Speaking of a mothers choice, Mary, Queen of all mothers and parents, made a choice that was very hard, and that choice was to love God with her full being and then to birth, care for, mother, and love the Son of Man, our Lord, Jesus Christ. It was through her "YES" that we came to know Christ and to be saved by his great act of love.

One devotion to the Blessed Mother that I hold dear to my heart (literally) is wearing a scapular of our Lady of Mount Carmel. The scapular is a special devotion to our Blessed Mother that forms a special relationship between the person wearing the scapular and the Blessed Mother.

The earliest form of the Scapular promise states simply that wearers of the brown scapular, the Carmelite habit, will be saved. In the first place this meant Carmelite religious who remained faithful to their vocation. Later the small Brown Scapular became popular with the laity as a sacramental.

The nature of the spiritual help associated with the Brown Scapular came to be described in greater detail and specificity. A traditional formulation of the Scapular Promise is "Take this Scapular. Whosoever dies wearing it shall not suffer eternal fire. It shall be a sign of salvation, a protection in danger and pledge of peace."

As we continue this month celebrating all our moms let us continue to pray to THE MOM, the mother of our Lord, the Queen of all children, asking for her intercession and protection.

Hail Holy Queen!

Since May is the month dedicated to our Blessed Mother I think it is appropriate to give a short reflection on the Blessed Mother and her importance in my own life.

Honestly, it wasn't until recently that I started having a strong devotion to our Blessed Mother. I viewed praying a rosary as a punishment or chore that I never wanted to do unless I had to. I had respect for the Blessed Mother but I don't feel I ever loved her as I do now. Actually, I just started growing in my love for the Blessed Mother this past January when I began a devotion to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort. His book is called True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin. St. Louis, along with countless other Saints, tells us that the only way to truly know Christ is by understanding and praying with our Blessed Mother. Praying St. Louis' devotion has certainly helped me understand and love our Blessed Mother and I feel that my relationship to Christ has grown immensely because of my new love for Mary.

I would strongly encourage you to begin a devotion to our Holy Mother. Mary is our Lady of Perpetual Help and Queen of All Saints! There is no prayer Mary's intercession won't help with. Remember, it was Mary's "YES" to fulfill God's will in her life that we even have Christ! Mary is the Immaculate Conception! Mary has been saying "YES" to God since her conception! We can all learn from our Blessed Mother!

Other devotions to Mary, Queen of the Universe:

The Rosary!
These promises were given by Our Lady in an apparition to St. Dominic and Alan de la Roche for anyone who says the rosary...

1. Whoever recites the rosary shall receive singular graces.
2. I promise special protection and graces to those who recite the rosary.
3. The rosary will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.
4. The rosary will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of people from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things.
5. The souls of those who recite the rosary shall not perish.
6. Those who recite the rosary devoutly shall never be conquered by misfortune.
   
7. Those who have a true devotion to the rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.
8. Those who are faithful in the recitation of the rosary shall have, during their life and at their death, the light of God and the plenitude of his graces; at the moment of death, they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.
9. I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the rosary.
10. The faithful children of the rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in heaven.
    
11. You shall obtain all that you ask of me by recitation of the rosary.
12. All those who propagate the holy rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.
    
13. I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of their death.
14. All who recite the rosary are my children, and brothers and sisters of my only Son, Jesus Christ.
15. Devotion to my rosary is a sign of predestination.
    

I will be posting different prayers and devotions to our Blessed Mother throughout the month.

It is my prayer today that Mary, Queen of Martyrs, intercedes for us all and that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.