“As iron sharpens iron, so man sharpens his fellow man.” (Proverbs 27:17).
The Joe Catholic blog is intended to provide Catholics and non-Catholics with resources to assist them in answering God's call to holiness. Our goal is to help people learn their faith, so they can live their faith and share their faith.
You may have noticed the recent addition of the Blogathon 2012 badge on the right column of this blog. Beginning May 1st, participating bloggers will attempt to post at least one entry to their blogs for each day of May. I successfully participated in Blogathon 2011 while honing my writing skills on my personal blog.
I am going to need some help to make it through the next thirty-one days. If you have some ideas for a post, please send me a message or write a comment on the blog. I aim to be faithful to the mission of the Joe Catholic apostolate, while hopefully building viewership of this blog. Did I mention I am trying to this while I have three finals in my IPT courses this weekend?
I am entrusting my writing to the intercession of St. Josemaria Escriva, the patron of the ordinary, whose name means "he writes." Please pray for me that the Lord use this fun little contest as tool for evangelization.
Over 700 Catholic men from 63 parishes throughout the North Texas region attended the first annual North Texas Catholic Men's Conference at Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Plano, Texas . The guest speakers included the team from EWTN's Crossing the Goal: Danny Abramowicz, Peter Herbeck, Curtis Martin and Brian Patrick. The theme of conference was Spiritual Spring Training and the topics included Conversion, Transformation and Evangelization.
Curtis Martin urged the men to use the weekend as a catalyst for change. He exhorted that the world was in "desperate need of Godly men." He explained that being a Christian is more than just being faithful; it's about being fruitful. He laid out a three-point plan for evangelization: Win, Build and Send. His primary premise is that we have to win the hearts of our friends and family by demonstrating the love we have for our faith. People have to see a difference in us.
Martin asked the men in the crowd if the people they hung out with and worked with knew they were Catholic. He insisted they should and if they don't we are doing something wrong. Martin used the example of having a close friend who has known you for years, but didn't know you were married. "Either you have a problem in your friendship or your marriage, if that friend doesn't know you are married," explained Martin. Quoting St. Catherine of Siena, he said, "If you are what you are meant o be you will set the world on fire!"
Danny Abromawitz, the former NFL player/coach and author of Spiritual Workout of a Former Saint, had a great down to earth approach in discussing the Catholic faith. At one point in explaining our devotion to our Blessed Mother Mary he said, "let's put aside theology and talk common sense. If you asked my mother to ask me do something, do you think I am going to do it? Even if I don't like you." In response to a question from the floor, he responded, "we don't for field goals, we only go for touchdowns!"
The conference included the entire group praying the Rosary before the Blessed Sacrament. It was incredible to hear 700 men praying together. Fourteen local priests attended the conference to provide the men an opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The lines for Confession were long! The conference culminated with the celebration of Mass and concluded with the organizers vowing to make this an annual event. Leaders of local men's groups are urged to contact the organizers as they continue to develop a system of parish captains to nurture the growth of the conference.
"Do not be satisfied with little things, because God wants great things!" Letter T127
Today marks the Feast Day of St. Catherine of Siena, Doctor of the Church and patroness of Italy and my parish in Carrollton, Texas. St. Catherine is one of only three women doctors of the Church, along with St. Teresa de Avila and St. Therese de Lisieux. St. Catherine is best known for convincing Pope Grgegory XI to move back to Rome from Avignon where the papacy had been displaced because of wars between the Italian states. Though she never received a formal education, St. Catherine "was one of the most brilliant theological minds of her day" (Catholic Online).St. Catherine also suffered from an invisible stigmata and in 1430, her body was discovered incorrupt, fifty years after her death.
Join me in wishing Mother Angelica a Happy Birthday. Mother Angelica is 89 years old today. While it has been a while since she has appeared publicly, her work continues to touch the lives of many within and out of the Church. EWTN has played a vital role in my formation a Catholic man. Furthermore, I am convinced that a pilgrimage that Stacey and I took to visit the National Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament and EWTN, helped fortify our resolve as we waited out the annulment process.
I still enjoy listening to her "live" shows. Her wit and no nonsense approach to the faith is still powerfully infectious. Here are some links to books about Mother Angelica that will allow you to share her prayers and witticisms:
Today the USSCB announced the release of a new document by the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis entitled Disciples Called to Witness: The New Evangelization. In addition to this statement explaining the role of every Catholic to witness to the world, the CEC has also launched a new online resource to aimed at helping Catholics rediscover the faith. It's intended for those who may have left the Church or those who are only marginally Catholic.
The new site includes brief descriptions of the Four Pillars of Catholic Faith. The site also utilizes videos to help teach. My only complaint is that (like other videos on the USCCB website) you cannot embed them into other sites. You can only share a link.
This is a good starting point for helping family and friends who want to come back to the Church but may be intimidated by change or are afraid to ask questions. It's not a bad place for "practicing" Catholics to brush up on what the Church teaches.
It is necessary therefore to rediscover the full practical significance of Chapter 5 of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, dedicated to the "universal call to holiness". The Council Fathers laid such stress on this point, not just to embellish ecclesiology with a kind of spiritual veneer, but to make the call to holiness an intrinsic and essential aspect of their teaching on the Church. The rediscovery of the Church as "mystery", or as a people "gathered together by the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit",15 was bound to bring with it a rediscovery of the Church's "holiness", understood in the basic sense of belonging to him who is in essence the Holy One, the "thrice Holy" (cf. Is 6:3). To profess the Church as holy means to point to her as the Bride of Christ, for whom he gave himself precisely in order to make her holy (cf. Eph 5:25-26). This as it were objective gift of holiness is offered to all the baptized.
But the gift in turn becomes a task, which must shape the whole of Christian life: "This is the will of God, your sanctification" (1 Th 4:3). It is a duty which concerns not only certain Christians: "All the Christian faithful, of whatever state or rank, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity".16
This Sunday, the Second Sunday of Easter, is Divine Mercy Sunday. Blessed John Paul II instituted this Divine Mercy as a feast of the Universal Church beginning in 2001. We mark the day by celebrating Mass, venerating the image of Divine Mercy, listening to the teaching on mercy and by praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Go to the The Divine Mercy website to learn about the wonderful graces associated with this day of celebration.
The Marians of the Immaculate Conception, the official stewards of the National Shrine of Divine Mercy, have developed a smartphone app that covers all things related to Divine Mercy. It is available for free and is currently available in both Android and iPhone platforms. The app is divided into three categories: The Message, The Devotion and Mercy Plus.
The first page of the app is called The Message. It includes an introduction to the message of Divine Mercy. It also contains information about St. Faustina and the message she received from our Lord, including the Diary she wrote, Divine Mercy in My Soul, as result of the apparitions. Additionally, this section includes mercy quotations from Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. It also contains a tab to obtain additional catechetical resources.
The second page is entitled The Devotion. It includes a virtual chaplet to pray. It's similar to some of the virtual Rosaries you have seen that you touch or scroll the image of the bead to move to the next one. This app has an interesting feature that allows you to turn on an audio guide to the chaplet in the settings. This allows you to pray along with the guide. This section also includes three choices for the image of Divine Mercy and an explanation of the 3 O'Clock Hour, the mercy hour. It also includes a guide to celebrating the Feast of Mercy. Finally, in also includes a virtual Way of the Cross and a collection of prayers, including the Novena.
The final section is Mercy Plus. This page includes background information on the Marians and the Marian Helpers. It also has a tab for the National Shrine of Divine Mercy and includes information on pilgrimages, tours and a calendar of events. It also has tabbed links to apostolates devoted to works of divine mercy. Additionally, it includes links to articles on the subject of divine mercy, including those that address FAQ. Finally, a direct link to The Divine Mercy online store to purchase chaplets, books, CD's, etc.
My only suggestion to the developers of the app is that it would be a nice addition to include a way for it to remind you to pray the Chaplet at the Mercy Hour.
Happy Easter! This is a spiritually rich season that keeps giving graces. We still have Divine Mercy Sunday, ongoing Mystagogy and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
As we were leaving Mass, Stacey made an observation about how full the Church was. This led to a discussion about Chreasters, CEO's or whatever other name you want to call people who seem to only show up for Mass on Christmas and Easter.
The point of this post is not to judge these folks. Instead I want to reflect on the point that something stirs in their hearts, drawing them to Mass on these very holy days of our liturgical calendar. I believe they come, because despite whatever reason they stay away the rest of the year, they know those days are holy and they must stop whatever is going on in their lives and acknowledge our Lord. They aren't that far from coming back. St. Augustine said "Lord, our hearts are restless until they rest in you." Indeed they are. I think it is very fitting that one of last night's psalms was Psalm 42:1, which reads, "as the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God."
Instead of judging these children of the LORD, we need to embrace them. We need to go out of our way to be cheerful and helpful. For example, we can share our New Missal worship aid to help them with the recent changes. We can leave our comfort zones and actually greet them, introduce ourselves. We can let them know they are welcome, even if they are sitting in "our seats."
As parishes we need to do a better job making resources like Catholics Come Home readily available so they will have an easier time figuring out what to do to "come back" to the Church. It's amazing to me that most parishes don't use Christmas and Easter as opportunities to draw these folks in. We are missing out on a great chance for real evangelization.
Finally, we all need to pray for them and for ourselves. We should pray that God ignites that little spark in their hearts and we need to pray that we are prepared to be used as instruments of God.
Last night our family attended the Easter Vigil and we saw a number of men, women and children entered fully into the Church. Many were baptized. Our parish has a Baptismal font that is large enough for adults to kneel within it and be covered in the pouring waters. There is no way they can forget that moment!
It goes without saying that Baptism is a big deal and it should be treated as such. A few years ago I read an article on Catholic Culture that talked about the practice of celebrating Baptismal days like birthdays because they are our re-birth days. We now celebrate the anniversary of our re-birthdays. I recommend you do the same with your family. Treat your family member to their favorite meal, make them a cake and reflect on the readings from that day. I assure you it will enrich your lives. In preparing for a talk I was going to give to RCIA a few years ago, I discovered I was baptized on the Feast of the Epiphany. Now that feast day has a more personal meaning to me.
Take some time out in the next few days to discover the date of your Baptism and mark it on your calendar. Happy Easter!
Today, we share a post from one of the most dynamic and funny men of Joe Catholic - Michael Hoffman. Michael is a Certified Speaking Professional who specializes in giving workshops to businesses on leadership, sales and customer loyalty. At St. Catherine's parish, Michael is a member of the Youth Formation team and often a guest catechist for RCIA. ************************************************************
I love the songs of Easter. You know the ones like Keith Green's “Easter Song." The hallelujah He is risen songs that have you seeing the angels shouting from the top of their hearts across the heavens that He is risen! You can see the party. They’re just going nuts. His plan is in motion, He was telling the truth, He is the Lord, He is in charge, He has won and He has done it for us. The curse of sin is dead; He has risen! Hallelujah. I love it because I know in my heart what they’re talking about. I get it so much and it humbles me and breaks me down to my most “face down can’t believe you love me that much” posture. I can’t help but jump with the angels. Praise you Lord my God. You have my heart, you have my life. Help me to trust you Lord.
But I was thinking the other day on a flight to Duluth where I was absorbed in my Easter music cranked to full volume in my headphones and trying to keep my love tears from freaking out the lady next to me, that these songs are from the angel’s point of view, maybe even my point of view. The “after we see the bigger picture” point of view, but that was not the Apostles' point of view. That hit me hard. I always thought of Easter as a rejoicing time for everyone. But it hit me that these people were freaked out. Tragedy after tragedy has snowballed out of control in a matter of hours, days and this must have been the topper. Satan has struck hard and it looks like he’s won. THEY’VE STOLEN HIM! Can you imagine? What do we do? We’re not ready! The panic must have been huge. As they were assembled in the upper room where they waited it must have took tremendous faith to just wait. Wait for Jesus to come.
And He did. He did come and He did show them the bigger picture. He did give them the peace they needed, the strength they needed, the vision of His will that gave the direction they needed to ultimately do what He needed them to do, not what they needed to do.
How many times do you find yourself in a panic over your life or lost in your direction? You know friends and family that have faced the most challenging issues of life and death. You’ve known friends and peers that have thrown everything they held dear away for a drink, a drug, a fling. Satan has struck hard and it looks like he’s won. The panic is sometimes huge. But your Lord knows you and He knows all of us. And He is in charge of it all. He does allow us this life of free will and He does allow us to experience what others or we have put into play. And we do live in a fallen world where sometimes Satan does strike hard. But make no mistake about it. His victory IS our victory. You do not live for this world you live for His. And like the Apostles you’re reminded sometimes to wait. Wait for Him. He’s already in charge of your situation and He has you where you are. He will come and show you the bigger picture, He will give you the peace you need to get through, He will grant you the strength you need and the vision to see His will. He will give you the direction you need to do the actions He needs you to be doing in that time, not just for you but for those around you, that you may be the visible hands and feet of our Lord to those around you.
We have something that the Apostles didn’t have… hindsight. Hallelujah, He is risen. What a position, oh what a time to be. What an awareness to dwell on; we get to have the gift of hindsight.
Hear the bells ringing they’re singing that Jesus Christ is no longer dead.
I love the songs of Easter.
[Editor's Note: If you were curious about Keith Green's song (as I was), I have added a video of the song.]
During the Easter Vigil, as the Liturgy of the Word nears its end, the readings are seemingly interrupted by the singing of the Gloria. This immediately precedes the reading of Saint Paul's Letter to the Romans which is directed at those who have already been baptized. This moment is rung in with bells throughout the singing of the Gloria. In years past, this was also the moment when the lights would come on in the church. You can smell the incense in the air and you know that this moment is recognizing that Christ has risen! I love that the liturgy of the Church involves all of our senses.
Below I have included a video presentation of Don Francisco's He's Alive! Every time I hear this song, I am overwhelmed. I hope you enjoy it too. Happy Easter.
We are preparing with excitement for tonight's Easter Vigil. Tonight our niece and goddaughter will be baptized, confirmed and receive the Eucharist for the fist time. We will not be alone, for many other families in our parish will be celebrating their family members' entrance into the Catholic Church. Tonight, all across the world people are being brought into the Catholic Church.
It's been almost ten years since I attended my first Easter Vigil when our son Kevin entered the Church. Since then we have attended Easter Vigil each year whether we have a family member or friend entering the Church or not. The Easter Vigil Mass is the high point of the year. It is without equivocation the most sublime liturgical celebration. Did I mention it normally lasts 3+ hours and begins when the sun sets?
We will begin our evening in darkness. As the Mass begins we all will gather around a flaming pit where Father Mathew will light the Easter Candle. We will then proceed into the sanctuary where we will have our own tapers lit as a reminder of our own baptismal promises.
Next we begin the Liturgy of the Word, which tonight, consists of ten readings and is a synthesis of the entire salvation history of man and the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ. We begin with a reading from Genesis, "In the beginning..." We are led into the Gospel reading of the Resurrection with a passage from the epistle letter of Saint Paul to the Romans.
The Mass continues with the administration of the initiation sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation and Communion. I hope to share pictures from this evening's Mass later tonight.
Today marks the beginning of the Divine Mercy Novena. Many parishes will have organized praying of the novena after the Good Friday service. Below are some links to help you get started on the Novena and to explain a bit about the devotion of Divine Mercy and the wonderful promises associated with it. Tonight we will hear that Jesus was pierced in His side and water and blood poured out. In that pouring of Himself we receive all of his grace and mercy. Lord, may I never be parted from your side!
When I was a kid, I always wondered why they called today Good Friday. It seemed to me that there was nothing good about killing Jesus. As an adult, I have since come to understand that we can't get to Easter without Good Friday, that Christ's death on the cross was a victory, not a defeat. I believe this is aptly portrayed in the scene in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, when Satan is shown howling because he realizes that Christ has conquered sin.
Good Friday is a day of abstinence and fasting, however it is the only day of the year in which we don't celebrate Mass. Instead, we commemorate the death of Jesus with a liturgical service that contains several beautiful and unique practices. First, the priest and deacons process to the altar and prostrate themselves before the cross/altar. The liturgy of the word consists of the prophetic account of the Suffering Servant from Isaiah 52:13-53:12. The Responsorial Psalm is taken from Psalm 31. The Epistle is taken from the "high priest" account in Hebrews. The Gospel reading portrays the Passion of St. John. Later in the service, the priest unveils the cross and parishioners are asked to come forward and venerate the cross with a bow, kiss or simple touch. The evening concludes with distribution of the Eucharist which had been previously consecrated.
Below you will find some resources for further study on Good Friday, including a video from Rome Reports.
The Triduum has begun. Tonight we began with the Washing of the Feet and Last Supper. The above video was taken from our Mass celebration at St. Catherine of Siena. Below I have included some reflections about Holy Thursday.
St. Josemaria Escriva:
As He did with the first twelve, so also, with us, our Lord can and does whisper in our ear, time and again: 'exemplum dedi vobis' (John 13:15), I have given you an example of humility. I have become a slave, so that you too may learn to serve all men with a meek and humble heart (Friends of God, 103).
St. Thomas Aquinas:
We can also say that in this one act Our Lord showed all the works of mercy. He who gives bread to the hungry, washes his feet, as also does the man wTho harbours the harbourless or he who clothes the naked. (Meditations for Lent from St. Thomas Aquinas, 125)
St. Augustine:
Who would not shrink back in dismay from having his feet washed by the Son of God....You? Me? Words to be pondered on rather than spoken about, lest words fail to express their true meaning. (St. Augustine, "In Ioann. Evang.", 56,1).
This evening's Holy Thursday Mass marks the beginning of the shortest season on the Catholic Liturgical Calendar - The Triduum and the end of Lent. The term literally means "three days" and refers to the the three days of Christ's passion, death and resurrection. The main lesson we can draw about this season is that we should experience it in its the totality. I recently wrote in a post on holiness, in which I argued that God provides us with all the tools necessary to answer the call to be holy. One of those tools is the liturgy. I cannot think of a richer liturgy than that celebrated on the three days of the Triduum.
Perhaps, like me, you found yourself lacking this Lenten season. Maybe you failed to practice all the good intentions of more prayer, daily Mass, or some other spiritual exercise. While all those practices are all important to our spiritual growth, we can still realign ourselves through the liturgy of the Triduum. I haven't done all the research, but I suspect we can find a complete synthesis of Christ's entire teaching in the liturgy of these three days.
Make a commitment to yourself and to your family to attend Holy Thursday Mass, the Good Friday service (it's the only day of the year we don't celebrate Mass) and Easter. If you can make it I recommend you attend the Easter Vigil (more on that later).
Here are some additional resources on the Triduum:
I still think Father Corapi's Triduum talks on EWTN were some of the best on the subject. While he may no longer be in public ministry, that does not undermine the truth of what he taught. The talks used to appear on EWTN's audio library. If you do an Internet search, the talks can still be located.
The intent of Tuesday Tech Talk has been two-fold: 1) review new technology that can be leveraged to enhance your spiritual life and 2) to discuss the way we perceive and use technology in our daily lives and the impact that has on us spiritually.
I have a confession to make: I read while I drive. I listen to audiobooks. So my sister-in-law insists that's not reading, but I contend it harkens back to the days of oral tradition. Anyway, I consistently have a forty minute to one hour commute to work each day. Years ago I figured out to keep my sanity, lower my blood pressure and reduce the likelihood of road rage, I should listen to books on tape. I started listening to novels in a cassette player with headphones while I drove. Later, I would upgrade to CD's I checked out from the library. Eventually, I found these methods limiting because of the lack of titles. About eight years ago, I signed up for Audible.
Audible is digital audiobook service. For a monthly fee of $22.95 you can download to audiobooks a month. Audible has a decent collection of Catholic books. They have Pope Benedict's Jesus series as well as most of Scott Hahn's books. They have several Catholic classics and works written by saints. They even have an audio version of the USCCB Catechism for Adults.
Audible often runs an offer to new members in which they can receive a free trial book.
