Read the Catechism in a Year

Pope Benedict XVI has encouraged Catholics to study their faith during the upcoming Year of Faith. What better way to do that than by reading the Catechism of the Catholic? Well Matthew Warner and the folks at Flocknote have established a way to read a small part of the Catechism daily. With your subscription, you receive a daily email with an excerpt from the Catechism beginning October 11th.

Subscribe at Flocknote.

Powered on Twitter @CatechismAPI!

Tuesday Tech Talk: Free Audio Rosaries

During the men's conference this weekend, we had an unexpected, prolonged break because the lines for confession were so long. What a great problem to have! I filled some of the time by talking about the Rosary as a powerful spiritual weapon and how so many of the saints incorporated this popular devotion in their daily prayer lives.

I struggle to find the time in the morning to pray the rosary and when I get home I am often too tired to remember anything other than getting ready for the next day. What I have found most helpful is praying the rosary during my morning commute to work. I have downloaded an audio version of the rosary on to my iPhone and play/pray it on way to work. I not only get to pray the rosary, but I lower my blood pressure and reduce the likelihood of road rage during those rough mornings of traffic. Praying the rosary this way takes about 15-20 minutes. It's OK if you have to split the prayer up between your morning and afternoon commutes if you don't have a long one. This is also a good way to pray the rosary as you work out or go for a morning walk.

Here are two free or inexpensive ways to download an mp3 version of the rosary or to obtain one on CD.

Rosary Army - mp3 files in English, Spanish and Dutch

CatholiCity - Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet on CD ($1 donation suggested); available as download too

First Men's Conference a Huge Success!

Photo by Amechi Amnugi

The Called Answered
Yesterday morning eighty-eight men answered the call to man up and get serious about being the spiritual leaders of their families. These men attended the first Fall Men's Conference at St. Catherine of Siena, sponsored by Joe Catholic, the Knights of Columbus #13408 and the RCIA team. The theme of the conference was Learn, Live and Share the Faith.

For Men By Men
The conference centered on talks presented by three men from the St. Catherine parish: Mark Connolly, Lindon Leners and Don Gonzalez. They spoke on Conversion, Formation and Evangelization.  Michael Hoffman, who is a professional motivational speaker and a St. Catherine parishioner, emceed the event.

Sacraments and Sacramentals
The conference also provided the attendees the opportunity to spend time in Eucharistic  Adoration and to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation. Each session was sponsored by one of the three organizations. Additionally, three copies of the Catechism of the Catholic Church were given away. Local Catholic book store, Two Hearts donated copies of Father Larry Richards' two books and an autographed copy of Dr. Ray Guarendi's book. Upon registration the men were given "swag bags" (donated by Guadalupe Radio) containing rosary and confession guides, prayer cards and note pads and pens donated by a local business.

Feed My Sheep
The men were fed both body and soul. The Knights cooked up a high-tone version of pork and beans: pork loin, green beans and broiled potatoes. The spiritual food was certainly provided in the sacrament of reconciliation as Fathers Mathew and Augustine heard confessions for over two hours!

Appreciation and Thanks
First, this could not have been a successful weekend without the participation of all the men that took time from their busy schedules to invest in their spiritual growth. A special thanks goes out to our priests for their willingness to hear each and every confession, over two hours without a break. We all know that behind (to the side and often in front of) every successful man is a strong woman. We thank the women of SAC and the Ladies of the Knights for providing the morning and afternoon snacks. We also want to thank Dave Palmer (Guadalupe Radio) and Two Hearts Bookstore family for their generous donations. Finally, a heartfelt thanks to all the men of the Knights and Joe Catholic for giving their time, talent and treasure into planning the conference.

Bishop Vann Named New Orange Diocese Bishop

Bishop Kevin Vann as we prepared
for our audience with Pope Benedict XVI.

Today, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Kevin Vann the next bishop of the Orange Diocese in California. Bishop has served as the bishop of the Fort Worth Diocese for the past seven years. While I was not surprised to hear he was leaving (many of us thought he might be appointed to Denver earlier in the year), I am saddened. Bishop Vann has been a great shepherd for our diocese.

I had the opportunity to first meet Bishop Vann personally a few years ago when Stacey and I joined nearly 500 pilgrims to Rome in celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Fort Worth Diocese. One of the evenings after dinner, a few of us guys were gathered in the hotel lobbying talking when Bishop Vann returned from a visit with some of his former classmates in the city. He sat down and talked to us until midnight, answering all sorts of questions about the faith. As we were all preparing to leave, he asked if we wanted to gather again the next evening. We had all planned to smoke cigars on the balcony so I asked him if he would join us. He did and again we were up until nearly midnight discussing all things Catholic. As a result of those two sessions, Bishop Vann invited the men of Joe Catholic to join him for Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral. After that visit, we met for a second time and he even wrote about us on his blog.

I was always impressed at how personable he was. He has a gift for remembering names. The last time I saw him was at the celebration of the mass for the feast of St. Josemaria. I was actually leaving out the side door and he called out my name to come talk to him. I had seen him do something similar with another family before the mass. Bishop Vann knew his flock. He will be missed.

Here is his farewell letter and a video of his speech in California.

St. Joseph of Cupertino,The Flying Friar

St. Joseph of Cupertino by Aodhagain

Patron Saint of Cupertino
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Joseph of Cupertino. No, he is not the patron of Apple computers and iDevices. Instead, he is the patron of astronauts, pilots and students taking exams.

Born in a Stable
On June 17, 1603, like our Lord, Joseph was born in stable. His father, who was a carpenter, died when Joseph was still very young. By all accounts Joseph was not a particularly bright boy, but he was subject to mystical ecstasies as early as the age of seven. Because of these ecstasies, he could not keep a steady job. Eventually he worked for as a stable hand for a Franciscan monastery. When the friars discovered his holiness, he was encouraged to become a priest. Unfortunately, he did not have the aptitude to do well in those studies. Joseph prayed and was only given one question to answer for his final exam. It so happened that he knew the answer to that one question.

Flying Friar
It was difficult for Joseph to celebrate mass publicly because he would levitate during the consecration. In fact, he often began to levitate at the mere mention of the name of Jesus. The ecstasies and levitations became so frequent that members of his order actually had him sequestered. Some even suspected that he was being used by Satan. This was certainly St. Joseph's time to suffer for the cross. The excerpt from Saints for Sinners provided by EWTN does a wonderful job of describing this time in his life.

St. Superman
If you have been a regular reader of Joe Catholic, you know I like to tap into my childhood memories of reading super-hero comic books. While I grew up mostly a Marvel Comics reader, my little brother Matt was more of a DC guy. I think that had to do with the popular WB TV cartoons. Nevertheless, my brother grew up a big fan of Superman; he wanted to be Superman. I still remember him running around the house with his little red cape when he was a toddler.

Pick a Patron
My brother wasn't confirmed until a few years ago as an adult. I was honored that he asked me to be his sponsor, his Godfather. During the final days leading up to the Easter Vigil, I recommended to him that he should take on the name of an additional patron so that he would have one more saint interceding on his behalf. I gave him some Internet links and maybe even a book or two. I thought he would pick somebody like St. Anthony or St. Francis. Instead, he told me had picked St. Joseph of Cupertino because "this saint could fly like Superman." Matt beautifully shared at our Joe Catholic gathering last week that the God has used his childish selection process to nurture a mature devotion to a saint he has learned from and can relate to. He shared that St. Joseph of Cupertino has taught him humility and obedience. He also shared that he learned that Joseph was rejected throughout his life, yet always responded with joy infused by his love for God. We could all do well to learn that lesson.

While I was conducting research for this post, I discovered the film The Reluctant Saint which is based on the life of St. Joseph of Cupertino. It's now available on DVD from Ignatius Press.

Remembering 9/11Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer at Ground Zero

Photo I took at Ground Zero, May 2004

Eleven years after that traffic Tuesday morning, our country still struggles to heal. While we remember those who were lost that day, let us pray for true peace that can only be found in our Lord.

When Pope Benedict XVI visited the United States in 2008 he prayed at Ground Zero. I have included a video of his prayer. The text of the prayer follows below the video should you wish to pray it too.

O God of love, compassion, and healing,look on us, people of many different faiths
and traditions,
who gather today at this site,
the scene of incredible violence and pain.
We ask you in your goodness
to give eternal light and peace
to all who died here—
the heroic first-responders:
our fire fighters, police officers,
emergency service workers, and
Port Authority personnel,
along with all the innocent men and women
who were victims of this tragedy
simply because their work or service
brought them here on September 11, 2001.
We ask you, in your compassion
to bring healing to those
who, because of their presence here that day,
suffer from injuries and illness.
Heal, too, the pain of still-grieving families
and all who lost loved ones in this tragedy.
Give them strength to continue their lives
with courage and hope.
We are mindful as well
of those who suffered death, injury, and loss
on the same day at the Pentagon and in
Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Our hearts are one with theirs
as our prayer embraces their pain and suffering.
God of peace, bring your peace to our violent world:
peace in the hearts of all men and women
and peace among the nations of the earth.
Turn to your way of love
those whose hearts and minds
are consumed with hatred.
God of understanding,
overwhelmed by the magnitude of this tragedy,
we seek your light and guidance
as we confront such terrible events.
Grant that those whose lives were spared
may live so that the lives lost here
may not have been lost in vain.
Comfort and console us,
strengthen us in hope,
and give us the wisdom and courage
to work tirelessly for a world
where true peace and love reign
among nations and in the hearts of all.
Pope Benedict XI--Prayer at Ground Zero
New York, 20 April 2008

The Virtue of Cheerfulness

The Joker from Themed Shoes

In the words of the Joker, "why so serious?"

The past few months it seems to me that  a lot of what I have been reading on the Catholic blogosphere has been negative doom and gloom. Worse yet, much of it has been intra-Catholic bickering. Some has been down right uncharitable and unworthy to be called Catholic.

I concede that we are living in difficult times, but honestly how is that unique? Christians (and humanity in general) have encountered troubling times throughout the ages. St. Josemaria contends that:

[T]hese world crises are crises of saints.
God wants a handful of men 'of his own' in every human activity. And then... 'pax Christi in regno Christi — the peace of Christ in the kingdom of Christ'. (The Way, 301)

Furthermore, I believe we have fallen into the same trap of those in the times of Jesus who were looking for a political savior. As I shared at our Joe Catholic gathering this weekend, we don't belong to a political party. We are neither Democrat nor Republican; we belong to Roman Catholic Church. We are called to follow the teachings of Christ as handed down by the teaching authority of the Church, the Magisterium.

It seems to me that we are walking around in fear which often manifests itself as anger.  One of the lines we see so often in Holy Scripture is "be not afraid." In fact, those very words were the first spoken by Blessed Pope John Paul II when he became pope. We need to remember that Christ has already won the battle. We are on the winning team. We have already turned to the last page of the good news book and we know how the story ends.  Jesus conquered sin and told us that "the gates of the netherworld will not prevail against it [my church]" (Matt 16:18).

We need to start living our lives with this winning attitude. St. Josemaria has a whole section on Cheerfulness in The Way. The one that stood out for me as most appropriate comes from the #661:

Long face, rough manner, ridiculous appearance, unfriendly attitude. Is that how you hope to inspire others to follow Christ?

No joke,  there is one thing we can learn from the Joker – to keep a smile on our faces at all times.

Why Do We Need Community?

NFCM

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up. And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him. A threefold cord is not quickly broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, 12).

Man is wired to be part of society to be part of a community. Aristotle made this observation:

Man is by nature a social animal; an individual who is unsocial naturally and not accidentally is either beneath our notice or more than human. Society is something that precedes the individual. Anyone who either cannot lead the common life or is so self-sufficient as not to need to, and therefore does not partake of society, is either a beast or a god. (Aristotle, Politics)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) says in section 1879 that individuals need to live in community, that it is part of our nature to live in association with others. In other words, God made us to be communal people. We see this in the formation of the early Church as its members "devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life" (Act 2:42).

The Second Vatican Council made a similar observation in Gaudium et spes (#23):

One of the salient features of the modern world is the growing interdependence of men one on the other, a development promoted chiefly by modern technical advances. Nevertheless brotherly dialogue among men does not reach its perfection on the level of technical progress, but on the deeper level of interpersonal relationships.

We are not wired to live in isolation or to live our faith alone, but share it with others. Christ told His followers (that's means us too), "Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house" (Matt 5:15).

The Catechism (1890) goes on to teach that "there is a certain resemblance between the unity of the divine persons and the fraternity that men ought to establish among themselves." I believe this is precisely the role that small men's faith groups, like Joe Catholic, serve. This goes to the heart of iron sharpening iron. We need to be able to lean on others in difficult times as well as share our victories so as to inspire each other to keep walking the walk.

One step in that direction, might be registering for a men's conference like the one being co-sponsored by Joe Catholic at St. Catherine of Siena on September 22nd. Registration information is available HERE.

Happy Birthday,Mother Mary

Today we celebrate the feast of the Nativity of our Blessed Mother Mary. Perhaps you are asking yourself how we know the exact date of her birth. We don't. The feast was chosen as it is nine months after the feast of the Immaculate Conception. There is no mention of Mary's birth in the Bible. What we know about those early years has been obtained from sources "cited by some of the earliest Christian writers from the first centuries of the Church" (Catholic News Agency, 2012).

According to EWTN, the feast traces back to Palestine and "goes back to the consecration of a church in Jerusalem, which tradition identifies as that of the present basilica of St. Ann." This source also indicates that the feast began to be celebrated in Rome near the end of the 7th Century.

I thought it was interesting the Gospel reading for this feast should be the geneological text from St. Matthew. That is until I heard today's homily from our visiting priest, Fr. John Kochuchira, TOR who is the Vicar General of the Franciscans Third Order Regular. He said that the birth of each child marks the birth of a new mother, for no woman is a mother until she gives birth. We went on to point out the three words/phrases that summarize Catholic teaching about Mary: fiat, magnificat and stabat mater.

Mary's fiat is our example for saying yes to the will of God. Her magnificat exemplifies that our lives, like hers, must be entirely led for the glory and praise of God. Finally in her stabat mater dolorosa we are reminded that following Christ means also joining him at the cross.

Happy Birthday Blessed Mother!

Cardinal Dolan Sends the DNC a Message in Prayer

A few weeks ago many in the Catholic media (mostly bloggers and self-appointed experts) slammed Cardinal Timothy Dolan for inviting President Obama to the Alfred Smith charity banquet. Since then, Cardinal Dolan has given the benediction at the Republican National Convention and last night closed out the Democratic National Convention. For all those afraid that he wasn't smart enough to deal with the president, where are you now? It seems to me that Cardinal Dolan, despite being ignored by the major networks, had a bit to say to the Democrats and President Obama in his closing prayer.

Watch for yourself:

For the full text of his prayer go to Catholic Culture.

What is The Year of Faith?

I mentioned in yesterday's post that we are approaching the beginning of the celebration of the Year of Faith. Pope Benedict XVI announced the Year of Faith last October. Below is a video from Rome Reports which outlines some of the activities, events and teachings that will take place during the year.

Additional Resources:

Fr. Robert Barron's Word on Fire Blog
USCCB - US Bishop's YOF website
Vatican Year of Faith Website

What is the New Evangelization?

As we get closer to the Year of Faith celebration, I think it is important for us to get more acquainted with the concept of the New Evangelization.

Here is Dr. Scott Hahn's take on the New Evangelization: