In reviewing the readings for the course, I came across this quote from Cicero, who was a great defender of the Roman republic and a master of oratory. Cicero was the first to speak of natural law as a moral or political law, and was an important influence on the Founders. (cf. http://www.hillsdale.edu/constitution/pdfs/01_2_OntheCommonWealth.pdf )

True law is right reason, consonant with nature, spread through all people. It is constant and eternal; it summons to duty by its orders, it deters from crime by its prohibitions. Its orders and prohibitions to good people are never given in vain; but it does not move the wicked by these orders or prohibitions. It is wrong to pass laws obviating this law; it is not permitted to abrogate any of it; it cannot be totally repealed. We cannot be released from this law by the senate or the people, and it needs no exegete or interpreter like Sextus Aelius. There will not be one law at Rome and another at Athens, one now and another later; but all nations at all times will be bound by this one eternal and unchangeable law, and the god will be the one common master and general (so to speak) of all people. He is the author, expounder, and mover of this law; and the person who does not obey it will be in exile from himself. Insofar as he scorns his nature as a human being, by this very fact he will pay the greatest penalty, even if he escapes all the other things that are generally recognized as punishments…

Our president has found it necessary to voice his opinion on the moral issue of gay marriage. There was a story on NPR this morning about the religious foundation of marriage that was making an argument that  gay marriage is not forbidden in the Bible. “Jesus never said a single word about anything even remotely connected to homosexuality,” says Episcopal pastor Susan Russell. Even as this statement is technically true, how disingenuous! Although Jesus does not speak to homosexual relationships, he affirms marriage between a man and woman in Matthew chapter 19.

And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, ‘Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?’ He answered, ‘Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.

This is a re-quoting of scripture by Jesus from Genesis, a scripture that He obviously knew well. “He made them from the beginning male and female.” Sounds pretty clear to me. And I’m not that surprised that our liberal media would castigate Jesus for not using the same rancor to denounce gay marriage that they themselves use. In fact, would we expect Jesus to do anything other than affirm the truth – that marriage is a sacrament, instituted by God, defined not in human terms but by natural and divine law, between a man and a woman, and thus immutable? The “definition” of marriage that we are hearing in the media today is radically different from this view.

It also makes me wonder, in light of Cicero’s quote, whether our president is in exile from himself, and wants to lead our country into exile from its true self. The real question is, “Will we let him?”

Image: Cicero, Marcus Tullius: bust of Cicero. [Photograph]. In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/24967/Cicero-detail-of-a-marble-bust-in-the-Capitoline-Museum

The Council of Jerusalem (or Apostolic Conference) is a name applied by historians and theologians to this early Christian council dated around the year 50. It is considered by Catholics and Orthodox to be a prototype and forerunner of the later Councils. This council in the year 50 decided that Gentile converts to Christianity were not obligated to keep most of the Mosaic law, especially concerning circumcision of males.

This idea of going back to the seat of the Catholic Church has been continued from those earliest days till now. Our Tucson Bishop Kicanas recently was in Rome, sometime after submitting a report on the conditions, the accomplishments and the challenges in this Tucson Diocese. I also read of the Ad Limina visit by the bishops from my old territory back in Colorado. I want to share some words from that meeting because of how much time many of us spend shaking our heads about all the problems and about what’s wrong with the Church.

Denver Bishop Conley said that the numbers of vocations were going up in the United States. He shared with the Pope that there is now a year-on-year increase in the numbers of young men opting for the priesthood across many US dioceses. Conley reported “I told Pope Benedict that in the Archdiocese of Denver both of our seminaries, St John Vianney Theological Seminary and Redemptoris Mater Neo-catechumenal seminary, are full. In fact we have more applicants than we have space so for the first time in many years we have to create a waiting list which is a good problem to have.” Holy Father Benedict was delighted to receive this information and had a great smile on his face. A recent study by the CARA Apostolate at Georgetown University estimated that U. S. seminary intake was up 4 percent over the previous year, and that it had reached its highest figure in 20 years.

About Denver — this success story reminds me to dig into my homily notes files and pull up some material to preach on graces. We may have little or no notion of what graces really are. Our knowledge may be wispy puffs of something which is here for an instant and then gone. Listen to these words of Archbishop Chaput, as he commented in one of his diocesan columns.

One of the staffers at the diocese had just moved to Colorado from a much larger and higher crime city on the West Coast.  The man was driving his family home late one evening, when the street— four lanes wide—was suddenly blocked by a huge mob of teens swarming out of the dark.  As urban panic kicked in, and he threw the car in reverse, his wife helpfully pointed out that the kids were singing a Marian hymn. The “mob” turned out to be hundreds of French World Youth Day pilgrims walking back to their parish sleeping quarters.  It was a moment of grace—unexpected, implausible and beautiful—and similar moments of grace happened again and again all over the city during those extraordinary days. Chaput said, “I was the bishop of Rapid City during Denver’s World Youth Day.  I remember it not just for its scope—more than 500,000 people from all over the world crowded into Cherry Creek State Park for the final Mass with John Paul II; nor for its almost total lack of crime and strife; nor for its astonishing success in the face of so much skepticism—nobody really thought Denver could manage an event this big.” The graces — the powerful results of that one significant event in Colorado have been a part of setting that diocese on fire.

Are we to worry and pray about the worldwide Church? Of course, because the forces of evil have not yet been permanently vanquished. But can we have hope and optimism and internal joy? You bet your Miraculous Medal we can.

Please God, give us the grace of fruitful optimism fueled by a necessary dose of reality. Help us to see the picture of your Church. Ever beautiful. Always, your gift to mankind until you come again. Amen.

Blessings.

Deacon Tom

www.catholicvitamins.com

As the early Church Father St. John Chrysostom aptly stated, “In every business or action, the hope of a future result is the motive which actuates us; for he who plows, does so that he may reap; and he who fights, that he may conquer. Take from man the hope of resurrection, and there is no longer piety or virtue.”

And now — we’ve completed the forty days journey through a Lenten desert. The large stone has been rolled back and we are alive with Christ. We are called to start a pilgrimage as to Emmaus. We are called once again to begin a pilgrimage to go and share the good news. That’s what the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus is about – men on a journey and who were gifted with a meeting with the Dispenser of Hope.

If you read much of my writing or have heard my homilies or our Catholic Vitamins podcasts, I’ve often talked about Catherine Doherty of Madonna House. For dozens of years she used to come to visit Winslow, Arizona, some 90 miles north of where I now live. She is being considered by the Church for sainthood. She wrote many books and articles. Some tell of Russians who set out on holy pilgrimages.

These pilgrims leave home with no little or no money. They leave home with only one day’s food and drink. A destination can be hundreds of miles away. The pilgrims bring Christ with them. And often, these pilgrims experience Christ in the homes they are invited to stay in. So for you and me, when we set our on our own journey to Emmaus, we need not worry how well educated we are or how equipped to lead others we are. All we need to do is to pray, and to ask Christ to send His Spirit to guide us…. and to stay within the practices of the 2,000 year old Catholic Church.

When we face the meaning of Easter we are at the crossroads of life and belief. With HOPE, we eventually must choose one way or the other. Am I a casual tourist with rose colored sunglasses sort of meandering through this Christ-is-alive stuff? Or am I am real pilgrim for Christ? What do I believe? No matter what my parents or my friends believe. It is a question I can only answer for myself. Have I come to this point in my life… this repeat of the celebration of Easter because I really believe in the resurrected and glorified person of Jesus? Is he real to me? Do I have a relationship with him? Does Easter express reality? Do I believe that death is not a period – that it is a comma in our existence?

Father Lou Guntzelman was a priest of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. He said that in the early years of the Christian era, some were asked whether they thought there own resurrection was outlandish and foolish. The reply from those early days was, “Which is a greater miracle for God to do? Create me from absolutely nothing, or once he has created me, to complete and keep me alive forever? Creation from nothingness is a greater miracle than continuation!” It’s been said, “To the person who dies, the great day of death does not merely arrive, like a date on a calendar: it explodes like an event which Faith has been keeping for us as an awesome surprise.” 

I have HOPE — with capital letters. I don’t know what it will be like. I once heard an 80-something year old priest who was giving one of his last sermons and it was about heaven. He said that when we are in heaven, we will all have seats on the fifty yard line — with no obstructed views. We’ll all be in immediate proximity to the Lord Jesus. And we’ll be able to talk with him as much as we want. And Mary will be there, and Peter and the two disciples from the road to Emmaus. And all our faithful family members.

I don’t know about you — but in the words of the popular Christian song of recent years… I can only imagine.

Blessings.

Deacon Tom

www.catholicvitamins.com

I have what others in the world see as a ‘smudge’ on my forehead. The pastor applied ashes to me before the two of us stepped down to the floor of the sanctuary and applied ashes to the faithful gathered for the non-obigatory Mass. It is often that we see people who aren’t familiar to us on Ash Wednesdays. Some folks treat this as a high-holy-day of obligation; it isn’t. 

In my homily at Mass this morning (and again at the Mass I will assist in this evening), I spoke about a project initiated by our Knights of Columbus. We purchased something like 250 copies of Matthew Kelly’s wonderful book, REDISCOVERING CATHOLICISM. Sometime earlier, I had introduced this book during weekend homilies, but the Knights wisely recognized that we might see some folks on Ash Wednesday whom we don’t see at regular weekend Masses.

I had been told that Bishop Thomas Olmsted of the Phoenix Diocese had given 1,000’s of copies of this book away to help awaken people in his diocese to the gift of the Catholic Faith. And up in Cottonwood, Arizona, a pastor gave 100’s of copies away, one to each parish family.

I told those attending this Ash Wednesday Mass that the beginning of this book is the prologue. It starts on page 13 and ends on page 16. Four pages. “Those pages will hook you, I promise. And then as you read more and more you will come to REDISCOVER CATHOLICISM – which is God’s plan and gift for us.”

Now on this kickoff for Lent, many come to get ashes, and if our hearts are properly oriented, our focus is on growing in holiness through prayer, fasting and almsgiving. That is the call of Lent: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. One aspect of prayer includes reading spiritual writings… spending time with Scripture or the saints.

When you and I were baptized, we were marked with the sign of the cross. There was an outward marking done by the priest or deacon. There was also an inner marking — a sign placed on your soul that you are marked as belonging to Christ… you were marked as a member of the mystical body of believers.

But being marked isn’t enough by itself. We know this because many who are baptized, even if they receive confirmation, they don’t go on to live lives of on-fire Christians. No, it isn’t enough just to be marked, we need to accept the marking we have received. And then we have to move forward and demonstrate what it means to be active, on-fire members of this mystical body. The faith we have been given is truly only LENT to us. We need to live it. We need to pass it on.

And so the Church gives us this season of Lent. Lent means “springtime.” It is the springtime of our life in the Spirit. Lent is a special gift of God to His people. Lent is a season of growing, spiritually.

It is an opportunity to imitate Jesus as He fasted forty days in the desert. Pope John Paul II shared this thought: “It is no exaggeration to say that the entire existence of the lay faithful has as its purpose to lead a person to a knowledge of the radical newness of the Christian life that comes from Baptism.” In other words — John Paul is teaching us to REDISCOVER CATHOLICISM, lent to us to be shared with others.

Ashes are applied to you and me in the shape of the sign of the cross. Ashes remind us that our goal doesn’t end in this life. Our goal lies in the afterlife. The goal of Christianity isn’t the marking we receive, it’s the living out… the actions we take to activate the markings we received in Baptism.

There is an old saying that faith isn’t taught – it’s shared. And in Lent, share some of your money – give alms. Pray in new and additional ways. Fast from foods or TV or gossip or self-satisfying activities. Spend time with Scripture and the lives of the saints. Let the Lord know that what you are doing this Lent is so you can draw closer to the Father, as Jesus did when he went into the desert.The renewal of our baptismal promises is the goal of Lent.

And renewing our baptismal promises means that we will again become Lent-active in what we are marked with externally.  All our Lenten goals should move us in this direction.

Friend, blogger and now author Sarah Reinhard has written a family-oriented book WELCOME RISEN JESUS — Lent and Easter Reflections for Families. We have a young mother in our parish who has six children. She bought copies of Sarah’s book and she started using it today, Ash Wednesday. She said the first day reading and activities brought tears to her eyes. It’s perfect for helping to make her family Lent-active.

You and are are marked. We’re marked internally as member of the Mystical Body. Today, we’re marked externally. At Mass, I challenged those who would come forward for ashes that before they washed the outside marking off, to look into the mirror and say to themselves: “I recognize my faith is a gift. I want to REDISCOVER CATHOLICISM. I want to be an on-fire member of Christ’s Church. I know that my Catholic Faith is only LENT to me. I want to pass it on.

I’ll meet you all in the desert.

Blessings.

Deacon Tom

www.catholicvitamins.com

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Do you think Mr. Obama simply woke up one morning and said, “You know, all women in this country deserve free birth control and abortion services. In fact, they have a right to receive free reproductive services. I’m the president of the United States. I can take care of that.”

Fortunately for The People, the Constitution forbids this type of action, but only if we can see the affront to liberty that this behavior creates. I think Andrew Jackson, in his farewell address said it best.  “But you must remember, my fellow-citizens, that eternal vigilance by the people is the price of liberty, and that you must pay the price if you wish to secure the blessing. It behooves you, therefore, to be watchful in your States as well as in the Federal Government.”

Although much of the debate this week has focused on religious freedom within the context of rights of conscience, I believe that the violation of the first amendment is actually a secondary consequence to the real threat, which is violation of the ninth and tenth amendments. I’m not going to go into the details of the debate on birth control and abortion services. Many have commented on these during the course of the week, and I can’t add anything to the conversation. For an excellent article on the topic, checkout the recent article on Bad Catholic.

The first amendment to the Constitution states that, “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;…” The first amendment goes on to enumerate rights of free speech, press, assembly and petition. I include this only to point out that the founding fathers ranked freedom of religion first in this list of rights. I, for one, don’t think this was an accident. I think they thought (as do I) that freedom of religion was and is that important.

Moving right along, the ninth amendment to the Constitution states, “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” What this amendment is saying is that any powers granted to the three branches of government that are not enumerated in the Constitution are given to the people, AND that the Constitution should not be interpreted (construed) to include rights and powers not explicitly enumerated.

Finally, the tenth amendment, which is similar to the ninth, states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” The consequence of this amendment is that states, through the representative voice of the people of those states, may decide rights and powers that are not explicitly granted to the federal government in the Constitution. An example of  this would be gay marriage. Under the tenth amendment, states may determine for themselves, bound within their borders, the will of the people of their state and incumbent only upon their citizens. An important point is that legislators of the state do NOT have the power to usurp such rights and powers without the voice of the people.

What powers are specifically granted to the federal government? The Constitution spells this out. Article 1, Section 8 defines the powers of the legislative branch, Article 2 Section 2 defines the powers of the executive branch, and Article 3 Section 2 defines the powers of the judicial branch. Focusing on the powers given to the executive branch, the president commands the military, and has the power to make treaties, appoint the Supreme Court and other judges, appoint ambassadors, appoint the Cabinet and heads of departments, and make recess appointments. This is the extent of the explicitly enumerated powers of the executive branch. Period. End of story. That’s all she wrote.

It is clear that the Constitution draws tight lines around the powers granted to the Federal government.  And herein is the crux of the argument. Mr. Obama has unilaterally asserted a power to force citizens and/or organizations to purchase a specific product. He has done this ostensibly because women, “Have a right to reproductive services.” There is no right to reproductive services in the Constitution. There is no power given to the executive branch of government to create such a right. Therefore, such a power is given to the States to decide, or to The People to retain. Forget that this is an affront to religious rights of conscience. It is an affront to the Constitution, and will only be allowed to stand if it is granted sanction by the people through indifference and lack of action.

“Free government is founded in jealousy, not confidence. It is jealousy and not confidence which prescribes limited constitutions, to bind those we are obliged to trust with power…. In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in men, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.” — Thomas Jefferson, 1799

For example, we have friends who had thirteen children. Early in their family life, they took a long trip and left one of their offspring at a turnpike rest stop. Did you ever lose one of your children when you were on a trip, or even lose a child who was playing outside of your home? Only then to find them and sweep them up into your arms asking, as Mary did: ‘Why have you done this to us?’ The lost one in your own arms might try to make up a reason why he or she wandered off… it may seem unclear what they are saying. And Mary and Joseph didn’t really understand the answer that Jesus gave them about being about His Father’s affairs.

Fr. Lane said that the Holy Family was a family that (most surely) had signal and special graces — but they were a most ordinary family having trials and travels and geographic moves forced upon them. Sometimes there are broken bones or other serious illness or challenges. Just in these recent hours, the Gospel at Mass narrated the words of Simeon telling Mary she would have her heart pierced with a sword of great sorrow. Of course Mary came to know the answer. But not right away; and so too, all of us in our family troubles.

Why unpleasant or painful things happen may remain fully in the providence of Almighty God, but, as with the Holy Family, there is no answer but faith and we are called to continue our Catholic journey just as The Holy Family persevered.

To encourage families today I want to share words from Blessed John Paul II. On the day he left Ireland in 1979, much of his homily in Limerick was for the purpose of giving encouragement to families, and in particular to parents. The Pope reminded that the family is primary. Family has been our greatest resource. And due to relativism and divorce and the attack on the true meaning of marriage, the current challenges make family more important than ever. The Holy Father said that the idea of a close-knit family isn’t outdated. He asked that we not follow the trends that are creating difficulties for family life and Christian marriage.

John Paul said that we should revere and protect family and family life. He said the Christian family is more important for the Church and for society today than ever before. He reflected on the importance of parents to remain good fathers and mothers, and this is true as well for grandparents and great grandparents. Do not think that anything you will do in life is more important than to be a good Christian father and mother.

The Holy Father also reminded that day that marriage means being open to the receive the gift of children from God. Do we not see how much society and the media and the contraceptive mentality have damaged marriage and parenthood since the 1970’s when John Paul spoke these words?

As the Pope left Ireland, he asked families to give him a parting gift. Imagine JPII asking them for a gift. He asked us that our homes would always be places of prayer. As we ended the year with the feast of the Holy Family, I ask you to look at your home with the eye of the late John Paul II. Are there signs of prayer and holiness around you? Are there holy pictures and statues? Is there holy water? Does your family pause to include grace before meals? The Holy Family did this. It is this example that faithful followers of God’s loving gifts are called to emulate.

I have shared with you before that when I was completing four years of deacon seminary classes, they had us go on a one week silent retreat. It was a discernment retreat to seek God’s voice about whether to accept the call from the Church about ordination. As I walked on a path by myself… as I wondered if I should move forward, I discovered myself praying: “Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I trust in you.” When I realized what I was doing — resistance was futile and unnecessary. The rest is history.

In closing, let me share that we were given a gift to hear of David and Allyson about six or more years ago. It was back in those days that we came to know of a Catholic Family who was proud of their faith and their family. Four or five years ago, the Sweeneys invited Deacon Tom to act as a sort of ‘chaplain’ for the Catholic Family website. What an honor. 

Two years ago, Dee and I were especially gifted to be invited to visit The Catholic Family in their Texas home. What we envisioned from a distance through the lens of their podcast turned out to be quite true in their home. Ordinary folks with eternal goals. Ordinary kids who love and who care; ordinary kids who bicker and test the boundaries (and even one who cuts her hair [on one side] with scissors picked up when no one was paying attention).  And evening time complete with the rosary, said as a family.

We aren’t ‘family’ to The Catholic Family. But we sure do care for them as if they were members of our family.

Happy New Year one and all.

Holy Family — pray for us. Amen.

Jenny Crook
“The First Noel” (mp3)
from “Christmas Harp – Elegant Expressions of Christmas with Celtic & Concert Harps”
(Classic Fox Records)

Picture by Chrissy Morin: Christmas Present

Email us (at) catholicfamilypodcast [dot] com or call the comment line at 936-228-1836.

Music by Jenny Crook from the album

Jenny Crook
“The First Noel” (mp3)
from “Christmas Harp – Elegant Expressions of Christmas with Celtic & Concert Harps”
(Classic Fox Records)

Picture by Martin Gommel: Gabriel

Email us (at) catholicfamilypodcast [dot] com or call the comment line at 936-228-1836.

Marriage allows us to live out those struggles and sacrifices. I have learned after 15 years of marital bliss that the defining behavior of successful marriage is a complete and unselfish giving of self to the other person. When I look back on all of the problems in my married life, every single one of them had selfishness as a root cause. Even when stressors came from the outside such as financial problems, extended family issues, and work-related issues, as long as Allyson and I put each other first, our marriage remained strong and happy.

Back to the question at hand. Why do people think that marriage is becoming obsolete? Personally, I think it’s because people don’t understand the benefits of marriage, for themselves and our society. They don’t understand how good it is, how fulfilling, how supportive and loving, how fun. They have no idea that I catch a glimpse of God in the eyes of my children every day. Their perception of what is best for them is based, at its root, upon a selfish and necessarily immature view. It is a view defined in the media and accepted by people without reason. It would seem that as married people become increasingly more rare, that our value to society will become greater. I don’t think that society realizes this yet, but I’m confident that there will come a day of reckoning.

While I worked hard and with much love to prepare couples, I’m not naive; troubles often come early in a marriage. I recall doing homilies at all the Masses at the parish one weekend. I preached on God’s plan for man and woman and about the gift of self to each other. One couple came up to me as I greeted people outside. It turns out there were visitors and were honeymooning in Colorado. They had been married elsewhere one week and a day by the time they talked to me. I broke into a big smile but they weren’t smiling.

“How can I help you?” I asked, my face turning ministerial. They said they had done nothing but argue since the time they left on their honeymoon. They were beginning to wonder if they had made a mistake. The opening 200 hours of their new life were a horrible disappointment. I did the best I could in short moments in between Masses. After counseling a bit, I asked if I could have them join their hands and let me put my hands on their shoulders and I prayed for them and gave them a blessing. I’ll not forget them and their pain where great joy and peace should be. What did they go through for preparation? How mature were they? Did the prayer and blessing help?

Fade to years later: Today, I was taking Holy Communion to people in a couple nursing homes that I visit on Thursdays. As I drove from one location to another, I resumed praying a rosary I had started earlier. I was on the Second Luminous Mystery, the Wedding at Cana. I thought about the gift of my wife, and about our marriage. I prayed for a blessing for us.

Interrupting my prayers again, I pulled up to and entered the second nursing home. In the ‘living room’ area of this pleasant home, there in the same as always seats were Gene and Alice. They are a couple I recognize because Alice had been a patient and resident at the other nursing home for perhaps a year. Gene was always with her. When I didn’t see either of them in the first nursing home, I suspected the worst — the outcome that so often happens in a place of late-aging. And so imagine my surprise when I started going to this second nursing home and found Gene sitting right next to his wife. She does sleep a lot but when she’s awake – she’s talkative. He dotes on her. He is with her virtually every day. I would guess they are in their mid 80’s. His love and constancy in attending to his wife… his desire to be with his all-of-life spouse is so beautiful.

Thank you, Lord for the gift of Church and Sacraments. Thank you for sanctifying the all-of-life union between one man and one woman. Thank you Gene and Alice for your Protestant witness to your marriage. We all have so much we can learn from you.

Below is the reading that is probably the most requested of readings for the weddings I’ve done as a deacon. It’s often called the Hymn of Love. These are Words worth rereading and sharing with your spouse.

Blessings.

Deacon Tom

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Note: This Reflection is also scheduled to run as a November/December 2011 column at www.catholicmom.com

A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians 12:31–13:8a

Brothers and sisters: Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.

But I shall show you a still more excellent way. If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails.

The word of the Lord.

After watching about 45 minutes of morning television, I had the life scared out of me.  I saw stories of children catching unthinkable germs and diseases from playing at restaurants with outdoor play-yards that never get cleaned, women catching horrible diseases in which they ended up losing their limbs, yucky parasites that can enter your body while swimming (of course these swimming places were exotic), gross stories about what is in our food, how much television/screen time children should have and the terrible things that can happen when there is too much, and don’t even get me started on what you can pick up in public restrooms.  My stomach was literally getting upset with all of the stuff that I saw in less than an hour.  It had me worried about my kids and to what they had been exposed all because of me.  I shouldn’t take them out to eat, shouldn’t let them use public restrooms, certainly don’t touch anything out in public, and don’t go over to Papa’s house and watch more than 22 minutes of TV a week.  Good grief!  It made it sound like we were all going to die and soon.

David was calmly watching with me.  He said, “Yes, this is true, but there is a lot that they are not telling you.”  He told me about how your body’s immune system works (he has a degree in Biology so I trust him) and how we are already infested with germs and a few more aren’t going to hurt us.  Yea, we could get more than our body can handle and bad things can happen, but hey, that’s life.  Sure, you need to be cautious and smart about what you do, where you go, things your kids get into, but you can’t let it rule your life.   Sigh, yea, you’re right.

So I’ve been without television for five years and in my own little perfect bubble with the kids not worrying about anything out of the ordinary and life has been good.  I could let that morning of  television rule and change my life, but I think I’ll block that  session out of my mind and just go back to my perfect little bubble.

There’s the Blessed Mother, of course. She’s been speaking to the world in many different venues for decades and more. In fact, in my humble opinion, I believe Jesus has asked His Mother to make concentrated efforts to reach and teach people of good heart, and those for whom there is hope for a good heart.

While I know the Church has a rather neutral stance on current apparitions such as in Medjugorje and elsewhere, I’ve seen and heard such wonderful stories of graces and conversions and good works pouring from these locations, that I’m inclined to believe in them. (NOTE: That’s not official Church — that’s purely Deacon Tom speaking).

And speaking of Deacon Tom — my spiritual director for the last two years that I was in deacon formation was a priest from Colorado. He had become burned out and was of a mind to leave the priesthood. Someone gave this priest a completely free trip to Medjugorje and when the priest came back — he was absolutely on fire. It started with the confessions he was hearing there: they were among the most profound and sincere confessions that they changed the priest’s heart — the one in the priest who became my spiritual director some years later.

One of the places where Heaven is allegedly reaching out to mankind is found in the organization called DIRECTION FOR OUR TIMES (DFOT). There is a lay visionary there – her name is “Anne.” What is hopeful about all of the material and words rushing forth from DFOT is that they are all faithfully submitted to a local bishop in Ireland where Anne is located. The bishop has approved her messages and lessons and teachings and has said there is nothing contradictory to Catholic Church teaching. And further, Dr. Mark Miravalle a professor of theology and Mariology has reviewed ‘Annes’ material and finds nothing that contradicts the teachings or morals of the Catholic Faith.

You can find a lot of information and testimony and ‘heavenly-shared information’ on the DFOT website: http://www.directionforourtimes.org/

I’ve been reading one of the ‘volumes’ of material published by DFOT. The one that I have in my current reading/consideration pile is VOLUME SIX: HEAVEN SPEAKS TO FAMILIES. There are words such as these:

St. Joseph message to fathers of families: “Your family can be another pocket of holiness, as we were. I will show you how. Remember that you have great and limitless help in heaven. Do not be discouraged if your family is struggling with worldly influences. Together we will move forward the example that our little Holy Family has set for you. All is well; let’s begin.” (The rest is message and guidance inside the book).

There are words and challenge for mothers from a woman named Mary — and she is an unknown saint in heaven. That’s what I’d die to be: an unknown saint in heaven.

Believe or not in such ‘messages’ or ‘faith-lifts’ made available in Medjugorje or Ireland or now even in Wisconsin, they are meant to draw fathers and mothers into more exemplary faith walk. And the increased faith in parents will certainly radiate to and help our children.

I’d like to hear from you if you’ve been to a famous apparition site, or if you’ve been reading something along these lines that really interests you or moves your heart.

Blessings.

Deacon Tom

www.catholicvitamins.com

Call our comment line at 936-228-1836  or email us [at] catholicfamilypodcast.com.

Lightning by snowpeak

The Glitch Mob
“Drive It Like You Stole It” (mp3)
from “Drive It Like You Stole It – Single”
(Glass Air)

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Final Song: John Waller: As for Me and My House
John Waller
“As for Me and My House” (mp3)
from “As for Me and My House”
(City of Peace)

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We got to the library just as they were starting their toddler reading time. Austin said, “Please let me take Mattie Claire.”  He enjoys going to the library, but he goes in already knowing what he wants, which lately has been any book in the Alex Rider series. I agreed to let him take her into the 30 minute toddler time looking forward to my bit of peace and quiet.  A little bit of mommy time was just what I needed after Tuesday, but that’s another story.

After 15 minutes I decided that I should check on him to make sure she was behaving and that he was OK.  Well, for security reasons they lock the doors and you can’t get in after they have started.  Sure, you can talk to the librarian and she will let you in, but my reason wasn’t exactly an emergency so I decided to just wait it out.  At 10:35 here came Mattie Claire running across the library with her construction paper penguin and bursting at the seams with stuff to tell me.  They danced, listened to stories, sang, played in the bubbles, and did a craft.  She had a blast.  He said that she was the loudest baby in there because she was so excited.

The best part was when two other moms came out and intentionally found me to tell me what a wonderful son I have.  They were very moved with the way that he interacted with Mattie Claire and how he took care of her.  They could tell that he loves her very much.  I don’t think I could have been smiling any bigger.  I am very proud of Austin.  He is a great son and he does love his baby sister beyond belief.  They are looking forward to next Wednesday for the toddler reading time.

I used to go to a hair stylist when we lived in San Francisco. (NB: When you live in San Francisco – they are stylists – never barbers. But I digress.) Over some years of going to Lisa – I came to know that she was a former Catholic. Religion still tugged at her somewhat. But Lisa wasn’t practicing. She had a sort of left-coast approach to organized religion.

Lisa had a thing about angels. She had angels everywhere around her work area. There were angels visible; there were angels partially hidden in potted plants and in wispy material that might look like or actually be referred to as angel-hair. You know the kind of white material that someone might put up as part of a Halloween display? That’s the stuff I’m talking about. And in those areas where Lisa had created some sort of ethereal display, she placed angels.

Not that these displays had anything to do with non-corporeal and beautiful, intelligent spirits. No. Lisa’s angels were good mood and good luck and good intention sort of objects. Look at the angels and think good thoughts!

Most of us cradle Catholics were raised to know of angels. We used to think of them as crossing guards and good behavior icons. And the nuns helped maintain that sort of approach to them with the prayer we had to learn: “Angel of God, my guardian dear. To whom God’s love commits me here. Ever this day be at my side, to light, to lead, to rule and guide.”

We can hold on to that thought, but let’s consider also what our Catholic Catechism tells us: “Angels are spiritual creatures who glorify God without ceasing and who serve His saving plans for other creatures: “The angels work together for the benefit of us all.” (St. Thomas Aquinas) CCC350.

Now recently, maybe my Guardian Angel (yes, I believe!) has been helping me to read more and be reminded more of the angels. I may even have more than one angel assigned to me. Not that I’m that special (although I’ve been marked with the sign of ordination as a deacon, thanks be to God!). You may have multiple angels assigned to you as well.

I’ve been trying to remember to pray each morning to my angel(s). Help me today. Guide me today. Steer me today.

So maybe I shouldn’t make light of Lisa’s angel displays. Because they might be a reminder to remain aware. Awareness of the beauty and the power and the intelligence that is unseen but which remains near us.

As Mike Aquilina wrote in his Servant Books publication, Angels of God: The Bible, the Church and the Heavenly Hosts:

“The main thing is to be aware of the angels around you—and get in the habit of calling upon them for little favors.  Invoke them silently as you begin each conversation, as you dial the phone, as you start to reply to an e-mail.  Ask them to give you the right words.  Ask them to help you avoid words that can damage your relationships and compromise your Christian witness.”  NB again: I’ve been known to explode from time to time — this last sentence is appropriate for me at least. (Maybe I could do a column on justifiable anger some time. Any thoughts on that?)

I can’t say if they helped or not, but I invoked my angel/s while writing this column. Let me know if you think my words were heavenly.

Blessings.

Deacon Tom

www.catholicvitamins.com

On a separate note, Lacy over at Catholic Icing has a new book coming out soon.  It looks awesome and if you order now you save $5.  Head on over to http://catholicicing.blogspot.com to see Catholic ABCs (The Book):  A Hands On Preschool Curriculum.  You won’t be disappointed.

The summer heat has built up. It’s been near stifling. I almost need renewal again. And so, I made a special point to get to Confession this past weekend. It was a good Reconciliation, thank you Jesus. And Dee and I went to a different parish as I was ‘off the altar’ last weekend. The different parish had a large musical group and a very energetic worship style. (Almost too much, but it was a reminder to get up and praise God with heart and mind and soul. And with your neighbor.)

Do you recognize signs of summer dryness in your faith walk? Here are words by the late priest and author Henri J. M. Nouwen:

“Sometimes we experience a terrible dryness in our spiritual life. We feel no desire to pray, don’t experience God’s presence, get bored with worship services, and even think that everything we ever believed about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is little more than a childhood fairy tale. 

Then it is important to realize that most of these feelings and thoughts are just feelings and thoughts, and that the Spirit of God dwells beyond our feelings and thoughts. It is a great grace to be able to experience God’s presence in our feelings and thoughts, but when we don’t, it does not mean that God is absent. It often means that God is calling us to a greater faithfulness. It is precisely in times of spiritual dryness that we must hold on to our spiritual discipline so that we can grow into new intimacy with God.”

And so — my faith is reawakened. I’m more alive. God has sprinkled my summer dryness with a hyssop branch of fresh cool water. I’ve gotten past my cracked and parched ‘feelings’ and I feel called to a ‘greater faithfulness.’

People often recommend books, especially for summertime readers. I’d like to mention three that have helped renew me this summer. First, LET THE FIRE FALL by Fr. Michael Scanlan, T. O. R. It’s the story of how the power of the Holy Spirit revolutionized the life of Fr. Scanlan and Franciscan University. I believe this book will convince you the Holy Spirit can do the same for you.

The next book is a wonderful read by an exorcist. Get your attention? Well this book is worth your attention. It’s HOLY HANDS — Stories of 8 Lives Transformed by the Priesthood’s Mysterious Power. It is written by Fr. Clement Machado who has done something over 1,000 formal exorcisms and as many as 3,000 healings and deliverance ministry sessions.

Finally, I’m rereading The Fruits of Medjugorje – Stories of True and Lasting Conversion by dear friend, Elizabeth Ficocelli. (She’s been a guest on our Catholic Vitamins podcast.)

In conclusion, I might say that I am continuing to go to Friday Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. Adoration has become a special gift to me and I can’t recommend it highly enough. If you don’t feel like you get anything out of Adoration, or if you don’t really know what to do in that quiet, I recommend you Google ‘what to do in adoration.’ You’ll find link after link with information to explore about developing your approach to Adoration. Here’s one good link: www.maronitemonks.org/articles/February2006.pdf   The article is entitled 48 Things to Do at Adoration.

Put a ‘bounce’ in your steps. Jesus is walking with you. On the beach. In the mountains. At the park. At the pool.

Fred McDowell
“Woke Up This Morning” (mp3)
from “I’ll Be So Glad When the Sun Goes Down: Alan Lomaxâ??s “Southern Journey,” 1959â??1960″
(Global Jukebox)

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My friends did pretty well.  They came with books in hand to trade and a few were donated to our library in her name.    A couple of guests came with some recycled gifts.  I love that.  Hannah found a little plastic truck with a trailer and some animals in her closet, wrapped it and gave it to her baby sister.  This is one of Mattie’s favorite things right now, and mom didn’t have to spend a penny!  Yea!

Mattie Claire had a wonderful birthday.  She had a cake with candles, and friends and family around her that day.  After all, it’s not really about all of the stuff we get, but that we get to be here and enjoy life with the people we love. Then the sharing becomes the gift.

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Step One-each child plans meals for one day; breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, and dessert.  You’ve got to let them plan for all of those so that they feel like there is food in the house.  It might seem like we eat a lot, but we’re not over weight.  Well, most of us are not.

Step Two-Mom puts all of the children’s menus together and adds a few days as well as a few green things.  I don’t think cereal, granola bars, cheese tortellini, and sloppy joes constitute a well-balanced diet for the day.

Step Three-make a shopping list and gather coupons.

Step Four-split the list.  I try to put things on one list that are all in one area of the store.  For example, Hannah and Luke today had dairy products.  I usually do produce and meat.  If I let Austin pick the meat, we would be eating salmon steaks, filet mignon, and pork loin every night and we would go broke.  Since I have 5 children, I split the list into three parts.  Sometimes they pair up boys together and girls together and other times it’s the two bigger kids and then the two younger ones.  I let them decide.  I usually take the baby, but sometimes they ask if Mattie Claire can go with them.

We really had a lot of fun on this grocery trip.  Nobody was asking for this and that.  They had their own list of things to get off of the shelf and so didn’t really have time to ask for extras.  Nobody was fighting because they all had a job to do.  We weren’t in the store very long so the baby stayed in the basket the whole time.  It was a great learning experience.  Meal planning, list making, comparison shopping, lots of problem solving, cooperation, and just pure fun.  An added benefit is that when they plan the meal, choose and buy the food, and then cook it, they eat it as well.  All of it.  My next problem to solve is a clever way to get them to clean out the refrigerator.   Can you say “science experiment”?

Have you read Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life? The opening words of Chapter 1: “It’s not about you. The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment…”

If you are a faithful listener and friend of The Catholic Family — you’ve probably heard Allyson talk about her visits to a former neighbor, Mrs. Uilkie. She’s gone to be with the Lord now — but for some time, I know Allyson and the kids used to visit Mrs. Uilkie. She was a lady who lived alone and was waiting to enter into eternal rest. I believe the Sweeney’s loved her and she loved them. Some while ago, there was (still is) a picture of the elderly lady holding the new Sweeney baby, Mattie Clare.

I don’t think there was any family relationship between Mrs. Uilkie and the Sweeneys. She was simply a person who was alone and loved her faith as she loved visitors. And so, from time to time, dear Allyson would phone and then load the van and bring the young ones to visit their neighbor and bring smiles and Christian caring. The Good Samaritan  doesn’t have to visit someone beaten up by the world — the Good Samaritan need only find someone who will benefit from a platter of cinnamon rolls and a hug during a visit.

However…. however, I’ve run into a situation that tugs at my very heartstrings. I’ve been visiting a sick and soon to die man from our parish. He’s every bit the curmudgeon — but he loves a visit and loves to talk about his youth, his wife, his participation in the Knights of Columbus. But Jack is very sick and he’s been on kidney dialysis for perhaps a year and a half. Each treatment sustains life but seems to drain energy and the will-to-live.

I took Jack Holy Communion on Sunday. He and his wife had been in a discussion about whether Jack should stop taking the treatments that are keeping him alive. They met with Jack’s doctor who told him that it isn’t going to get any better at all. And each treatment will leave him alive but further weakened. If Jack stopped the dialysis, the doctor told him he would have about ten days until his body shuts down from the poisons in his system. Jack and Julie were actually talking this over, and they brought it up to me when I came to visit on Sunday.

Well here we all are, ready to take off on our summer vacations or we’re watering and weeding our gardens… and then there is someone like Mrs. Uilkie or Jack L. who is about ready to enter eternity. Jack has made it very clear that he wants me to preach at his funeral. What to say? I’d better find out more about Jack and his growing up years.

I’d better find out about his faith journey. I already know about his temper and his quick laugh. I wonder what his adult kids would tell me about him? Here’s a strange kids-related story: When Jack called one of his sons to discuss this possibility of stopping dialysis — the son said, “Well, don’t you want to go fishing again? Don’t pull the plug just yet.” Jack is so weak he can barely get off his couch – but the son doesn’t want to give dad a ‘release.’

And then there’s me – Deacon Tom. Should I stay here these weeks and wait till Jack passes? I’ve got things I really want to do. Reservations are made. Plane tickets bought.

But then again, it’s not about me, is it? Rick Warren says I was born by His purpose and for His purpose. How does that relate in this situation?

Blessings.

Deacon Tom

www.catholicvitamins.com

One of the things that Mark covered in his management trinity was feedback. Giving feedback to directs (employees) is one of the three most important things that managers do. Here is a direct link to their podcast on giving feedback. Almost in jest, one of the participants asked if feedback works with family members. Mark exclaimed, “DON’T EVER use feedback with your spouse. But I can see where feedback would be useful with your kids.”

BINGO!

So here’s a suggested model for use with your kids (totally ripped off from Manager Tools with attribution)

Dad: Austin, can I give you some feedback?
Austin: Uh, ok. Am I in trouble?
Dad: When you use your Boy Scout magnesium and steel firestarter on the kitchen table, here’s what happens – the kitchen table catches on fire, scorches and looks like a campsite picnic table.
Austin: Dad, I’m really sorry about that. Am I in trouble?
Dad: Austin, you see how your behavior – using the firestarter which is really for the outdoors – in the house resulted in a bad situation, and you could’ve burned the house down?
Austin: I sure do, Dad. Am I in trouble?
Dad: How could you have handled this differently?
Austin: Uh… done it outside on the porch.
Dad: Yes, and…
Austin: Uh… told you I was going to do it.
Dad: Yes, good idea.
Austin: So is that it? Am I in anymore trouble?
Dad: No, but if you do it again, you will be.
Austin: Got it. I’m sorry, Dad.
Dad: Go tell that to your mother.

Note how I keep the tension (and therefore his attention) going by not answering his question until we’ve gone through the steps.

So, in summary here are the “Family Tools” rules for child feedback:

• Step 1 – Ask if you can give feedback. Keep in mind that most feedback you give should be positive, somewhere on the order of 90% to 10%.
• Step 2 – State the behavior. Keep away from emotions, intentions, anything that is not observable and verifiable. Examples are behaviors are what is said, how it was said, facial expressions, body language, and behaviors/actions. So to clarify, you shouldn’t say, “When you act like a pyromaniac.” That’s a judgement. Its better to state the behavior, as is done in the example.
• Step 3 – State the consequences of the behavior. “Here’s what happens…” is a good way to start this rule.
• Step 3.5 – Explicitly define the connection between the behavior and consequence, including what could happen if you were able to forestall a disaster. Although this is not recommended in the Manager Tools feedback model, I think for kids, it’s a good addition since they are still learning the connection between the two.
• Step 4- Praise the child for good behavior – “Good job, keep it up!” or ask what could’ve been done differently to result in good behavior. Be explicit.
• Optional Step 5- Give consequences if the behavior was negative.
• Step 6 – Make sure the Mom knows. Because Mom should know everything, right?

Soundseeing Song: Brain Buckit – Run Rabbit

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Happy spring! Happy Mother’s Day. Happy month of Mary, everyone’s Blessed Mother. This picture shows an outdoor bronze state commissioned by Madonna House in Combermere, Canada, and designed and accomplished by the late sculptor Frances Rich.

This statue is called OUR LADY OF COMBERMERE. The statue shows Our Blessed Mother running to wrap her arms around those of us, her children whom she loves. This Catholic Family column has some thoughts originating from Madonna House, and I just love this statue. Here we go with the May column.

Our newly titled Blessed John Paul II said of motherhood: “(It)… is a woman’s vocation. It is an eternal vocation. It is also a contemporary vocation. We must do everything in order that children, the family and society may see her in that dignity that Christ saw.”

But what about what it’s like to be a mother who is struggling with what it means to be a mother on a daily basis? Here’s a little story from a lovely purse-book sized booklet entitled MOTHERING: Becoming the Heart of the Home. The author of this booklet is Rosalie McPhee. Here’s her Mother’s Day warm smile:

“It had been one of those hard days, and I was feeling like I was going to explode. I was trying to get something on the table to feed my family, resentful that everything always fell to me, and all at once. The kids were fighting all around me, and I just couldn’t deal with it. I stirred the cheese sauce with a vengeance, and noticed it was burned on the bottom. The vegetables were boiling over. Oh, if I could only get this meal over with!”

“I heard a little voice pierce through my black cloud of anger: “Hep oo, Mom?” My little toddler was looking up at me, reaching out to me in an embrace. I held him close, and felt a sudden calm.

As he set the table, his little tongue extended slightly. I watched him carefully put each thing in place. Some were backwards, but he stood back and looked with satisfaction at his effort.”

“Jussa minute, Mom. Forget somepin.” He returned a minute later with a dandelion, and placed it carefully in a jam jar in the center of the table.”

The book MOTHERING is produced and printed by Madonna House Publications out of Combermere, Canada. You can find them on-line.

I shared the little story to help pose a Mother’s Day question for the Mothers who, from time to time feel the need to just go inside a bedroom (with no one following or banging on the door after two minutes) — and just quietly decompress.

The question: Do you think Mary, the Mother of Christ ever had a desire to go someplace and decompress? Was she ever tired to the point of: ‘if you would all just leave me alone!’ Well in another Madonna House publication called Grace In Every Season, Catherine Doherty says:

“Let us ask the Lord to show women today the fullness of the life at Nazareth. Pray that He might lift the veil of years and sentimental piety… and present His own mother as she really was — a housewife, a mother, a spouse, a woman busy at the sublime creative work of the ‘kingdom,’ which was His home on earth… Instinctively we imagine their Nazareth house to be spotless.” But was it? Who could keep a home in a desert spotless? Dustless? Immaculate? In what ways might Mary have been holy there in Nazareth?

Might Mary not have ‘experienced the exhilaration of creativeness in cooking a meal or making a loaf of bread fit to eat?’ Do we understand the sublimity of service — humbly, daily, constantly repeated? Or do we dream about more gadgets…. so that we can be free for long hours of leisure?’

This month, we Catholics have, among other things honored May as Mary’s month. We’ve lifted her on a pedestal. But I think her holiness, in part came from seeing that her work in Nazareth was that of making the Kingdom of God a practical prayer of feeding the hungry where she was. And where she was was in her home. Bread making, preparing vegetables for meals, sweeping, cooking… these were her prayers, offered that she might serve out her vocation with a God-given dignity.

It’s not something that the world at large understands. So don’t look for any recognition there. But turn to Blessed Mother Mary, to Her Son, and to the writings of the Church, especially Blessed John Paul II.

As a matter of fact, over twenty dioceses of the Catholic Church have sponsored and promoted the program called ENDOW — Educating on the Nature and Dignity of Women. It’s a program that teaches about the dignity of women (and mothers!). I’m familiar with this from the Denver Archdiocese where it started. Within the diocese, many parishes have started the program and it has brought women to a heightened awareness of radical dignity. God’s plan for the dignity of women.

And so that I am clear — ENDOW isn’t a program that attempts to persuade a woman that peeling potatoes is the foundation of her dignity. ENDOW uses the teachings of JPII (and others) to help establish that a woman’s dignity is from God, and it can be found in the boardroom or in the kitchen. Wherever a woman (or a mother) serves is where her dignity and her prayerfulness can blossom.

Happy Mother’s Day. And to Blessed Mary, our Mother, I pray for all women who live and serve as humbly and as gracefully as you did.

Blessings.

Deacon Tom

www.catholicvitamins.com

catholicvitamins@gmail.com

“What I do?  What I do, Mama?”  I was so glad that she couldn’t see my face because I was smiling from ear to ear when I heard that.  After a minute of time out, I went to her and said, “Mattie Claire, why are you in time out?”  Now since she is so little I usually go to her and say, “Mattie, you were in time out for . . .  Please say you are sorry.”  But this time I didn’t remind her why she was there and low and behold, she knew!  “I throw food on the floor.”  “That’s right.  Tell Mama you are sorry.”  After her apology I got a very messy kiss because in my hurry to get her to time out I didn’t wipe her mouth.  Oooooo.  I took it anyway.  I won’t get those too often when she’s bigger.

Kids are smart.  Mattie Claire knew exactly what she was doing when she threw food on the floor.  She knew it was wrong, but did it to see what Mama would do.  This age is an age of testing the limits.  What can I get away with today?  I know that consistency is key to raising kids, but in the Sweeney house every once in a while someone gets away with something.  Too bad for MC that today wasn’t one of those times.

If you happen to read my words from time to time, I hope that you don’t mind that I refer to Catherine Doherty and Madonna House every so often. Catherine was the foundress of Madonna House up in Northern Canada – and it now has field houses in about 20 locations. Madonna House is a mostly lay community of men and women who live a very simple life based on radical compliance to the Gospel. Catherine Doherty was a great lover of the Church, the Eucharist, the priesthood and married life and families. She and her late husband, Eddie Doherty were both ‘close to the earth’ to use an old expression. They loved God’s wonderful creation.

I was looking at some of Catherine’s words with regard to spring. I found these: “Soft pastel shades tint the evenings of spring and the early morning, bringing new hope, new life, especially in the hearts of those who live in the midst of nature. So it is with the Church,” Catherine writes… “so it is with the people of God. Hope is like the sap rising in the trees. Easter reminds us that Christ is truly risen, and that all Christians have life in the risen Christ. Each member of the Church lives in the resurrected Christ.”

Now I am deaconing all the weekday Masses this week. And on Monday morning, I thought of Catherine’s words. I looked out at those present for daily Mass: old timer Bernie commented days ago about a book he had borrowed from me. It was written by Patrick Madrid and it’s called SEARCH AND RESCUE. It’s about how to prayerfully work to bring our children and grandchildren back into the Catholic faith. Bernie sounded so upbeat and renewed from reading that book. Like many of us, he has adult children who have left the practice of the True Faith.

Looking out at Mass, I remembered that Mary S. sent me an email in which she said that she had borrowed a CD that I put out when I did the talk at the Lenten day of recollection. Mary said she enjoyed the CD so much that she had signed up for the Lighthouse Catholic Media CD of the Month shipment program…  Mary’s faith walk is being renewed this spring.

And on Monday at Mass, I looked and saw dear wife Dee and Darleen and Michelle and Caroline; these are some of the women who had signed up and went in 3 cars down to Phoenix to a wonderful day of Women Gathered In Grace, sponsored by the Council of Catholic Women in Phoenix. Our contingent from St. Philip’s joined a total of 600 women who were there to seek fertile ground for a new birth of hope and the journey of faith.

Luminous is the light of spring; luminous is the light of the Resurrected Christ. Luminous is God’s grace as He helps us to restore the land as we heard in a recent reading from Isaiah.

Is your soil moist and ready to receive the seeds of renewal? Or is it hard and brittle and resistant … like clay? We ought not to think of Lent as a time of refraining; rather think of Lent as a time for growing… sending up new shoots of a greening faith.

Your soul… my soul…

Blessings.

Deacon Tom

www.catholicvitamins.com

Mrs. Uilkie LOVED Mattie Claire.  She was so excited when we told her that we were having another baby.  She watched as I got huge and couldn’t wait for the day that the baby was to be born.  Mattie Claire’s first visit other than Mass was to Mrs. Uilkie’s house.  She hugged and kissed on that baby and was so excited for the visit.  On Mattie Claire’s first birthday she surprised us with a little party.  We had cake, punch, ice cream, presents, and lots of laughs.  Mattie Claire was only 15 months old when Mrs. Uilkie died.  It makes my heart ache that Mattie Claire will never know the lady who loved her so much and who prayed for her daily.  I’m sorry for Mattie Claire, but I’m happy for Mrs. Uilkie.   Our ultimate goal is to get to Heaven and I’m am 110% sure that Mrs. Uilkie is there.  It makes me so happy that she is able to be with God.  She yearned for this day just as we all should.  But I sure would have liked for Mattie Claire to have gotten to know her – to see a person who loved the Lord with all her mind, with all her soul, with all her being.  I guess that’s my job now.  I need to be the person that my children see loving the Lord with all my heart, mind, and soul, but I sure have some big shoes to fill.  We love you, Mrs. Uilkie!

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1. THE CALM – Not a single visual of chest-beating or wild grief. Sorrow itself has been elevated.
2. THE DIGNITY – Disciplined queues for water and groceries. Not a rough word or a crude gesture.
3. THE ABILITY – The incredible architects, for instance. Buildings swayed but didn’t fall.
4. THE GRACE – People bought only what they needed for the present, so everybody could get something.
5. THE ORDER – No looting in shops. No honking and no overtaking on the roads. Just understanding.
6. THE SACRIFICE – Fifty workers stayed back to pump sea water in the N-reactors. How will they ever be repaid?
7. THE TENDERNESS – Restaurants cut prices. An unguarded ATM is left alone. The strong cared for the weak.
8. THE TRAINING – The old and the children, everyone knew exactly what to do. And they did just that.
9. THE MEDIA – They showed magnificent restraint in the bulletins. No sensationalizing. Only calm reportage.
10. THE CONSCIENCE – When the power went off in a store, people put things back on the shelves and left quietly

It seems that this kind of response in the face of disaster is a prime example of being our brother’s keeper, without the negative connotations of socialism that are often attached to suggestions of  our Christian duty to others. Although I consider myself a conservative, I think this is one area where the neo- or radical conservatives have gotten it wrong. Care and compassion for our fellow men through sacrifice and a developed civic responsibility would be a good lesson for our current society.

Hannah approaches me and, expecting me to say ‘no’,  sheepishly asks “Dad, will you take me riding? We haven’t ridden in three weeks. I understand if you want to do something else.” My heart breaks. I see, in a flash, the past – a dozen times  in the last week I’ve said ‘no’ to her and her siblings. Then the future – Hannah at 18 going off to college, getting married and moving to Peoria. She doesn’t have time for me anymore and I, like the fool I am, wasted the time I had with her. My eyes mist. I grab her and hold her and squeeze her so tight, she squeals, “Ugh! Dad! You’re choking me!” “Yes, I’ll go riding with you.”

After our ride, Hannah and I are up in our brand new tree house. It’s twilight and it doesn’t have a roof yet, so we lay on our backs and stare up through the branches at the sky as the first stars of the night twinkle to.  “I love you, Dad. I can’t wait to build our barn. I want to pick the color of the tack room…” It’s almost as if God is rewarding me for ‘good behavior,’ but I really don’t deserve it. ‘ Mostly, I remember tempus fugit.

Allyson was right. But don’t tell her I said so, OK?

I can’t always get away from the tasks and chores that have to be completed to keep our household running, but I can certainly steal a moment here and there to watch these children as they are right now.  Ann Voskamp’s latest journal entry on her blog A Holy Experience tells us that our days are numbered.  We have to steal as many of those simple pleasure moments as possible.  I think I’ll go hug my kids right now.

One of the things that I like to do is to think about – to suggest activities that we can do which bring Church into the home. This is one of the ways that children are taught that Church isn’t just for Sundays; Church isn’t just a place to go to. Church is a way of life. And the rhythms and cycles of our faith are worth internalizing and helping to break up so our faith walk is ever fresh, ever new.

What I’d like to propose in this month’s column is that you can bring the Lenten Sunday readings into your home. Here’s how. Each Sunday we, of course have a first reading, a responsorial psalm, a second reading and then the Gospel. I propose and will demonstrate here that you can bring some of the symbolism and meaning of these readings into our home.

How so, you might ask? Considering that we will have readers of differing ages, family situations, available space, etc. – I propose that you create a Lenten corner in a visible area of your home. Now — you can do simple activities that will tie in exactly with the Lenten Sunday readings. For example:

The FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT: the readings are

Genesis 2:7-9; 3-17, with words of: garden scene, fruit, serpent, and fig leaves

Responsorial PS 51, mercy, water, towel, praise, and Spirit

Romans 5:12-19, sin, death/resurrection, gift, condemnation, acquittal, grace

Matthew 4:1-11, desert, Spirit, devil, hunger, stones, bread, homage, heights, adoration

Now, what to do with these data? In your Lenten corner, you could arrange a small dessert scene with appropriate plants (cacti, etc.), sand, rock and old driftwood.  Add a little broken pottery, both fired and unfinished as if left in ages past. If you have children, you could start on Sunday with just the sand, and each day add more to your ‘desert area.’

Now whether there are children or just adults, this Lenten setting provokes topics for discussion. Jesus went into the wilderness completely alone. How important are friends and companionship in your life? Jesus completely withdrew from the ‘civilized’ world nearest in those times. Is there not an example of the need for us to withdraw from our world during Lent? How important is fasting in the discipline of Lent? What was Jesus’ example concerning food and temptations? And yet, St Augustine told us that we should fast and abstain as much as our strength allows. God is good. If there are children – they might relate well to the example and teaching about how hostile the dessert can be. Snakes, scorpions, wild animals, cold nights, etc. And yet – we are warm and safe in our home. What a great God we have. This is a season to remind us of God’s goodness to us. These are but a few examples, and I’ll do one more week.

The SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT: the readings are

Genesis 12:1-4, with words such as: Go, blessing, curse, old age

Responsorial PS 33, mercy, trust, justice, kindness, fear of God, waiting

2 Timothy 1:8-10, hardship, call to holiness, death/resurrection, light

Matthew 17:1-9, heights, radiance, dazzling sun, three altars, bright cloud, favor, listen, fear, laying on hands, fear not, secrecy, death and resurrection.

What to do with these data and your Lenten desert corner? Keep the desert scene but begin to add signs of life such as young plants. There was a mountain top experience — put in a raised area of rock or sand. Wasn’t there a lamb in the readings? What do you think to add?

Once again – topics seem to spring forth from these readings. The experiences of God seem to often happen on a mountain. Discuss if the ancient Jews went to the tops of mountains to try to ‘spend time’ with a God they couldn’t see. Abram has a name change and is given a ‘job transfer.’ Have you had any family moves in your life? Was it hard meeting new people, making new friends? God makes a covenant with Abraham; have you any feeling of God’s promises in your life? Are you doing what you feel God wants you to do? Peter doesn’t want to hear of pain and sadness – he wants only good times and peace. How realistic is that in this world?

Okay — I could do more. And many of you are likely more creative or imaginative than I am. But if you’ve got the kernel of my thinking — now you can do what some families do just with Christmas –except in this way of thinking, you are making and bringing Lenten themes into your home.

I hope you’ll try this. I’d like to hear from you if you really got into it.

Blessings.

Deacon Tom

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Final Song: Johnny Nicholas – I’m from Texas

While I was away, David and the two older kids cleaned the kitchen.  Our children love to bake.  While the cleaning was going on, our oldest was discussing plans for her next baking project.  Her brother wanted to help.  David told them that after they finished cleaning the kitchen, they could bake whatever they wanted as long as that got cleaned up as well.  They chose a Brown Butter Soda Bread, a recipe from the Epicurious iPhone application.  I came home to a wonderful smell coming from the oven.  It had rosemary mixed in with pepper on top – yes, pepper.  It had a wonderfully spicy taste.  This is the kind of bread that you bring out when company comes.  They were very excited with their creation, especially since it tasted so delicious.  And they did it all by themselves.

On Tuesday, Austin announced that he is going to make French bread.  I thought to myself, “Lord, help me” and He did.  He kept my mouth shut because it was about to say that French bread was very hard to make, that it would make a mess, the mess wouldn’t get cleaned up, and that Austin would get frustrated because it wouldn’t turn out well.  Boy, was I wrong.  I don’t really know how hard or easy French bread is to make because I’ve never made it.  A couple of reminders had to be given for the mess, but not nagging ones.  The bread was fantastic – much better than anything you can get from the store.  He made two loaves. One loaf was gone in about 15 minutes.  We saved the second loaf for dinner the next night.  We sliced it, put butter and garlic on top, and then toasted it in the oven.  Magnifique!   And he did it all by himself.

I’ve taught these children to read, how to add and subtract, how to be self-sufficient, and how to solve problems.  Somewhere along the way they developed an inquisitive mind, self-motivation, and a sense of risk taking that I never had.  Now I have to teach myself how to leave them alone and let them discover what it is they are capable of doing.  Time to loosen the reigns a bit and let them run.

As part of this transformation, we decided to try some things that we hadn’t tried before. I recently went to OpenCa.mp, a conference having a mission,”to educate, foster a sense of community, and remove barriers for webmasters and web developers, bloggers, podcasters, and social media enthusiasts.” Needless to say, I came away a little overwhelmed with all of the information on SEO (search engine optimization), monetization, and leveraging social media.

So we decided to do a few of things differently. First, we reworked the website to better accommodate blog entries. Since the podcast works independent of the website, the changes didn’t really affect the show. Second, we used several plugins to increase the SEO and social media connectivity of the website. The All in One SEO Pack is used to add bits of metadata to posts that make it easier for search engines like Google to categorize them accurately. WordPress to Twitter is a plugin that posts links to Twitter whenever a blog entry or podcast is published on the website. This simplifies the process of “getting the word out.” Additionally, I hooked up Twitter to Facebook, which saves another posting duty. Socialize is a plugin that puts links to social media sites within a post so visitors can broadcast a topic they like through their favorite social media tools. We also installed Google Analytics for WordPress so we could follow the progress of the site.

Third, we signed up for Commission Junction, a service that connects publishers (me) with advertisers. You control which ads you use, and get a commission when someone clicks through an ad and buys something on the advertiser’s site. You can see some of these ads to the right. Feel free to click on one and buy something – you’ll be helping out the Catholic  Family.

Lastly, we signed up for Google Adwords, which is an advertising service that lets you create targeted ads in Google search results. You only pay for ads that are actually clicked on so you know with a high degree of accuracy how many people visited your site and what search terms are the most effective. You pay based upon the “worth” of your search terms. Terms can cost a fraction of a cent up to tens or hundreds of dollars per click. You can set per-click-maximums and a daily budget.

So I decided to try Adwords on this article - Is Jesus Green? I decided to advertise for seven days with a daily maximum of $2. I picked out about 15 search terms, including things like organic gardening, parenting tips, Catholic Christianity and, of course, Jesus. After the first 24 hours, I eagerly signed on to Adwords to check my stats. 3 clicks – all on the term “Jesus.” Each click was 94 cents. So I learned two things – I can’t afford Jesus, and $2 a day doesn’t buy much.I upped my daily budget to $4 (so please buy from one of our advertisers!).

How is it working? Ask me me six days.

1. Jesus must have composted because he knew the value of fertile soil. “…other seeds fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty-fold and sixty-fold and a hundred-fold. (Mark 4:20)”
2. Jesus used homeopathic medicine “ As he said this, he spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the man’s eyes with the clay, saying to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Silo’am’ (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. (John 9:6).”
3. Jesus was thrifty and grew his own food. “Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted.  And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments left over, that nothing may be lost.’ So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten. (John: 6:11)”
4. Jesus liked to eat good, wholesome, non-processed foods. “Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.(1 Corinthians 5:8).”
5. Jesus had knowledge of advanced horticultural techniques. “ Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit… As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me (John 15:2).”
6. Jesus embraced a ‘minimalist’ lifestyle about things such as money and  clothing. “ Take no gold, nor silver, nor copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor a staff; for the laborer deserves his food (Matthew 10:9).”
7. Jesus recycled. “ And no one puts a piece of new cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. (Matthew 9:16).”
8. Jesus put little stock in monetary systems and knew how to barter. “You received without paying, give without pay (Matthew 10:8).” Some would even say he rejected the capitalistic system. “And Jesus entered the temple of God and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.(Matthew 21:12).”
9. Jesus conserved water. “ Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the steward of the feast.’ So they took it. When the steward of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from… (John 2:7)”
10. Jesus walked everywhere “And walking along by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea (Mark 1:16)”, or took public transportation “And Jesus found a young ass and sat upon it (John 12:14).” Jesus parents set a good example for him in this.
11. Jesus was into decreasing his carbon footprint. “Thou hast neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings.”
12. Jesus must have been a Boy Scout because he knew the principles of ‘Leave No Trace.’ “ And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb,  but when they went in they did not find the body (Luke 24:2).”

In all seriousness, green living is about reducing our footprint on God’s earth, reusing material rather than disposing of it, and recycling as much of our resources as we can. At the core of living green is the desire to be good stewards of God’s gifts. Going green in some ways is a return to a simpler way of life, or more accurately, a move away from consumerism.

The consumer pendulum has definitely reached a maximum as evidenced by the current recession. In a simplistic view, we have spent more than we made – consumed more than we produced. Wikipedia defines consumerism as a social and economic order that is based on the systematic creation and fostering of a desire to purchase goods and services in ever greater amounts. The key to this definition is the nature of consumerism to foster more consumerism. It’s obvious that a system based upon an ever increasing demand with no self-correction must fail.  Do Jesus teachings point us in a direction of consumerism or something else?

The Catechism is a great place to start for information on this topic. Look at paragraph 2402:

“In the beginning God entrusted the earth and its resources to the common stewardship of mankind to take care of them, master them by labor, and enjoy their fruits. The goods of creation are destined for the whole human race. However, the earth is divided up among men to assure the security of their lives, endangered by poverty and threatened by violence. The appropriation of property is legitimate for guaranteeing the freedom and dignity of persons and for helping each of them to meet his basic needs and the needs of those in his charge. It should allow for a natural solidarity to develop between men.”

Most of us remember the passage in Genesis chapter 1 where man given dominion over the earth:

“And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’ And God said, ‘Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.’ And it was so.”

Most people misconstrue this passage by asserting if God gives us dominion over the earth, “we can do anything we want – God says so.” God also gives us freedom to choose for good or ill, for ourselves or our neighbors. This changes the picture of our responsibility considerably and provides a framework of  giving and self-sacrifice, in essence, love. The resources of this world are for everyone (including us) for the good and dignity of all.

“If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others (Phillipians 2).”

Did you brush your teeth?  Did someone feed the pets?  Is your bed made?  Have you straightened up your room?  Have you had breakfast?  Have you done your morning chores?  Are you ready for school?

Sometimes I wish that I had a “record” button somewhere on my body so that I could store all of those questions that I ask everyday.  Then I could just press PLAY and it would all come spurting out without any effort on my part.  My kids are smart.  They know what needs to happen on a daily basis.  Why do I have to give constant reminders?

Do other moms have to give constant reminders?  There are lots of moms out there with more kids than I have and seem to run a tight household.  What is their secret?  One mom over at Raising Little Saints looks at chores the way St. Therese would view them.  It doesn’t matter how menial the task – do it with love.  Teri Maxwell over at titus2.com has a great article on children and chores.  She talks about some of the difficulties parents have when trying to get children to do chores.   In the long run, giving our children chores teaches them responsibility.  Don’t we want our children to be able to go out into the world prepared?  It falls on the mom to make sure that the children have chores, know what they are, and have the time to do them.   Then the mom must make sure that those chores are done well.  If they are not, then we must make sure the child does them again – albeit reluctantly.  So, really, who is the reluctant one – the mom or the kid?

Teri reminds us of what St. Paul told the Galatians (6:9), “Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up.”  So if I constantly remind my kids to do what they are responsible for, in due time, will they become responsible adults?  Don’t give up, do it in love, and we will persevere.  This  reminds me of a song that we are singing at Mass this weekend, Feb. 20 – Ubi Caritas.  Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est translates to, “Wherever we find true charity, God is there.”

We only have to look around us to see God’s constant reminders that He loves us with abounding love.  I have five beautiful, healthy children, a fantastic, loving husband, terrific family all around me.  We have a church where we can go to praise Him whenever we want, a priest to offer us the Body and Blood of Christ, friends who share our faith.  We have all that we need to live a more-than-comfortable life. God doesn’t get tired of giving me those constant reminders.  He reminds me everyday of how blessed I am.  I will not grow tired – well, maybe on some days.

So why do I have to give constant reminders?  It’s my job.  No, it’s my vocation, and God has called me to this vocation.  I love it and will strive everyday to do it to the best of my ability – over and over again.

Song: Pie by Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could

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I didn’t understand at first what was bugging me. “Why is our deacon so boring!” “Why was the Mass so long? Why did our priest  give us a second homily before the final prayer on the necessity of stewardship?” “Why is only 10% of the parish giving for the Diocesan Services Fund? Don’t they understand we have to pay the difference from our savings?” Other questions started popping in my head in rapid succession. “Why can’t people do what they say they are going to do?” “Why are the kids so lazy, unhelpful and mean to each other?” “Why do I bother asking for help around the house?” “Why does everyone take and not give?” “How much longer can I last?” In essence, ” Why is everyone an idiot except me?” And so I went to bed greatly agitated, unable to sleep, thinking about how I could get so far out of center from Jesus. What a pity party.

Sunday dawns, cool, fresh, sunny. The angst from the night before is still pricking me like a splinter in my mind. Hooray! I get to listen to the whole thing over again today! This is my third Mass in less than 24 hours – it has become a burden. The choir faces me for the entrance song – Eye Has Not Seen. The choir is unusually full today – hmm, that’s a nice change. They are really singing well and most of them are smiling – except for the prima donna soprano at the end of the row who has an almost comical frown on her face. I look her straight in the eye and push the corners of my mouth up into a smile. And at the same time, I realize that my expression hasn’t differed from hers significantly in the last 24 hours. DING! A bell goes off. In a flash, I see the beauty of selfless service to God in the faces of my choir. And once again, they teach me a lesson.

I begin to listen to the gospel a little closer today. “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.” So what if your brain offends God? Should you pluck it out?

email us [at] catholicfamilypodcast -dot- com or call the comment line at 936-228-1836.

In January, a Starbuck’s Tazo Chai Frapuccino Blended with no whipped cream still has 330 calories in 2011 – somewhat more calories than you burned off in your first after the new year exercise session. The average American who watches three and a half hours of television every day, will, by the age of 65 have spent over nine years in front of the small screen. Most of those folks will have only fleetingly acquiesced to the common wisdom which says that we can add years to our lives by spending a portion of the three hours of TV time doing something that raises our heart rate and stretches and challenges our muscles.

And so today, I put on my exercise clothes and head toward that crowded place and face the necessity of knowing that the wisdom and thoughts of last year still are valid and challenging in 2011.

So too it is with living out our Catholic faith. The priest who gives boring homilies and uninspiring liturgies is still the pastor. And in dogged determination, we need to find a way to get through this and maintain our love of God and His Church.

Mortal sin still exists in spite of the coming of the Messiah, His death and resurrection. In spite of 2,000 years of Christianity, the words of John about ‘deadly sin’ still call us to do something about it. If it’s ours — we are called to repent of it and change our lives. If it is in the world, we are called to challenge it.

The worst among the demonic sins of our time is abortion. Thomas Peters of the AmericanPapist blog recently shared words from an essay by Ross Douthat of the New York Times. It concludes with these words: “This is the paradox of America’s unborn. No life is so desperately sought after, so hungrily desired, so carefully nurtured. And yet no life is so legally unprotected, and so frequently destroyed.”

At the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D. C. in February of 1994, Mother Teresa of Calcutta stood before President Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton and a gathering of the leaders of government as she said these words: “But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love and we remind ourselves that love means willing to give until it hurts. Jesus gave even His life to love us. So, the mother who is thinking of abortion, should be helped to love, that is, to give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect the life of her child. The father of that child, whoever he is, must also give until it hurts.”

The lesson of saintly Teresa? Name the sin, even in front of presidents or people in our family or parish. Call it what it is: abortion is deadly sin. And her second lesson: in a loving way — help women to see and seek an alternative.

Scripture still speaks to us. It tells us that bad things happen as a result of sin. Not always in an immediate and direct fashion. Just as sitting and watching three hours of television doesn’t produce immediate negative results – so too, condoning it or acting as if it’s someone else’s problem, Mother Teresa tells us that we will produce bad fruit. Bad fruit? Yes – it won’t be long before we will have people questioning the value of life. At the Prayer Breakfast, Mother asked: ‘how can we tell other people not to kill?’

Mortal sin in our lives will lead to negative consequences. But we have a choice. Let us get on the treadmill and sweat up a storm about ridding evil from ourselves. And let’s pray for the guidance to do it in such a loving way that we encourage others to lose the fat of evil and indifference.

We have just celebrated the great feast of the great New Life. Now let us really exercise what it means to live out that New Life.

Blessings

Deacon Tom

BTW: You can reach me at this address:

deacontom@catholicfamilypodcast.com

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www.deacontomonline.com
www.catholicmoments.com
www.catholicmom.com

Email us (at) catholicfamilypodcast (dot).com

Call our comment line at (936) 228-1836.

Links in this episode:

Pope’s Homily on Nascent Life

Scapulars #1

Scapulars #2

Question for the Gospel of the Week

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd

Saint dolls #1

Saint dolls #2

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One of the things that I feel or I see is what happens with people when a priest or this deacon starts preaching about the need for us to evangelize others. Catholics aren’t ‘disciples in mission’ for the most part — although being involved in New Media Evangelization paints a different picture than you see in the typical parish down the street. Many of us are on fire for our Faith.

Christ has given us instructions. He’s given us a mandate. We cannot continue to go to Church on Sundays and keep our faith personal to us — with perhaps a smattering of it in our homes.

Now — before getting into some words that talk about the scope of what we are challenged with — let me say that staying at home and doing a holy, awesome job in support of our spouse’s faith journey, and the faith journey of our children is definitely our biggest mandate. No wife, no husband is called to spend more time out of the house doing Christ’s work ignoring the precious souls that we live with.

That said, Henri J. M. Nouwen reminds us that there are more people on this planet outside of the Church than in it. Millions may have been baptized — but millions haven’t been. Millions participate in the Lord’s Supper — but millions don’t. And the saddest statistic that I hear mentioned is that the second largest denomination of Christians are former Catholics. We most all have members of that denomination in our families.

The failure of so many parishes and their leaders is they act as if the support and nurture of the attending members is what Church is all about. That’s only a part. We can serve all the spaghetti dinners in the world to our own Church members — but if we aren’t reaching out to the non-churched, then we aren’t responding to the mission that Christ calls us to.

I am in touch with and have twice interviewed Dr. Russ Rentler on our Catholic Vitamins podcast show. He is the strong ‘revert’ to Catholicism who is also a doctor, musician, teacher and medical missionary to Haiti. (You can find out much more about Russ and his lovely wife and nurse Deborah at their website: www.crossedthetiber.com

Recently, Dr. Russ recently emailed to ask me about my knowledge of two organizations involved in reaching out to non-Churched members: those who have fallen away from practice of the faith, and those who think they can’t or shouldn’t practice the Catholic Faith. One organization is called CATHOLICS COME HOME. The other is LANDINGS. I replied that I had some knowledge of and had supported Catholics Come Home. I’ve heard of Landings but didn’t have direct experience with them.

From their website (www.catholicscomehome.org) they welcome any who have for one reason or more or for no reason have stopped participating in their Catholic Faith. Their opening words speak to finding true peace, happiness and a regained sense of purpose in life.

Please consider those words as we enter into  Thanksgiving and Advent. Have you as a practicing Catholic a sense of true peace, happiness and purpose in your life? If not — why not? You can’t give away that which you don’t have to others.

Landings International is a 20 some year old organization founded by the Paulist Priests. They provide a time-tested approach for helping active Catholics to welcome returning Catholics Home to the Faith. They have videos, testimonials, approaches for bringing Landings to your parish, etc.

You can find out more information about Landings by going to their website which is http://www.paulist.org/landings/

This fall and early winter — you and I will be exposed to many ideas and thoughts and Advent programs to be a part of. For the sake of those who aren’t happy with the Catholic Faith and who need someone to reach out to them, I can’t think of a ministry that you could pick that would most directly respond to the Mission that Christ gives to us. Maybe during Advent, you could pray about this, research the topic and then think about a personal response to Christ’s mission. Sure you’ll have to talk to your pastor. Maybe even call or write your bishop. Let them know that you feel called to respond to Christ The King and His wishes for the Church.

And by the way — it’s anything but Mission Impossible. May the Spirit be with you! Happy Thanksgiving.

deacon tom

What’s special about Winslow? It’s an aging, struggling town along the old U. S. Route 66 highway which wound its way west and was popular in the 1950’s and 60’s. Winslow was a town with many motels, gas stations, eateries and some nightlife. It was during the time of the decay of most Route 66 towns that Catherine Doherty decided to open a field location for Madonna House. Their charism in that town would be to love and care for the locals: many of whom were Hispanics and Native Americans. The local ‘madonnas’ also helped support the Winslow Churches. At one time there were three of them, although there are just two  kept open now.

Certain of the Madonna House women have had on-going training in an education concept call CATECHESIS OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD. Have you heard of it? It’s an approach to the formation of children — religious formation. It serves children ranging from 3 years of age up till about 12. It is highly oriented to and rooted in the Bible, our beautiful liturgies in the Catholic faith, and it uses the educational approaches started by Maria Montessori.

Most would say they’ve heard of Montessori schools or pre-schools. But what has this got to do with Catholic education? And most certainly, what does this have to do with children who are too young to read?

In Winslow – and in many other such classrooms for the young, children enter into a room or series of rooms called the Artrium. What they see and are led to is a number of scaled-down displays, beautiful materials and small replicas of those items taught in Bible stories, at the Mass, or out in the fields where shepherds would be with their sheep.

Children can be gently and lovingly told about and they see sculpted apostles sitting around a Last Supper table. Children can prepare an altar with scaled-down vessels and items used at Mass.

I know this sounds strange. It was Maria Montessori’s work with retarded children where she came to see the need for ‘stimulation‘ for kids. They need to see, touch, manipulate, place, explain and come to age-adjusted understanding. And in a while, the children become the educators of others in their own families.

Maria Montessori was a Catholic, and so she also came to realize the need for this teaching method in the Church. She knew that children learn through their senses and so she involved them with signs, symbols, sensory items such as candles and bells, holy water, even incense.

Children taught in this sensory method — this scaled down methodology of involving them in stories and explanations — they became different. They began to display a dignity around such items in the atrium. But more important, the children began to display dignity and respect in Church. They could answer (in simple terms) what a chalice was for, what the tabernacle is, and why candles are used.

Okay great. But how does this apply to me, especially if I’m home-schooling my children? The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd has grown so much that it is now in something like 35 countries. There are courses for parents, catechists, educators, clergy, etc. Education ranges on children in three different age groupings: 3-6, 6-9 and 9-12.

They have a website found at www.cgsusa.org and there are books and videos and DVD’s that will help form a parent or educator on the sacraments, on the Mass and many other areas of Biblical teaching. One DVD to start with is entitled: Where a Child Can Fall In Love With God — Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.” It’s a 10 minute DVD or VHS video that explains and shows what this program is all about.

As a deacon, I see many families who practice one-hour-a-week Catholicism. It’s such a shame. We see children at Mass who have no idea what all of this is; it holds no interest for them. But children that have been immersed in programs like the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd come to Mass happy and focused on what is taking place. Some even try to pick up pieces of what the homily is about so they can discuss it with their parents after Mass.

I’ve barely scratched the surface. Please consider talking to your pastor about a Good Shepherd program in your parish. Look on-line and learn what you can. And if you home-school, you may wish to add a daily or twice a week core religious class for your child or children using Montessori-based education.

I’d be most interested if you get started with this. Let us know what you think. And what it does in terms of educating your children.

Blessings.

Deacon Tom

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Final Song:
Gary Primich
“Daddy, Let Me Hitch A Ride” (mp3)
from “Ridin’ The Darkhorse”
(Electro-Fi Records)

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The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis

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What’s that you ask? Deacons? Worried about the salvation of their children? How can that be. I mean deacons are holy and they are always around the Church and their kids are all raised the way they should be, right? Not so. Not so.

One of our closest deacon couple friends have four children, as we do. The kids were all raised to love and respect the Catholic faith. And if any of them are really practicing the faith today — I’d be surprised. One even married in a Buddhist ceremony. So what can go wrong in the faith walk of any family can and often does go wrong in Catholic deacon families.

There are some matters that I preach and write about. It’s easy for me to pontificate when it’s theory. It’s a far different matter when it’s the real world and you and your kids are living it. Colleges are breeding grounds for faith erosion and destruction. This is true for many so-called Catholic colleges. (Choose wisely!) In my homilies — I’ll often talk about faith that needs to be lived and internalized rather than just ‘practiced.’ Practicing the faith means you go to Church every Sunday — you pretty much practice the major areas of the faith. But it’s never talked about at home. It’s never discussed and struggled over at home. It’s not so much practiced at home — and so it winds up sending kids off to college with what seems like a set of practices that the folks did but that don’t have all that much relevance to the college freshmen.

However — I am so pleased to tell you that there is hope. Hope comes in many flavors. First — several good Catholic colleges are graduating a new breed of faith leaders. Schools like Franciscan University, Ave Maria and others are sending theology and philosophy and evangelism majors out into the workplace. They are finding jobs in diocesan chanceries, retreat centers and schools and parishes. While this alone is a small percentage of what is needed — people willing and capable of teaching good, orthodox, adopt-it-as-your-own Catholic faith are becoming noticeable.

Next — Catholic young people are finding more places where the faith confronts them, even if they aren’t looking for it. iTunes and many New Media venues (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube) are offering testimony and faith ‘explosion’ experiences in great numbers. I will admit that these wholesome new faith experiences exist right beside and keystrokes away from the most terrible of things on the internet. But wholesome young people who have found a real relationship with Jesus and His Church will and do offer an appealing alternative to the filth of the world.

Here’s another area that gives me hope. Recently, on our own Catholic Vitamins Podcast, we interviewed a young woman from the Direction For Our Times organization. Haven’t heard of it? I hope you’ll look into it — because there is ‘conversion material’ for people who are deeply in love with their faith. And there is conversion material for people who are looking for Truth. DFOT was started in Ireland by a faithful Catholic woman named Anne. And, with permission of her bishop, DFOT has been publishing a lot of the work and words of Jesus and Mary, as (seemingly) passed by them through Anne by ‘locutions.’ I know. I know. It sounds a bit much. But let me share what Jesus has said to and about parents who worry about their children.

In part and with Jesus speaking: “Perhaps you have always followed Me but your children have strayed from the faith and are spending their time in the world, away from Me. This causes you grief, I know. Pray for your children, but do not become overly preoccupied with your worry about them. If you are connected with Me, I will be with your children. I will wait for a moment when their hearts are open to Me, and I will fill them with graces, healing their wounds and softening their hearts. I do this often for holy parents and I will do this for you.”

I think we have the makings of a wonderful solution. Stay holy in your own life. Trust in Jesus, and He will provide the graces necessary to recoup the earlier years of groundwork you did. And in the meanwhile — if an adult child begins to soften and ask you inquiry questions — smile in your heart, thank Jesus, whisper to the Holy Spirit for guidance. And then answer in Truth and from your heart.

Blessings.

Deacon Tom
www.catholicvitamins.com
www.deacontomonline.com
www.catholicmoments.sqpn.com

ps: Let me know if you’d like to know more about Direction For Our Times or the words of Jesus for parents who worry about their children’s salvation.

What’s the first thing you do in an emergency?  Because this is an emergency.  There is someone in the study and they have logged on to sqpn.com and want to sit down and listen to the latest episode of Catholic Weekend in my house in the middle of the night!  The house with the husband 4 hours away!  OK, what’s the first thing you do in an emergency?  Stay calm.  I stayed very calm, didn’t wake the baby, didn’t go for the gun or the baton (story for another time), and walked down the hallway.  There is no one in there.  The girls are telling ghost stories upstairs.  Did they conjure up someone who wanted to listen?  No, it was only a teeny fly-like creature hitting itself sensless against the screen of the computer–a touch screen–a very sensitive touch screen by the way.  It took me more than a few seconds (an eternity in computer time) to close all of the windows and get the screen off because the little bugger didn’t want me to stop.  He kept hitting the screen.

I’m not sure how or why he wanted to hear your voice, but I’m glad it was your voice and not some crazy rock singer that the kids might have had pulled up.    You were my rock, Capt. Jeff.  I have to say it was really weird hearing you come out of nowhere, but I’m glad it was you.

Now don’t scare me anymore!

Allyson

Final Song: Bryan Murdaugh:  (Twenty-nine) I’m Listening
used with permission from the artist

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We served decaf coffee (in the evening) and other light refreshments and some small goodies. From time to time, others would bring a dessert or offer to host the rosary in their home. At someone’s suggestion, we added the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. This all took place starting about six or seven years ago, and then we moved to Arizona some two and a half years ago. Once settled, we started the same idea here.

Our format in both places was to offer to let anyone voice needs and petitions they wanted us to pray for. It didn’t take many visits before we would hear about children who may have temporarily lost their way, illness of distant family members, job issues and such. Every so often, someone would give thanks for something in their lives.

Okay — are you waiting for the other shoe to drop? Did we experience any miracles or powerful events? Is this a ‘look at us’ sort of article? Is this a ‘do what we do’ suggestion? Not really.

The thing that I have felt or observed is this. Many, many times we have had someone say how good it was to be together ‘in a home’ doing this. Often it felt holy or intimate. And so I’d ask how many spiritual practices you are doing that you would describe as feeling holy or intimate? Maybe lots? Maybe not so many?

In some way, I give testimony that the Blessed Mother is with us… she’s closer to us when we are together and closer to her. That doesn’t sound all that profound — but her presence, at times feels palpable.

For our Catholic Vitamins show, I recently interviewed a young-ish priest named Fr. Stefan Starzynski. He is involved in healing and prayer ministries. The rosary is a definite and daily part of his prayer practice. And in fact, you may know of him for his recent Our Sunday Visitor book entitled Miracles: Healing For a Broken World. You can’t help but be moved by Fr. Stefan and his work and nearness to Special Power.

In a smaller way – I submit that Rosary in the Home can make you feel like you are closer to a Special Power. Or maybe it’s the soul telling you you are doing something that is especially pleasing to Jesus and His Mother. May it be so.

So — no rosary chains turning to gold. No spinning sun or moon. Just a different, subtle form of Catholic intimacy — even with people you may not be all that intimate with outside, or even at Church.

I recommend you consider Rosary in the Home. It’s only an hour and a half, including refreshments and some chatter. Great example for the kids. Good example for neighbors who will ask what all the cars are about on first Thursdays

Blessings.

deacon tom
www.catholicvitamins.com
www.deacontomonline.com

Links in this episode:
The New Abortion Providers

Brazos Valley Christian Home Educators Association Statement of Faith

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Final Song: Michael James Mette: This is our Lamb

For one who was born and grew up in the small towns of the Midwest, there is a special kind of nostalgia about the Fourth of July.

I remember it as a day almost as long-anticipated as Christmas. This was helped along by the appearance in store windows of all kinds of fireworks and colorful posters advertising them with vivid pictures.

No later than the third of July – sometimes earlier – Dad would bring home what he felt he could afford to see go up in smoke and flame. We’d count and recount the number of firecrackers, display pieces and other things and go to bed determined to be up with the sun so as to offer the first, thunderous notice of the Fourth of July.

I’m afraid we didn’t give too much thought to the meaning of the day. And, yes, there were tragic accidents to mar it, resulting from careless handling of the fireworks. I’m sure we’re better off today with fireworks largely handled by professionals. Yet there was a thrill never to be forgotten in seeing a tin can blown 30 feet in the air by a giant “cracker” – giant meaning it was about 4 inches long. But enough of nostalgia.

Somewhere in our growing up we began to be aware of the meaning of days and with that awareness came the birth of patriotism. July Fourth is the birthday of our nation. I believed as a boy, and believe even more today, that it is the birthday of the greatest nation on earth.

There is a legend about the day of our nation’s birth in the little hall in Philadelphia, a day on which debate had raged for hours. The men gathered there were honorable men hard-pressed by a king who had flouted the very laws they were willing to obey. Even so, to sign the Declaration of Independence was such an irretrievable act that the walls resounded with the words “treason, the gallows, the headsman’s axe,” and the issue remained in doubt.

The legend says that at that point a man rose and spoke. He is described as not a young man, but one who had to summon all his energy for an impassioned plea. He cited the grievances that had brought them to this moment and finally, his voice falling, he said, “They may turn every tree into a gallows, every hole into a grave, and yet the words of that parchment can never die. To the mechanic in the workshop, they will speak hope; to the slave in the mines, freedom. Sign that parchment. Sign if the next moment the noose is around your neck, for that parchment will be the textbook of freedom, the Bible of the rights of man forever.”

He fell back exhausted. The 56 delegates, swept up by his eloquence, rushed forward and signed that document destined to be as immortal as a work of man can be. When they turned to thank him for his timely oratory, he was not to be found, nor could any be found who knew who he was or how he had come in or gone out through the locked and guarded doors.

Well, that is the legend. But we do know for certain that 56 men, a little band so unique we have never seen their like since, had pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. Some gave their lives in the war that followed, most gave their fortunes, and all preserved their sacred honor.

What manner of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists, 11 were merchants and tradesmen, and nine were farmers. They were soft-spoken men of means and education; they were not an unwashed rabble. They had achieved security but valued freedom more. Their stories have not been told nearly enough.

John Hart was driven from the side of his desperately ill wife. For more than a year he lived in the forest and in caves before he returned to find his wife dead, his children vanished, his property destroyed. He died of exhaustion and a broken heart.

Carter Braxton of Virginia lost all his ships, sold his home to pay his debts, and died in rags. And so it was with Ellery, Clymer, Hall, Walton, Gwinnett, Rutledge, Morris, Livingston and Middleton. Nelson personally urged Washington to fire on his home and destroy it when it became the headquarters for General Cornwallis. Nelson died bankrupt.

But they sired a nation that grew from sea to shining sea. Five million farms, quiet villages, cities that never sleep, 3 million square miles of forest, field, mountain and desert, 227 million people with a pedigree that includes the bloodlines of all the world. In recent years, however, I’ve come to think of that day as more than just the birthday of a nation.

It also commemorates the only true philosophical revolution in all history.

Oh, there have been revolutions before and since ours. But those revolutions simply exchanged one set of rules for another. Ours was a revolution that changed the very concept of government.

Let the Fourth of July always be a reminder that here in this land, for the first time, it was decided that man is born with certain God-given rights; that government is only a convenience created and managed by the people, with no powers of its own except those voluntarily granted to it by the people.

We sometimes forget that great truth, and we never should.

Happy Fourth of July. .

——-

Thank you President Reagan. Thank you for reminding us what has been lost in the leadership of these times. May God grant you eternal rest and peace. And please pray for us. Please pray for U. S.

Deacon Tom

Contact us [at] catholicfamilypodcast.com or call our comment line 206-339-8993

Picture by Brandi Tejeda Photography

Music in the episode:
Bach: Allemande in D – Linda Holzer

Final Song: Desmond Pringle: Heaven

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The battles and attacks I’m thinking about are those which challenge our understandings of marriage as a sacrament between one man and one woman… the battle to deprive us of control over our federal tax dollars such that we must pay to fund abortions and embryonic stem cell research…. the lack of protection and care about the conscience issues of Catholic and Christian health care workers, the more subtle battle against our morals that is happening even in our churches when couples live together without benefit of marriage because of economic or annulment issues. I’m saddened to say that the battleground includes priests (and deacons) afraid to speak out in defense of Church teachings — afraid to upset the flock — afraid to cause letters to ‘the bishop’ or the press.

What I postulate we need are Catholic Survival Shelters — places we can go to survive the tyranny of relativism and indifference. Where can we find these shelters? They are found in strong, vibrant Catholic families!

I don’t mean for this column to be a plug for our podcast found at www.catholicvitamins.com — but in a show we did some months back — we interviewed the Closs family, Bob and Dar. It turned out to be such a good interview (we have had more feedback on that podcast than any other show) that we divided it into two parts. If you are interested — it was Catholic Vitamin F for Family.

We started the show in the 1960‘s with the marriage of two young ‘kids’ from upper Michigan. Through the course of the interview, we followed them from California to New Mexico to Arizona as they raised a family including 13 (yes, thirteen) children. Wife Darleen said she was ‘pregnant or lactating for 25 years’! Everything the Closses discussed during the interview was about how to concentrate family efforts towards holiness, Catholicism and faith practice. Values and self-worth came about from this family approach. And the thing was — this wasn’t goody two-shoes type talk — this was real and down-to-earth. You could tell that while the Closs family did a lot to live the Gospels in the outside world – they focused inward — creating a sort of survival shelter mentality to help prepare their brood to leave and enter the world.

I’ve spent a little time reviewing the 1994 Letter To Families written by the late, great John Paul II. Here are a few of his thoughts:

-The family is the first and most important way to God through the Church.

-He referred to the family as a ‘living cell’ of mankind. This cell gives special meaning when 2 or more gather to say the words “Our Father….”

-John Paul said that the world needs the indispensable witness of families.

-It is interesting to see the continuing and beautiful teachings of dignity and the Theology of the Body as John Paul talked about the gift of self to others.

-The pope also spoke a repeating theme of responsible fatherhood and motherhood.

I know David and Allyson have invested their time and talents in home schooling and faithful practice of the faith as central components of their own Catholic Survival Shelter. My wife and I were gifted to spend some time with the Sweeney kids — even some time with two of their children away from mom and dad. Having had that experience, one can see evidence of a great hope for holiness and wholeness when the kids take flight from the nest.

I don’t think of myself as a rural survivalist. In fact, I tend to be mostly happy and hope-filled. I like Home Depot shopping and spending time in rural coffee shops. But these times — the laws and movements underway cause me to urge everyone to retreat to their Catholic Survival Shelters. Lock the doors for a while and refresh and renew all inside.

Blessings.

Deacon Tom
www.catholicvitamins.com
www.deacontomonline.com
www.catholicmoments.com
www.catholicmom.com

In this episode: the CF has posted two shows in a row! Mary Jane’s Farm Magazine,  homeschooler’s connections and relationships, idiosyncrasies, good business posture,  table talk, kid career goals – Scare Tactics or Realistic Expectations?  Mailbag:  Tom in MN, Juan in OK, Pat in IN, Christina from Canada on Mark Shea’s Ayn Rand Blog Post.

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Post Photo: Stupid Fish

Final Song: Home Cookin: Brick House in Memphis from their album Afrobilly Soul Stew
from Iodapromonet
Home Cookin’
“Brick House in Memphis” (mp3)
from “Afrobilly Soul Stew”
(Materiali Sonori)

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In this episode: simple flowers,  Simple Fish Soup,   Catholic movies,  NFP Scare, quick confessions, Atlas Shrugged. Final song: Chris Daniels and the Kings: You Don’t Change Horses in the Middle of the Stream

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My wife and I have followed the Catholic Family folks, AKA: The Sweeneys for years now. If I remember correctly — David is a convert to the Catholic Faith. And again, if memory serves correctly — Allyson isn’t a convert but was raised in a solid, practicing Catholic family. Converts and reverts to the faith have such a joyous story to tell. Many of them are found on the Marcus Grodi Coming Home program on EWTN television. Other stories are found in books by Scott and Kimberly Hahn, the Surprised by Truth series published by Patrick Madrid – and so many others. I love conversion stories — I encourage you if they aren’t a part of your reading or viewing to give them a try.

The greatest convert is, of course St. Paul. What was he like following his encounter with Christ? Consider his opening words in a letter to the Church in Rome. They show how much this highly educated, chief enemy of the early Church had changed: “I Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus… called to be an apostle… I send greetings to all the beloved of God in Rome, you who are called to be holy. Grace to you, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Conversion yields such powerful Christians and Catholics. You may be familiar with the Promise Keepers. They got their start in Colorado and they have led a lot of men to a conversion in their lives. And the men’s movement in the Catholic Church is alive and on fire…. throughout the country. There is no denying that these movements call men to conversion to Christ.
And in countless thousands of cases, they lead to profound changes in religious practice, spousal relations, family life and in the workplace.

As I say — I love conversion experiences. Many years ago, EWTN ran several showings of the BBC documentary, SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL FOR GOD. It was the BBC documentary that propelled Mother Teresa to the world stage in 1968. What is most touching and profound to me is that the agnostic journalist who directed this program, Malcolm Muggeridge later credited his conversion to Catholicism to Mother Teresa.

Mother Teresa was no namby-pamby, politically correct nun. She spoke the truth – one example is as follows… Malcolm Muggeridge was walking with Mother Teresa during a break in the filming of this documentary… He said to her, “Mother, I’m sure God needs people in other churches just as much as He needs them in the Catholic Church.” Her immediate reply was, “No He doesn’t.” That ended that paragraph of conversation immediately.

There is another tale of conversion that has often resulted in tears in my eyes. Have you heard the name John Newton? He is the slave trader and reputed alcoholic who turned into an abolitionist preacher… and he wrote the immortal words to Amazing Grace.

Amazing grace… how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found… I was blind, but now I see.” Was blind but now I see… sounds like St. Paul doesn’t it? Perhaps someone in your life… your family… even those of other faiths are converted people who were blind to grace … and who now see.

Amazing Grace was pastor Newton’s personal story of spiritual redemption. An event happened in his life – a near shipwreck off Newfoundland in 1748. He stood in awe of a God who would embrace a slave trader. “Twas grace that taught my heart to fear…. and grace my fears relieved… how precious did that grace appear… the hour I first believed.”

Most interesting about Newton’s words of thanksgiving and praise is that there came to be a religious revival that swept the colonies in the 18th century… plantation owners didn’t so much get involved in the revival – the ones who found religion and Christianity were slaves… thousands of slaves were converted to Christianity. How odd that God should choose a slave trader to participate in new conversions. How odd that blacks would pick up the words and sing the words of God’s loving grace and freedom!

The song Amazing Grace is about being ‘brought low’ and ultimately about victory over sorrow and failings in our lives…

Sometime during this Easter period — or as a preface to a Pentecost conversion for this world — maybe you’d be willing to join me in praying for profound conversion in all our lives… and for rebirth fueled by God’s powerful, loving… Amazing Grace.

Blessings.
Deacon Tom

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There is a name you may be familiar with. She is Elizabeth Ficocelli – a writer of articles in Catholic magazines and with a number of published books. She has written on topics ranging from St. Therese of Lisieux, to Medjugorje and about Lourdes. Other book efforts have been for children.

I mention Elizabeth because I saw an article she wrote on confession — and I’d like to share a portion of it with you. In a wonderful piece penned about her own experiences with the practice of confessing sin… Elizabeth wrote these words:

“In the Lutheran church of my youth, confession was handled in a rather tidy manner. The congregation would stand and, together with the pastor, face the altar and read aloud a statement of confession. The pastor would then turn to face the congregation and read a response that essentially told us we were forgiven.”

“I don’t remember feeling heartily sorry for my sins – or heartily forgiven, for that matter — it was just a part of our Sunday worship. I suppose I must have talked to God privately about my sins growing up, but forgiveness and reconciliation do not hold strong memories for me.”

Later, Elizabeth became a catechumen when she began RCIA and the process to enter the Catholic Church. At first, she was squeamish about the Catholic approach to confession. She dreaded having to bare her soul to a man…. a man who would think badly of her whenever their paths crossed. Now quoting her again, she wrote, “At the same time, however, something significant was happening. I was beginning to realize that once I made a confession, I truly felt better. Forcing myself to verbalize and take responsibility for my offenses and ask pardon for them really did make a difference in how I felt afterward. It was harder than my Lutheran way, but I was starting to see the benefits.”

“My biggest stumbling block remained not being able to forgive myself. I used to come out of the confessional disappointed by the Act of Penance – to say an Our Father or something easy like that. I would have much rather been told to take ten laps around the church property. Still seeing things from a purely human point of view, I was unable to grasp God’s ready and complete forgiveness. Then, I experienced a miracle.”

Elizabeth read the writings of a young Polish nun – we know her as Sister Faustina… and inspired by what she read, Elizabeth seemed to become a missionary inside her own little parish for the Divine Mercy of Jesus… and she fell more in love with the Sacrament that celebrates God’s mercy.

Later, Elizabeth told a sort of ‘God has a sense of humor story.’ She said that she had one sort of major sinful experience in her life — enough that she had to apologize to her son and to her husband. She knew she also had to go and apologize to God. Approaching a penance service and confession – she wanted to avoid her pastor and go to confession to a visiting priest. Arriving at church, she found the visiting priest line had something like 25 people — while there were only three in the pastor’s line. (NOTE: Elizabeth — did you see me standing in the long line waiting to avoid the pastor too?

Swallowing fear and perhaps a bit of pride – she went to confession to her pastor. She said that upon leaving the confession she had an almost tangible sensation as of water being poured over her head — washing her clean and tingling down to her feet. Nothing like that had happened to her before.

I’ve shortened this story quite a bit – but it is told for those who through pride or hardness of heart will hear that God’s mercy awaits sinners — not the obstinate. God’s mercy is available in either the pastor’s line or the visiting priest line. God’s mercy happens in every line. It’s endless.

This Lent — join me in the line for a shower — a real and beautiful experience of restoration. It’s the only thing I’ve found that can restore this broken deacon to the state I enjoyed when I was three weeks old and was baptized on the east side of Detroit. That’s how profound this sacrament is. Don’t let the formation of the world or the formation of fear block you from this Lenten gift.

Blessings.

deacon tom

www.catholicvitamins.com
www.deacontomonline.com
www.catholicmoments.com

In this episode: Does planting time really simplify your life? Catholic homeschooling projects, We’re Debt Free! Random seating for supper, good management is good parenting, simplifying church donations,  Mail Bag: Cassie

Contact us by emailing us [at] catholicfamilypodcast [dot] com or call us on our feedback line at 206-339-8993

Final Song: Hello Industry – Half of my Heart from the Podsafe Music Network

Picture: Snow Capped Easter Tulip by ~jamiep

In this episode: what do you like about being Catholic,  Book Review: Hugo Pepper, Movie Reviews: Liberty Kids, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Kid’s Catholic Corner: What is Lent? Mattie Moment.

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Final Song: Our God is Amazing by Hello Industry, new music from the Podsafe Music Network

Graphic: Saddle by =Grinmir-Equines

There is a saying that has found a home in my memory cells to use when it’s appropriate. I believe it originated on the Seinfeld TV show many years ago. It goes: “Men don’t want to know what’s on TV; men want to know what else is on TV.” I have a friend — Deacon Don who is the epitome of that statement. Don is always in control of the TV’s remote — and this family has the ‘picture in a picture’ feature on their TV. Don is forever… I mean endlessly switching pictures on the main screen while commanding other images into the smaller display screen, and then bringing one of the small images up onto the main display. His dear wife is used to it and doesn’t say anything — but it seems endlessly impatient and restless.

When I’ve used that joke about men and TV — I’ve often thought to myself that that well could be a saying about men who have frequent attention and diversion towards other women. And in certain parts of our culture, it seems that many change wives with an ease that threatens even the notion of marriage vows or lifetime unions.

I was in the midwest recently — in an area that might be considered the middle of the Bible belt. It could be anywhere out there — but my attention and the thrust of my observations has to do with Missouri. There are more Biblically-based mega-churches and Christian faith walks in this part of the country. And it must be a certain truth now that the idea of permanent marriage in most of these Christian churches is an illusion.

There are so many divorces and remarriages in these parts — and so many people live together before they are married — I just don’t know what their preachers are teaching or saying to them. I just don’t know how Biblically-based faiths can disregard the historic understandings of marriage. And of course, we could extend this topic area to same sex unions, to contraception and to abortion.

I’m in a (real, sacramental, permanent) marriage sort of mood as I write this column. I have come to value my DW so much in recent years — a gift resulting from the strong marriage rebuilding and repair work they did with us deacon candidates during the four year formation period for deacons in the Archdiocese of Denver. I know — I think both Dee and I know of a time when we were not blessed with a happy and sound marriage. It must have been… must have been a Grace-moment that had us both saying ‘yes’ again to marriage the way it should be. It didn’t happen over-night. It wasn’t always pretty. It wasn’t easy. And it isn’t perfection — but we are in love.

Last weekend — I traveled from Arizona to Colorado. I had been invited by a beautiful woman to come to our old parish in Estes Park and to do the homily and the vows for Elizabeth’s marriage to Michael. I had been delegated (given permission) to do these tasks during a Mass. It was a special honor — and one that doesn’t happen often because the priest is most normally the presider over the liturgy and to be the official witness of the Church for the couple being married. The tender thing to share with you about this invitation was this. Elizabeth said to me many times during our planning that they wanted a holy, sacramental marriage. She said that the reception was simply an opportunity to give people a meal. There were no brides maids — no best man or other men involved in the ceremony. Many non-Catholics attended — and the continuing comment that people shared with me or with the bride and groom was how beautiful — how intimate and holy the marriage ceremony (and Mass) were.

Most of us know of Scott Hahn, the former Protestant Minister and now a prolific Catholic author, professor at Franciscan University — and a happily married family man. I love the way he talks about his beautiful wife, Kimberley. I met Dr. Hahn in Ohio a few years ago as I asked him to autograph a book he had written. I’ve listened to his lectures — but have never had the opportunity to attend a talk by his wife. I did find a quote from Mrs. Hahn in a book she wrote about marriage:

“If you want a successful marriage – and if you want your children to have successful marriages – it is important to live marriage God’s way. He is the one who made us, after all, and he is the one who designed marriage. This is why the queen mother of Proverbs 31 says to her son, ‘Do you know how to recognize a good woman for a wife? Listen carefully to know what to value in a wife; then choose wisely.’”  Kimberly Hahn
Chosen And Cherished: Biblical Wisdom For Your Marriage, Servant Books

And I would add only this — intend to choose a spouse for life.

Blessings.

Deacon Tom
www.deacontomonline.com
www.catholicvitamins.com
www.catholicmoments.com
www.catholicmom.com

In this episode:  The Catholic Family retools the show: Living Simply Within Your Means, giving campaigns, separating the kids, movies, school’s back in session, tuba Christmas, reading the bible with your kids.

Links in this episode:

http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/

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Final Song: Adrina Thorpe – Did You Think

Episode Graphic: Simplicity by todo-el-mundo

We have a person in our family who has been through a lot. She is twice divorced and currently a single mom. She is raising a teen and two young children. She has become quite toughened by life experiences, some resulting from impetuous decisions she’s made. She has often said she has virtually lost the capability to cry any more. Now while she is a very good and caring person, and does things for the poor and needy, things don’t deeply move her or touch her heart. I think this is so sad, and we pray for this person quite a bit.

On the other hand, I am an unabashed softy. So many things move me and get me ‘verklempt.’ Many months ago on the Catholic Mom site, I wrote a column on the Gift of Tears — and would you believe I’m still getting email about the words I shared there? There are a number of us who are touched — or pricked by a beauty unseen by others.

I guess there would be a goodly segment of the world, especially the macho men who would say you don’t have to cry to be a nice person. True enough.

There are things that quickly touch my heart, and I wonder if you have such areas? Not the same ones as I have of course. But do you have special areas of tenderness?

Yesterday, my wife and I went to a Christmas chorale concert. For our small town, this is a wonderful group — 70 some strong. Men and women and some teens — all who love to sing. They have auditioned and when chosen, they have rehearsed for months to put on two shows at Christmas and two shows in the Spring.

When 70 people blend their voices to share beautiful Christian hymns — and a number of nice commercial holiday tunes — this softens me up for Christmas. There must have been 300 appreciative people in the audience, and we stood at the conclusion of the uplifting seasonal concert.

Speaking of music — one of my all-time favorite Christmas CD’s is called WINTERFALL. The music is led by Lee Spears and Donna Beck Michael and was produced and published by Thistlegate Productions. This album features a hammered dulcimer, piano, guitar, English horn and a cello. On a website called Christmasreviews.com, a Carol Swanson wrote these words, “This excellent recording is minimalist instrumental folk music of the sweetest kind. The music is oh-so-soothing and even life-affirming. This recording is not fearful of silence, letting thoughtful pauses speak volumes… I have two favorite cuts on Winterfall, and they are the final two on the disc. “Midnight Clear” (“It Came Upon a Midnight Clear”) is an exquisite arrangement, an intensely beautiful mélange built upon a complex and fragile structure.” Swanson concludes her review: “Winterfall is an excellent Christmas CD. In a high-anxiety world of over-cranked volumes, this recording is a breath of fresh winter air.” We played a little bit from one of the cuts of this CD on our Catholic Vitamin N – Nativity program released recently.

Why consume so many words about a CD you may never hear? Because to listen to this CD is to experience what Carol Swanson and the Deke and his daughter have experienced. It touches us and says the season of Christ’s birth is almost here’ when we start playing Winterfall.

Oh — one more (almost silly) thing as I think about music. Many years ago I found an inexpensive album with the late John Denver and the Muppets. It’s called A CHRISTMAS TOGETHER. As hokey as the Muppets may sound when talking about Christmas music, I really enjoy some of the cuts, e.g. The Peace Carol and a wonderful gospel-sounding song, “When the River Meets the Sea.”

As I began the thought process of preparing this piece for the Catholic Family site, my thoughts were about asking you if your heart is hardened at and by the Christmas season? Have you lost the capability to be moved by It’s a Great Life when you see a replay of that movie? Have you lost the capability to smile deeply by children in a nativity play? Have you lost the capability to see beauty in a season when you’ve got gifts to buy and wrap and decorations to put up and not enough real help around the house?

I would bet that the Infant of Bethlehem wouldn’t wish that upon you. He’d love for you to be happy and be open enough to be touched by the Christmas message once again. In the song When the River Meets the Sea, there are these words, “We are born and born again most gracefully… when the river meets the Almighty Sea.”
You and I are the river. We are invited to see and contribute to the beauty of God’s work on earth. You and I might do well to ask the Lord for a special gift this Christmas: “Lord — in some way, let us hear the angels who sing for you also sing for us. Just as the angels sang to brighten skies over the area of your birth, and were heard by people waiting in hope, let it be so for us. Whether at a nursing home or in a Christmas concert or a child’s tender efforts at a Christmas gift for us… Lord, let Your music of this season and of renewal touch our hearts.

Blessings again.
Deacon Tom
www.catholicvitamins.com
www.deacontomonline.com
www.catholicmoments.com
www.catholicmom.com

In this episode, the Catholic Family Kids have a little fun. Since they deleted the shownotes, who knows what they are talking about?

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In this episode: Wood Badge, Confirmation,  Catholic Charlotte Mason idea, Director of Planned Parenthood resigns, Mail Bag: Dee from,  AZ, Pamella from Glasgow. Final Song: Flame of Freedom by Grandbury Live.

One of the topics that I think I need to write about every once in a while is the brokenness of the Church. Those of us in new media — we don’t do this very much… we keep a pretty positive profile on our output and sharing. And yet — most of can see and experience things that tell us that there is a brokenness in us. And if there’s a brokenness in us — there most certainly is some measure of brokenness in our Church. I would want to paraphrase what follows — and you may not agree with some of these thoughts that were just sent to me the other day. These are from the late author and speaker Henri J. M. Nouwen:

“Over the centuries the Church has done enough to make any critical person want to leave it. Its history of violent crusades, pogroms, power struggles, oppression, excommunications, executions, manipulation of people and ideas, and constantly recurring divisions is there for everyone to see and be appalled by.

Can we believe that this is the same Church that carries in its center the Word of God and the sacraments of God’s healing love? Can we trust that in the midst of all its human brokenness the Church presents the broken body of Christ to the world as food for eternal life? Can we acknowledge that where sin is abundant, grace is superabundant, and that where human promises are broken over and again, God’s promise stands unshaken? To believe is to answer yes to these questions.”

Ah! Superabundant graces and God’s promises from here into eternity. Now those words give me hope. Those words add balance. Those words tell me the Church isn’t as dark as the bold letters shown above.

Let me share a couple of God’s promises that I have had personal experience with. There was a black priest from Africa. He came to Colorado to attain a doctorate in civil engineering. He is a Dominican priest and his order gave him his Colorado assignment so he could ultimately go back to Africa and work on water purification and land hydration issues. He wasn’t assigned to our parish, but he came as a visiting priest a few weekends — and he absolutely set people’s hearts on fire.

This priest’s name is Fr. Marcel Zibognon — and I asked him if he would satisfy a requirement that was imposed on me as a first year deacon candidate. I had to have a priest as a spiritual advisor. Fr. Marcel said he would be ‘so happy’ to do this with me. He said that we would learn to journey together and from each other. How’s that for refreshing hope wrapped in humility? He was exactly what I needed then.

Now here’s what I want to share with you. Fr. Marcel wasn’t always an on-fire Catholic. He told me that as a young teen, he was leading a life of self-pleasure, hedonism and that he had left the practice of the Catholic Church. Despite his self-centered lifestyle, Marcel got involved in a visit to France for World Youth Day. And as I I remember him telling the story, he got to be physically quite close to the Holy Father – and Marcel said he strongly felt something inside inviting him to give up his lifestyle.

Fr. Marcel says there was such Christian magnetism, radiated holiness and such a call to action that it was like an aura that surrounded Pope John Paul. That one exposure led Marcel to go through a profound life-changing conversion. He went to Confession, started back to the sacraments – he started praying about what to do with his life. And then he felt the call to the priesthood. And in the superabundant dole of graces from the Lord, Fr. Marcel helped dozens… no hundreds of us to try to be better believers.

The second story also relates to John Paul II — and I do this because it is my premise for this article that where and when necessary, God restores, rebuilds, shores-up or renovates His Holy Catholic Church. And much of the restoration comes about from abundant  ‘infused’ graces.

Were you aware that John Paul II, as pope also did a World Youth Day event in Colorado in the 1980’s? Did you read or has anyone told you the effect that the Holy Father had on young people? We’ll never know the number of vocations and re-versions to the faith from Colorado, like Father Marcel’s experience that happened in France. But here’s another nugget.

There is a beautiful retreat center called St. Malo north and west outside of Denver. It is picturesque, surrounded by mountains and hiking trails through the national forests in that area. After WYD in Denver, they took the Holy Father up to St. Malo for a day and a half of rest and restoration. There are pictures of the Pope’s visit there. It looked funny to see the pope’s familiar long white garment on with tennis shoes sticking out the bottom. Down about 500 yards from the retreat center is Colorado Highway number 7.

Some former parishioners who lived near St. Malo told us that Holy Father John Paul was out walking along the side of Highway 7.  Traffic was coming to a stand-still along the highway. Can you imagine Fred and Ethel driving along and Fred sees what looks like the Pope walking along the road? Ethel might reply, “Oh you’re crazy — a priest maybe – but not the Pope!” Well — it turns out to be true — the Pope was walking long the highway and spending time talking with astounded tourists. Think how people there at St. Malo were touched by his presence. And Denver which for a time had to close its one seminary now has two vibrant and very active seminaries. Two seminaries! Thank you John Paul the Great. Thank you Lord God for the abundant graces which passed from you through the late Holy Father.

Can those who feel that the Church is completely broken possibly, just possibly end feelings of dissatisfaction and remoteness from the Church and its leadership?  Can we recognize the mostly invisible but all-too-powerful presence of Jesus in His Church? His sometimes broken, ponderous, centralized, but Christ-filled Church. But where Jesus is — and I hope you will see Jesus inside the Sacraments and in many if not most of the clergy — where Jesus is, there too is his Mother. So it’s not all male dominated who are hung up on this objection. And you ought to meet the on-fire and highly educated and powerful nuns in the Denver Archdiocese. You ought to meet the high-powered, in-love-with-the-Church-women of the ENDOW Organization: Educating on the Nature and Dignity of Women.

One reason that St. Augustine cites for his entry into the Catholic Church is the never-ending, hope-filled prayers of his mother Monica.

Whatever your marital status – whoever you are – how about if we agree that it might be time to consider having two women in our lives? Holy Mother Mary can be one of them… and the other is the humanly imperfect but divinely powered Holy Mother Church.

Your Church is no more totally broken — any more than society is completely broken.  There is hope built upon the promises of Christ: Behold, I will be with you till the end of time.

In this episode, David flies solo, sans Allyson. Review of The Dragon’s Eye: The Dragonology Chronicles, Volume One by Dugald A. Steer (Author), Douglas Carrel (Illustrator), Catholic Vitamins, 40 Days for Life, Pat Gohn – Among Women,  Ask Sammy: Why Sammy Got Kicked Out of Heaven,  Final Song: The Only One by Ten Nine courtesy of the Podsafe Music Network, now known as Mevio. Graphic: Spitfire Airplane by Molock67

I’ve often wondered about the average age of those who listen to David and Allyson’s podcast. I would guess — although the Sweeneys would know better — I would guess that they have a wide range of audience — but most would be in their 30’s and 40’s. What do you think?

I ask about this because if this is true about the age range, then it’s likely that almost none of the audience has had to face the tough, tough decisions related to putting a parent into a nursing home. It may sound like a down-subject, but please stick with this column. I had to face this issue some years ago with my mom. She had end-stage congestive heart failure and she cycled in and out of serious ‘health-crashes.’ The medical team at the hospital under the direction of mom’s doctor pretty much decided that she would be passing soon. But it could be a week or a month or more. I was the only child left from our family and we lived on the west coast while mom lived in Detroit. My wife and I both had careers so it was a guilt-ridden time in our lives. We placed mom in an east-Detroit nursing home where she had some good days and some days of labored breathing.

Eventually, mom did pass and we had the funeral Mass at her church (Queen of Peace in Harper Woods, Michigan). The Mass was celebrated by mom’s favorite priest, Fr. Lentini who had known and pastored mom for many earlier years. We then faced the quick decisions necessary about shutting down the physical presence of a person’s life. We put her condo up for sale… my wife Dee and I went through her things.

A lot went to a nearby monastery which had a thrift shop for the needy. Many larger things we shipped to our daughters and to our own home in the San Francisco area.

As I said, this may sound like a not-so-pleasant topic to be writing a column about. Well — there is a purpose to this, and first I share that in this kind of time in your life, you do what you have to do and you move on. Mom has had more Masses said for her… she (and my late father and brother) are mentioned almost daily in my own Mass intentions. So overall — I hope and feel that mom is in heaven although I still pray for God’s mercy for her.

This topic leads me to another story that I really wanted to share with you. As deacon, the pastor has asked me to visit a nearby elder-care nursing home. I take Holy Communion to a group of eight to ten residents. One of the men is a priest who is struggling with what would appear to be an early form of dementia. He wants my help to ‘leave’ this facility. I told him I can’t do that but that I would be happy to come and be a deacon if he did a daily Mass in his room. As I left him, he said, “Come here – let me give you my blessing.”  He laid hands on me and gave me a great and meaningful blessing. It was very nice and pastoral of him.

But here’s the real heart of this column and the story I wanted to get to. One lady — I would guess her to be about 70 or a little more… she is in nearly full-blown dementia, and she’s in a lock-down area.

I’ve taken her Communion several times. And recently – she’s been sleeping and refused to get up — she hasn’t wanted the Eucharist. The other day, I went through my rounds, and when I got to this lady, Eleanor’s room, her door was firmly shut. It seemed odd. So I went to the nurse’s station and asked about Eleanor. The attendant said, “Oh she’s sleeping a lot and she doesn’t get up until about lunch time.”  I looked at my watch and it wasn’t even eleven AM yet… but I decided to see how she was doing. I knocked on the door — and woke her up.

True to recent practice, she didn’t want to receive Holy Communion and she said she didn’t feel very well. Rather than leave her — I asked if she’d mind if I said a prayer over her? She didn’t refuse so I blessed myself and her and I recited the Our Father. She became a little bit more ‘present’ to this visit and I started talking to her about how things were going. She told me — in a rather confused narration that she didn’t feel very good most of the time… but that she really loved the Catholic Church and the Mass. She kept calling me ‘Father,’ even though I had told her I was a deacon a couple times.

I struggled to keep conversation going — asking her where she was from before Arizona. The answer was Indiana — from South Bend. I asked if she was from near Notre Dame and she smiled and said, “Oh Yes!” I asked her about her parish and about any priest she remembered back there. She did have a church name that came out quickly — and she mentioned a priest name a couple times. She said she loved it when he said Mass.

Now what I want you to know is that during a part of this more animated conversation, she had taken one of my hands and she kept holding on to it. She became more interested in what we were talking about although, quite frankly — her mind did wander. But she was enjoying the sharing.

Finally — she took my other hand — she held both of my hands quite tightly. It would have taken effort to remove my hands. She started saying, “Thank you… thank you for coming to visit me. I’ve enjoyed this so much. Thank you.” She was very animated and her face looked radiant for these moments.

And as I watched her speaking to me – it came to me in a firm image that this was Jesus. He said he’d be the one we visit when we visit the sick and the dying. He said it would be Him whom we visit in prison. He said we wouldn’t always recognize Him — and sometimes we won’t get the reward that I got the other day… because you know what happened to me?

Jesus wouldn’t let go of my hands. It was awesome!

Blessings.

Deacon Tom

www.deacontomonline.com

www.catholicvitamins.com

www.catholicmoments.com

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In this episode:  Who  is CFP? Laundry Soap Update,  Baby Update, Why did Satan get kicked out of Heaven? New parochial vicar – Fr. Phi, ghostly albs, What does the Catholic Church say about ghosts? Movie Review: Incredible Mr. Limpet, Mail Bag: Jim from Monkey in the Middle Podcast, Mary from MN, Dee from AZ

Links in this episode:

Raising Olives

Texas Homeseader

Final Song: Transmission – I Know a Fount

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In this episode:  Armor Games, Moshi Monsters, Review of Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, Review of The Sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley, Catholic Vitamins, Mattie Claire, Voicemail from Mary, Paul from New York

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http://www.addictinggames.com/ngame.html
http://www.andkon.com/arcade/
http://www.moshimonsters.com/

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In this episode:  We need a beer! Homeschool Share dotcom,  laundry soap, Parenting – Teach Your Children 12 Ways to Live a Life with No Regrets by Bob and Cheryl Moeller, Mailbag:  Mary from MN, Cheri from South Dakota,  Dr. Jim Beeghley,  Petra, Pat from IN, Lisa Hendey

Links in this episode:

http://homeshoolshare.com/
http://www.mommiesmagazine.com/cheryl-moeller/667/
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/PylWond.html
http://www.siministries.org
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Final Song: Jimmie Bratcher: Right Side of the Tracks on the Podsafe Music Network

Graphic: Blue Moon by froggynaan

In this episode: The floating raft explained, Feature Films for Families: Down and Derby, Kidless, Structure/No Structure,  Matthew’s Baptism, Church Chat: 1st Peter Chap 3v8, Homemade Laundry Detergent, Email: Tina, Greg,  Mary.

Links in this episode:

http://www.familytv.com/

http://myaudiojournal.blogspot.com/

http://raisingolives.com/

http://raisingolives.com/2009/03/homemade-laundry-soap/

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In this episode: The kids return to the show with a special kids edition. We are NOT podfaders!, Austin reviews summer camp and  being Troop 159 chaplain, Austin and Luke review video – Down and Derby, Hannah reviews Lightning Thief,  Kathryn reviews Septamus Heap series, Kathryn and Hannah discuss theater camp,  Luke’s Jokes,  CNMC

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Final Song: Sarah Bauer – Extraordinary

In this episode:  The Catholic Family returns after a 5 week hiatus; Baby Update, Kathryn’s Program, All about Food.

Links in this episode:

SQPN Connect

Sarah Bauer

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Final Song:  Sarah Bauer: Radiance

Now – one of my habits – and it does annoy some folks when I underline sentences in books that I own. Sometimes I dog-ear the pages as an aid to find the underlines. All of a sudden I feel like Andy Rooney telling you about this habit of mine. Do you do this? Or are you a Ph.D. purist about books: don’t bend the spine, don’t write in them, leave the dust jackets on, etc.?

Let me tell you about two of the books that I have really abused. I do this to recommend books you may wish to take on a vacation with you. I’m hoping that you do take some inspirational reading with you as well as some escapism reading.

For inspiration – I recommend these two books:

-Living the Catholic Faith – Rediscovering the Basics by Archbishop Charles Chaput; Servant Publications, Ann Arbor, Michigan   (and)

-Grace in Every Season – Daily Reflections (Through the Year) with Catherine Doherty; Madonna House Publications, Combermere, Ontario, Canada.

There are probably no books in my relatively dense library of books – no books which are more underlined and dog-eared than these two. Here’s why and here are examples.

For Archbishop Chaput (who is the bishop that ordained me) – he lays out a wonderfully readable book that invites and challenges the reader to look at the Catholic faith they profess. And from a guided way of looking at faith aspects – the bishop asks you to pray and consider your reply. Here’s an example from page 136 of Chaput’s book in a chapter titled “The Family As Leaven:” (In a series of recommendations or ideas for the Catholic family, Archbishop Charles says): “Sixth, teach your children to develop the virtues of the heart. Help them to value fidelity instead of broken promises; patience instead of restlessness; simplicity in place of confusion; humility instead of pride; courage in place of cowardice; honesty instead of excuses; forgiveness in place of revenge; a hunger for justice in place of apathy. And seventh, teach your children to revere the sanctity of life.”

Whether you are yet to have children… or you have them and this is a handful to expect from where you are… or if you are a grandparent who does occasional babysitting, these are suggestions and challenges that can lead to loving Catholic Christian hearts in young people. One other quote from the Archbishop that I have used many times in my preaching: “… God doesn’t need ‘nice’ Christians, Christians who are personally opposed to sin, but too polite to do anything about it publicly.” BINGO!

Now Catherine’ Doherty’s book is a wonderful daily inspirational and reflective sort of book. Most topics are about one page.

And it’s on a variety of things to ponder and let wash over your satisfaction with where you are and what you’ve been doing. There are about 310 pages in this book – and I’d guess I’ve dog-eared 200 pages… maybe more. I’ve written about this particular topic here at Catholic Family – it seems so apropos for mulling over during summer: “Christian recreation is truly re-creation, a renewal, a re-gathering, a re-collection… it doesn’t mean doing nothing… Recreation is to re-create, to make new. It is done with God, for God, for his honor and glory.” The rest of Catherine’s reflection is about things that one might do on vacation – done with an eye to becoming a new person when you return to home and work. Let me assure you that swimming, sunning, reading a book – these are all part of her examples of God-based re-creation. Imagine swimming for God!

As I complete this column for you who visit the Catholic Family website – I will take your intentions with me as I leave for a while. My wife Dee & I will be doing some marathon driving; we don’t mind too much. We’ll be in Springfield, MO visiting our daughter and family. I’ll go to Franciscan University in Steubenville, OH for an annual priest and deacon retreat and conference. Dee will go on to Bedford County, PA to visit her mom and family and I’ll join them when I finish my retreat. And finally, we’ll leave the east coast area and drive to San Antonio, TX for the Catholic New Media Conference, sponsored by SQPN. You know you’re invited – and many famous podcasters will be there. [We may have to stop near College Station, TX and help midwife a baby while David is away. I’m not a doctor and I don’t play one on TV… but I’m up for this assignment! Pray for the Sweeney’s, okay?]

Blessings. See you in July! Happy Re-creating! Deacon Tom

www.deacontomonline.com
www.catholicmoments.com
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In this episode: David’s tomatoes,  baby update, Clothesline and clothespin bag, hammer down,  parenting tip of the week, Deacon Tom’s article on praying together, Mail Bag; Patrick in Michigan, Sean the Duct-Tape-Guy, Catholic New Media Celebration

Link to Clothespin Bag Allyson likes

Final Song: Hammer Down by Wiser Time

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1. Have them read the back of the Loreal Preference Box.  It has the best sentence structure.
2. They must pray before meals.  Otherwise, starve them until they pray for mercy.
3. Be consistent.  If you aren’t, you might mess up and not cover all of the gray.
4. Teach them how to handle money, but don’t tell them how much the house cost.  That way you can deduct more rent from their allowance.
5. Go on a date.  If with your spouse, go somewhere cheap like Taco Bell or a bookstore.
6. Do something fun and different with your kids.  If they don’t like it, take them on a forced march through the forest.  Don’t forget the first aid kits!
7. Child labor laws don’t apply at home.  Get free labor out of them or the pets die!
8. Teach them to serve others without expecting anything back.  Otherwise your hair will go gray.  Just look what happened to your poor Mother!
9. Don’t give in to peer pressure.  If they do, throw them off the pier and feed them to the sharks, along with all of the other naked people.
10. Practice what you preach.  Or color your hair.  Which ever is easiest.

In this episode: David and Allyson review the top 10 issues (tips?) they had during the past year. Allyson undergoes a miraculous transformation. David finds a trade.

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Children Learn What They Live

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It is interesting to me that Father Peyton wrote his autobiography and titled it All For Her – and he had such great devotion to the Rosary and to the Blessed Virgin Mary, as did the late, great John Paul II. And you likely remember the late pope’s motto which was Totus Tuus: ‘totally yours.’ This was a statement of devotion to Mary.

Let me quote from Fr. Pat’s book:

I was born on January 9, 1909, in a picturesque valley in County Mayo in the west of Ireland. On one side were the Ox Mountains; on the other was the Atlantic Ocean.

From my earliest memories, I saw my father with the Rosary beads in his hands and my mother holding hers. My older brothers and sisters and I knelt around them, praying. Father began with the Sign of the Cross, then the Apostles’ Creed, the Our Fathers, the Hail Marys, the Glory Be’s. What impressed me most was the voice of my mother talking to Mary: “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.”

For the first 19 years of my life, this was our daily practice as I grew from childhood to boyhood to my teens.

In good times and bad, in sickness and health, in poverty and hard work, we ended each day speaking to Jesus and His Mother, offering them the greatest tribute that could possibly be given, making the greatest act of faith, and honoring Mary above all the angels and saints.

Because of the daily family Rosary, my home was for me a cradle, a school, a university, a library and, most of all, a little church.”

For the sake of space, I’ll just summarize a bit of the story of this Irishman who became the leader of the Family Rosary Crusade. This prayer effort to promote the rosary and family prayer began a journey to fame and holy success when the Mutual Radio Broadcasting Network (the largest radio network at that time) offered a half hour radio broadcast to the entire United States. The first broadcast was on Mother’s Day and Fatima Day, May 13th, 1945. The show was reported to be one of the most listened to – most favored broadcasts ever. Fr. Peyton had a winning format for his radio broadcasts – he got a number of famous movie stars, bishops and other leaders to come to the studio and participate in prayer. They were often interviewed and it was a most popular approach to this Catholic devotion. Imagine trying this today!

Fr. Peyton built up the devotion to family prayer and the rosary throughout the U. S. and later around the world. There is a story told as follows. Once in Bogota, Columbia, as he had completed a Crusade and was mingling with the crowd, a young priest laughed at him and cried out, “Father Pat, the people need bread and meat and you give them rosaries.” In gentle Irish fashion, Fr. Peyton said, “Son, they need both bread for the body and bread for the soul.”

I mention this bit of biography and history about Fr. Peyton for a couple reasons – to remind us how much we have lost… most of us anyway. The motto of Fr. Peyton’s Rosary Crusade was, “The Family That Prays Together, Stays Together.”

Some people might respond that they pray a night prayer with their children… something like, “Now I lay me down to sleep.” Perhaps in later years, an Our Father and or a Hail Mary… but consider the testimony and example that Fr. Peyton gave to us. My wife Dee and I pray Evening Prayer (Liturgy of the Hours) together just about every night. We pray this together and voice our petitions for family, the sick and other intentions we carry in our hearts. This has made a big difference – a very big difference in our lives and devotion and faith.

Yet I have encouraged Dee that we need to do the rosary together more often. And in that vein – I encourage members of the Catholic Family Podcast to try – try adding more prayer together. Don’t feel as if you have to do it all. Take a small segment of prayer and be faithful to it. Perhaps start with a decade of the rosary – along with a different intention each time you do it.

When kids share in prayer intentions – the poor… the needy… deceased members of the family… for orphans… for peace – it gives them a holy and world connectedness far beyond saying a single Hail Mary at bedtime.

Archbishop Charles Chaput says, “Raising a family is heroic work.” You can be a spiritual hero if you lead the effort to bring more prayer into your family – all of the family, together. Please remember to pray for our bishops, priests, deacons and nuns. And the souls in Purgatory.

Thank you… May your family stay together – in good times and in bad. Dedicate yourself to Mary and ask for her help. Blessings.

Deacon Tom

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