Oct 27 - Homily: The Number of the Elect

To be Catholic is to follow Christ

To be Catholic is to follow Christ by the way we live, the way we think, the things we say, in fact every single facet of our lives must reflect that of Jesus Christ. In his letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul urges us by saying, "you must give up your old way of life: you must put aside your old self, which gets corrupted by following illusory desires. Your mind must be renewed by a spiritual revolution so that you can put on the new self that has been created in God's way, in the goodness and holiness of the truth." (Eph 4: 22-24)

Autumn Tea

This autumn tasty blend features flavors we associate with fall---apple, cranberry and pumpkin pie spice.

Directions:
Place the tea bags in a large heat-proof bowl; add boiling water. Cover and steep for 8 minutes.
Discard tea bags. Add the remaining ingredients to tea; stir until sugar is dissolved. Serve warm or over ice.

( Recipe source : Catholic Culture )

If you are cold, tea will warm you.
If you are too heated, tea will cool you.
If you are too depressed, tea will cheer you.
If you are too exhausted, tea will calm you!

(William Gladstone)

Daily prayer

Almighty and ever-living God, our source of power and inspiration, give us strength and joy in serving Thee as followers of Christ, who lives and reigns with Thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Tribute to Thomas Kinkade

God grant me ..

God, grant me the courage to change the things I can change,
the serenity to accept those I cannot change,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
But God, grant me the courage not to give up on what I think is right,
even though I think it is hopeless.
Amen.

We might have Life through His Name ( John 20:31 )

Thy Sins are Forgiven in Jesus Holy Name

Saint Anthony the priest spent long hours in the confessional.
There he was brought face to face with strange and sorrowful problems of all kinds. One penitent in particular found that, when he knelt at the feet of this young Franciscan priest, he was unable to confess his sins. The sorrow which filled his heart was so great that he simply could not speak. Anthony read that heart and and knew that it was sincerely penitent. so he said to the man, "Go home, write your sins on a piece of paper, then bring the paper back to me."

The man did so. Anthony bade him read the list. Obediently the penitent started with the first. To his astonishment he saw that, as soon as he had told it, the name of each sin disappeared from the paper. So it went on. When the last sin had been confessed, the paper was perfectly blank.

~ Saint Anthony ora pro nobis ~

Blessed Solemnity of Sacred Heart of Jesus everyone

Each year we are invited to celebrate the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Let us remember and meditate : Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole Heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole strength. Book of Deuteronomy 6:5
Also “Jesus said unto him, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.’” -Matthew 22 37-40

The accent is falling on the word “whole” in each command ! This means that, because we love Him, our entire lives are to be, day by single day, a continuing Act of Love, for Him, in which we offer every action, every care, all our joys and sufferings and good works for the intentions of His Sacred Heart: the salvation of souls, the conversion of sinners, and the release of the souls in Purgatory. This is what He means by our whole mind, whole heart and whole soul!

Jesus, the man, is the heart of creation; the new creation.
Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, reveals the “heart” of the Father to humanity.
Jesus reveals to us that at our core, in our innermost selves, in our most vital organ, resides the Spirit of God.
It is not a coincidence that this feast occurs after Trinity Sunday.
Devotion to the Sacred Heart is essentially a Trinitarian devotion as well Blessed Sacrament Adoration. But even more, it is a creation devotion. The Sacred Heart reveals to us that we are created to be united to each other and to our God through the Spirit of Love that dwells within each and every one of us.

We are invited to look upon the Christ, to look upon the Heart of Christ, to try to conform ourselves to a way of life that reveals the Glory of God, that reveals a Heart burning with Love, that reveals a Heart willing to be broken for others ,for the sake of salvation of mankind .

“Lord, Jesus Christ, You suffered a spear to be thrust into Your Sacred Heart, that we might easily see a way into the Heart of Your holiness.
Grant us refuge, comfort, guidance, humility, strength, and holiness as we strive to live withing Your Heart’s loving embrace. Amen.”

The Oil Spill – A Lesson in the Cardinal Virtues | Catholic Exchange

Awesome inspired article about the tragic oil spill :

The worst oil spill in US history owes a lot to the fading away of moral virtue.
Without doubt, the surge in pride, greed and lust tended to smother the four cardinal virtues – prudence, fortitude, temperance and justice.[.]
Intuitively, deep water drilling contradicts the cardinal virtue of prudence. The imprudence of the operation is more obvious now that stopping the deepwater gusher in timely fashion has proven to be beyond human power. It seems that America’s vaunted technological prowess gave rise to pridefulness, and the capital sin of pride mixes with prudence about as well as oil with Florida’s white sand beaches.
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).

Read more about :

The Oil Spill – A Lesson in the Cardinal Virtues | Catholic Exchange

Feast of the Holy Trinity: Profound Mystery...

Daily thoughts

Life can become complicated with worldly cares, and too much materialism and involvement in secular values. Living the year with the Church is a stablizer, the way to keep first things first. We are part of the Church and therefore we have a liturgical year to live. Christ is our life and we should pattern our lives after His. Each season of the year provides us with numerous oportunities to incorporate the Church year into our own domestic churches .
As Spring blossoms forth and we are surrounded by new life of the nature .
It doesn’t matter what language we speak, the sky, sun, moon, and stars with all of nature speaks universally. Every twenty- four hours we behold the beauty and majesty of our Lord.
Psalm 19: 1-6 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where His Heavenly voice is not heard.
Stop for just a minute and look around at His glory displayed in nature and give Him the praise due to His Holy Name! Make things right with Him as you bask in His glorious presence and you will receive all the comfort for your soul.
In Christ , Danielle

Revealing the truth

The media, egged on by a small group of dissenting Catholics, have been having a field day over the tragedy of priests involved in sexual abuse. And the reporting has been littered with falsehoods and outright fabrications. So Crisis has put together a list of the ten most common false media claims — along with fact-filled responses to them.

There's absolutely no evidence that priests are more likely to abuse children than are other groups of men. The use and abuse of children as objects for the sexual gratification of adults is epidemic in all classes, professions, religions, and ethnic communities across the globe, as figures on child pornography, incest, and child prostitution make abundantly clear .

The Church's teaching on sexual morality is rooted in the dignity of the human person and the goodness of human sexuality. This teaching condemns the sexual abuse of children in all its forms, just as it condemns other reprehensible sexual crimes such as rape, incest, child pornography, and child prostitution. In other words, if this teaching were lived out, there'd be no pedophilia problem at all.

The notion that this teaching somehow leads to pedophilia is based on a misunderstanding or deliberate misrepresentation of Catholic sexual morality. The Church recognizes that sexual activity without the love and commitment found uniquely in marriage undermines the dignity of the human person and is ultimately destructive. As far as celibacy is concerned, centuries of experience have proven that men and women can abstain from sexual activity while living fulfilling, healthy, and meaningful lives .

Therefore I'll pray for all priests who are persecuted , that they will be protected from the deception of the evil one and safeguarded from confusion and false accusations.



Keep them, I pray Thee, dearest Lord,
keep them, for they are Thine -
Thy priests whose lives burn out
before Thy consecrated shrine.

Keep them, and O remember, Lord,
they have no one but Thee,
yet they have only human hearts,
with human frailty.

Keep them as spotless as the Host,
that daily they caress;
their every thoughts and word and deed,
Deign, dearest Lord, to bless. Amen

( Our Father ,Hail Mary ,Glory Be )

This day Prayers and Intercessions

We are baptized in the Holy Spirit: with all the baptized let us glorify God and bring him our petitions:
– Lord Jesus, sanctify us in the Spirit.
Send the Holy Spirit among us,
so that we proclaim you to all men as King and Lord.
– Lord Jesus, sanctify us in the Spirit.
Give us the gift of unfeigned love:
may we love each other with a brotherly love.
– Lord Jesus, sanctify us in the Spirit.
Filled with life by your grace,
may our souls joyfully accept the gifts of the Spirit.
– Lord Jesus, sanctify us in the Spirit.
Give us the power of your Spirit –
to take what is sick within us and make it healthy and strong.
– Lord Jesus, sanctify us in the Spirit.