To Hear Feed My Lambs Shows Previously Broadcast

If you would like to hear any of the previously broadcast Feed My Lambs shows with Father John Granato and Paula K, just scroll down to the bottom of this page and you will see the links.  Click on the link of any show and it will begin to play in your browser.

Holy Name of Mary

Yesterday the Church celebrated the feast of the Holy Name of Mary. It's very comforting that the feast of her holy name falls immediately after the commemoration of the events of 9/11.   Mary can help bring about peace if we but ask her, for she is the mother of Peace.   Instead of anger which only feeds terrorism, we can pray for those who claim killing innocent people is what God wants.  Mary, our Queen and our hope, we pray that our brothers and sisters in the Middle East will come to know your Son as their Lord and Savior.

Glimpse of Heaven Part II

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. If you were to attend Mass, you would hear from the Book of Revelation the wonderful passage about the woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under feet and upon her head twelve stars. Because she is the Mother of our Lord, it is only fitting that she receive certain privileges, i.e. the Immaculate Conception, the gift of perpetual virginity, and her role as mediatrix of all graces. But it is though the love her Son has for her that she was given the privilege of entering Heaven, body and soul. Scott Hahn, the Catholic biblical scholar, makes the point that Jesus fulfills the law perfectly, so if this is true, then Jesus fulfills the fourth commandment perfectly, where he would honor is father and mother. It is an honor that he bestows upon her by glorifying her with the glory that we are all destined to receive.

We have a mother in Heaven who though her role as mediatrix of all graces, prays for us and leads us to her Son in the Holy Eucharist. On this Solemnity of the Assumption, let us pray for Mary's intercession that we will glorify our bodies through purity and modesty and temperance. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Live as in daylight and put away the deeds of darkness. Our Lady of the Assumption, pray for us.

A Glimpse of Heaven

In the midst of bad economic news, it's always good to remember that Heaven is a present reality. Heaven is not just some idea, or the place where Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us, but it can also be a reality in our lives when we receive our Lord at Holy Communion. The celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is a foretaste of the heavenly banquet. As we receive our Lord's body, blood, soul and divinity, we are transformed.

Heaven is within our grasp when we attend Mass, when we receive our Lord, when we become more Christlike in our attitudes and our outlook. The Kingdom of Heaven is in your heart when you show mercy, love and forgiveness to those who have hurt you. When you see with the eyes of faith, you will see Jesus in his glory and like St Peter, you can say, "Lord it is good for us to be here." and with St Thomas, "My Lord and my God."

Sowing the Seeds of Love

Those words might remind you of the song from Tears for Fears, but it really comes from today's Scripture parable.   Jesus talks about the seed falling on rocky ground, and in the thorns and on fertile soil.  But, similar to the song the parable is also about sowing the seeds of love, for it is the seed of God's grace that Jesus speaks about, and the seed is God's word.  

Is your soil is rocky, filled with thorns or is fertile with his love? Do you find yourself full of zeal when things are going well, but once a struggle occurs feeling that love fade.  Just as a gardener has to till the soil, water the plants, and pull the weeds; so do we in our own spiritual garden.  Allow the sacrament of confession to pull the weeds out by the roots, and plant roses or sow seeds of love with the prayers of the rosary.  We also sow the seeds of love when we live the fruits of the Holy Spirit, mercy, gentleness, love, patience, kindness, chastity, modesty, generosity, forgiveness, joy and peace.

Love

"You have heard it said love your friends and hate your enemies, but I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

Then why is it so easy to hate someone else?  Why do we find it easier to be offended by other's failures, then to forgive as we have been forgiven?  As Christians it seems more common for us to fall into anger or bitterness rather than loving and forgetting the offenses of those who have hurt us. Yet, we are called by Jesus Christ to overcome our emotions and to allow his grace to transform us so that we can actually love those who hate us.  Is there someone in your life you are angry with?  Is there someone who has hurt you that you have not yet forgiven?  When you argue with your spouse do you bring up everything they have done to hurt you, remembering their offenses in detail?

Only Christ can help you let go of the hurt that others have caused you.  The healing takes place when you truly forgive them.  Remember, forgiving someone contains a promise that you will no longer fling their offense in their face the next time you are angry at them, or they hurt you again.  Hanging onto unforgiveness because you feel the other person still has to 'make it up to you' only sets the relationship up for difficulty where someone can never meet your expectations.  Jesus is the just judge, and your forgiveness opens the door to his greater forgiveness and grace in your life - it doesn't allow another person to "get away with it."  A lack of forgiveness toward another who has hurt you does not ensure they will be 'punished for what they did', instead it only poisons your own heart.

True forgiveness can only come through prayer, humility, and the reception of the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist. But it can only come when you realize Forgiveness of another is the greatest gift you can give to yourself.

Visions

Visions, dreams, locutions, you can call them many different things. St John Bosco had such a vision which has been interpreted as a need for you to stay close to the Eucharist and the Blessed Mother. As our world continues to become increasingly violent, it is important for us turn to Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, and ask him to bring peace to a torubled world. To be instruments of peace ourselves, we will help to bring peace to our families and friends. How do you bring peace into your relationships? St Matthew's gospel presents the Beatitudes. In Jesus' teaching, Jesus turns the values of the world upside down and says that you are blessed when you are poor in spirit, meek, persecuted, when you mourn and are a peacemaker and seek righteousness. To live the Beatitudes will help bring peace to the world, by opening your heart to Jesus Christ. Receive the Holy Eucharist at Mass and pray to the Blessed Mother of God to intercede and ask for God's grace in your life. The Kingdom of Heaven starts in your heart and is fulfilled in the presence of God for all eternity in Heaven.

Article on Celibacy

Fr Dwight Longenecker, a convert and married man who became a Catholic priest, has an article on his blog about married priests. It is worth reading his article. You can find it at www.gkupsidedown.blogspot.com/2011/01/married-priests-magic-bullet.html

Bishops

Today, we celebrate the feast of Sts Timothy and Titus, co-workers of St Paul and leaders of the early church. St Paul wrote letters to each of these, which are recognized as canonical letters in the New Testament. It is a good reminder on this feast day that we need to keep praying for our bishops. A bishop's vocation is demanding and often leads to frustration, especially in today's climate. And bishops can and do make mistakes, as all of us are wont to do. St Paul was confronted with many issues and immorality, not only among the peple in the cities that he visited, but also even among those who were purported to be leaders in the Christian communities. And if you have ever been in a position of leadership, you undoubtedly would have experienced as well all different types of personalities and much criticism from those under you. One good book on leadership is from Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges, called Lead Like Jesus. It's all about servant leadership and gives you the tools to really empower others as a leader so that all of us may thrive together in our work and in our relationships.

2011

It's a new year and new beginnings. Maybe you have decided to attend Mass more often this year. Maybe you promised to pray the rosary every day. Maybe you decided to speak words of love to your beloved and eradicate the negative speech from your conversations. Or maybe you decided that you have had enough of politics because you have come to realize that only Jesus can bring transformation to our country.

Until we accept his teachings and follow his laws and return to a Christian morality, our country will never rebound. Christ is the answer. King Herod knew that, and he was afraid of the answer, which is why he tried to kill the Christ child. So many of our own politicians are also afraid of Jesus Christ. They try to kill him through legislation that is anti-Christian. More importantly, they try to kill him by placing men and women in positions of power that claim to be Christian, or better yet, a "practicing Catholic," and these men and women refuse to allow their Catholic faith to form their conscience. They keep abortion legal, they support embryonic stem cell research (which kills babies already conceived) and support gay marriage. Let us turn to our Blessed Mother, Mary, the Mother of God and ask her intercession that our Catholic politicians will come to the defense of life. As long as we keep killing babies in the womb, our country will always be morally bankrupt.