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.