Confession

The Sacrament of Confession seems to have fallen by the wayside these days. It's unfortunate, though, because this sacrament has so much to offer you. Imagine if you never cleaned your home or your car, how quickly the dirt piles up. Then, imagine if you never bathed or showered or kept yourself groomed. How quickly, the sweat and dirt and unkempt hair would become unmanageable. It's the same with our soul. We need to keep our soul clean on a periodic schedule so that the effects of our sins do not stain our soul. Maybe you have had a terrible experience in the confessional or you do not see any value in it. Maybe you are convinced that you are a good person and not in need of confession. Confession is a way for you to check on your growth in the spiritual life and how well you are doing in living the virtues of our faith. Frequent confession can be a help in ending habitual sins, if you seek to put in place other spiritual aids to complement a good confession. Prayer, works of charity, almsgiving and the attentive participation at Mass with a good Holy Communion are all ways to help you, along with confession, to receive God's grace and love and strength to keep yourself away from even the most venial of sins. A daily examination of conscience can be helpful as well. Fr John Hardon, SJ, has a helpful examination at www.therealpresence.org and Scott Hahn's book, Lord, Have Mercy, also has some good daily examinations. Seek the Lord and he will free you from the chains of sin.

Marriage and Sanctity

Marriage is a sacrament. God offers and imparts grace to you and your spouse so that you will be able to live the life of fidelity, fruitfulness and unity as you bring each other to God. Your wife is a means for your sanctification and you are a means for her sanctification, but sanctity requires that you open yourself up to God. Can your marriage survive if one of you refuses to attend Mass and practice your faith? Yes, it will survive. But ask yourself, is it enough to survive or would you rather thrive; to be the best you can be? Do you want to survive the cut and be the last person on the football team or do you want to be the star, someone who is integral to the victory week in and week out? Do you want to watch the quarterback win the game or do you want to be the quarterback who wins the game? The church wants to not only help your marriage to survive, but she gives you the opportunities to have a relationship that thrives so that you and your spouse may live a life of complete and utter joy, even in the midst of the trials and sufferings that go with being human. A happy, healthy and holy marriage is one that helps you to love as Christ loves, to overcome self-absorption, egoism and the pursuit of one’s own pleasure and to open yourself up to the other for her pleasure, her sanctity and mutual aid and self-giving. In effect, it is to die to self and to live for the other in every area of your life, whether the other spouse deserves it or not.

Critical Speech

On this Feast of the Holy Name of Mary, we are reminded that the names of Jesus and Mary are sacred and holy, to be treated with reverence and respect. Critical speech, gossip, detraction are grave sins and one of the most prevalent sins in our country today. Yet it does not have to be. Language, speech, words, these are weapons that can kill, but they can also be remedies to a soul that is hurting. Imagine someone getting angry with you and yelling, screaming hateful words. What happens in your soul? Now, imagine how you feel when you hear tender words, words of love and kindness. Words can be that salve for you.

Within marriage especially, words can violate trust and rip asunder that union that you created on your wedding day. Our faith teaches that husbands and wives are united in one flesh and that this union is a mystery, a great mystery, as St Paul says, between Christ and the Church. Christ died for his bride. Husbands are called to die for their wives as well. Just remember how you felt on your wedding day. The heart is pumping, the joy is swelling, the mind is racing to try to comprehend the mystery that you are about to celebrate. The tender words that are spoken to your beloved on that day. Tender words that are loving and fruitful. These are the words that bring joy to your beloved.

Let joy reign in your hearts. Let the love of Christ transform you into a new creation so that you can be holy as your heavenly Father is holy. And bring your beloved to the heart of Christ so that you and your beloved may know the power and majesty of mercy, forgiveness and compassion.

Marriage

Marriage between a man and a woman is a sacrament in the Catholic Church. Marriage is the joining of two who become one flesh, a man who leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife. There are many issues that surround marriage as well as the preparation for marriage. If you are planning a life long commitment to another person, what are some of the things you would need to discuss? There are issues such as finances, where you are going to live, the kinds of careers or jobs that you will undertake, the decision to have children and how many. If you are a person of faith, the role of your faith will also play an important role in your planning for the ceremony, what church you will have the wedding ceremony, the kind of music and the priest or minister who will receive your vows. There are rules and guidelines in all faith traditions and our Catholic faith is no exception. We will be discussing some of these issues in our upcoming shows. If you have any questions or comments about Catholic marriages or mixed marriages ( a marriage between a Catholic and a non-Catholic, whether they be baptized Christian or non-baptized person) please feel free to leave some comments or email us at feedmylambs@ymail.com

St John Vianney

Today we celebrate the feast of St John Vianney, the Cure of Ars and the patron saint of all priests. Through his intercession, may all priests continue to administer the sacraments with love and fidelity.

We have been talking about reverence in our Catholic faith, most especially reverence in speech, actions and clothing while at Mass. There has been a survey that shows that 74 percent of the Catholic faithful believe the biggest problem in their parishes is the lack of reverence. This entails the lack of reverence in clothing as well as the lack of reverence before and after Mass. The noise within church makes it difficult for people to pray before Mass or to make an act of thanksgiving after Mass.

What is it you are looking for when you go to Mass? What are the things that help to make it a prayerful time for you and your family? And what do you feel to be appropriate clothing for a Sunday Mass? There are many considerations, and only you know if you are truly wearing your best clothes for Mass. There are no directives in Canon Law or the Catechism, but some parishes and some dioceses have mandated a dress code. For example, in Rome, you are not able to go into a church if you are wearing shorts or sleeveless shirts/dresses. And in Manila, the priests are encouraging you to dress in a respectful manner. Ask the Blessed Mother in prayer what you should wear for Mass. She'll let you know.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

One of our great treasures in the Catholic faith is our devotion to Our Lady. Mary is called upon under many different titles to pray for us, her children, and today, we call upon her as Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Unfortunately, many Catholics have been neglecting her, believing that devotion to Our Lady is outdated and old fashioned. Some even say that she takes away from the worship due her Son, Jesus Christ. But every authentic devotion to Our Lady will ultimately lead you to her Son. Mary is to be honored as the mother of Our Lord, as it says in the fourth commandment, and she is only too happy to bring all of us who honor her to Jesus Christ. You do not have to be traditional or conservative to give honor to Mary. in fact, there are many Catholics that would be considered progressive or liberal that pray the rosary and honor Mary in many other ways as well. Mary transcends all labels, but Mary aslo keeps Catholics honest about the teachings of the Church. Mary would never encourage dissent from any teaching. To honor Mary as the Mother of Jesus Crhist, our Lord and God, you would necessarily seek to live and to accept all the teachings of Holy Mother Church.

Join us this Sunday for a new feed my lambs show. We will be discussing how to properly receive Holy Communion and the difference between receiving Communion in the hand and receiving Communion on the tongue.

Liberal/Conservative?

Why do we find it so easy to place labels on others? Within our Catholic Church, there has been an attempt to politicize our teachings and to place labels on those with whom we disagree. Pope Paul VI himself was characterized as a leading progressive (read: liberal) bishop before he was elevated to the papacy. He continued the Second Vatican Council, begun by Blessed Pope John XXIII, and soon after the council, the "smoke of Satan" entered the church. Yet, people on both sides of these labels were denoucning Pope Paul VI, especially in 1968 when Pope Paul issued his famous and prophetic encyclical, Humanae Vitae. Others accused him of being heretical because of the promulgation of a new missal, which changed many of the prayers of the Sacrifice of the Mass. This led to a mass defection of many priests and some bishops, and it has carried over today with many "traditional" sects, some of which have entered into schism. The best way to avoid being labeled liberal or conservative, progressive or traditional, is to think with the Church, and you think with the Church when you give assent to the teachings handed down through the popes and the magisterium. Doctrine cannot change.