The Resurrection!! Alleluia!!! Jesus is Risen!!!
God has been faithful to his promise. With the Resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ, God has given us a great gift, and that is the gift of himself. He has reconciled the world to himself through his Son's obedience, and with the Resurrection, he has also given us the means to grow in his love through the sacraments. You are no longer bound and chained in sin. You have the ability to live in the freedom of the sons of God. This was all made possible through the cross, through Jesus' suffering and death.
As we celebrate this octave of Easter, let us live in the joy and peace of the Risen Lord. And let us also prepare oursleves to celebrate the great feast of Divine Mercy Sunday, the second Sunday of Easter and the final day of the octave. No matter your sinful life, no matter what you have done or are still doing, when you give yourself to the Lord and entrust yourself to his Divine Mercy, you will be cleansed and made new. See the Lord with a repentant heart and allow him to cleanse you, allow him to make you whole, allow him to give you the abundant life of living in the truth.
Our Lord is Risen! He has truly Risen!!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Annunciation
Now is the time we need to pray! Let's ask the Blessed Mother to intercede for us as we offer roasries for the life of the unborn.
The Annunciation is a most wonderful feast day. Tne joy that comes to you when you hear for the first time that you are going to have a child. There is, of course, a moment of terror; especially if the child is your first. How are you going to raise the child? What are your dreams and hopes for your child? Are you ready to be a parent? Yet, the news of conceiving is joyous, and it was joyous as well for not only Mary, but for all of heaven, as they waited for her answer, her "yes." Ask the Blessed Mother to pray for you as well as you begin or as you continue your life as a father or as a mother. And pray for your children every day.
The Annunciation is a most wonderful feast day. Tne joy that comes to you when you hear for the first time that you are going to have a child. There is, of course, a moment of terror; especially if the child is your first. How are you going to raise the child? What are your dreams and hopes for your child? Are you ready to be a parent? Yet, the news of conceiving is joyous, and it was joyous as well for not only Mary, but for all of heaven, as they waited for her answer, her "yes." Ask the Blessed Mother to pray for you as well as you begin or as you continue your life as a father or as a mother. And pray for your children every day.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Eight is Enough
Just watched the opening theme song from Eight is Enough on youtube. That was such a great show. I always identified with the show because I was also one of eight children. It was a great family drama/comedy that really highlighted relationships especially between brothers and sisters. They don't make shows like this any more.
As Holy Week approaches, it is a good time for us to reflect on the role family has in our own lives. Families are the domestic church, and it is here that we first hear about God, about Jesus Christ, and about sacrifice. At least, ideally, this is where we first hear about these things.
Sacrifice is very important in a family. We are born and immediately become selfish. We cry when we are hungry, when we are tired, when we need to be changed and when we just want to be held. As we go through the early years, we are still self-centered and want things to be our way. But our parents are responsible for teaching us that as a member of a family, you have certain chores and responsibilities that you are given. It is also through their love for you that they teach you discipline so that you can see that other people and other people's feelings, do matter. Sacrifice is when you realize that you are not to always get things your own way but that you are willing to take a back seat and allow someone else to have their way.
When sacrificing entails fasting and almsgiving as well, you learn to think of others while at the same time you deprive yourself of a good. It is here, when done with the right intention, that you grow in relationship with our loving God as well as learning to love others in our lives. And this is the message of the Gospel: Love God with your whole, heart, mind, soul and body and to love your neighbor as yourself.
As Holy Week approaches, it is a good time for us to reflect on the role family has in our own lives. Families are the domestic church, and it is here that we first hear about God, about Jesus Christ, and about sacrifice. At least, ideally, this is where we first hear about these things.
Sacrifice is very important in a family. We are born and immediately become selfish. We cry when we are hungry, when we are tired, when we need to be changed and when we just want to be held. As we go through the early years, we are still self-centered and want things to be our way. But our parents are responsible for teaching us that as a member of a family, you have certain chores and responsibilities that you are given. It is also through their love for you that they teach you discipline so that you can see that other people and other people's feelings, do matter. Sacrifice is when you realize that you are not to always get things your own way but that you are willing to take a back seat and allow someone else to have their way.
When sacrificing entails fasting and almsgiving as well, you learn to think of others while at the same time you deprive yourself of a good. It is here, when done with the right intention, that you grow in relationship with our loving God as well as learning to love others in our lives. And this is the message of the Gospel: Love God with your whole, heart, mind, soul and body and to love your neighbor as yourself.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Are we there yet?
It seems spring is finally around the corner, and with spring comes a fresh outlook. The warmer weather brings sunnier dispositions. As we continue our journey through Lent, there are many things we can work on in our spiritual life. Lent is a time for prayer, fasting and almsgiving. It is a time for you to spiritually renew your relationship with God and with your neighbor, and if you are married, your spouse. Ask yourself, is God first in your life? And if not, why not? When God comes first, it is not at the expense of your spouse, for your spouse will receive many benefits if they see that you are in relationship with our Creator. He has brought you and your spouse together, and he is the one who keeps you together, if you ask him to be a part of the marriage.
Last week, we ran an episode on theology of the body. This is a very important teaching from Pope John Paul II, concerning how we relate to each other, within marriage as well as outside of marriage. How do you view your body? And how you view your own body will in many cases determine how you view the body of members of the opposite sex, especially your spouse's.
We will never change the culture of death until we begin to change ourselves and transform our own marriages into a culture of life. Culture has taken away from you your self-worth because culture has decided that it knows the difference between good and evil, and it is opposite what our Catholic Church teaches. Know what our faith teaches, study it, pray about it, and then live it. It is the only true path to true freedom.
Last week, we ran an episode on theology of the body. This is a very important teaching from Pope John Paul II, concerning how we relate to each other, within marriage as well as outside of marriage. How do you view your body? And how you view your own body will in many cases determine how you view the body of members of the opposite sex, especially your spouse's.
We will never change the culture of death until we begin to change ourselves and transform our own marriages into a culture of life. Culture has taken away from you your self-worth because culture has decided that it knows the difference between good and evil, and it is opposite what our Catholic Church teaches. Know what our faith teaches, study it, pray about it, and then live it. It is the only true path to true freedom.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Labels
We have a tendency to hide behind labels. It is a normal security measure, for if you are able to label someone, you don't have to worry about meeting them where they are. You can be secure in feeling superior because you think differently than they do.
The use of labels will also affect our friendships as well. But, the highest form of friendship, that between a husband and a wife, will be affected by labels and by a difference in opinion in how to raise children. It could be something as simple as the kind of music and movies you allow your children to listen to and watch, or it can get more difficult in regards to books, especially books like Harry Potter. If you and your spouse are not on the same page, your children will sense it. How many times does a child play one parent off of another, without their even knowing it?
But it is a result of the lack of communication between a husband and a wife. It's not a critique or a condemnation. It's just an observation that is played out in many instances and is easily witnessed.
Love one another as I have loved you, says our Lord Jesus Christ.
The use of labels will also affect our friendships as well. But, the highest form of friendship, that between a husband and a wife, will be affected by labels and by a difference in opinion in how to raise children. It could be something as simple as the kind of music and movies you allow your children to listen to and watch, or it can get more difficult in regards to books, especially books like Harry Potter. If you and your spouse are not on the same page, your children will sense it. How many times does a child play one parent off of another, without their even knowing it?
But it is a result of the lack of communication between a husband and a wife. It's not a critique or a condemnation. It's just an observation that is played out in many instances and is easily witnessed.
Love one another as I have loved you, says our Lord Jesus Christ.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
The Occult
We are in the midst of a very dangerous world, with an ever increasing population that is seeking out the occult and witchcraft in large numbers. This has been an effect of the Harry Potter phenomenon, as well as other movies, television shows and books that have really jazzed up this movement to be something good. What it has done, in all actuality, is bring our young people into the realm of the devil, without their or their parents even knowing it. If you heard the show on the occult, you would have learned that people like Steve Wood and others have been involved in the occult or have ministered to those stuck in the occult, and they have seen the dangers of the movement for the well being of the young people, many of whom become depressed, angry and suicidal.
Reading books like Harry Potter is not harmless. Some people may be able to read these books and not be affected, but the majority of young people are impressionable and will seek out more information concerning witchcraft and spells. If you know anyone involved in the occult, pray some deliverance prayers for their release from the devil's grasp.
Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life. What the people who seek out the occult are looking for, they will find in Jesus Christ. Sadly, many people seek out the occult to destroy Christianity, and you will find this even in our own Catholic Church, Catholic schools, and some orders of nuns. Extreme feminism has joined hand in hand with the occult and New Age movements. Our young people are being exposed to the occult in the classrooms, by people who claim to be Catholic. As a parent, it is your obligation to find out the teachers your child has and to make sure that they are not teaching your child anything contrary to the faith. And pray, pray and pray. Ask for the protection of St Michael, the Archangel and of our Blessed Mother so that the souls of your children will be protected from the evil influences that surround them. And probably most important, expose your children to good novels and books, like Tolkein's Lord of the Rings, or C. S Lewis' Narnia books. Michael O'Brien has written a very helpful book as well, called A landscape of Dragons: The Battle for your Child's Mind.
Reading books like Harry Potter is not harmless. Some people may be able to read these books and not be affected, but the majority of young people are impressionable and will seek out more information concerning witchcraft and spells. If you know anyone involved in the occult, pray some deliverance prayers for their release from the devil's grasp.
Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life. What the people who seek out the occult are looking for, they will find in Jesus Christ. Sadly, many people seek out the occult to destroy Christianity, and you will find this even in our own Catholic Church, Catholic schools, and some orders of nuns. Extreme feminism has joined hand in hand with the occult and New Age movements. Our young people are being exposed to the occult in the classrooms, by people who claim to be Catholic. As a parent, it is your obligation to find out the teachers your child has and to make sure that they are not teaching your child anything contrary to the faith. And pray, pray and pray. Ask for the protection of St Michael, the Archangel and of our Blessed Mother so that the souls of your children will be protected from the evil influences that surround them. And probably most important, expose your children to good novels and books, like Tolkein's Lord of the Rings, or C. S Lewis' Narnia books. Michael O'Brien has written a very helpful book as well, called A landscape of Dragons: The Battle for your Child's Mind.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
We have We Gone Wrong?
It seems that our young children, especially our teenagers, are falling into peer pressure and making bad choices because of a feeling that they are not loved or respected by their parents. It can be difficult, because I know that every parent believes that he or she truly loves their children. And I am also fully aware that as a parent, you are called to enforce the rules and hand out discipline whenever your children are not behaving. You are called to discipline and Scripture even says, "Spare the rod, and spoil the child." But this rod of discipline is not about punishing your children with physical punishment. The rod was a stick used by the shepherds to gently lead their sheep in the direction they wanted. When the sheep strayed off course, the shepherd would let them know that they needed to come back on the right path. You are the shepherd of your children, and you are called to the authority of leading your children down the right path, using your rod to prod them back.
Once again, it is all about communication. When you build a relationship of trust with your children and have open and honest communication starting when they are very young, they will also return that trust and share with you some of the pressures that they are experiencing. Yes, they will at times fall into this peer pressure, and they will seek to be more independent, but they will also seek your love and security to help them when they make mistakes.
Drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and promiscuity are only three of the dangers that your teenager is exposed to. Another danger, and one that is growing at an alarming rate, is the occult. We will talk about this danger in an upcoming show.
Once again, it is all about communication. When you build a relationship of trust with your children and have open and honest communication starting when they are very young, they will also return that trust and share with you some of the pressures that they are experiencing. Yes, they will at times fall into this peer pressure, and they will seek to be more independent, but they will also seek your love and security to help them when they make mistakes.
Drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and promiscuity are only three of the dangers that your teenager is exposed to. Another danger, and one that is growing at an alarming rate, is the occult. We will talk about this danger in an upcoming show.
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