St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Youth

And With Your Spirit

2012-01-27T11:18:00.000-08:00

Adoration & Bible Study Tonight

2012-01-26T13:02:00.000-08:00

The Lord Be With You!

This Sunday will be the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time and here are the readings:

READING 1: Deuteronomy 18:15-20
Moses spoke to all the people, saying: "A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you
from among your own kin; to him you shall listen. This is exactly what you requested of the LORD, your God, at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, 'Let us not again hear the voice of the LORD, our God, nor see this great fire any more, lest we die.' And the LORD said to me, 'This was well said. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kin, and will put my words into his mouth; he shall tell them all that I command him. Whoever will not listen to my words which he speaks in my name, I myself will make him answer for it. But if a prophet presumes to speak in my name an oracle that I have not commanded him to speak, or speaks in the name of other gods, he shall die.'"

READING 2: 1 Corinthians 7:32-35
Brothers and sisters: I should like you to be free of anxieties. An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. But a married man is anxious about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and he is divided. An unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy in both body and spirit. A married woman, on the other hand, is anxious about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. I am telling you this for your own benefit, not to impose a restraint upon you, but for the sake of propriety and adherence to the Lord without distraction.

GOSPEL: Mark 1:21-28
Then they came to Capernaum, and on the Sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are? the Holy One of God!"
Jesus rebuked him and said, "Quiet! Come out of him!" The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him. All were amazed and asked one another, "What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him." His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.

Fighting evil Christ's way
"Brothers and sisters: I should like you to be free of anxieties." 1 Corinthians 7:32

When asked, "What was Jesus' first miracle?" most of us respond, "Changing water into wine at Cana in Galilee." That's correct if we're dealing with John's Gospel; but wrong if we're talking about the other three.

Since those who originally read the Gospels already believed in Jesus' divinity, evangelists employ miracles not to prove Jesus is God, but to show what kind of God he is. The first miracle sets the theme for the rest of the Gospel.

Just as it's significant for John's Jesus to replace the water of Judaism with the wine of Christianity, so it's significant for Mark's Jesus to begin his ministry by curing a demoniac (Mark 1:21-28).

During Jesus' earthly ministry, demons were thought of as agents of evil. But unlike our day and age, demons reached far beyond just perpetrating moral evil. When something bad or painful happened, demons were behind it. Two thousand years ago, evil and demons were synonymous.

Confronting Evil
That's why it's essential to Mark's theology that Jesus' first miracle is an exorcism. If we're to be like Jesus, then we are to eradicate evil wherever we find it. When today's Capernaum demon asks, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?" the Christian response is an emphatic, "Yes!"

If we accept the call to imitate Jesus, then there should be less evil in the world when we go to bed at night than there was when woke up that morning.

No doubt this passion to eradicate evil is also behind Paul's suggestion to the unmarried in Corinth to remain unmarried (the only passage in the Christian Scriptures which addresses celibacy).

The Apostle begins this section of his letter (I Corinthians 7:32-35) by stating, "I have no commandment from the Lord," on this issue. Everything he writes on the topic is "my opinion."

His instruction is based on two premises. First, as we heard last week, "time is running out." Jesus' Parousia is just around the corner and may disrupt marriage plans. Second, unmarried people are better able to carry out Jesus' plan to destroy evil than those who are committed to a spouse.

Marriage Okay
Since we're hearing Paul's words 2,000 years after they were first written, it's clear he was wrong about his first premise. He probably never would have encouraged anyone to live an entire natural life unmarried.

Regarding Paul's second premise, if you've seen the movie Amazing Grace you remember how William Wilberforce's wife Barbara was the major force and support behind his struggle against slavery in the British Empire during the early l9th century. He would never have succeeded in eradicating that horrific evil had he remained single.

But no matter what we think about marriage or celibacy, we must never forget Paul's disclaimer: "I tell you this for your own benefit, not to impose a restraint upon you . . ."

Our Deuteronomy author hits the evil-eradicating nail on the head (Deut. 18:15-20) when he reminds his people that Yahweh will always supply us with prophets: people who cut through culture, security and even organized religion, to point out what evils should be on our eradication list.

Those who refuse to recognize or try to silence the prophets among us usually believe our culture and religion have disposed of all the evil God wants eradicated. Without prophets we have no list.

Join us Thursday @ 7:00PM in Adoration of our risen Lord, then Bible Study following!

THE DUDE ABIDES Jn 15:4
For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not want to understand, no explanation is possible.

Jim Krieger
Lay Mystic

Reminder for Moms and Dads

2012-01-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

If you are a parent reading this blog or a teen looking for something to show your parents, here are a couple videos that remind us to teach our young people the important lessons of life. Thanks for being fathers and mothers of faith and love. Your work often goes unheralded, but it is not unappreciated.

99 Balloons

2012-01-23T14:26:00.000-08:00

This is the third time I've posted this video, but it's reminds me still of God's providence in everything we do. During a pro-life month in January, new beginnings surround us. Our world needs healing. Stories like this offer hope for how that can take place.

Happy Birthday, Susie!

2012-01-22T10:49:00.000-08:00

Our own Mama Susie turned 50 years young yesterday. Doesn't look or act it, does she? We love you, Susie. Happy birthday!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

It is Jesus that you seek

2012-01-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

“It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness; he is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; he is the beauty to which you are so attracted; it is he who provokes you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise; it is he who urges you to shed the masks of a false life; it is he who reads in your hearts your most genuine choices, the choices that others try to stifle. It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be grounded down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal.”

~Blessed John Paul II, World Youth Day, Rome 2000

A Social Network Christmas

2012-01-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

Being that it feels like a White Christmas, here's a fun, modern take on the birth of Jesus.

Why I Love Religion, And Love Jesus

2012-01-19T17:06:00.001-08:00

My favorite response so far to "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus." Anyone else get chills?

The Resume of Jesus

2012-01-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

J E S U S C H R I S T

Address: Ephesians 1:20

Phone: Romans 10:13

OBJECTIVE
My name is Jesus -The Christ. Many call me Lord! I've sent you my resume because I'm seeking the top management position in your heart. Please consider my accomplishments as set forth in my resume.

QUALIFICATIONS
I founded the earth and established the heavens, (See Proverbs 3:19)
I formed man from the dust of the ground, (See Genesis 2:7)
I breathed into man the breath of life, (See Genesis 2:7)
I redeemed man from the curse of the law, (See Galatians 3:13)
The blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant comes upon your life through me, (See Galatians 3:14)

OCCUPATIONAL BACKGROUND
I've only had one employer, (See Luke 2:49 ).
I've never been tardy, absent, disobedient, slothful or disrespectful.
My employer has nothing but rave reviews for me, (See Matthew 3:15 -17)

SKILLS & WORK EXPERIENCE
Some of my skills and work experiences include: empowering the poor to be poor no more, healing the brokenhearted, setting the captives free, healing the sick, restoring sight to the blind and setting at liberty them that are bruised, (See Luke 4:18).
I am a Wonderful Counselor, (See Isaiah 9:6). People who listen to me shall dwell safely and shall not fear evil, (See Proverbs 1:33 ).
Most importantly, I have the authority, ability and power to cleanse you of your sins, (See I John 1:7-9)

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
I encompass the entire breadth and length of knowledge, wisdom and understanding, (See Proverbs 2:6).
In me are hid all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, (See Colossians 2:3).
My Word is so powerful; it has been described as being a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path, (See Psalms 119:105).
I can even tell you all of the secrets of your heart, (See Psalms 44:21).

MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
I was an active participant in the greatest Summit Meeting of all times, (See Genesis 1:26 ).
I laid down my life so that you may live, (See II Corinthians 5:15 ).
I defeated the arch enemy of God and mankind and made a show of them openly, (See Colossians 2:15 ).
I've miraculously fed the poor, healed the sick and raised the dead!
There are many more major accomplishments, too many to mention here.
You can read them on my website, which is located at: www dot - the BIBLE. You don't need an Internet connection or computer to access my website.

REFERENCES
Believers and followers worldwide will testify to my divine healing, salvation, deliverance, miracles, restoration and supernatural guidance.

IN SUMMATION

Now that you've read my resume, I'm confident that I'm the only candidate uniquely qualified to fill this vital position in your heart. In summation, I will properly direct your paths, (See Proverbs 3:5-6), and lead you into everlasting life, (See John 6:47 ). When can I start? Time is of the essence, (See Hebrews 3:15 ).

Be Yourself

2012-01-18T14:10:00.000-08:00

"God calls each of us to live an authentic life. He has designed this life to perfectly integrate our legitimate needs, our deepest desires, and our unique talents. The more intimately and harmoniously these three are related, the more you become truly yourself. God doesn't call you to live an authentic life in order to stifle or control you. He invites you to live an authentic life so that, from an infinite number of possibilities, you can become the best-version-of-yourself. In a very beautiful way God wants you to be yourself. But not the self your ego wants you to be, and not the self the world wants you to be. Rather, the self God had in mind when he created you. By calling you to live an authentic life, God is saying, 'Be all I create you to be.'" ~Matthew Kelly, Rediscover Catholicism

He Knows, He Understands

2012-01-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

Jesus has been there. He experienced "all the pain, all the testing." Jesus was angry enough to purge the temple, hungry enough to eat raw grain, distraught enough to weep in public, fun loving enough to be called a drunkard, winsome enough to attract kids, weary enough to sleep in a storm-bounced boat, poor enough to sleep on dirt and borrow a coin for a sermon illustration, radical enough to get kicked out of town, responsible enough to care for his mother, tempted enough to know the smell of Satan, and fearful enough to sweat blood.

But why? Why would heaven's finest Son endure earth's toughest pain? So you would know that "he is able...to run to the cry of...those who are being tempted and tested and tried."

Whatever you are facing, he knows how you feel.

-Max Lucado, Next Door Savior

In Response to "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus"

2012-01-16T16:48:00.000-08:00

With twelve-and-a-half-million hits since Jan. 10, we can safely say the YouTube video below has gone "viral." A Seattle-Tacoma area man made "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus" in a captivating, spoken-word style. His intentions were good. He loves Jesus. That's a great a foundation. But I would argue that a relationship without religion misses some vital elements of what Jesus taught.
Let's start by watching the video below. I may not fully agree, but I would say it's poetic and very well done. No wonder so many people have watched it. Just promise me that you’ll keep reading if you watch it…

What he says may seem to make sense. Religion has, after all, been invoked in many wars and painful experiences for individuals and even entire countries. There are humongous, expensive cathedrals for worshiping God, yet the hungry, sick, poor, and naked still ache in all places. Jesus criticized the hypocritical religious leaders of His day, so isn’t religion guilty by association?

These thoughts are leading, meaning you are guided to a conclusion just by listening. They make false assumptions and pit two things (for instance, church buildings versus charity) in competition when they aren’t opposed. Although I don’t want to get into a line-by-line breakdown of the video, some points should be expressed.

Wars are started for political or individual gain, not religious motivation. Typically people cite the Crusades as an exception, but the Church initiated the Crusades because Christians and Jews were oppressed in the Holy Land.
The Catholic Church is the largest charitable organization in the world (by far!), feeding, clothing, housing, and caring for more people every day than any other organization could dream of doing. And its beautiful church doors are open to all.
Jesus did criticize hypocritical leaders of his day, but he also established the Church, gave the keys to Simon Peter (Matthew 16), and continued to build it in the Acts of the Apostles.
Plus, when we say “religion,” that’s an impossibly undefined and broad grouping. Generalizing and demonizing “religion,” the “religious,” and anything associated seems uncharitable and irresponsible. It’s like saying we shouldn’t listen to music because it hurts our long-term hearing.

When I get to thinking, I wonder why the author chose to make this video. Was it to teach? To critique other denominations? To be countercultural? To show why he doesn’t like large church organizations? What is his motivation?

The conclusion I reach is that the downfall doesn’t have to do with intention. The author wants to be close to Jesus and sees a man in his savior who broke societal norms and religious conventions. This is true.

Life Teen’s Bible Geek Mark Hart helped me realize the video fails in its execution. It’s shortsighted, dismissing the many, many millions of people who have been trying to get this religion thing right ever since Jesus died. Isn’t there value in the institution that compiled the Bible, taught it to the people, established the school and health care systems, and brought Jesus to the people in bread and wine, among other things? All this is forgotten in the video.

Certainly the Catholic Church has flaws. Popes aren’t perfect. Priests aren’t incorruptible. The people in the pews may not live as vibrantly as we should. That doesn’t negate the value of the Church, and like Mark Hart says, “Religion is the lived expression of the Church’s beliefs.”

Christ worked to fulfill the Old Covenant and make it into the New. It wasn’t just that he died. “If all that is necessary for our redemption was for Christ to die, He could have been slaughtered for our sins in Bethlehem as a child,” Hart says. Further, he says, why have a three-year public mission? Why give the keys to the Kingdom to Peter (Matthew 16, Isaiah 22)? Why train, bestow the ability to forgive sins (John 20:21-23), and commission the Apostles? Why send the Holy Spirit to be with the people in the Acts of the Apostles?

The Catholic Church came about from the life and teachings of Jesus. The Church has taught and safeguarded the Truth for 2,000 years. The Church continues to be the house where God comes to meet us in the Eucharist and Sacraments. The Bible comes from the Church, not churches from the Bible. The roots of every Christian denomination come from the Church. Our faith and everything we share comes from the Church. When lived fully, the religion our Church teaches teaches us how to be more like Christ. That’s why I need religion with my Jesus.

I don’t love religion; I love the Lord, and the Lord directs me to the religion taught by the Catholic Church, which was founded by Jesus and is preserved by the Holy Spirit, and which I need to guide me.

What do you think? This video ignited conversation. Good. Now where do we go? What do we learn? As well-made and searchingly thoughtful as some viral videos can be, there is a difference between a person’s opinion and time-tested, Holy-Spirit-inspired Truth. I hope we can continue that Truth with the help of religion. Ad majorem Dei gloriam.

Here are couple more responses to read and ponder:

http://catholicyouthministry.com/watching-youtube-religiously/

http://jimmyakin.com/2012/01/why-i-hate-people-hating-on-religion.html

Tim Tebow Motivates, Challenges Catholics

2012-01-10T15:17:00.000-08:00

'Polarizing' quarterback has no qualms about expressing himself prayerfully on or off the field.

This article is by Justin Bell of the National Catholic Register. Read it in its original form here.

The Denver Broncos trailed the Chicago Bears 10-0 deep into the fourth quarter in their Dec. 11 home game. Not surprisingly, Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow said a prayer on the sideline.
But this time, a microphone picked up his petition.

“Dear Jesus, I need you. Please come through for me. No matter what, win or lose, Lord, give me the strength to honor you,” said Tebow in a 10-minute feature from NFL Films that gave an up-close look of the quarterback that game day.

The successful football trail of Tebow, 24, twinned with his outspoken Christian witness, has captured the attention of the nation this fall, also making an impact with Catholics in a range of areas.

The themes of his sideline prayer were met: a dramatic overtime victory against the Bears (13-10), followed by two losses. Now, to make the playoffs, the Broncos must win on Sunday against Kansas City or hope for an Oakland loss.

Broncos fans and Tebow observers nationwide will be looking to see how he handles the biggest game of his professional career.

“With Tebow, you just feel like every play he’s going to do whatever he can possibly do to try to make it happen,” said Kate Faughnan, a married mother of three in Colorado Springs, Colo.

“It just makes for a very unpredictable and exciting game every time.”

The catchword for Tebow news stories this fall is “polarizing,” as he is frequently described as the most polarizing player in the NFL or in sports.

Tebow generates excitement for his running, physical style of quarterbacking and admiration for his Christian witness. His critics take issue with both areas: questioning whether he should be a quarterback at all and if the football sphere is an appropriate place for religious witness.

However, the proportion of fans to critics and the degree of their opinions is unknown.

“To say he’s the most polarizing influence or individual in the NFL, I think is overstating it by a long shot,” said Curtis Martin, the president and founder of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (Focus).

But Martin, a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization, called attention to other NFL players’ past brushes with the law and other questionable behavior and suggested such actions were “quite a bit more polarizing than a guy who is standing up for his Christian faith.”

Continue reading...

Happiness

2012-01-09T17:54:00.000-08:00

"I believe God wants us to be happy. I believe God gave us this yearning for happiness that constantly preoccupies our hearts. It seems he has placed this yearning within each human heart as a spiritual navigational instrument designed to lead us to our destiny. God himself is the author of our desire for happiness. The philosophy of Christ is the ultimate philosophy of human happiness. It isn't just a way of life; it is the way of life. At the same time, the philosophy of Christ is one of self-donation. This is the great paradox of God's teaching. In our midguided adventures, we may catch glimpses of happiness as we live outside of the philosophy of Christ. You may even taste happiness for a moment living a life contrary to the philosophy of Christ, but these are stolen moments. They may seem real, but they are just shadows of something infinitely greater." -Matthew Kelly, Rediscover Catholicism

Opening Prayer for Epiphany of the Lord

2012-01-08T11:20:00.000-08:00

Pay particular attention to the opening prayer in today's liturgy celebrating the Epiphany of the Lord. It's of striking beauty and depth.

"Father of Light, unchanging God, today you reveal to all peoples the resplendent fact of the Word Made Flesh. Your light is strong. Your love is near. Draw us beyond the limits this world imposes to the life where your Spirit makes all life complete."

Adoration & Bible Study Tonight

2012-01-05T14:25:00.000-08:00

The Lord Be With You!

This Sunday we celebrate The Epiphany (the revealing of Jesus as the Christ to the Gentiles) of the Lord. Our readings are:

Isaiah 60:1-6
Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6
Matthew 2:1-12

I love this time of year, you know why? It’s not because of the holidays – too stressful. It’s not because my birthday is coming up – hint, hint.

Give up?

FOOTBALL.

35 collage Bowl games ending with the national championship. NFL postseason ending with the Super Bowl.

You're probably saying to yourself, great, but what does football have to do with my Catholic faith?

EVERYTHING.

Let me ask you this: Do you know of any other sport that has a play called, HAIL MARY? I have never met a priest that wasn’t familiar with Notre Dame, especially the Irish. There are so many similarities and references to our Catholic faith its overwhelming.

The reason I bring it up is because I was watching the Orange Bowl last night -- West Virginia (70) verses Clemson (30). 70-30???

That’s a basketball score, not a football game score. It was 49-20 at the HALF! Could you imagine what it what like in the locker room at halftime?

Well if your Clemson you know what it’s like to be a Jew in our first reading today. Isaiah is the coach and he is trying to encourage and give his people hope. They were doing the same thing then that the players last night were doing, navel-gazing, beating themselves up, being nostalgic and wanting to back in time. The football field was their barren wasteland and they just wanted to go home and hide under the covers.

Just like the coach, Isaiah and Paul tries to explain to their people that we need to do something different, maybe something unorthodox? Maybe just like the game, we need to look at this relationship with God through a new set of glasses and change our “game plan”.

Paul’s approach reminds me of the Sacrament of Confirmation. Where we were not made known, but now through the revealing of the Holy Spirit have been made known.

Once the Holy Spirit has revealed to us that Jesus is the Christ for everybody, we are able to understand why the Magi were “overjoyed at seeing the star and entering the house”.

This calls us to be evangelic not nostalgic. Be evangelic with us tonight!

Join us Thursday @ 7:00PM in Adoration of our risen Lord, then Bible Study following!

THE DUDE ABIDES Jn 15:4
For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not want to understand, no explanation is possible.

Jim Krieger
Lay Mystic

Busted Halo: Not My Will But Thine…But I Do Have This One Request

2012-01-05T10:54:00.000-08:00

Another day, another blog from Busted Halo. This one by Anne Lindley speaks to the purpose of prayer. Read on.

When we speak to God are we affecting His plans? Are we influencing the future? And if not, why do we persist in asking God to listen to our wishes? The most thoughtful people I know can’t help wondering.

Jesus taught his disciples to ask in prayer for specific blessings: for our daily bread; to forgive our transgressions; to help us in some way against temptation; and to deliver us from evil. But it feels less appropriate to turn our prayers into a wish list of our own desires, or a memo to God on improving his management style. Asking God to bring about something specific for me — a new job, acceptance to a school, approval for a mortgage – seems downright cheesy.

Even asking for good things to happen for other people still has that faint whiff of greed, as if we’re treating God as a cosmic dispenser of goodies and if we deposit enough pennies of prayer eventually we’ll get the toy ring along with our gum ball.

C.S. Lewis’s literary demon Screwtape has something insightful to say, as he often does. He tells his nephew that humans rarely pray for the thing God wants them to pray for: just enough grace to see them through this moment, through this time of trouble.

Instead, we conjure up a vision of the future we want and appeal for that outcome. We persist in wrapping our anxious hands around life’s steering wheel as if it’s going to work this time if only we clutch it more tightly. The most difficult prayer for us to voice is, “Not my will, but Thine, be done.”

Continue reading...

Busted Halo: Seeing Christ in bin Laden

2012-01-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite Catholic websites, BustedHalo.com, made a list of the best blog posts and stories from 2011. The one below is a reflection by Helen Lee about the death of Osama bin Laden. Check out more of their articles about Lady Gaga, Thomas Merton, and others here.

When I learned of Osama bin Laden’s death, my immediate reaction was indifference. I didn’t share the jubilant response that seemed to be sweeping the nation, and I didn’t feel much of a sense of relief, either. Then, for a very superficial reason, I realized I was called to more than indifference: I looked at a picture of bin Laden and for a split second I thought, “Jesus Christ probably looked a little bit like that.” It doesn’t seem very spiritually meaningful, but this moment made me think about what it truly means to see Christ in everyone.

Jesus Christ suffered and died for everyone. He freely offers salvation for all who accept it. He shares in our joys and sufferings, and provides a channel for us to participate with God. Most relevantly, since Jesus’ purpose is to reconcile God and man, His sacrifice is made most profound by the presence of those most separated from God. Literally seeing the face of Christ in the face of Osama bin Laden forced me to accept that he too is entitled to the promise of reconciliation with God. Regardless of what bin Laden chose to do with what was given to him, I’m called to see Christ in him, and even working through him.

Continue reading...

Must-read for Musicians

2012-01-03T14:56:00.000-08:00

If you are a musician, read this. It's a keynote from the Life Teen Training Convention by Fr. Robert Schreiner on the role of music in the liturgy. Particularly with the evolving nature of music in the Mass, his insights primarily point us back to the simple truth that music should direct us to worship. It's not a short read, but it's a worthy one.

Prayer for After Communion by St. Padre Pio

2012-01-03T11:40:00.000-08:00

Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so that I do not forget You. You know how easily I abandon You.

Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak and I need Your strength, that I may not fall so often.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life, and without You, I am without fervor.

Stay with me, Lord, for you are my light, and without You, I am in darkness.

Stay with me, Lord, to show me Your will.

Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear Your voice and follow You.

Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love You very much, and always be in Your company.

Stay with me, Lord, if You wish me to be faithful to You.

Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is, I wish it to be a place of consolation for You, a nest of love.

Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late and the day is coming to a close, and life passes, death, judgement, eternity approaches.

It is necessary to renew my strength, so that I will not stop along the way and for that, I need you. It is getting late and death approaches. I fear the darkness, the temptations, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows. O how I need You, my Jesus, in this night of exile!

Stay with me tonight, Jesus, in life with all its dangers, I need You.

Let me recognize You as Your disciples did at the breaking of the bread, so that the Eucharistic Communion be the light which disperses the darkness, the force which sustains me, the unique joy of my heart.

Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death, I want to remain united to You, if not by Communion, at least by grace and love.

Stay with me, Jesus, I do not ask for divine consolation, because I do not merit it, but, the gift of Your Presence, oh yes, I ask this of You!

Stay with me, Lord, for it is You alone I look for. Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will, Your Heart, Your Spirit, because I love You and ask no other reward but to love You more and more.

With a firm love, I will love You with all my heart while on earth and continue to love You perfectly during all eternity.

Amen.

The Christmas Story

2011-12-25T08:00:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas! The Lord Jesus has come to be with us. He loves you so much.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from your EAS Youth Ministers. The Lord is with you!

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/GJ9P0BSv1To7Uubf?cmpid=jj_url

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Scripture Reflection for Christmas Sunday

2011-12-24T08:00:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas and The Lord Be With You!

Christmas Day readings are:

Isaiah 52:7-10
Hebrews 1:1-6
JOHN 1:1-18

Since today’s gospel is pure poetry, take a few minutes to meditate on it. Read it through for a second time, slowly. Circle any words that stand out, then focus on how your heart feels as you think about each word.
John teaches that Jesus pre-existed as God long before He existed as a human being. Semites believe our words reveal who we are. So when John refers to Jesus being God’s word from “the beginning,” he’s assuring us that no one can, or has revealed God’s personality better than Jesus.

This means real Christians never begin their understanding of God with a dictionary or catechism definition. We begin and end our quest with an experience of the risen Jesus among us. To experience Jesus is to experience God.

Not only did we old-timers stand reverently and listen (in Latin) to this last Gospel, we were expected to genuflect along with the priest when he proclaimed the verse, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (Some scholars translate the last phrase, “He pitched his tent among us.”) God’s word completely became one with us.

Along with zeroing in on the terrific things John says about Jesus, we must also hear the terrific things he says about us who follow Jesus. “Any who did accept him he empowered to become children of God....Of His fullness we have all had a share — love following upon love.” All who imitate Jesus become one with Jesus. We now relate to His Father as He does, and we share in the same love He came to share with others.

Centerpiece

The author of Hebrews couldn’t agree more (Hebrews 1:1-6). He refers to Jesus as “the reflection of the Father’s glory, the exact representation of the Father’s being....” But he also makes Jesus’ arrival the centerpiece of salvation history.

“In times past, God spoke in fragmentary and varied ways to our ancestors through the prophets; in this, the final age, he has spoken to us through his Son, whom he has made heir of all things and through whom he first created the universe.”

Though Isaiah is thinking about the Israelites’ return from exile when he proclaims the words of today’s first reading (Isaiah 52:7-10), all people of faith, at any point in salvation history, can identify with his sentiments. “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the one who brings glad tidings, announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation....”

Perhaps we can best get into the spirit of our three readings by thanking God for the good news being proclaimed in our midst — not just the good news of Jesus’ birth, but also the good news of the risen Jesus continuing to reveal God’s self.

Since Jesus makes us God’s children, can we presume God’s also revealing God’s self through us? If that’s true, we have a responsibility as children to listen to that revelation.

THE DUDE ABIDES Jn 15:4
For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not want to understand, no explanation is possible.

Jim Krieger
Lay Mystic

As You Wish

2011-12-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

My youth minister told me recently about a priest in Minnesota who gave incredible homilies and posted them online. It took me a few weeks to buy in, but I'm grateful I did. One homily in particular spoke to me -- and to my friends -- about the need for obedience. Obedience is a forgotten attribute. Today, who do you know that talks about being obedient? It's a lost art. Fr. Mike Schmitz helped me rediscover the need for obedience in the Catholic lifestyle. Not my will, but God's will. Like Westley in The Princess Bride, I am learning to say, "As you wish." Give it a listen.

All of Fr. Mike Schmitz's homilies are available online here. He works at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Fr. Mike, if you ever read this, thank you for your witness to God's love. It's making a difference.

The Single Life

2011-12-23T15:20:00.000-08:00

Have you ever thought of single life as a vocation? The same way Holy Orders and Marriage are callings, the single life can allow individuals to do things and commit to God in ways other paths cannot. Recently, I posted an article from a faithful Catholic young man who also happens to have same-sex attraction. His writings have found their way around the Catholic blogosphere, and I saw this one on a Newman Center website while searching for something else. The single life -- give it some thought. Read it in its original form here.

After the desert: A faithful Catholic's reflection on same-sex attraction

By Steve Gershom

What would I know about vocation? I'm 28, a faithful Catholic and gay.

A little explanation of that last part: It would be more accurate to say that I have same-sex attraction than that I'm gay. My attraction to men is deep and, as far as I can tell, permanent, but I'm celibate. I sometimes use the word "gay" as a convenient shorthand, but it carries a lot of political and even theological baggage, and doesn't really apply to me, because of my celibacy and for other reasons that I'll try to make clear below.

The upshot is that I'm unmarried and likely to remain that way. I'm not discerning a vocation to the priesthood or the religious life, either. I've been there, done that, and I've let the Lord know he can do whatever he wants with me – up to and including sending me to Calcutta or the Bronx – but that if he wants me to be a priest or a monk, he'll have to do something drastic. I've spent a long time checking my internal compasses, and none of them point in that direction.

So what then? I know what not to do: Don't believe the gay activists, don't water down the faith, don't pretend homosexual actions aren't sinful. Don't have a boyfriend; don't get married. Don't, don't, don't. But nobody ever had a vocation that consisted in not doing something. Marriage, the priesthood, the religious life – these involve definite actions, definite commitments.

Parched, Despondent

I'd like to give a road map to people like me – I mean not only other men and women with SSA, but everyone called to the single life – but it's difficult to make a map when you're still on the ground. At least I'm not lost in the desert any more, parched and exhausted like I was through my teens and early 20s. I'm heading toward civilization now, or better yet toward Zion, but there's a lot of rugged landscape between here and there. The best I can do is to tell you where I've been and what I've learned.

It's good to start on the edge of the desert. I'll pick age 14, because that's when I first started thinking of myself as gay. At the time, I understood exactly two things by the word. The first was that I was totally, irrevocably different from other boys. The second was that being gay and Catholic meant a long, dreary life of self-repression. So I believed at the time.

That was the beginning of my vocation as a professional sufferer, a position I held until somewhere in my early 20s. The darkness gathered around me, and I let it in, and was even proud of it. My suffering meant I was deep, sensitive and tragic. I don't mean to downplay the experience; when I call it a desert, I'm being poetic but I'm not exaggerating. This was Death Valley in July, except when it was Antarctica. But in more literal terms, the darkness consisted of these things: intense self-consciousness; near-constant feelings of isolation; pervasive regret at what I considered a wasted past; an absolute inability to live in the present; and terror at the prospect of the long, lonely future.

The technical name for the condition is despondency. I call it despondency, rather than depression, because depression is a state of the mind, the emotions, and even the body; whereas despondency is a state of the will. It comprises a particular response to depression. Depression doesn't necessarily constitute a roadblock to one's vocation. Despondency does, because we are judged on the basis of what we do rather than what we feel.

What I was doing was precisely nothing, because that was all I believed I could do. That's what despondency is. I thought I was doing something, namely living through the suffering that I believed was my vocation, that I even believed God wanted for me. And maybe I was justified in believing these things, given the premises I had accepted. It's just that my premises were very, very wrong.

Continue reading...

Local miracle could mean Kateri Tekakwitha headed for canonization

2011-12-21T08:25:00.000-08:00

This article comes from NPR. Read it in its original form here. What makes it an especially cool story is that it's local, right here in Seattle. I even know Fr. Paul Pluth pretty well from our time at St. Anne Church in Seattle. Read on.

In February 2006, 5-year-old Jake Finkbonner fell and hit his head while playing basketball at his school in Ferndale, Wash. Soon, he developed a fever and his head swelled. His mother, Elsa, rushed him to Seattle Children's Hospital, where the doctors realized Jake was battling a flesh-eating bacterium called Strep A.

"It traveled all around his face, his scalp, his neck, his chest," she recalls, "and why it didn't travel to his brain or his eyeballs or his heart? He was protected."

Jake was protected, she says, by Kateri Tekakwitha, a Mohawk Indian who lived 350 years ago. She had converted to Catholicism and was considered holy enough by the Vatican to be elevated to "blessed" — one step before sainthood — in 1980. The Finkbonners are Lummi Indian, and their family and friends prayed that Kateri would intercede with God for Jake.

But the doctors' efforts to get ahead of the infection were unsuccessful, and Jake was given his last rites. Then, suddenly, the infection stopped, stunning the doctors. The Rev. Paul Pluth, of the Archdiocese of Seattle, says that was the day an acquaintance placed a "relic" of Kateri — in this case, a small pendant — on Jake's pillow. Pluth believes the timing was not coincidental.

Continue reading...

Adoration & Bible Study Tonight

2011-12-15T15:25:00.000-08:00

The Lord IS With You!

This Sunday is the 4th Sunday of Advent and our readings are:

2 SM 7:1-5, 8B-12, 14A, 16
ROM 16:25-27
LK 1:26-38

God asks David "Should you be the one to build me a house? Come now, boy king. You're too big for your britches. You want to make a house? I will tell you about making a house." God, not David, is in charge.

Saint Paul summarizes and concludes his letter to the Romans. He emphasizes that God's plans were only incompletely revealed until now. Several phrases make this passage right for the climax of Advent. It's not about the birth of the infant Jesus, but about the unveiling of God's plan for human salvation.

Prophets revealed it first, but only to the Jews and only incompletely. Now it is revealed to all the Gentiles as they hear the gospel. For this is God to be glorified. This is joyful, but not sentimental. This is Christocentric, but not "Christmassy."

Saint Luke wrote for an audience quite different from those of Mark and Matthew, different, too, from the Thessalonians and many other recipients of Paul's letters. Luke's readers lived a generation or more later than the apostles, after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 C.E., and outside the Holy Land. They had never been Jews. They were cosmopolitan, middle-class and Gentile, living in a skeptical society, yet attracted to a religion with long historic Jewish roots. But that new religion only came to its fulfillment by reaching out to all humankind. To tell that story, to ground his audience in their adopted religious heritage, and to keep them focused on the religion's mission, Luke needed to tell the story of Jesus anew in this gospel, and needed a second book, the Acts of the Apostles.

I know that doing good things for God is important, but at times it’s just as valid to sit back and reflect on what good things God has done for us, even before we started doing good things for God. Today’s three readings zero in on that theology.

Reflect on these three examples of what God’s work in the life of these ordinary people accomplished! Mary shows us HOW to be believers in God and allow him to work in our lives.

How is the Lord with you this season?
How is the Lord with your family?

Join us Thursday @ 7:00PM in Adoration of our risen Lord, then Bible Study following!

THE DUDE ABIDES Jn 15:4
For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not want to understand, no explanation is possible.

Jim Krieger
Lay Mystic

The Christmas "W"

2011-12-15T15:19:00.000-08:00

Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience.

I had cut back on non-essential obligations - extensive card writing, endless baking, decorating, and even overspending. Yet still, I found myself exhausted, unable to appreciate the precious family moments, and of course, the true meaning of Christmas.

My son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year. It was an exciting season for a six year old. For weeks, he'd been memorizing songs for his school's "Winter Pageant." I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd be working the night of the production. Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his teacher. She assured me there'd be a dress rehearsal the morning of the presentation. All parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to come then. Fortunately, Nicholas seemed happy with the compromise.

So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in ten minutes early, found a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat down. Around the room, I saw several other parents quietly scampering to their seats.

As I waited, the students were led into the room. Each class, accompanied by their teacher, sat cross-legged on the floor. Then, each group, one by one, rose to perform their song. Because the public school system had long stopped referring to the holiday as "Christmas," I didn't expect anything other than fun, commercial entertainment --songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer. So, when my son's class rose to sing, "Christmas Love," I was slightly taken aback by its bold title.

Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens, red sweaters, and bright snowcaps upon their heads. Those in the front row- center stage - held up large letters, one by one, to spell out the title of the song. As the class would sing "C is for Christmas," a child would hold up the letter C. Then, "H is for Happy," and on and on, until each child holding up his portion had presented the complete message, "Christmas Love."

The performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her; a small, quiet, girl in the front row holding the letter "M" upside down - totally unaware her letter "M" appeared as a "W". The audience of first through sixth graders snickered at this little one's mistake. But she had no idea they were laughing at her, so she stood tall, proudly holding her "W".

Although many teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter continued until the last letter was raised, and we all saw it together. A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen. In that instant, we understood the reason we were there, why we celebrated the holiday in the first place, why even in the chaos, there was a purpose for our festivities. For when the last letter was held high, the message read loud and clear:

"C H R I S T W A S L O V E"

The more days the merrier: Celebrating the 12 days of Christmas

2011-12-15T14:36:00.000-08:00

This article is by Nick Wager of UScatholic.org. Read it in its original form here.

This year, hand on heart, I saw Christmas decorations for sale on October 1. When I was little, we didn't even start thinking about Christmas until after Thanksgiving.

My family would spend most of Advent getting ready. We'd shop for a tree, pull decorations down out of the attic, stock up on wrapping paper, and make lists for Santa. Most years the grownups would gather for a Christmas Eve party, and we kids would struggle to stay awake late into the night.

At the end of the evening, we'd bundle up against the cold and drive over to the church for Midnight Mass. Early the next morning my brothers and I would clatter down the stairs to the living room to tear into our presents. And then Christmas was over. For the next week or so, we played with our new toys and waited for school to begin again.

In the church calendar, however, Christmas does not end on Christmas Day. It is only the beginning. In an earlier time Christmas lasted for 12 days-a tradition from which we get the famous Christmas song.

The customs of the larger society have clearly shifted, and there is no way we are ever going to restore the ancient balance of having our Christmas merry-making take place during the 12 days after December 25. Still, there are many ways we can mark the Christmas season (the one that starts with Christmas), and deepen our Catholic identity. Here are 12 suggestions.

1. Wait for it.

In our grandparents' day the Christmas tree wasn't decorated until Christmas Eve. For most of us, it might not be practical to wait until then, no matter what our grandparents might have done. Still there are some things we can do to keep the traditional Christmas cycle.

Go ahead and put up the tree whenever you like, but save placing the star on top until the night of December 24. Plan to leave the tree up until the Christmas season ends on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, usually the second Sunday in January.

Also consider waiting until December 24 to complete the crèche. Many Latino families put the crèche out early in Advent, but they leave the manger empty until after Midnight Mass. Whenever you put the crèche out, place the Magi statues a good distance from the manger. Each day of Christmas, until Epiphany, move the Wise Men a little closer to the crèche.

This might seem like a no-brainer, but I've heard more than a few families say they like going to the Christmas "Eve" 4 p.m. children's liturgy to "get it out of the way" before Christmas.

If you are raising children, keep in mind you are creating lifelong memories for them. I still remember the smell of incense and the sounds of carols at the Midnight Masses I went to as a child. If midnight really is too late for you, at least consider worshiping on Christmas Day itself instead of the afternoon before so the children learn to place Jesus at the center of the season.

2. Pay it forward.

December 26 is the feast of St. Stephen, the church's first martyr. He was also one of the first deacons, whose job it was to care for the poor.

A good way to celebrate St. Stephen's Day is to follow his example. Spend 20 minutes online, either alone or as a household, researching poverty issues in your area. Make a commitment to volunteer or donate more during the coming year to serve the poor as Stephen did. Perhaps spend an hour on this day going through your closets and drawers to find clothing you seldom wear, and donate it to a shelter.

3. Pick a card.

Another great way to keep the Christmas season alive is to gather up all the Christmas cards you've received and choose one at random each evening to read at dinnertime. If you live with family or a roommate, share some memories about the person who sent you the card. If you live alone, recall how you met the person and resolve to send an e-mail or make a phone call to reconnect in the coming week.

4. Make time for family.

The Sunday after Christmas-this year, December 27-is the feast of the Holy Family. Plan to spend the entire day with family-including extended family if possible. If you like to cook, plan for a festive brunch after Mass. Or make reservations and let your favorite restaurant do all the work. During the meal, share stories of your favorite times together.

If you live alone or if you don't live in a traditional household, be creative about gathering today with those who are family to you. Invite some friends for dinner, or phone someone who you haven't talked to in a long time.

Continue reading here.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

2011-12-14T08:23:00.000-08:00

I'm a couple days late posting this, but it's still Our Lady of Guadalupe week, right? Find out more about this miraculous and beautiful mystery of our faith below.

Sin

2011-12-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

A physical reminder of how the whole sin things works.

Emergency Numbers

2011-12-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

Post these in a prominent place for when emergencies arrive:
When in sorrow…..call John 14
When people fail you…..call Psalm 27
If you want to be fruitful…..call John 15
When you have sinned…..call Psalm 51
When you worry…..call Matthew 6:19-34
When you are in danger…..call Psalm 91
When God seems far away…..call Pslam 139
When your faith needs stirring…..call Hebrews 11
When you are lonely and fearful…..call Psalm 23
When you grow bitter and critical…..call I Corinthians 13
For Paul’s secret to happiness…..call Colossians 3:12-17
For understanding of Christianity…..call II Corinthians 5:5-19
When you feel down and out.....call Romans 8:31
When you want peace and rest…..call Matthew 1:25-30
When the world seems bigger than God…..call Psalm 90
When you want Christian assurance…..call Romans 8:1-30
When you leave home for labor or travel…..call Psalm 121
When your prayers grow narrow or selfish…..call Psalm 67
For a great invention/opportunity…..call Isaiah 55
When you want courage for a task….call Joshua 1
When you need to get along with others…..call Romans 12
When you think of investments and returns…..call Mark 10
If you are depressed…..call Psalm 27
If your pocket book is empty…..call Psalm 37
If you are losing confidence in people…..call I Corinthians 13
If people seem unkind…..call John 15
If discouraged about your work…..call Psalm 126
If you find the world growing small and yourself great…..call Psalm 19
For dealing with fear…..call Psalm 34:7
For security…..Psalm 121:3
For assurance…..Mark 8:35

Mass and Bible Study Thursday

2011-12-07T16:48:00.000-08:00

The Lord Be With You,

This Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of Advent – Gaudete (Rejoice) Sunday. Rose color

Our readings are:
Isaiah 61:1-2a, 10-11
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
John 1:6-8, 19-28

As most of you already know I am a huge music fan. I love music, all kinds. My iPod carries 6300 songs. From Bach to Beatles, Kanye West to Beethoven, Leadbelly to the Clash. Not just western music, but from all over the world and all genres. Some of the music I listen to inspire me, as if prophetic. After reading our scripture readings for this week I am reminded of a song written and recorded by one of the greatest harmonic duos of my generation – Simon & Garfunkel. If you ever get a chance to listen to “Bridge Over Troubled Water” you will be amazed. Anyway, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel wrote a song called, “The Sound Of Silence” and one of the lines says, “The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenement(a run-down apartment building) halls".

In other words, “the message” from God will come from the ones we least expect. Nobody wants to listen to them. Why?

Because they take us back to the TRUTH, and TRUTH requires work and responsibility. We have dismissed and minimized their calling to fit our agenda.

Because no real prophet can profit from prophesying. In most cases everything we are exposed to today is FOR profit. The TRUTH rarely reaches us.

Because not only can’t real prophets make a living plying their trade, they always suffer for conveying God’s word. That doesn’t sound like fun.

Because if we carry out the prophetic vision we too will suffer. No one gets a free pass. That REEEAAALLY doesn’t sound like fun.

Because down deep we really know the TRUTH when we hear it and because we will suffer, we deny hearing it.

Because real prophets confuse us, taking us back to the beginning of our faith after so many others have “rationalized” how that doesn’t apply today makes us question it. We don’t know what or who to believe.

I have my own private list of prophets that I keep to myself. I seek their wisdom out. I don’t dare share who they are at the risk of being reprimanded.

Who is on your list?

Join us Thursday @ 7:00PM for Mass-The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Gen 3:9-15, 20, Eph 1:3-6, 11-12, Luke 1:26-38) then Bible Study following!

THE DUDE ABIDES Jn 15:4
For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not want to understand, no explanation is possible.

Jim Krieger
Lay Mystic

Calling Santa

2011-12-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

Two-year-old Sarah and her 13-year-old sister had been fighting a lot, so Sarah's parents, trying to take advantage of her newfound interest in Santa Claus, reminded the 2-year-old that Santa was watching and doesn't like it when children fight. This had little impact.

"I'll just have to tell Santa about your misbehavior," her mother said as she picked up the phone and dialed. Sarah's eyes grew big as her mother asked "Mrs. Claus" (really Sarah's aunt; Santa's real line was busy) if she could put Santa on the line. Sarah's mouth dropped open as Mom described to Santa (Sarah's uncle) how the 2-year-old was acting. When Mom said Santa wanted to talk to her, she reluctantly took the phone.

Santa, in a deepened voice, explained to her how there would be no presents Christmas morning to children who fought with their sisters. He would be watching, and he expected things to be better from now on.

Sarah solemnly nodded to each of Santa's remarks and silently hung the phone up when he was done. Mom asked, "What did Santa say to you, Dear?"

Sarah sadly said, "Santa said he won't be bringing toys to my sister this year."

Missing the Guest of Honor

2011-12-06T10:05:00.001-08:00

By Dr. Michael A. Halleen

"Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?" (Matthew 2:2)

There's a story that has become legend in a small Minnesota town. I can't vouch for its truth, only that people tell it as though it really happened. It seems that the retiring mayor was to be honored at a party as he left office. He had been responsible for a number of significant improvements to the town, so it seemed good to have the community pay tribute.

The party was held at the VFW hall, and all agreed it was a great celebration. The music was loud, the room crowded and noisy. The finger food was unusual in its quality and liquid refreshment flowed without restraint until late into the evening. Over coffee the next morning in the Main Street diner, someone wondered aloud if the mayor had enjoyed it, but no one knew. No one in the diner had talked to him or had even seen him there. Only later did they learn that the mayor had checked into a hospital the previous day and had missed the party in his honor. Apparently no one had noticed.

It sounds a lot like Christmas. People get together, the food is great, the music warms the heart — but has anyone seen the guest of honor? The season has become about us — our menus, our travel plans, our expenses. We've lost perspective. Our celebration will be more authentic if our hopes are not only for good sales figures but also for good will among mankind. Christ will be seen among us if our prayers are not only for peace in travel but also for peace on earth.

Our church set out its nativity scene the other day. Life-sized figures of all the familiar characters are in place, kneeling around the manger — all but one. Seems the baby Jesus is missing. We couldn't find him this year. Mary and Joseph and the Wise Men are gazing reverently at some wisps of straw.

Sign of the times. Hopefully the Christ child will be found by Christmas.

Sexual Healing

2011-12-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

If you're a fan of slam poetry, watch this. If you're in need of hope for sexual redemption, watch this. If you've come today not knowing what to expect on this blog, watch this.

Catholic and Gay

2011-12-02T08:00:00.000-08:00

Homosexuality is one of the hot-button issues for the Church (and particularly for young people) today. Below is a great blog post from a young man courageously living Church teaching regarding his same-sex attraction. See what you think. The man goes by an online pseudonym Steve Gershom. Read the article in its entirety here or visit Steve's blog here.

When Leila asked me to write about gay marriage, the first thing I found out was how little I know about it. If I wanted to say anything coherent, I'd have to have definite beliefs about some deeper, thornier subjects first: the relationship between civil and moral law, just for starters. Even if I were sure enough of myself to talk about those things, I doubt I could do it in a blog-sized article.

So I'll have to do it in a more personal way. That might be better anyhow.

I have heard a lot about how mean the Church is, and how bigoted, because she opposes gay marriage. How badly she misunderstands gay people, and how hostile she is towards us. My gut reaction to such things is: Are you freaking kidding me? Are we even talking about the same church?

When I go to Confession, I sometimes mention the fact that I'm gay, to give the priest some context. (And to spare him some confusion: Did you say 'locker room'? What were you doing in the women's...oh.) I've always gotten one of two responses: either compassion, encouragement, and admiration, because the celibate life is difficult and profoundly counter-cultural; or nothing at all, not even a ripple, as if I had confessed eating too much on Thanksgiving.

Of the two responses, my ego prefers the first -- who doesn't like thinking of themselves as some kind of hero? -- but the second might make more sense. Being gay doesn't mean I'm special or extraordinary. It just means that my life is not always easy. (Surprise!) And as my friend J. said when I told him recently about my homosexuality, "I guess if it wasn't that, it would have been something else." Meaning that nobody lives without a burden of one kind or another. As Rabbi Abraham Heschel said: "The man who has not suffered, what can he possibly know, anyway?"

Where are all these bigoted Catholics I keep hearing about? When I told my family a year ago, not one of them responded with anything but love and understanding. Nobody acted like I had a disease. Nobody started treating me differently or looking at me funny. The same is true of every one of the Catholic friends that I've told. They love me for who I am.

Actually, the only time I get shock or disgust or disbelief, the only time I've noticed people treating me differently after I tell them, is when I tell someone who supports the gay lifestyle. Celibacy?? You must be some kind of freak.

To continue reading, click here.

Bethlehemian Rhapsody

2011-12-01T08:00:00.000-08:00

Brilliant. Watch this.

Adoration & Bible Study Thursday

2011-11-30T09:00:00.000-08:00

The Lord Be With You,

I hope you answered, “and also with you”. Remember, we only answer, “and with your Spirit” to the clergy, not laity. Trust me, I’m far from being clergy, ask Maureen.

So, how did you do last Sunday? Did you get all your lines right? If you didn’t don’t worry, something tells me you will have years, and years to practice. Thank God The Eucharist is still the same! As long as The Eucharist is still in English our people will hear God’s Word as it was originally intended to be heard. Amen? That means there is ALWAYS a chance for reform.

Speaking of reform, our scripture readings for Sunday are:
Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11
2 Peter 3:8-14
Mark 1:1-8

God’s biblical word shows God always calls us to look at our faith in new ways, always encourages us to walk down new paths. It also demonstrates some people of faith take a long time before they completely give themselves over to the power of that new word. But as long as they continue to listen to it, and not get distracted, they eventually do.

In Isaiah the sentry is shouting, “Here comes with power the Lord God”, but what does he see? A shepherd cradling his lambs. That could be distracting.

In 2 Peter everybody is distracted that the Parousia is being “delayed.” Very powerful images.

Jesus, help me pay attention when I start getting distracted! Amen.

When Jesus was ready to start teaching, John the Baptist reminded people to get ready, to show they were sorry for their sins by being baptized. "The one who's coming is much greater than I am," John said. "I don't even deserve to untie His shoes! And I'll just baptize you with water, but He can baptize with the Holy Spirit."

"Distractions" happen when you're in the middle of one thing, but thinking about something else: for example, your teacher catches you staring straight ahead, daydreaming about what you'd like for Christmas instead of listening. Your Christmas list might be more interesting than the homework being assigned, but you have to admit that you can't concentrate on both things at once. In this week's Gospel (Mark 1:1-8), even John the Baptist warns people not to get distracted!

It's easy to get distracted when something more interesting pops into your thoughts (or vision) than what you're supposed to be thinking about. Watch what happens when someone trips outside the window: Suddenly, every kid is watching that, not the teacher.

In John the Baptist's time, he was having trouble with distracted people, too. John was teaching about God and baptizing people himself, so they weren't paying much attention to his announcements that Jesus was coming and was the one they should really follow.

To get past a distraction, you might have to force your attention back to where it should be, even if it seems less interesting at the moment. That's what John did: When people tried to follow him, he just kept talking about how Jesus would be even better.

John knew it was easy to get distracted, so he pointed out cool stuff to keep people interested: Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit! Jesus would be so awesome, John wasn't good enough to untie His shoes! John was a person, but Jesus was the Son of God! Still, a lot of his followers continued to follow him instead of Jesus. Even AFTER Jesus’ death and resurrection there were followers of John the Baptist! Talk about distraction.

As we approach Christmas, let us reflect on the humble examples given by the prophet Isaiah, the author of 2 Peter, and John the Baptist to not be distracted. Think of a person you know and consider to be holy. No matter how wonderful and prayerful this person is they probably don’t take the credit for it but instead praise God. To whom do you attribute your own good actions or successes? How can you model yourself after John the Baptist this Advent season?

Join us Thursday @ 7:00PM in Adoration of our risen Lord, then Bible Study following!

THE DUDE ABIDES Jn 15:4
For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not want to understand, no explanation is possible.

Jim Krieger
Lay Mystic

Hollow Hearts, Waiting to be Filled!

2011-11-30T08:00:00.000-08:00

An Advent Reflection by Bill Donaghy

Six hundred years before the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, Isaiah was dreaming. In a very modern sounding lament, he was yearning for a glimpse of the glory of the "old days" when God was more, shall we say, visible: "Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, with the mountains quaking before you, while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for, such as they had not heard of from of old." (Isaiah 63) Isaiah yearns for God to be present in his time of exile and expectation. "For you have hidden your face from us..."

Isaiah longs, as we all still do, for the veil to be pulled back; for Divinity to reveal itself to humanity. Little could he dream that soon Divinity would actually conceal itself in humanity! If he only knew what God was about to do! The Author will enter His own Story, and the Potter Himself become clay!

Isaiah's classic image of God as the Potter and we the clay has a very incarnational feel to it. And a feel of mystery too. Imagining ourselves as clay means we cannot see, we can only feel. We feel the Master's touch, feel in our "earthen vessels" the movement of the Master's hands: the pinch that stings, the pressure that simplifies and smoothes out our lumps. If we yield to Him, we sense in our very being the delicate shaping and reshaping of His hands. Through life's experiences, it is the fine-tuning of Him making us His masterpiece.

Advent is the expectation of the great art our Father will make of us if we just let Him spin the potter's wheel, grafting spirit and flesh into Nature's finest creation. So let us let Him whirl us about in this workshop. This messy, dusty workshop of sanctity. And let's watch the excess of layered clay be stripped from us, and let's be emptied, made hollow for His purposes. Hollow vessels so designed to be filled with His Word, His love!

"No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you doing such deeds for those who wait..." - Isaiah 64:3

Bill Donaghy

is a speaker and instructor with the Theology of the Body Institute. Bill holds an Associate's Degree in Visual Arts and received his Bachelors in Philosophy and a Masters in Systematic Theology from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. He teaches theology at Malvern Preparatory School, as well as Immaculata University. He and his wife, Rebecca live outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with their two children.

Advent in Two Minutes

2011-11-29T14:31:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!
That's right. Not Thanksgiving or Christmas. New Year's. We just began a brand spanking new year in the Church calendar on Sunday with the advent of the Advent Season. We prepare, we pray, we ready the place for our guest of honor, Jesus, to arrive on Christmas. To get more out of Advent this year, here are some tools from BustedHalo.com.

The lowdown on this time of year in two minutes. C'mon now, who doesn't have two minutes to watch?

Track the season as we continue in the month of December with Busted Halo's Advent Calendar.

New Words, Same Mass

2011-11-27T07:58:00.000-08:00

The New Roman Missal is filling our churches today. Ten years in the making, this translation unites all the English-speaking countries with the universal Church, causes us to reflect on the words and the Word, and offers new opportunities for engaging with the Holy Mass. Thousands of translators, bishops, priests, deacons, and lay people contributed. With renewed clarity, we can see Heaven come crashing into our lives through the miraculous Eucharistic celebration. Are you ready?

At St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the Mass parts will change beginning tonight for the 5pm Sunday Mass. If you're a musical buff, looking to sing along, or just interested, check out the new parts at http://worship-songs-resources.worshiptogether.com/search?w=matt%20maher. One of our favorite musicians is the writer and artist: Matt Maher. Ike Ndolo also helped.

No matter where you are this Thanksgiving, make it to Mass today. Give thanks to the Lord for He is good! His love endures forever.

Busted Halo

2011-11-20T14:17:00.000-08:00

I just stumbled onto a really cool Catholic website. Great things to explore at www.bustedhalo.com. I had heard of it before but never visited. I'll be back.

Here's an article from Busted Halo by Julianne Wallace about the New Roman Missal. Read it in its original form here.

Top Five Mass Changes

The new translation of the Mass is coming to a parish near you. Here are the changes you need to know about.

If you’re headed to Mass during the upcoming Advent and Christmas seasons, you’re going to notice some changes. Starting November 27 the Roman Catholic Church will be using a new set of instructions for celebrating Mass — all part of the newly revised Roman Missal (the 3rd Edition, in fact!). This new translation contains revised prayers for both the priest and the assembly. Don’t worry, not all the prayers are changing, but there are some significant changes you should know about.

#1: “And with your Spirit!”
At the beginning of Mass, the priest makes the Sign of the Cross and greets the people by saying, “The Lord be with you.” In the new translation, the assembly will respond back to the priest, “And with your Spirit!” This response is a literal translation from the Latin phrase, “Et cum spiritu tuo.” Have you ever celebrated the Mass in another language? If so, then this change might not be a big deal because most languages already use a literal translation of the Latin phrase (for example, in Spanish the phrase is translated “Y con tu espiritu”). One reason for this textual revision is because this response is more than just a greeting. This response is also a spiritual exchange between the priest and the assembly, explains Joe Paprocki of Loyola Press. The priest extends a greeting of the Lord’s presence and the assembly grants a similar greeting inviting God to be with the presider as we worship together. Of all the liturgical changes, this one may be the easiest to remember, because we say it four times throughout the Mass: at the beginning of Mass, before the Gospel, before the Eucharistic Prayer, and at the end of Mass. For more information, visit Fr. Dylan James’ blog on the new translation.

#2: The Gloria
Liturgical composers have been hard at work revising their old Mass settings and composing new ones for use with the revised Missal. One big undertaking for composers was the Gloria, the prayer of praise we sing as part of the Gathering Rite. There are many minor textual changes to this prayer. Here are two: At the beginning of the prayer, we will now sing, “Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace to people of good will!” (Luke 2:14). This particular revision is an example of how the new translation relies heavily on scripture. The second change occurs later in the Gloria when we sing together, “We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory!” This five-fold invocation of praise poetically expresses the majesty and glory of God.

#3: “We to I”
In the early Church, when people entered into the Body of Christ through the sacrament of Baptism, they made an expression of faith, a credo (which in English means I Believe). This expression of faith was a series of questions that the person seeking entrance into the Church had to answer, “I do.” Today, as we celebrate the Sacrament of Baptism, parents (of children) and adults (who enter through the process of RCIA) are asked that same set questions and they respond in the same way: “I do.” Every Easter, we, as the Body of Christ renew our Baptismal Promises by responding, “I do.” And finally, every Sunday, we make this same profession of faith but in a different way. Most often, we profess the Nicene Creed (although some communities choose to profess the Apostles’ Creed). Currently, we begin the Nicene Creed by saying, “We believe” (and we repeat the same phrase throughout the creed). In the new translation, we will proclaim, “I Believe.” As you can see, this small change harkens back to when the person entering the Church says, “I do” in the Credo formula. So the change from “we” to “I” is more consistent with how we have professed our faith throughout history.

#4: “Consubstantial”
“Consubstantial?” That sounds like a great Scrabble word! This new way of saying “one in being with the Father” in the Nicene Creed means that Jesus is really divine. Yes, that’s right; Jesus was actually, fully, and wholly divine. Thus, when we say “consubstantial” we are expressing one of the most beautiful mysteries of our faith, that Jesus is God. For those of us who have not had classes in philosophy or Christology, this new term may seem difficult to understand (and even to say!). However, just remember that “consubstantial” is a literal translation from the Latin “Consubstantialem,” which means Jesus is indeed, “one in being with the Father.” Want to impress your friends with your new philosophical language? Here’s a link to more history on the evolution of the term consubstantial.

#5: The centurion’s faith and our response
When he entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.” He said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.” (Matthew 8:5-8, 10)

This is another great example of how the new translation uses scripture to enhance our liturgy. In this Gospel story, the centurion begs Jesus to cure his servant by only saying the “word.” We, as the People of God, are called to model his faith. As the priest calls us to communion he beckons us, “Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb,” and we respond, with words that are similar to the centurion’s words, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed.” As we come to the Eucharistic table, may we approach with the humble faith of the centurion and carry this humility with us through our everyday life.

Adoration & Bible Study Tonight

2011-11-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

The Lord Be With You!

This Sundays readings are:
Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17
1 Corinthians 15: 20-26,28
Matthew 25: 31-46

This Sunday, the solemnity of Christ the King, is the last Sunday of the liturgical year. At the end of the year, the readings focus on the end of time. In this Sunday’s Gospel Jesus is dividing the sheep from the goats, or the good from the sinners. Dividing them from things they did or did not do for others, in times when they thought nobody else was looking.

We see this all the time on reality shows, don’t we? Somebody acts cruel or cheats, but then denies it later on to a judge or somebody else? It always seems dumb to me (this is why I can’t watch them too long) when these same people make their excuses, since we all know that everything they did was caught on camera!

In a way the same is true when we come before Jesus. There is no point in trying to hide or deny our sins. Jesus knows them, and so do we. What side do you think Christ the King would put you on if he came right now? What needs to change in your life for you to enter the Kingdom?

We are entering a brand new liturgical year, with a brand new Roman Missal. This is a perfect time to make a change!

Join us Thursday @ 7:00PM in Adoration of our risen Lord, then Bible Study following!

THE DUDE ABIDES Jn 15:4
For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not want to understand, no explanation is possible.

Jim Krieger
Lay Mystic

Archbishop Dolan: Love for Jesus and His Church must be the passion of our lives

2011-11-16T08:49:00.000-08:00

This is a homily from Archbishop Timothy Dolan to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on Monday. Take a few minutes of your day to read it - you won't be disappointed. Click here for the homily in its original form.

My brother bishops: it is with that stunningly simple exhortation of Blessed Pope John II that I begin my remarks to you this morning.

"Love for Jesus and His Church must be the passion of our lives!"

You and I have as our sacred duty, arising from our intimate sacramental union with Jesus, the Good Shepherd, to love, cherish, care for, protect, unite in truth, love, and faith . . . to shepherd . . . His Church.

You and I believe with all our heart and soul that Christ and His Church are one.

That truth has been passed on to us from our predecessors, the apostles, especially St. Paul, who learned that equation on the Road to Damascus, who teaches so tenderly that the Church is the bride of Christ, that the Church is the body of Christ, that Christ and His Church are one.

That truth has been defended by bishops before us, sometimes and yet even today, at the cost of "dungeon, fire, and sword."

That truth -- that He, Christ, and she, His Church, are one -- moistens our eyes and puts a lump in our throat as we whisper with De Lubac, "For what would I ever know of Him, without her?"
Each year we return to this premier see of John Carroll to gather as brothers in service to Him and to her. We do business, follow the agenda, vote on documents, renew priorities and hear information reports.

But, one thing we can't help but remember, one lesson we knew before we got off the plane, train, or car, something we hardly needed to come to this venerable archdiocese to learn, is that "love for Jesus and His Church must be the passion of our lives!"

Perhaps, brethren, our most pressing pastoral challenge today is to reclaim that truth, to restore the luster, the credibility, the beauty of the Church "ever ancient, ever new," renewing her as the face of Jesus, just as He is the face of God. Maybe our most urgent pastoral priority is to lead our people to see, meet, hear and embrace anew Jesus in and through His Church.

Because, as the chilling statistics we cannot ignore tell us, fewer and fewer of our beloved people -- to say nothing about those outside the household of the faith -- are convinced that Jesus and His Church are one. As Father Ronald Rolheiser wonders, we may be living in a post-ecclesial era, as people seem to prefer

"a King but not the kingdom,
a shepherd with no flock,
to believe without belonging,
a spiritual family with God as my father, as long as I'm
the only child,
"spirituality" without religion
faith without the faithful
Christ without His Church."

To continue reading, click here.

Handmotions in Heaven

2011-11-15T10:33:00.001-08:00

An old favorite for your enjoyment.

Radiant Holiday Issue

2011-11-14T11:25:00.000-08:00

Radiant is a magazine for passionately Catholic young women. Look for inspiring stories, fashion tips and ideas, and fun pop-culture articles. We have hard copies at church, but you can also look at Radiant online. Read it here.

The New Roman Missal: Are you buying in?

2011-11-12T11:25:00.000-08:00

Ready or not, in two weeks the New Roman Missal will change everything we English-speaking Catholics know about the Holy Mass. Are you buying in?

Adoration & Bible Study Tonight

2011-11-10T14:11:00.000-08:00

The Lord Be With You!

This Sunday’s readings to reflect on are:
Proverbs 3:10-13,19-20,30-31
I Thessalonians 5:1-6
Matthew 25:14-30

Lots of women today will have problems with our Proverbs author’s picture of the ideal wife, even after our “liturgical selectors” have doctored up the passage by omitting some of the more objectionable lines, e.g. “She is girt about with strength, and sturdy are her arms.” In our two-income, communication- based 2l’ century environment I don’t think many wives would focus on the same elements which our fifth century BC theologian emphasizes.

On the other hand, Matthew’s Jesus gives us an insight in today’s Gospel periscope which is good for all ages. Jesus is demonstrating what it’s like to have God present and working in our daily lives. Presuming all of us have been gifted by God with specific talents and abilities, he stresses that God is most at work in the community when everyone spends his or her life developing those talents and abilities. Those who return them undeveloped to God will have a steep price to pay. I presume God will be just as harsh with those who, because of race, gender or marital status, restrict others from developing and using their gifts for the community’s good.

Paul tells us in our I Thessalonians’ passage that it’s easy for even good-intentioned people to break their concentration on what Jesus believes is important. In this earliest of Christian writers, the distraction is Jesus’ Second Coming. Some in Thessalonica are spending so much time and effort calculating the exact time and place of Jesus’ arrival that they’re ignoring what’s essential to being other Christ’s.

On most college applications, there is a section in which you are asked to describe your hobbies and talents – those things that you are good at but aren’t part of your regular school curriculum. It can be stressful filling out this part of the application because you know the college is looking for students who are talented and unique and all your talents and accomplishments start to feel like they’re not enough. I have GOOD NEWS for you.

Your talents and abilities are ALWAYS good enough for God’s!

God endowed you with your unique talents and abilities to serve him and others. God does not care if you stand out and win first place. He won’t make you fill out an application with your talents and accomplishments in order to enter into his Kingdom. The thing that matters to God is that you use your talents in service of others. We were all made differently and so we need each other’s talents.

What talents do you perceive in yourself? How might you better use them in the service of God and others?

Here is a great example of what God wants you to hear about your talents:

Join us Thursday @ 7:00PM in Adoration of our risen Lord, then Bible Study following!

THE DUDE ABIDES Jn 15:4
For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not want to understand, no explanation is possible.

Jim Krieger
Lay Mystic

Today is the Day

2011-11-09T08:14:00.000-08:00

A little inspiration for the soul. Do not say you are too young. Do not say you are too old. You are where you are meant to be.

Who started Christmas?

2011-11-08T10:56:00.000-08:00

This morning I heard a story on the radio of a woman who was out Christmas shopping with her two children. After many hours of looking at row after row of toys and everything else imaginable. And after hours of hearing both her children asking for everything they saw on those many shelves, she finally made it to the elevator with her two kids.

She was feeling what so many of us feel during the holiday season time of the year. Overwhelming pressure to go to every party, every housewarming, taste all the holiday food and treats, getting that perfect gift for every single person on our shopping list, making sure we don't forget anyone on our card list, and the pressure of making sure we respond to everyone who sent us a card.

Finally the elevator doors opened and there was already a crowd. She pushed her way in and dragged her two kids in with her and all the bags of stuff. When the doors closed she couldn't take it anymore and stated, "Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up and shot."

From the back of the car everyone heard a quiet calm voice respond, "Don't worry, we already crucified him." For the rest of the trip down the elevator it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

Don't forget this year to keep the One who started this whole Christmas thing in your every thought, deed, purchase, and word. If we all did it, just think of how different this whole world would be.

-- Author Unknown

Rediscover Catholicism

2011-11-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

There are 1.2 billion Catholics in the world. There are sixty-seven million Catholics in America - that's at least fifteen million more people than it takes to elect an American president. And every single day the Catholic Church feeds, houses, and clothes more people, takes care of more sick people, visits more prisoners, and educates more people than any other institution on the face of the earth could ever hope to. Rediscover Catholicism.

-Matthew Kelly, Rediscover Catholicism

They Mean Business

2011-11-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

A Jewish couple has a son who is a holy terror. When he gets to be of age, he's kicked out of every school they put him in. Finally desperate, the father goes to the Rabbi for advice and the Rabbi says put him in the Catholic school. Shocked, the father asks if the Rabbi sure. "Yes" is the reply, so the father takes him to the nuns and leaves.

An hour goes by, then two hours, lunch time and finally at three the son comes in says "Good afternoon Papa, good afternoon Mama," goes to the table and starts on his homework. The father is amazed and finally ask why he stayed in school all day and why he is behaving so well. His son looks up and says "Papa when you left, the Mother Superior told me that they did not allow rowdy boys, then she took me to my room. Papa they mean business! They've got a Jew nailed on a Cross in every room!"

Adoration & Bible Study Tonight

2011-11-03T11:07:00.000-07:00

The Lord Be With You!

This Sunday’s reading’s are:

Wisdom 6:12-16
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Matthew 25:1-13

A priest waited in line to have his car filled with gas just before a long holiday weekend. The attendant worked quickly, but there were many cars ahead of him. Finally, the attendant motioned him toward a vacant pump.

"Padre," said the young man, "I'm so sorry about the delay. It seems as if everyone waits until the last minute to get ready for a long trip."

The priest chuckled, "I know what you mean. It's the same in my business."

There are two kinds of catholics, those who wake up in the morning and say, "Good morning, Lord," and those who wake up in the morning and say, "Good Lord, it's morning." Which one are you?

Change that affects our daily routine is rarely easy to incorporate into our lives. Change that affects our faith is even harder. On Nov. 27 (three weeks from this Sunday) we will be experience a change in our faith. A new phase in our liturgy as English-speaking catholics. Some will say, “Good morning, Lord,” and embrace it, and others will who are not prepared will say, “Good Lord, its morning!” and will wonder what happened.

This is reflective of the Gospel reading today. What qualities divide the wise bridesmaids and the foolish bridesmaids in this parable? At first glance, it seems that the wise ones in this reading are the ones who are sensible and responsible, thinking about and preparing for the unexpected. Forgetting oil for the lamps would be like forgetting batteries for the flashlight. As we read on we see the bridesmaids are not just responsible, but self-giving as well. They are the bridegroom’s true friends, and they put his happiness on his wedding day ahead of everything else. They even put his happiness above that of their other friends when they refuse to share their oil so that they are sure to be ready. By faithful to God above all other things and people, we, too, can become wise.

A father was approached by his small son who told him proudly, "I know what the Bible means!" His father smiled and replied, "What do you mean, you 'know' what the Bible means? The son replied, "I do know!" "Okay," said his father. "What does the Bible mean?" "That's easy, Daddy..." the young boy replied excitedly," It stands for 'Basic Information Before Leaving Earth.'

If you want to be prepared and have your flasks filled with oil, join us tonight @ 7:00PM for Adoration and Bible Study following.

THE DUDE ABIDES Jn 15:4
For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not want to understand, no explanation is possible.

Jim Krieger
Lay Mystic

Have you been to Confession lately?

2011-11-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Don't Text and Drive

2011-11-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

Texting and driving makes us 23 times more likely to get in an accident. Don't think it's serious? Watch this.

Merry Hallowmas!

2011-11-01T14:42:00.000-07:00

Today’s readings are:
Rev 7:2-4, 9-14
1 John 3: 1-3
Matthew 5:1-12a

You know how I am a BIG fan of the apostle John. No matter what I wrote it could never be better than this:

Beloved:
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.
Yet so we are.
The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God's children now;
what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.
Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure,
as he is pure.

Today is a holy day of obligation, see you at Mass!

Jim Krieger
Lay Mystic

One Person

2011-11-01T14:36:00.001-07:00

You say to me, "I am only one person." This is true, but look at what other great men and women before you have done in the span of just one lifetime: Francis of Assisi, Paul, Thomas Aquinas, John the Baptist, Augustine, Teresa of Avila, Thomas More, Edmund Rice, Don Bosco, John Vianney, Dominic, Patrick, Rita, Mary, and of course, Jesus.

Look also at what others have done in our time: Mother Teresa, John Paul II.

They too could have used the excuse, "I am only one person." The difference is they didn't see themselves as one person, but rather as one part of one body. Then, dedicated to the gospel message of Jesus Christ they chose to serve, and to choose to serve is to choose to love.

Mustard Seeds from Dynamic Catholic

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Can you guess the company that produced this ad?

2011-10-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

A timely Halloweenish commercial good for a few laughs. It seems scary, but I promise, it shouldn't give you nightmares.

Photos from the Edge: Dive Deep

2011-10-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

Monday night at the Edge we dove deep into prayers of praise. An indoor swimming pool, a great teaching from Jean, a dry game of sharks and minnows, some musical praise and worship, and tasty snacks. What a night!

Bible Study & Adoration Thursday

2011-10-26T15:14:00.000-07:00

The Lord Be With You,

This Sunday’s reading are:

Malachi 1:14b-2:2b, 8-10
1 Thessalonians 2:7b-9, 13
Matthew 23:8-12

Since most of you are in High School I know that you have heard of the Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856-2 November 1950).

He is famous for a lot of thing, but mostly for his quotes. After reading this Sunday’s reading’s I couldn’t help but think of one:

“One can only be converted to what one already believes.”

Malachi (pen name, meaning “my messenger”, trying to conceal his real name in fear of retaliation) is trying to take his people back to the beginnings of their faith, to explore the roots of what they believe that somehow veered from its founders original plan.

Paul reminds us of a key element for that is in our “servant relationship” with God, “We were determined to share with you not only the Gospel of God, but our very selves as well.”

Jesus is consistent in showing us what we already know. In the Gospel, he again is stressing the importance of humble service to God. Our efforts are to help each other and to honor God, not to help or honor ourselves. It’s not about us! It’s about God. Think about all the groups that you belong to: church, athletics, school, clubs and activities, work, family. How are you a servant in each of these situations? In what ways do you sometimes demand that others serve you? What needs to change for your actions to give the glory to God, and not center on yourself?

This reminds me of another quote from Shaw:

“Americans adore me and will go on adoring me until I say something nice about them”

The Greatest Will be Lowered.

See you at 7:00 on Thursday for Adoration then Bible Study afterword.

THE DUDE ABIDES Jn 15:4
For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not want to understand, no explanation is possible.
Jim Krieger
Lay Mystic

Finding Jesus: The Disney Saga

2011-10-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

Can't remember if this ever got posted to the blog, so I'm putting it up for your viewing pleasure. Film Festival is coming in April. Be thinking now about ideas for this year's event.

10 Ways to Get the Most Out of Life Teen

2011-10-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

In case you missed it or just want to check it out again, here's our video from Sunday. Get the most out of Life Teen this year by watching and obeying. Yee haw!

Stabbing at Snohomish High School

2011-10-24T14:48:00.000-07:00

Please be in prayer today for our neighbors from Snohomish High School. This morning two girls were stabbed and are now at nearby hospitals. The girl responsible for the stabbings needs our prayers too. More details are emerging about the story, but the most important thing is to offer this scary event to the Lord. May there be greater compassion and welcoming in the midst of what could be a tragedy. May God provide healing as only God can.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20111024/NEWS01/710249872#Stabbing-at-high-school

Miracles Happen

2011-10-24T11:46:00.000-07:00

This story comes from LifeTeen.com and is written by Katie Patrizio. See it in its original form here.

Sometimes I find myself itching for a good miracle story. And I know I can just open the Bible for one but sometimes I find myself asking, “Lord, how about a good modern day miracle story on the news tonight?” It’s kind of a bad attitude to have because after all, “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” (John 20:29)

I’ve come to realize that God likes being anonymous. He is the Author of all of creation and yet He’s not a god who flaunts his power or shows off.

Throughout the Scriptures, Jesus performed miracles for people so that they might come to believe that he was God. Miracles defy the laws of nature and the only person that can defy the laws of nature is the Person who created those very laws: God. So when Jesus multiplies bread, walks on water or heals incurable diseases, he does this so that you and I (not just first century Jews) might realize that he is the Creator, that he is God.

Miracles like the kind we hear about in Scripture aren’t as common today. When Jesus does perform miracles though, it’s often through other people, typically the saints.

When I heard this miracle story it blew my mind! It’s about Pope Benedict’s role in the rescue of the Chilean miners, whose one-year anniversary we observed last Thursday. Check it out …

To continue reading, click here.

Videos on Relationships

2011-10-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

The following videos all say something different and interesting about relationships. As our junior and senior group gets started this Sunday, relationships are the topic of the hour. What makes a good relationship (friendship or romantic)? How do you make it last? How do human relationships affect your relationship with God? How do you put God into your relationships? What are good boundaries when dating? What does it mean to be part of a community? Come on Sunday to Life Teen for the already Confirmed, 6:30-8:30pm in the youth room.

Bruce Almighty realizes free will changes things, sees his girlfriend praying for him, and ceases control to God.

Heath Ledger's character in The Patriot stays over at his girlfriend's house. Her parents make sure there isn't any hanky panky.

The beautiful first scene from UP.

The Dump Him List from Crystalina Evert.

Three Keys to Dating with Jason Evert

Adoration & Bible Study Tonight

2011-10-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

The Lord Be With you,

This week’s readings are:
Exodus 22: 20-26
1 Thessalonians 1: 5c-10
Matthew 22: 34-40

Think of how you would address a child who wants to do something foolish because, “all the other kids are doing it.” This is what the first reading is like for God. With all the rules and laws that God gave HIS people through Moses, in its time was revolutionary. God was trying to civilize HIS people. Later, through Christ, God shows ALL the people how to be civilized.

In the second reading Paul is congratulating the Christians of Thessalonia on the positive effect of their example. They received the gospel with ready faith, and withstood persecution with joy.

In the gospel, Jesus sums up the core of our beliefs. How do we prioritize the many rules and laws? We are to love God first, and also our neighbor. Is there a difference? Through Christ, isn’t God our neighbor? Our friend? The stranger in the hallway? On the street? One relationship feeds the other and together they both help strengthen our faith. Take time this week before you hear this gospel proclaimed on Sunday to think about how you love your neighbor. How you treat your family at home. How you treat everyone at school. How you treat everyone online. Remember that your closeness with God is strengthened when you show love for others in each of these relationships. Identify those situations in which you are failing to love your neighbor, and take action to do a better job this week.

Join us tonight @ 7:00 for praise and worship in Adoration to our risen Lord, then Bible Study following afterword.

Confirmation Questions of the Week

2011-10-19T10:20:00.000-07:00

When do you actually start to understand (in depth) about your faith and do adults still have questions?
This probably isn’t what you want to hear, but our faith is a profound mystery. We never understand it all. When we think of mysteries, most often we think of crime shows like CSI and Law & Order or fantastic conspiracies that need solving. Our faith isn’t the same kind of mystery. Profound mysteries need pondering, exploring, constant chewing and thoughtfulness, but they don’t need solving. The Catholic faith can be studied at length for an entire lifetime and still offer new and profound insights each day. Catholicism gives us strength for the journey. It does not solve all our problems, does not shield us from suffering, does not answer all our questions. It does, however, give us hope, give us purpose, and give us a reason for living. The questions will never end until we reach heaven’s doorstep and the Big Guy comes to the door with all the solutions.

What would I tell someone who asked me the difference between Catholic and Christian?
If someone asks if you are Catholic or Christian, tell them you are both. Christianity includes the Catholic Church. In fact, all of Christianity originally came from the Catholic Church. In the first hundred years after Jesus died and rose, the Catholic Church was the only Church. Then the Eastern Orthodox Church split in the 1100s. The Protestant Reformation occurred in the 1500s and 1600s, and ever since, Christianity is no longer a “big C” Church but a vast number of denominations who believe mostly the same stuff but have some fundamental differences.

Christians have a lot in common, whether Lutheran, non-denominational, Pentecostal, Methodist, or Catholic. We believe in a God who is Trinitarian, three in one and one in three. We believe that Jesus saved us from our sins. We believe that the Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit to be the living Word of God. We share many beliefs. But what makes us distinct as Catholics? Many things.

We honor (not worship!) holy people who are now in heaven as saints. We honor the mother of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, for her “yes” to God and her perfect example of how to follow her Son. We have seven sacraments that bind us to God throughout our lives – most churches have none or only a couple. We have 2000 years of Tradition to guide us. We have church services that use all the senses – seeing the candles, smelling the incense, hearing the Word proclaimed, tasting communion. But more than anything else, it’s the Eucharist that makes us unique. We believe that the bread and wine truly change to become the body and blood of Christ. At the Last Supper, Jesus commanded us to DO THIS in remembrance of him. And so we do. We eat His Body and drink His Blood to proclaim His death and resurrection until He comes again. We’re pretty distinct from our Protestant brothers and sisters that way.
So when someone asks whether you are Catholic or Christian, tell them you’re a Catholic Christian, and say it proudly. Use it to lead into a conversation about what you believe and why. Live your faith boldly with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Girls are like apples

2011-10-18T07:45:00.001-07:00

Abbey

2011-10-14T09:25:00.000-07:00

Our 14-year-old dog Abbey died last month. The day after she passed away my 4-year-old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so, and she dictated these words:

Dear God,
Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.
I hope you will play with her. She likes to swim and play with balls. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her you will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.
Love, Meredith

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, 'To Meredith' in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, 'When a Pet Dies.' Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey and Meredith with this note:

Dear Meredith,
Abbey arrived safely in heaven. Having the picture was a big help and I recognized her right away.
Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by. Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you. I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much. By the way, I'm easy to find. I am wherever there is love.
God

Couldn't resist

2011-10-13T23:14:00.001-07:00

I am usually not one to post cutesy pet pictures, but c'mon, this one's pretty stinking funny, yeah?

Whose shirt do YOU wear?

2011-10-12T15:51:00.000-07:00

The Lord Be With You!

This Sunday’s readings are:

Isaiah 45:1, 4-6
1 Thessalonians 1:1-5b
Matthew 22:15-21

Did you guys hear about the series of violent incidents that acured at the Oakland Raiders vs. San Francisco 49er’s preseason game on August 20th this year? It was crazy! Shootings in the parking lot, multiple fights in the stands, even a bathroom beating that left a man unconscious. For what?
A shirt.
All of the violence was caused by a name on a shirt.
Whose name do you wear?
Are you willing to be beaten for it?
Maybe even die?
Take a minute this week and think of all the different teams, groups or clubs you are a part of. How do people know that you are a part of these groups? Do you ever wear T-shirts or sweatshirts that give the name of your school or tell that you belong to a certain group? Do you have a letter jacket with patches and pins denoting different affiliations and honors (still have mine, little tight around the belly)? Have you ever worn a uniform in public and have people look at you differently or comment on what you were wearing?

Now think about how you demonstrate to people that you belong to God, not just through apparel, but through your actions. Do you think that people can tell that you are a Catholic Christian? What gives it away?

Do you think that people respond differently to you because they can tell that you belong to God?

Join us on Thursday @ 7:00 for Adoration to our Lord and then Bible Study afterword.

THE DUDE ABIDES Jn 15:4
For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not want to understand, no explanation is possible.
Jim Krieger
Lay Mystic

The Way

2011-10-12T08:52:00.000-07:00

A really cool movie is coming soon about a father-son journey along an ancient pilgrimage in Santiago de Compostella, Spain. Outspoken Catholic Martin Sheen acts, and his son Emilio Estevez directs. Anyone want to see it?

A Little Mistake

2011-10-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

The appointment of the new pastor coincided with the church's appeal for aid
for victims of a hurricane.

Unfortunately, on his first Sunday in the parish, the center page of the
church bulletin was accidentally omitted. So members of the congregation
read from the bottom of the second page to the top of the last page:

"Welcome to our new pastor, Father Andrew Jensen ... the worst disaster to
hit the area in this century. The full extent of the tragedy is not yet known."

Crucifixes and Cuts of Passion: Why I'm Catholic

2011-10-10T15:05:00.000-07:00

By Charezka Rendorio

There are beads around my neck.
Fifty knots tied on brown string,
a song to Mary, the angels, and our King.
What do I do it for? The cross around my neck?
The kind of cross that hangs above every door at
Grandma’s house with the man in a cloak with his
friends around a table on a portrait in my kitchen.
Why do I mutter the prayers our mouths know by heart
but our eyes have yet to see what they mean?
This cross around my neck isn’t for looks.
It’s not to show the ladies in the front row that I am holy.
It’s not to show Father Edgar that I’m righteous
as we fist-bump after Mass.
Or to attract that boy in my Spanish class,
the one who comes from Cuba and I know his mama
wants a Catholic girl.
These are not the reasons for why I wear this cross.
For why I pray to God, sing to Mary, say the psalms.
So I grew up Catholic, saw my mama on her knees,
saw my grandma with her beads, but I didn’t really care
until four years ago.
When I walked in through those doors and realized that Church
was Heaven, God, and some more.
It took me four years before it finally clicked,
so I can wear this cross and say, “Dude, I’m Catholic.”

Growing up I went to church every Sunday with my mom.
Sit in the pew with my skirt and the tights with the run down the side.
Staring at the choir boys who sang songs about eagle’s wings, and trembling mountains,
and a piece of bread they called God.
And I thought to myself, “None of this makes sense.”
The priest in his green dress and the boys on the altar with ropes around their waists,
and the usher with red hair on his face, the one who said I couldn’t sit next to the Pieta.
The statue of Mary and her son with blood on His feet and hands,
I was just a little kid then and I couldn’t understand.
And my grandma who’s now 4ft something tall
had statues all around her house and I’m afraid of dolls.
Their eyes would stare at my every move
and I felt them closing in, like the smell of the incense that gave me an asthma attack
that one Sunday morning.
And I would watch my grandma get on her knees,
the knees that needed to be replaced because age had rusted her patellas
so that her knees were just bones with no cartilage to cushion her weight when
she prayed that rosary every single day at three pm.
I would stare into those eyes, the ones of the dolls with halos and those of my
grandma and said that if this was Catholic,
then I don’t want any part of it.

So I grew up and went through the motions,
let school become my idol and let my friends
make the decisions.
And my mouth, the one that used to say that,
“If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.”
Began saying words that are bleeped out of
every song, show, and movie.
And when I went to church, it wasn’t for the man on the cross,
but for the boys in the next row, with their hair, and their eyes, and their smile.
Until the summer of freshman year.

I went to church with my cousins – not Catholic,
but something of the non-denomination.
And as I was sitting there, in my chair and not a pew,
and I saw a stage instead of an altar, I knew something was different.
So the pastor came out, his name was Dan.
And he said all these great stories about one man,
who walked on water and turned water to wine,
and it finally clicked for the very first time.
He spoke in straight English and the choir sang songs from this century,
and I finally understood.
I was on a Jesus high, higher than a kite,
reading stories out of the Bible every single night,
and I stopped going to Mass and started going to service and
thought to myself, “I can dig this.”

And then October rolled around.
Mama said, “It’s time to come back now.”
To our little church on this hill to join some program
that other kids did because their parents made them.
And I hated mass and kneeling and paying attention,
but I love my mom and I’d do anything she’d say.
And on my first day of Lifeteen I saw Crane and Steve in
tutus and thought, “What the heck?”
So I sat in the back and went through the motions
and I did that for two years before I realized how much I’d learn.
There were kids on a team who were so passionate about their faith,
and they inspired me to dig deeper than reading verses on a page.
So I learned about what it meant to wear a crucifix on your neck.
I learned that Mary was fifteen when she had our King,
and that everytime you confess, your heart breaks out
of the cage of sins and sings.
And I learned that, that piece of bread was really God
and not just a symbol and anytime we want,
we could adore Him in the chapel.
We could pray, we could talk, we can sing, we can cry,
but in that room, God is really there and not just a figure in the sky.
And everytime I take that bread or drink that wine,
a little piece of grace gets stuck inside.
So that He’s the King of my heart,
that bleeds cuts of passion
‘cuz He knows what I want and where
my heart’s been.
With a love that came with an incredible cost –
it’s the reason why I wear this cross.

Snapshots of Heaven

2011-10-09T14:05:00.000-07:00

Catholic in the NFL

2011-10-06T18:07:00.000-07:00

What does it mean to live your life for Christ? Lifeteen interviews Philip Rivers, quarterback for the San Diego Chargers, about what it means for him to be a Catholic Christian.

Check it out!

Catholic in the NFL: A Philip Rivers Interview

By Eric Porteous

Earlier this year I had the opportunity catch up with fellow Catholic, NFL Quarterback and 3-time Pro Bowler, Philip Rivers of the San Diego Chargers at the Catholic Men’s Fellowship Conference in Phoenix.

Read along as we discuss faith as an NFL player, the importance of Mass and the Sacraments, temptation, Natural Family Planning and trash-talking as a Christian. Even if you’re not a football fan, you NEED to read this.

So what brings you out to Phoenix today?

I got an invite from Bishop Olmsted a couple months ago to come, it was quite humbling to get invited to do this men’s conference. I’ve done one similar before but nothing this big – over a thousand men. Men are the leaders of our families and in the corporate world as well and any time we can share and have an impact, it’s great. And at the same time these guys and the other speakers here can have an impact on myself.

What’s been your most memorable moment as a football player?
Gosh that’s tough to sum it all up into one. I was fortunate enough to play for my dad in high school, so that was special because as I grew up I couldn’t wait for that opportunity. In college beating Notre Dame in a bowl game was the most memorable win. And I think in San Diego getting to play in the AFC championship, that was really memorable. It’s hard to sum up one particular memory.

What does a typical day look like for you?
Quite busy … Wednesday, Thursday and Friday is the bulk of the work week. I leave around 5:30 in the morning and don’t get home until around 6pm. We have Tuesday’s off so that’s kind of like a family day at my house so the kids enjoy that. During the off season up until Easter you’re on your own, so staying in decent shape is up to you. It’s our family’s favorite time of year because we’re all home and we spend a lot of quality time together. It picks up again as we head into the summer, it’s a busy schedule during the season but I appreciate it because you get such a great off season.

You’re known for your very passionate style of play. How do you talk trash as a Christian?
I’m known as a trash talker, but I’m not saying any trash out there. It’s all in fun; just like you would give a little jab to your brother in the backyard it’s the same way out there. You know, as I grew up with my Dad being my coach, that’s the way he coached – with a great deal of passion and energy. So that’s just the way I’ve done everything. I play the game like I did when I was a kid in Alabama, even though there’s a lot more cameras and people paying attention. And the “trash talk,” it’s nothing I couldn’t go home and tell my wife or my mom. That was the thing that really got me through some of the bumpy roads was that I knew I didn’t have to defend anything that was wrong. But I did understand the way anything can be spun by the media, so that was a learning lesson for me.

So you grew up in a Catholic home, and you took that into your adulthood as a football player. That’s pretty rare for professional athletes, how did you do that?
I was fortunate to grow up in the faith; my mom taught me the faith. In North Alabama there were only like 15 of us in my county in my confirmation class. We were quite the minority in Alabama. But one thing I remember is when I went to college at North Carolina State, the biggest thing that stuck in my head from my mom was never miss Mass. That was the thing that she definitely got across. When you go to college that’s when the faith becomes your own. Your mom and dad aren’t waking you up and reminding you “Hey this is a good day to go to confession.” It’s up to you.

So that really stayed with me and I made sure I never missed Mass and continued to grow in the faith. My wife had a lot to do with it, she’s a convert and she actually became Catholic the day before we got married. There’s so many gifts from the faith to appreciate and it strikes people differently, but the one-ness of the church wherever you are, Raleigh, San Diego, Alabama. Every place we were was home because the Catholic Church is the same everywhere. When we went to Mass that first Sunday after moving to a new place, that was where we felt at home and were able to say “well, home is anywhere, it doesn’t matter where we live because we have the faith.”

How are you able to make the sacraments a priority in the midst of your football schedule, especially on Sundays?
They have Mass available for us; there’s a team priest who travels with us. Obviously at home I have the opportunity to go at our parish, either earlier Sunday morning or Saturday mass. But I’ve recently starting visiting the churches in the cities we go to, and it’s that same thing – you feel at home. You’re in the opposing teams city and yet you found Mass there. That’s really special playing on Sunday and being able to go to Mass the day of the game – to play and do something you’re passionate about. I was always worried about that, to be honest, even in college thinking, “How am I going to be able to go to Mass? And if I make the NFL, then what happens?”

Is there any piece of advice that you would give to high school young men?
Appreciate the faith. Appreciate what we have and what a great gift the sacraments are. It’s hard to see that as a young man but I think that again, they too are the leaders of their age. They grow in their faith and everybody will follow, both their girlfriends and others. And then also, this can apply to their faith but also to anything else they do, my dad always said that if you’re going to do something – do it all the way. If you’re going to be a Catholic man, be it all the way. If you’re going to clean your room, clean it the right way. You know, all those little things add up and they stick with you.

What kind of temptations and challenges have you had to face as a football player?
The biggest key to avoid those temptations is to not put yourself in those situations. And it’s not just as a NFL player, it’s in any work-place, in any city, anything you’re doing, anywhere after dark, after midnight. I think it’s Corinthians 11 says “bad company corrupts good morals.” If you’re not in the wrong but you continue to put yourself in tempting situations eventually you may give in. So that’s always been something I’ve lived by all the way through – don’t put yourself in those situations. Even though you may be strong enough to go somewhere and not fall into the sin, avoiding it from the get-go will certainly help.

So you’re married with five kids, I was just wondering if there’s any marriage advice you have for any of us?
I think the biggest thing is to be with your best friend, and it starts right there, that’s the key I believe. NFP [Natural Family Planning] has a lot to do with the strength of our marriage. It allows the understanding that we’re on the same page. There’s discipline and sacrifice that comes with that so we’re able bond in many different ways. And the thing I’m most thankful for is that we’re both in the Church because you have an immediate bond. I don’t know any of these people here today but I already feel like we’re buddies just because we have that connection to the church. That was important for my wife to be Catholic as well; she’s been great for me and also as a mom and wife.

Thanks so much for taking the time today to talk, is there anything that you would like prayers for?
Yeah, I can give you many intentions, but I’d certainly be humbled if you prayed for my family and for all the unborn.

http://www.lifeteen.com/blog/catholic-in-the-nfl-a-philip-rivers-interview

Anyway

2011-10-05T16:05:00.000-07:00

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

Attributed to Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

Lord I Need You

2011-10-03T15:51:00.000-07:00

I find myself singing this one in the car. "Lord, I need you!"

Are you a Dynamic Catholic?

2011-10-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

Recently a friend of mine moved to Cincinnati, Ohio to begin working for an organization called Dynamic Catholic. The Dynamic Catholic project brings to life the beauty, depth, and applicability of the Catholic faith. Leading the way is Matthew Kelly, one of the most inspiring, funny, real Catholic speakers I've ever heard or read. If you have ever wanted to grow, to go a little deeper, to understand a little more, to become closer to our Lord, Dynamic Catholic may be a vehicle to get you there. Take a look at their website. On it you will find books, tools, inspiration, community, and places that appeal to the whole person. Are you ready to take a new step in faith? Are you ready to be a Dynamic Catholic?

Happy Feast Day, St. Therese of Lisieux

2011-10-01T10:06:00.000-07:00

“May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.” -St. Therese of Lisieux

Who YOU following?

2011-09-30T14:51:00.001-07:00

WYD in The Herald

2011-09-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

The Everett Herald published a short story on our Snohomish County pilgrimage to World Youth Day. One of our pilgrims, Ashleigh, was interviewed along with Casey, the youth minister at ICOLPH in Everett, and a teen from Monroe's Our Lady of the Valley. The article appeared on the second page of the Local section in Saturday's paper. To read it in its original form, click here. Here's the start:

Ashleigh Mueller was overcome with joy as she watched Pope Benedict XVI come on stage outside Madrid, Spain.

The Snohomish girl's experience was shared by more than 1 million Catholic teenagers from around the world who made a pilgrimage to World Youth Day, a global festival for Catholic youth centered around a Mass with the pope.

The festival happens every three years in a different country. The 2014 event will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

When pilgrims celebrated Mass with the pope on Aug. 21 at the Cuatro Vientos aerodrome, Ashleigh, 16, felt something she never had before.

"Though everyone was different, we were all there for the same reason," she said. "It was very real to see the father of our church in person, and all the people who were there for our religion."

The Glacier Peak High School junior was part of a group from Snohomish County's Catholic parishes who went on the trip in August. She goes to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish in Bothell.

To continue reading, click here.

New Translation of the Roman Missal

2011-09-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

May the Lord be with you! And also with your spirit.

Sound a little strange? That's what we will all be saying at Mass in a couple months. Our Church is close to a a tremendous change. Beginning the first Sunday of Advent at the end of November, a new translation of the English version of the Roman Missal will take the place of our current one. The Roman Missal contains the prayers and texts of the Mass, so it's everything from the Creed to the opening prayer to the responses throughout the Mass. This change creates sweeping new opportunities for us to re-engage with the most holy Mass and come to a new appreciation for the beauty of its words and symbols. A little later this autumn, a couple of our Life Nights will be dedicated to learning about these changes, but to introduce us to the new Roman Missal, watch the videos below from Life Teen. These are great introductions to the what, why, and how of the Mass changes.

Any Jersey Shore fans?

2011-09-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

Catholic in the NFL: A Philip Rivers Interview

2011-09-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

This is an interview from LifeTeen.com with San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers. To read it in its original form, click here.

By Eric Porteous

Earlier this year I had the opportunity catch up with fellow Catholic, NFL Quarterback and 3-time Pro Bowler, Philip Rivers of the San Diego Chargers at the Catholic Men’s Fellowship Conference in Phoenix.

Read along as we discuss faith as an NFL player, the importance of Mass and the Sacraments, temptation, Natural Family Planning and trash-talking as a Christian. Even if you’re not a football fan, you NEED to read this.
'
So what brings you out to Phoenix today? I got an invite from Bishop Olmsted a couple months ago to come, it was quite humbling to get invited to do this men’s conference. I’ve done one similar before but nothing this big – over a thousand men. Men are the leaders of our families and in the corporate world as well and any time we can share and have an impact, it’s great. And at the same time these guys and the other speakers here can have an impact on myself.

What’s been your most memorable moment as a football player? Gosh that’s tough to sum it all up into one. I was fortunate enough to play for my dad in high school, so that was special because as I grew up I couldn’t wait for that opportunity. In college beating Notre Dame in a bowl game was the most memorable win. And I think in San Diego getting to play in the AFC championship, that was really memorable. It’s hard to sum up one particular memory.

What does a typical day look like for you? Quite busy … Wednesday, Thursday and Friday is the bulk of the work week. I leave around 5:30 in the morning and don’t get home until around 6pm. We have Tuesday’s off so that’s kind of like a family day at my house so the kids enjoy that. During the off season up until Easter you’re on your own, so staying in decent shape is up to you. It’s our family’s favorite time of year because we’re all home and we spend a lot of quality time together. It picks up again as we head into the summer, it’s a busy schedule during the season but I appreciate it because you get such a great off season.

To continue reading, click here.

Personal Reflection on Confirmation

2011-09-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

Confirmation is quick: Say your name, get anointed, be blessed. The effects, however, are lasting. As a teen, I appreciated the opportunity to wade in Catholic waters during preparation for the Sacrament, but I lacked the foresight to realize the impact of that special moment until a few years later.

In some small but tangible ways church life does change for the newly Confirmed. I became a Eucharistic Minister. I accepted a sacrament for the first time of my own accord, certainly a step toward adulthood. Particularly because my parents had fallen away from the Church, I became the link between my family and the grace of this divine institution.

Yet for most of my peers and for me, Confirmation didn’t offer any different feelings. When I was anointed, I didn’t have my eyes immediately opened to the gifts of the Spirit within me. I didn’t make dramatic lifestyle changes. I didn’t sense any new vocational calling.

But it mattered. Confirmation mattered. It was (and is) part of my journey, and that is all we have as created people – the journey, the experiences, the growth, the choices we make every day. Like all the Sacraments, Confirmation marks an important moment in our lives.

There are plenty of other ways to celebrate the passage from adolescent to young adult. So why be Confirmed?

In the Sacraments, we encounter the very God who created, redeemed, and now lives in us. The Latin word Sacramentum means "a sign of the sacred." Jesus instituted the Sacraments, and in each Sacrament, God offers us grace. Grace gives us a taste of heaven, of the sacred, of the strength we need to make daily decisions that reflect our love for those around us and in turn, our love for Jesus.
When someone gives me two gifts, I don't ask why one gift wasn't enough. Baptism is enough for salvation, but Confirmation is an additional gift that tells us more about God, ourselves, and about Baptism itself. It's not a burden, but an opportunity to grow, understand some of the hard things about our world and our faith, and begin a lifelong journey of seeking God through the Sacraments, the Bible, and living in community.

Now as a youth minister myself, I see the process from the opposite side. Many teens enter Confirmation with skepticism, weariness, lack of understanding. Others begin with anticipation that God’s grace will shower upon them. Every teen whom the Bishop greets with sacred oil, however, becomes the soil upon which God plants the mustard seed.

Teens may venture far from the Church – young adult years tend to be formative but trying times – but the Holy Spirit grows in us through our sorrows and screw-ups. Like many young men, I struggled throughout high school and college with an addiction to pornography. I knew the harm being inflicted on my body and mind, but I persisted in sin. The only reason I had for hope sprung from the experience I had in Confirmation and youth group. In moments of selfish desperation, my strength came from knowing God walked with me in the darkness. No magic cure arrived, and the images from my experience leave permanent scars in my life. But that’s part of my journey. That’s part of my story. And while the ultimate ending is still yet to be written, in this instance the grace of God conquered a particular evil in my life. I attribute that to the work of the Holy Spirit in me, that same Spirit I received quickly but powerfully with the sign of the cross and some fragrant oil as a sophomore in high school.

If you’re considering Confirmation, do it. Invest time, thought, and prayer into making the experience worthwhile. If we could only see the abundant grace being dangled in front of us, we would leap into God’s loving arms. You have nothing to lose. Dive in. God will catch you and do the rest.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-09-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

A very old man lay dying in his bed. In death's doorway, he suddenly smelled the aroma of his favorite chocolate chip cookie wafting up the stairs.

He gathered his remaining strength and lifted himself from the bed. Leaning against the wall, he slowly made his way out of the bedroom, and with even greater effort forced himself down the stairs, gripping the railing with both hands. With labored breath, he leaned against the door frame, gazing into the kitchen. Were it not for death's agony, he would have thought himself already in heaven. There, spread out on newspapers on the kitchen table were literally hundreds of his favorite chocolate chip cookies. Was it heaven? Or was it one final act of heroic love from his devoted wife, seeing to it that he left this world a happy man? Mustering one great final effort, he threw himself toward the table. The aged and withered hand, shaking, made its way to a cookie at the edge of the table, when he was suddenly smacked with a spatula by his wife.

"Stay out of those," she said. "They're for the funeral."

The Fellowship of the Unashamed

2011-09-20T10:40:00.000-07:00

This credo comes from Patrick Madrid's website, www.patrickmadrid.com. He's an awesome lay Catholic apologist.

I AM A PART of the Fellowship of the Unashamed.

The die has been cast. The decision has been made. I have stepped over the line. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is in God’s hands. I am finished and done with low living, small planning, the bare minimum, smooth knees, mundane talking, frivolous living, selfish giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, applause, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, the best, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith. I lean on Christ’s presence. I love with patience, live by prayer, and labor with the power of God’s grace.

My face is set. My gait is fast, my goal is heaven. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my Guide is reliable, and my mission is clear.

I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, shut up, let up or slow up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and spoken up for the cause of Christ.

I am a disciple of Jesus. I am a Catholic. I must go until He comes, give until I drop, speak out until all know, and work until He stops me. And when He returns for His own, He will have no difficulty recognizing me. My banner is clear: I am a part of the Fellowship of the Unashamed.

Adapted from the original (author unknown) by Patrick Madrid

Overcome

2011-09-18T23:10:00.000-07:00

Ladies, this one's for you. Thanks for sharing this video, Chiara.

Personhood

2011-09-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

Noticed this video floating around facebook and thought it was worth sharing. What if we regarded a fetus as a person? How would it change our culture?

Life Teen at World Youth Day

2011-09-15T18:38:00.001-07:00

Life Teen experienced World Youth Day alongside the millions of pilgrims who traveled to Madrid in August. They created an exciting summary of their time in the video below.

Reflection on the Passion of Christ

2011-09-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Let us love one another as Christ has loved us,
Never counting the cost;
For we have not suffered to the point of death,
Even death on a cross.
So many sins and offenses
Filled His whole being with dread;
Such was His sorrowful agony,
He didn’t just sweat, He bled.

He was beaten, insulted and spit on,
Mocked with a crown of thorns.
Have you ever been subjected
To such brutal and hateful scorn?
Led like a lamb to the slaughter,
He silently carried His cross,
Tears falling down His blood-stained face,
Knowing how many were lost.

The torture continued and worsened
As Jesus was crucified.
Thirsting for souls and the glory of God,
He commended His spirit and died.
So now, let us walk in His footsteps;
Let us follow His Way of the Cross,
Humbly accepting our burdens,
Never counting the cost.
Next time someone hurts or offends you
Instead of crying, “Foul! Unfair!”
Look back to the Passion of Jesus
Remember what He had to bear.
He said only, “Father, forgive them.”
Can we not do the same?
He suffered and died for your sake and mine,
So who are we to cast blame?

Let us love one another as Christ has loved us.
He willingly carried His cross;
He gave up His life to redeem us,
Never counting the cost.
Copyright © 2011 Jean Majewski

Tim Hawkins

2011-09-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

I was recently introduced to a hilarious, clean Christian comedian named Tim Hawkins. Watch a couple of his videos below.

No Hooters shirts in Mass, please

2011-09-12T09:42:00.000-07:00

This article comes from The Seattle Times and is authored by Terry Mattingly of Scripps Howard News Service. Read it in its original form here.

Deacon Greg Kandra was well aware that modern Americans were getting more casual and that these laid-back attitudes were filtering into Catholic pews.

Still, was that woman who was approaching the altar to receive Holy Communion really wearing a Hooters shirt?

Yes, she was.

When did Catholics, he thought to himself, start coming to Mass dressed for a Britney Spears concert? Had he missed a memo or something?

"Somewhere along the way, we went from neckties to tank tops, and from fasting to fast food. And it's getting worse," noted Kandra, a former CBS News writer with 26 years, two Emmys and two Peabody Awards to his credit. He is now a deacon assigned to Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, a 3,000-member parish in Forest Hills, just north of New York City.

"I recently had to tell a couple that no, they could not have their Chihuahua in a tuxedo as part of their wedding party,"he added, in a Patheos.com commentary. "An auxiliary bishop in Indianapolis recently complained about people who tweet during funerals. Casual Catholics, it seems, have taken 'casual' to a new level."

After the Hooters incident, he decided it was time to stop whining about the rising tide of irreverence and immodesty and to start griping about it right out in the open. Thus, Kandra and the parish's other clergy have resorted to appealing — in the parish bulletin and in public remarks — for a hint of sanity or even some old-fashioned decorum.

One bulletin item proclaimed, with a gag headline: "PLANS FOR PARISH SWIMMING POOL SCRAPPED! After much study, our finance committee has determined it would not be feasible to construct an indoor swimming pool in our church. ... As a result, we can now announce with certainty that those who have been arriving for Mass as if dressed for the pool need not do so. Also, we hope to keep the air conditioning cranking all summer long. So you do not need to wear shorts, halter tops or bikinis to Mass."

Other missives in this series warned that late-arriving parishioners with allegedly faulty alarm clocks might be injured during their attempts to "find a seat by climbing over the rope strung across the aisle. This can result in falls or — in some cases — embarrassing displays of underwear."

And about the many active cellphones: "New research indicates that people who bring cellphones to church are more likely to suffer serious head trauma, usually caused by the priest throwing the lectionary at them. Such people are also more likely to be wounded by hurled umbrellas and rolled-up missals."

To continue reading, click here.

Are our ears tuned correctly?

2011-09-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

Two friends were walking near Times Square in Manhattan. It was during the noon lunch hour and the streets were filled with people. Cars were honking their horns, taxis were squealing around corners, sirens were wailing and the sounds of the city were almost deafening. Suddenly, one of them said, "What an interesting place to hear a cricket."
His friend said, "You must be crazy. You couldn't possibly hear a cricket in all of this noise!"

"No, I'm sure of it," his friend said, "I heard a cricket."

"That's crazy," said his friend.

The man, who thought he had heard a cricket, listened carefully for a moment and then walked across the street to a big, cement planter where some shrubs were growing. He looked into the bushes, beneath the branches, and sure enough, he located a small cricket. His friend was utterly amazed.

"That's incredible," said his friend. "You must have superhuman ears!"

"No," said the man who heard the cricket. "My ears are no different from yours. It all depends on what you're listening for."

"But that can't be!" said the friend. "I could never hear a cricket in this noise."

"Yes, it's true," came the reply. "It depends on what is really important to you. Here, let me show you."

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a few coins, and discreetly dropped them on the sidewalk. And then, with the noise of the crowded street still blaring in their ears, they noticed every head within 20 feet turn and look to see if the money that tinkled on the pavement was theirs.

"See what I mean?" asked the man who had heard the cricket. "It all depends on what's important to you." (Keenan Kelsey, Making Choices, via eSermons.com newsletter)

Discipline in Youth Ministry

2011-09-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

A former Marine sergeant took a new job as a youth minister; but just before the school year started he injured his back. He was required to wear a plaster cast around the upper part of his body. Fortunately, the cast fit under his shirt and wasn't noticeable.

On the first youth night, he found himself facing some of the toughest students from the high school. The smart-alecks, having already heard the new guy was a former Marine, were leery of him. They decided to see how tough he really was, before trying any pranks.

Walking confidently into the rowdy youth room, the man opened the window wide and sat down in front of the whole group. When a strong breeze made the youth minister's tie flap, he picked up a stapler and promptly stapled the tie to his chest.

He had no trouble with discipline that year.

From the mouth of a child

2011-09-04T18:10:00.000-07:00

This is an explanation of God written by an 8-year-old named Danny Dutton, who lives in Chula Vista, CA . He wrote it for his third grade homework assignment, to 'explain God.'

'One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth. He doesn't make grownups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way he doesn't have to take up his valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers.'

'God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times beside bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this. Because he hears everything, there must be a terrible lot of noise in his ears, unless he has thought of a way to turn it off.'

'God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting his time by going over your mom and dad's head asking for something they said you couldn't have.'

'Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in Chula Vista . At least there aren't any who come to our church.'

'Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work, like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn't want to learn about God. They finally got tired of him preaching to them and they crucified him. But he was good and kind, like his father, and he told his father that they didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said O.K.'

'His dad (God) appreciated everything that he had done and all his hard work on earth so he told him he didn't have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So he did. And now he helps his dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones he can take care of himself without having to bother God. Like a secretary, only more important.'

'You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time.'

'You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God!

'Don't skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong. And besides the sun doesn't come out at the beach until noon anyway.'

'If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can. It is good to know He's around you when you're scared, in the dark or when you can't swim and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids.'

'But...you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and He can take me back anytime he pleases.

And...that's why I believe in God.

Jesus: From Genesis to Revelation

2011-09-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

The Bible, from cover to cover, answers the question, “Who is this Jesus?”

In the Old Testament:
- In Genesis, He is the Creator God.
- In Exodus, He is the Redeemer.
- In Leviticus, He is your sanctification.
- In Numbers, He is your guide.
- In Deuteronomy, He is your teacher.
- In Joshua, He is the mighty conqueror.
- In Judges, He gives victory over enemies.
- In Ruth, He is your kinsman, your lover, your redeemer.
- In 1 Samuel, He is the root of Jesse.
- In 2 Samuel, He is the Son of David.
- In 1 Kings and 2 Kings, He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
- In 1st and 2nd Chronicles, He is your intercessor and High Priest.
- In Ezra, He is your temple, your house of worship.
- In Nehemiah, He is your mighty wall, protecting you from your enemies.
- In Esther, He stands in the gap to deliver you from your enemies.
- In Job, He is the arbitrator who not only understands your struggles, but has the power to do something about them.
- In Psalms, He is your song – and your reason to sing.
- In Proverbs, He is your wisdom, helping you make sense of life and live it successfully.
- In Ecclesiastes, He is your purpose, delivering you from vanity..
- In the Song of Solomon, He is your lover, your Rose of Sharon.
- In Isaiah, He is the mighty counselor, the prince of peace, the everlasting father, and more. He’s everything you need.
- In Jeremiah, He is your balm of Gilead, the soothing salve for your sin-sick soul.
- In Lamentations, He is the ever-faithful one upon whom you can depend.
- In Ezekiel, He is your wheel in the middle of a wheel–the one who assures that dry, dead bones will come alive again.
- In Daniel, He is the ancient of days, the ever- lasting God who never runs out of time.
- In Hosea, He is your faithful lover, always beckoning you to come back–even when you have abandoned Him.
- In Joel, He is your refuge, keeping you safe in times of trouble.
- In Amos, He is the husbandman, the one you can depend on to stay by your side.
- In Obadiah, He is Lord of the Kingdom.
- In Jonah, He is your salvation, bringing you back within His will.
- In Micah, He is judge of the nation.
- In Nahum, He is the jealous God.
- In Habakkuk, He is the Holy One.
- In Zephaniah, He is the witness.
- In Haggai, He overthrows the enemies.
- In Zechariah, He is Lord of Hosts.
- In Malachi, He is the messenger of the covenant.

In the New Testament:
- In Matthew, He is king of the Jews.
- In Mark, He is the servant.
- In Luke, He is the Son of Man, feeling what you feel.
- In John, He is the Son of God.
- In Acts, He is Savior of the world.
- In Romans, He is the righteousness of God.
- In 1 Corinthians, He is the rock that followed Israel.
- In 2 Corinthians, He the triumphant one, giving victory.
- In Galatians, He is your liberty; He sets you free.
- In Ephesians, He is head of the Church.
- In Philippians, He is your joy.
- In Colossians, He is your completeness.
- In 1 Thessalonians, He is your hope.
- In 2 Thessalonians, He is your glory.
- In 1 Timothy, He is your faith.
- In 2 Timothy, He is your stability.
- In Titus, He is your reason for serving.
- In Philemon, He is your benefactor.
- In Hebrews, He is your perfection.
- In James, He is the power behind your faith.
- In 1 Peter, He is your example.
- In 2 Peter, He is your purity.
- In 1 John, He is your life.
- In 2 John, He is your pattern.
- In 3 John, He is your motivation.
- In Jude, He is the foundation of your faith.

- In Revelation, He is your coming King.