What's Holding You Back?

In today's Gospel, Peter, his brother Andrew, James and his brother John heard Jesus’ invitation to come after Him and become fishers of men. They responded immediately, without hesitation, putting aside their earthly endeavors to enter in faith upon a journey with Him Who could give them eternal life. What’s holding us back from doing the same?  Where are we being called to serve?

By the way, if you want to see this Gospel come to life, take a look at "Fishers of Men," a video produced by Grassroot Films, Inc. to assist in the promotion of priestly vocations. It is a moving and powerful tribute to the "other Christs" among us. This should be a mandatory part of our religious education programs and a must see for all Catholic families. You can find a trailer here...

I am not affiliated with Grassroots Films, Inc. nor will I receive any monetary renumertion for promoting this video. I do so because it touches my heart every time I view it and helps me better appreciate the majestic gift of the priesthood. You will feel the same.

  

Eucharistic Reflection

“I desire to unite Myself to human souls; My great delight is

to unite Myself with souls. Know, my daughter, that when I

come to a human heart in Holy Communion, My hands are

full of all kinds of graces which I want to give to the soul.

But souls do not even pay attention to Me; they leave Me to

myself and busy themselves with other things. Oh, how sad I

am that souls do not recognize Love! They treat me as a dead

object.”

Jesus to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska          

         

When A Father Speaks of Life, We Should Listen

He may not become Preisdent but he is where God wants him to be. Show this man the respect we owe someone who stands up for God's Truth. Take a look.

The Brides of Christ!

I agree with my Dominican sister Faith at One True Faith that this video is most deserving of being shared.

Makes you better understand the beauty of a vocation to the religious life and to the Dominican Order in particular, doesn't it?

Let us never stop thanking our Lord for the men and woman who accept His invitation to religious and priestly lives. Pray for many more vocations!

By the way, might He be inviting YOU?

When You're Fed Up with the Drivel on TV...

Even those who limit their television viewing find very little worthy of their time. When it is clear to you that you're wasting your life in front of "the box," why not look at the following instead.

Let's start with a hearty laugh from this blast from the past!

Got 2 minutes? - Have you any idea about the quality of the young men who are answering God's call to be Dominican priests? You will after viewing this.

What about 3 1/2 minutes? - Think your kids may be able to relate to this promo?

Can you spare 8 minutes? - Feeling down? Overwhelmed? Think that the obstacles you face are insurmountable? Questioning whether the effort to pick yourself up and go on is useless? You might feel differently after listening to Choi Sung-Bong. Thanks to Faith at The One True Faith for finding and passing this on.

Invest 7 minutes and hear what Father Bill Casey of the Fathers of Mercy has to say about the quality of preaching in our Church today.

This 33 minute video  shows one man's approach to changing minds, even obstinate ones, on the issue of abortion. 

Mary TV Medjugorje offers this interesting 47 minute testimony of Father Paul Nomenelli. I hasten to point out that since the alleged apparitions of Medjuogorje are claims to private revelation, there is no obligation to believe them, even if the events should some day be judged by the Church to be of supernatural origin. 

Ultimately, it has got to be about Him!

Forgotten Truths to Set Faith Afire! - Its Purpose

Excerpts from the Preface

I am not a theologian. However, as a member of the Lay Fraternities of Saint Dominic, I promised to engage in the “assiduous study of Sacred Truth.” Over the years, God has placed a tremendous hunger in my heart to know and share that Truth. During that time, I highlighted or made photocopies of passages in various articles and books that opened my eyes, stirred my soul and spoke to my heart. Much of what I have read over these years, I have written on index cards and stored them in my desk drawer. Periodically re-reading this material has had a significant impact on my life and spiritual journey…As a Dominican, I can not hoard these “Forgotten Truths” in my desk for my exclusive reflection. I must share them with others, knowing they will be a fruitful source of contemplation. That is the purpose of this book.

PLEASE NOTE: As soon as the book is available for sale, you will be able to order a copy directly from this blog or through Amazon.com. That date will be in God's perfect timing!

Eucharistic Reflection

“What joy ought not we men to conceive, what hopes and what affections, in knowing that in the midst of our land, in our churches, near our houses, the Holy of holies, the true God, dwells and lives in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar! He who by his presence alone renders the saints in heaven blessed! He who is love itself.”

(St. Alphonsus Liguori)

Love Your Priests - All Of Them

Blessed John Paul II gave the Church many beautiful gifts; among them were the Year of the Rosary (2002-2003) and the Year of the Eucharist (2004-2005).  In doing so, he encouraged priests, religious and laity to use these gifts and harness the spiritual power and strength that flows from them. Both he and his successor have urged their priests to make the Eucharist the source, center and summit of their priestly lives and to fully embrace and live their unique vocation as "another Christ." 

During the Year for the Priest (2009-2010) Pope Benedict XVI held St. John Marie Vianney up as the model for all priests because the Cure of Ars accepted the cross, was full of zeal for the salvation of souls, was an ardent Adorer of the Blessed Sacrament, was greatly devoted to our Blessed Mother, a lover of sinners who spent hours daily reconciling them with their merciful God, a model of purity, humble in all things, lover of penance and mortification, and a good and holy priest.

Not a single priest should be hesitant to imitate this great priest and saint! There have always been John Vianneys in our midst. Thankfully, more priests are responding positively and wholeheartedly to the Holy Father’s challenge. We are beginning to experience the fruits of their faithful embrace of that call! While we certainly need more priests, we first need holy priests whose Christ-like example will attract other men to the priesthood they love.

Unfortunately, some have rejected this humble and obedient man as a model for their priestly lives. This should not be surprising.  We know from the words of the prophet Malachi and sadly from our own contemporary experiences that there will always be some who “have turned aside from the way and have caused many to falter by their instruction” (Mal.2:8).

There are a multitude of reasons why some priests have chosen not to follow the Cure’s example. There are those who have succumbed to a false sense of humility believing they are not capable of living such a life; or who refuse to make the Eucharist the source, center and summit of their priestly lives; or who have abandoned the cross, the altar, the pulpit, fraternal correction, the confessional, zeal for the salvation of souls or a life of self-sacrifice; or who have treated their priesthood as if it were no different than the secular vocations of lay men and women, by becoming community organizers and social activists instead of fishers of men; or who have placed a premium on being politically correct; or who have devoted most of their energies to the worldly sphere of influence instead of the supernatural and eternal one that flows from the Eucharist and the confessional; or who have failed to faithfully teach and defend the Truths of our Faith; or who, instead of “faithful assent” to all of the Church’s teachings, mislead themselves and untold numbers of others by suggesting that there is such a thing as “faithful dissent;” or who have remained silent in the presence of sin; or who have abandoned clerical dress for worldly attire; or who aspire to be treated more as a regular guy than “another Christ,” or who prefer to be called “sacramental minster” rather than a priest.

Our priests have supernatural tasks which cannot be done by relying on their natural abilities.  Yet some insist on trying to. How sad it is whenever I hear one of Christ’s overburdened priests claim that there are days when they are so busy they don’t pray! How can that be? Did not Jesus tell Martha to set her priorities in the right order? Were not the Cure of Ars, Fulton Sheen, Blessed John Paul II and Blessed Mother Teresa busy people? Yet each of them spent at least one hour daily in front of the Blessed Sacrament because they knew it was He not them who would accomplish that which He asked them to do. Never once did their daily Holy Hour impede their ability to complete God’s work. To the contrary, it was because of their daily faithfulness to spending time in His Presence that they were able to do what they did. Why do so many doubt this truth?

Where are the lay people who have the expertise to do the worldly tasks that drain so much time and energy out of men who were ordained first and foremost for the salvation of souls, to say Mass, to forgive sins and to administer the other sacraments? None of our priests should be bookkeepers, financiers, purchasers, social workers, community organizers or clerks of the works. They are and must be about saving souls! Similarly, we lay people should be about using our skills to lighten our priest’s administrative tasks and evangelizing the unique areas in which we live and work instead of yearning for quasi-clerical positions.

The good news is that despite any shortcomings among some of our priests, all of them can yet be the holy priests God called them to be and that we need. They must put the Eucharist and the Mass at the center of their daily lives. They must listen and obey Christ’s Vicar on earth.  They must (as Archbishop Fulton Sheen wrote) recognize that their sanctification (as well as ours) starts with a “lively faith in the Divine Presence,” “that their holiness makes the Church holy,” that their primary concern must “be the tabernacle, not the rectory, not the ego, but the Lord, not [their] comfort, but God's glory,” and that “only those who believe the incredible can ever do the impossible.” 

Our priests certainly would also be well served, as Pope Benedict XVI suggested, to reflect on the words spoken to them as newly ordained priests when their Bishop presented them with the chalice and paten: “Understand what you do, imitate what you celebrate, and conform your life to the mystery of the Lord's Cross.”

I must hasten to acknowledge that we lay men and women share some blame for the current crisis in the priesthood. We have not fully appreciated our priests, or the enormous demands placed on them, or the unrelenting attack to which the Evil one subjects them.  In that sense, we have let these special men down. Too often we have failed to support or encourage them when they have shared the sometimes difficult demands of our Faith. Some of us have actually discouraged them from preaching the Truth.

Whatever we have failed to do, now is the time to make amends. Our priests need us and the power of our prayers. Just as there is no reason for any of them to fear emulating St. John Vianney, there is no Catholic who should hesitate offering a monthly novena to that great saint on behalf of our priests. It is a simple but powerful gift we owe them. You can find the novena here. Today would be a great time to begin!

Pretty Soon !!

It won't be too much longer before you will be able to purchase a copy of my new book, Forgotten Truths To Set Faith Afire! Words to Challenge, Inspire and Instruct. The little elves at creatspace.com are working feverishly to complete the final edit. Both a paperback copy and Kindle version will be available on createspace.com and Amazon.com in the coming weeks. I will keep your apprised of its arrival date.

I would love to hear what you think of the awesome cover they designed.



In the coming days, I will tell you more about this labor of love and share some excerpts with you.

Sound And Timely Advice For The Rest Of Us

As we pray for the sanctification of our priests, we should also pray and aspire for our own sanctification and that of our family and loved ones. Like our beloved priests, we lay members of Christ's Church must  also spend time in adoration before our loving and often abandoned Lord.

Picking up on my previous post and  melding it with the advice offered at a healing Mass that my wife and I were blessed to attend last week, may each of us consider offering the following prayer in the silence of our hearts every time we approach our Lord to receive His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.

O Lord that I may approach You as if this was my very first Holy Communion.

O Lord that I might approach You as if this was my only Holy Communion.

O Lord that I might approach You as if this my very last Holy Communion.

It is only through the Eucharist that any of us, priest, religious or lay, will ever become the saints God calls us to be. 

Thank you Lord for the holy priests, religious and lay men and women already in our midst. Make the rest of us holy and pleasing in Your sight as well. 

Sound And Timely Advice For Our Priests

Father Mark continues with his wise advice:

The Compass That Orients One's Priesthood

The priest who is not first an adorer has lost the compass that orients all the rest of his life. The priesthood is ordered to adoration, and the summit of adoration is sacrifice: the immolation of a victim to God. The loss of the spirit of adoration is the ruin of the priesthood.

Prayer Before Mass

This prayerful suggestion, I understand, was posted in the sacristy at one of the convents Blessed Teresa of Calcutta had visited:

O priest, say this Mass as if it were your first Mass.

O, priest say this Mass as if it were your only Mass.

O priest, say this Mass as if were your last Mass.

Let our prayers for the sanctification of all our priests never cease!

Who Is St. Martin de Porres?

Did you know that three great Domician saints lived at the same time in Lima, Peru? They are  - St. Rose of Lima, St. John Macias and St. Martin de Porres.

Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Martin de Porres. If you want to get a good sense of this outstanding Dominican, read A Brother to His Brothers, an article posted today by Brother John Baptist Hoang, O.P., a student at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington D.C.

For your information, the Church celebrates the feast day of St. Rose of Lima on August 23rd and that of St. John Macias on September 18th. I wrote a little piece on St. Rose last August. You may be able to tease your curiosity about St. John by glancing at this brief article .

St. Martin, St. Rose, St John Macias aand all the Dominican saints and blesseds, pray for us!

Eucharistic Reflection

"Ah, my Jesus! what loving invention was this of the Most Blessed Sacrament, to hide Yourself under the appearance of bread, in order to make Yourself loved and that You might be found on earth by all who desire You! The prophet was right in saying that men should speak and raise their voices throughout the world, in order to make known to all men to what an excess the inventions of the love of our good God go for us: 'Make His works known among the people.' "

"'The voice of my Beloved knocking: Open to Me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled' (Song 5:2). Such are the words which Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament speaks to those who love and desire Him. Open to Me, He says, O soul, your heart, and there I will come to unite Myself to you; so that, being one with Me, you may become my sister by resemblance, my friend by participation in my riches, my dove by the gift of simplicity, my undefiled by the gift of purity, which I shall communicate to you. And then He goes on to say, 'Open to Me, for my head is full of dew and my locks the drops of the night.' As if He said: Consider, my beloved, that I have waited for you all the night of the bad life you have led in the midst of darkness and error. Behold, now, instead of bringing scourges to chastise you, I come in the Blessed Sacrament, with my hair full of heavenly dew, to extinguish in you all impure desires towards creatures, and to kindle in you the happy fire of my love. Come, then, O my beloved Jesus, and work in me what You will."

(St. Alphonsus Liguori)