Give Him Your Poverty, Trust Him with Your Sins

Father Mark is once again doing what he does best - challenging his brother priests to be the holy men God chose them to be and in the process to lead their flock to holiness as well:

Give Him your poverty, trust Him with your sins

Our priests need our prayerful and daily support.

Eucharistic Reflection

“When Jesus remains in the quiet of the altar, in the tabernacle’s shadow, people in their blind carelessness let Him alone, they forget all about Him. And when He exposes Himself upon the altar, he is hurt to the Heart by the irreverence of so many who either have no faith at all or a faith that is very weak. When He goes through the streets in order to bring unspeakable blessings to His beloved children, He hears curses and blasphemies that make out of His errand of mercy another way of the cross.

But in the midst of all these bitternesses one hope sustains Him – the hope of a place of refuge that will offer the love and peace He craves. The bitter chalice which others continually place to His lips He drinks with resignation; for He is sustained by the hope of a loving reception in my heart by way of reparation. One only hour spent in the enjoyment of my love, and He forgets years and years of suffering…

Altar and tabernacle, monstrance and church, are merely the avenues through which His love enters; its goal is my heart; it is there that He would rest. Ah! How it would pain His divine heart if I would not let Him in, or if I would receive Him unworthily. What a bitter disappointment that would be!”

(Eucharistic Whisperings, Father Winfrid Herbst, S.D.S.)

In Case You Have Not Heard - 4th Annual Catholic Writers' Guild Conference

Catholic Writers Conference

M E D I A   R E L E A S E

CONTACT:

Ann Margaret Lewis Phone: (317) 755-2693 e-mail: cwglivecon@catholicwritersguild.com

 

Catholic Writers to Hold Conference in Arlington, Texas

Arlington, TX--The fourth annual Catholic Writers’ Conference LIVE will take place August 29-31, 2012, at the Arlington Convention Center in Arlington, TX. Sponsored by the Catholic Writer’s Guild and the Catholic Marketing Network (CMN), and held in conjunction with CMN’s annual retailer trade show, the Catholic Writers Conference LIVE provides Catholic authors with a prime opportunity to meet and share their faith with editors, publishers, fellow writers, and bookstore owners from across the globe.

The conference will offer “pitch sessions,” allowing authors an opportunity to meet personally with publishing professionals and pitch their writing projects. In addition, attendees have the opportunity to sign up for critique with professional editors and writers. Some participating publishers are Ignatius Press, Ave Maria Press, Christus Publishing, Tuscany Press, Ascension Press and Servant Books. Information for this event can be found on the conference web site.

This year's conference will focus on “Writing and the New Evangelization.” Speakers include EWTN personalities Teresa Tomeo and Father Andrew Apostoli, CFR, authors Ellen Hrkach (In NAME ONLY) and Patti Armstrong (STORIES FOR THE HOMESCHOOL HEART), Ann Margaret Lewis (MURDER IN THE VATICAN: THE CHURCH MYSTERIES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES), and author and blogger Sarah Reinhard (A CATHOLIC MOTHER’S COMPANION TO PREGNANCY: WALKING WITH MARY FROM CONCEPTION TO BAPTISM). More excellent speakers are still being confirmed.

In partnership with the Catholic New Media Conference, also taking place in the convention center, conference attendees will be able to attend a special track on blogging for $25. Information on this opportunity will be made to attendees upon registration.

“It's not just writing, it's not just fellowship, it's inspiration, too!” says 2011 Conference presenter Sarah Reinhard. “It was great to share the Eucharist and evening meals in person with writers who inspire me, encourage me, and motivate me the rest of the year.”

The Catholic Writers Guild, a religious non-profit organization affiliated with the Archdiocese of Indianapolis sponsors both this live conference in August and an online conference in February to further its mission of promoting Catholic literature. Says CWG President Ann Lewis, “These events are integral to our mission of ‘creating a rebirth of Catholic arts and letters.”

Registration costs $70 for CWG members, $75 for non-members and $40 for students. There's also a discounted combined membership. To register or for more information, go to http://www.catholicwritersconference.com.

# # #

Graphics, interviews and further information available upon request.

 

Catholic Writers! #Catholic #Writers #Conference LIVE in #Arlington, TX 8/29-31 http://www.catholicwritersconference.com/

 

http://www.catholicwritersconference.com/index.php?name=Content_2&pid=211

Theme for CWCL—the new evangelization

Listen Again to the Venerable Fulton J. Sheen

There have always been prophets among us. Unfortunately, far too often we either do not hear them or intentionally ignore them. How different our Church and world might have been had we listened to Venerable Fulton J. Sheen.

The good news is that much of what he wrote still is readily accessible to anyone who wants to read what this often ignored messenger tried to share during his earthly life and what God is now allowing so many to re-discover and appreciate.  May more of us listen to this prophet. His wisdom and insight are timeless.

The following gem was recently quoted on Church Militant and is well worth sharing here:

“The world in which we live is the battleground of the Church. I believe that we are now living at the end of Christendom. It is the end of Christendom but not the end of Christianity. What is Christendom? It is the political, economic, moral, social, legal life of a nation as inspired by the gospel ethic. That is finished. Abortion, the breakdown of the family, dishonesty, even the natural virtues upon which the supernatural virtues are based, are being discredited. Christianity is not at an end. But we are at the end of Christendom. And I believe the sooner we face up to this fact, the sooner we will be able to solve many of our problems.

Thirty or forty years ago it was easy to be a Christian. The very air we breathed was Christian. Bicycles could be left on front lawns; doors could be left unlocked. Suddenly all this has changed; now we have to affirm our faith. We live in a world that challenges us. And many fall away. Dead bodies float downstream; it takes live bodies to resist the current. And this is our summons.

We will have to begin to be a different Church. We are for the moment on the trapeze. We are in between the death of an old civilization and culture, and the swing to the beginning of the new. These are the times in which we live. They are therefore wonderful days, marvelous; we should thank God we live in times like these.”

(Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen from Through the Year with Fulton Sheen: Inspirational Selections for Each Day of the Year)

(Photo credit to Wikimedia Commons)

Eucharistic Reflection

"If the poison of pride is swelling up in you, turn to the Eucharist; and that Bread, Which is your God humbling and disguising Himself, will teach you humility. If the fever of selfish greed rages in you, feed on this Bread; and you will learn generosity. If the cold wind of coveting withers you, hasten to the Bread of Angels; and charity will come to blossom in your heart. If you feel the itch of intemperance, nourish yourself with the Flesh and Blood of Christ, Who practiced heroic self-control during His earthly life; and you will become temperate. If you are lazy and sluggish about spiritual things, strengthen yourself with this heavenly Food; and you will grow fervent. Lastly, if you feel scorched by the fever of impurity, go to the banquet of the Angels; and the spotless Flesh of Christ will make you pure and chaste,"

(St. Cyril of Alexandria)

Pondering Tidbits of Truth - Week of July 19, 2012

(In the event you are not familar with the purpose of this post, take a quick look here).


This week's offerings:

From St. Teresa of Avila:

“The whole aim of any person who is beginning prayer – and don’t forget this, because it is very important   – should be that he work and prepare himself with determination and every effort to bring his will in conformity with God’s will.”

(From Interior Castle)

From Scripture:

“He summoned the crowd with His disciples and said to them: ‘If a man wishes to come after me, he must deny his very self, take up his cross and follow in My steps. Whoever will preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will preserve it’.”

(Mark 8:34-35)

From St. Augustine


“Love of self till God is forgotten or love of God till self is forgotten.”

(From The City of God)

(You can find my initial offerings here).

Introducing "Pondering Tidbits of Truth"

The Purpose of Pondering Tidbits of Truth

We are all busy people. Many of us have convinced ourselves that we simply do not have the time to read, ponder and reflect on the Scriptures or the wealth of spiritual wisdom our Church has accumulated over the centuries. Yet, we owe God and ourselves this reflective time.

If we spend little or no time, pondering the truths and mysteries of our Faith, we are not going to progress spiritually - a growth essential to our eternal well-being and that of those around us.

Pondering Tidbits of Truth is my simple and inadequate way of providing nuggets of spiritual wisdom for you to chew on from time to time. Rarely will they share a common thread.

On the first and third Thursday of each month (God willing), I will offer some quotations for your reflection. This is my challenge to you. Read and ponder them. Invest at least five minutes of your time on each of them over the course of two weeks, asking God to let you understand what He wants you to learn from this material.

I suspect if you give Him these minutes, you will be hungry for additional nourishment and eager to give Him even more of your time. You may even want to share what you have learned – at least we hope you will. We are all busy people. Many of us have convinced ourselves that we simply do not have the time to read, ponder and reflect on the Scriptures and the wealth of spiritual wisdom our Church has accumulated over the centuries. Yet, we owe God and ourselves this reflective time.

 

For your information: to find links to all the previous entries in this column, go to "Search This Blog" and type in "Pondering Tidbits of Truth".

How Much Do YOU Love God?

Too often we have taken God for granted. So sometimes He asks others “to shake things up.” Today may be one of those days.

Here is a question worth pondering now and in the days to come:

“What if God loved you only as much as you loved Him?”

(Father Francis Hudson, S.C.J.)

Have you ever loved someone so much that you could hardly wait to hear from them, to speak with them and to see them? How often have you looked forward to a visit from someone you deeply love only to have that person not come? How hurt have you felt when you were ignored and your love not returned?

Imagine then how God - Who is Love – Who loves us more than words can describe - feels when we fail to demonstrate our love for Him? He waits in our churches hour after hour just to hear our voices and to see our faces.

Yet, few of us come to be with Him.

God is the sole source of real peace amidst the chaos, challenges and trials of our daily lives. But the noise and busyness that surrounds us prevents us from experiencing that peace as God intended we do.

Pope Benedict XVI recently reminded us that attendance at Sunday Mass is simply not enough. Adoration should never have been de-emphasized. It is a real reminder that Jesus is always here with us in the Blessed Sacrament.

“To really communicate with another person”, the Pope wrote, “I must know him, I must be able to be in silence, close to him, to hear him, and to look at him with love.” 

(Corpus Christi Homily 2012)

On another occasion, the Holy Father had this to say:

“In silence, we are better able to listen to and understand ourselves; …. By remaining silent we allow the other person to speak, to express himself; and we avoid being tied simply to our own words and ideas without them being adequately tested. In this way, space is created for mutual listening, and deeper …relationships become possible…"  

"If God speaks to us even in silence, we in turn discover in silence the possibility of speaking with God and about God.” 

(World Communications Day 2012)

Why go to Adoration?

God deserves it. He is entitled to it. He has asked us to watch one hour with Him. You find the time to be with the one you love.

According to the Missionaries of the Blessed Sacrament, every hour we spend in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament:

- deepens our union with Jesus, transforms us into the very image and likeness of God Himself, and makes up for those who do not know Him or do not love Him;

- draws the world and everyone in it closer to Christ;

- lifts up the whole world to the Father for His blessing; and

- saves a soul from going to hell.

Let me hasten to state that time before the Blessed Sacrament is no guaranty of a struggle free life. But He does promise sufficient graces to carry our daily crosses and eternity with Him for those who love Him.

Adoration is for everyone. But I don’t have the time you say. Consider these statistics from Father Oscar Lukefahr, C.M.:

If you live to be eighty you would have spent about 3 years reading, 5 years talking, 6 years riding in a car, 7 years eating, 11 years in recreational activities and 27 years sleeping. If you offered an hour of adoration each week you would have given Jesus less than 6 months of your life. Add attendance at Sunday Mass and 5 minutes of daily prayer to your weekly holy hour and you would have given Him a little less than I year of your time.

You have the time. You just have to choose to do it.

“Adoration is not just one more thing to do like going to the store, the doctor, etc. It is an encounter with Christ. His love changes and orders our life.”

(Father James M. Sullivan, OP)

I am a much different person today than I was before making a commitment to weekly adoration. I have a deeper and more profound love for God, my wife and my family. I think more often of others before myself. I still offend God but am quicker to seek the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I love Mass and the Holy Eucharist. I joyfully jump out of bed each Saturday morning at 3 AM to be with Him.

Can I be bold enough to ask you another question:

How much do YOU love God? 

What are you waiting for?

Consider this a personal invitation from Jesus Himself.  

He awaits you with open and loving arms.

If you come to Him with an open heart, He will give you His.

That’s His promise.

PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION

Listen To The Prophets!

The prophet Hosea reminds us today (Hosea 11:1-4 ,8e-9) that the history of mankind is a story of unrequited love  – God loving man but man not loving Him in return. God has given us every thing we need. Yet, the more we receive the less grateful we have become.   Despite our ingratitude and our failure to love Him as we ought and in a manner our God deserves, He still loves us. He went to the cross, suffered and died for us, knowing that far too many of us would never appreciate His sacrifice or benefit eternally from it. Oh, that we would love Him as unconditionally as He loves us!

May More of Our Priests Accept God's Invitation to Come Before His Eucharistic Face and Enter His Sacred Heart

In case you have not recently read Vultus Christi, Father Mark’s blog, make sure you read what follows and then share it with everyone you know, especially with as many priests as you can.  Recommend  Vultus Christi to your priests. 

We need to challenge our priests and they us. We must pray for their sanctification, as they pray for our holiness as well. 

The Friendship of Christ for His Priests

How it grieves My Heart when the unique love I offer a soul
is spurned, or ignored, or regarded with indifference.
I tell you this so that you may make reparation to My Heart
by accepting the love I have for you
and by living in My friendship.
Receive My gifts, My kindnesses, My attention, My mercies
for the sake of those who refuse what I so desire to give them.
Do this especially for My priests, your brothers.

I would fill each one of My priests with My merciful love,
I would take each one into the shelter of My wounded Side,
I would give to each one the delights of My Divine Friendship,
but so few of My priests accept what I desire to give them.
They flee from before My Face.
They remain at a distance from My open Heart.
They keep themselves apart from Me.
Their lives are compartmentalized.
They treat with Me only when duty obliges them to do so.
There is no gratuitous love,
no desire to be with Me for My own sake,
simply because I am there in the Sacrament of My Love,
waiting for the companionship and friendship of those
whom I have chosen and called from among millions of souls
to be My priests
and to be the special friends of My Sacred Heart.

Would that priests understood
that they are called not only to minister to souls in My Name,
but even more to cling to Me,
to abide in Me, to live in Me and for Me, and by Me and no other. . .

So many of My priests have never really heard and understood
the invitation to an exclusive and all-fulfilling friendship with Me.
And so, they feel alone in life.
They are driven to seek out in other places
and in creatures unworthy of the undivided love of their consecrated hearts,
the fullness of happiness, and hope, and peace that only I can give them.
So many go forward in bitterness and disappointment.
They seek to fill the emptiness within with vain pursuits,
with lust, with possessions, with food and drink.
They have Me, very often, near to them
in the Sacrament of My Love,
and they leave Me there alone,
day after day and night after night.

Oh, how My Heart longs to raise up
a company of priest-adorers
who will make reparation for their brother priests
by abiding before My Eucharistic Face.
I will pour out the treasures of My Eucharistic Heart upon them.
I want to renew the priesthood in My Church,
and I will do it beginning with a few priests
touched to the quick by My friendship,
and drawn into the radiance of My Eucharistic Face.
The graces stored up in My Heart for priests are inexhaustible,
but so few open themselves to receive them.

(From In Sinu Iesu, The Journal of a Priest)

Eucharistic Reflection

What if the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was always and everywhere offered in accordance with the dignity, reverence and obedience our God merits? If we truly worshiped Him as He deserves, do you think more Catholics would willingly and lovingly come to Mass and give their Lord the worship and adoration He ought to receive?

May the following reflection help move us in that direction wherever there may be a need to do so:

When the Host is held on high and a chalice lifted…look up! Look up and see what Mary saw.  See a naked man squirming as He bleeds against a blackened sky; see a battered human body, writhing on a tree, prisoned there by savage spikes that have torn through Sacred hands and feet; see thorn-tortured head tossing from side to side as anguished torso labors, lifts and strains; see the eyes of God roll towards heaven beseeching, as broken lips blurt out that soul piercing cry: “My God, My God, Why has Thou forsaken Me?”

What is this?  This is the Mass.  This is Crucifixion.  This is what Mary saw at the elevation of Christianity’s first Mass.  This is what you should see at the Elevation of every Mass!

(Father M. Raymond, O.C.S.O. from God, A Woman and the Way)

(Image credit to Copiosa.org)

The Wisdom and Prophetic Voice of Fulton J. Sheen

I could not pass this up - another strikingly powerful quote from Venerable Fulton J. Sheen - one which Michael Voris shared on a recent epsiode of ChurchMilitant.TV:

“Christian love bears evil, but it does not tolerate it. It does penance for the sins of others, but it is not broad minded about sin. REAL LOVE involves real hatred: whoever has lost the power of moral indignation and the urge to drive out the sellers from the temples has also lost a living fervent love of Truth.” 

(From Lift Up Your Heart: A Guide To Spiritual Peace)

Help Me Understand! Should Not the Salvation of Souls Be Our Primary Concern?

I understand that in a democratic society, the Catholic Church and its members must try to shape social and political policies and to have their voices heard on the pressing moral issues of the day. There is no doubt that an increasing number of recent actions (beyond the HHS contraception and sterilzation mandates) taken by the Obama administration  pose real and imminent threats to our God given and constitutionally recognized fundamental right - freedom of religion. Freedom loving people of all religious persuasions and those of no religious affiliation must stand up and defend this fundamental principle – one which no man, no government, no nation has the right to restrict.

Nonetheless, I am at a loss to understand how political strategizing and judicial skirmishes, no matter how well-intentioned and necessary they both may be, should take precedence over the Church’s primary duty - the sanctification and salvation of souls.

The Catholic Church has a duty to preach Christ’s Truths in their completeness, not just the more palatable and less controversial ones, to all peoples, not just those who identify themselves as Catholic. The fact that many if not a majority of Americans, Catholic and non-Catholic, may not believe abortion, contraception, sex outside a sacramental marriage, sterilization and in-vitro fertilization are intrinsically evil acts – neither changes those Truths nor exempts the Church from explaining and teaching those Truths to everyone. Jesus charged us to “make disciples of all nations” did He not?

Instead of using the present attack on our religious freedoms as an opportunity to simultaneously explain, with clarity, courage and love, why the Catholic Church teaches that the acts listed above are intrinsically evil, our current approach suggests we will defer that portion of our duty until after the public fight over our religious freedom has been resolved.

We may never have a better opportunity to save souls or a wider platform from which to explain God’s teachings in these areas to a broader audience than that which God has presented us with now. In fact, we may not have the freedom to do so at all in the future.

It seems to this simple man, that at least for now, too many are content to just preserve the rights of some Catholics to believe these Truths and wait to an unspecified time in the future to explain why all of us (Catholic and non-Catholic) should believe and live out these Truths in our individual lives. What of the lives ruined and the souls lost in the interim?

When was the last time you heard a homily on any of these evils? When did you last hear a priest preach on Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae (Human Life) or on Evangelium Vitae (Gospel of Life) written by Pope John Paul II or suggest that you prayerfully read and study these documents? When was the last time you read an article in your local secular or diocesan newspapers or had a parish speaker explaining the compelling reasons behind these fundamental teachings of the Catholic Church and the eternal consequences to those who reject them?

The more than forty years of silence in local parishes and in many Dioceses on these issues goes a long way toward explaining why more Catholics are not engaged in this most vital fight to preserve religious freedom in this country.

Make no mistake – the Catholic Bishops are absolutely correct to warn us of this unprecedented attack on religious freedom and to call us to pray and fight to preserve this God-given right. 

But let me ask you this: What if we are successful in preserving religious freedom but continue silently condemning untold souls to eternal separation from a loving God because we lack the courage to teach and challenge them to live the Truth?

Now is the time to end the silence!

PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION

Are You One of the 7%?

A simple but powerful way of taking another look at prayer! It is well-worth five minutes of your time. Thanks to Mary Lou for passing this on...Will you?

(Source: You Tube:nescvinmd)

Pondering Tidbits of Truth - Week of July 3, 2012

Some food for thought today:


From Venerable Fulton Sheen:

"Sometimes the only way the good Lord can get into some hearts is to break them."



From St. Caterhine of Siena:

"For nails would not have held God-and-Man fast to the cross, had love not held Him there."



From St. Gregory the Great:

"If people are scandalized at the Truth, it is better to allow the birth of scandal than to abandon the Truth."