Papal Infallibility by Fr. Barron

My personal favorite is this beautiful, eloquent, yet easy to understand explanation of Papal Infallibility by Fr. Barron.

Papal Infallibility by Dr. Scott Hahn

Biblical scholar Dr. Scott Hahn, a once anti-Catholic protestant theologian and minister - now Catholic, explains Papal Infallibility to a protestant caller.  Done in a way many biblical protestants will understand.

"Why do I have to listen to the Pope?"

This short video is a bit juvenile, but it's easy to understand and a good one to share with our youth.

"Why do we have a Pope?"

The papacy, simply explained by Fr. Agustino.

Examination of Conscience

I love lists that help us examine our conscience, especially in preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  I personally find it very helpful.  The first time I saw a list like that, I was surprised to learn of things I never really thought were sins before.  A good examination of conscience helps me to be a better Christian.

Two of our sons will be participating in the Sacrament of Reconciliation tomorrow at school.  I wanted them to have some time tonight to reflect on their conscience and on God, but at their ages, I knew they'd need some help.  I found this examination of conscience for kids online, and thought I'd share it here.  In these easy to follow and easy to understand questions, I find it's a good source for anyone of any age.  It's from Catholic Parents Online website and written by Fr. Edward Filardi.  You can find it at this link:  http://catholicparents.org/oxcart/examinationchild.html .

God bless, and may we all receive His mercy.


An Examination of Conscience for Children
by Fr. Edward Filardi, Gaithersburg, Maryland


I. I am the Lord your God. You shall not have strange gods before me.
Do I give time every day to God in prayer?
Do I put my trust in superstitions, good luck charms, rather than God alone?
Have I rejected any Church teaching or denied that I was a Catholic?

 II. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
Have I used the words "God" or "Jesus" in anger or irreverently?
Have I used foul or ugly language? Have I wished evil on another?

 III. Remember to keep holy the Lord's day.
Have I missed Mass on Sunday or any holy day of obligation?
Do I arrive at church late or leave early?
Do I try to be reverent and pay attention during Mass?
Do I avoid unnecessary work on Sunday?
Do I make Sunday a day of prayer or rest?

 IV. Honor your father and your mother.
Do I respect and obey my parents?
Have I dishonored or mistreated them by word or deed?
Am I willing to help around the house or must I be nagged a hundred times?
Do I try to get along with my brothers and sisters?
Am I a tattletale or bully?
Do I give a good example, especially to younger siblings?
Do I respect others in authority: priests, nuns, police, old people, baby-sitters?

 V. You shall not kill.
Do I beat up others or hurt their bodies?
Do I say cruel things, or make fun of others to hurt their feelings?
Do I say mean things about others behind their backs?
Have I stopped speaking to anyone?
Do I encourage others to do bad things?
Do I try to love all people, born and unborn?

 VI. You shall not commit adultery.
Do I treat my body and other people's bodies with purity and respect?
Do I look at television shows, movies, or pictures that are bad?
Am I modest in my speech and the clothes I wear?

 VII. You shall not steal.
Have I taken things that were not mine from a store or another person?
Have I destroyed or misused another person's property for fun?
Do I return things that I borrow? In good condition?

 VIII. You shall not commit false witness against your neighbor.
Am I honest in my school work?
Do I tell lies to make myself look good?
Do I tell lies to protect myself from punishment?
Do I tell lies that make another person look bad or get them in trouble?

 IX. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.
Do I allow my parents to spend time with one another, or do I get jealous and want them to pay attention only to me?
Do I get mad when I have to share my friends?
Are there kids I will not play with or be mean to because they look different?

 X. You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.
Am I jealous or envious of the things or abilities that others have?
Am I thankful to God and my parents for what they have given me?
Do I share the things I have with my family, friends and poor people?


 The Act of Contrition
Oh my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you and I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, but most of all because they offend you, my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of your grace to sin no more, to amend my life, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin. Amen.

Pope Benedict XVI Christmas Eve Homily 2012

MIDNIGHT MASS

 

from www.vatican.va

SOLEMNITY OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD

HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

Saint Peter's Basilica
Monday, 24 December 2012

 

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Again and again the beauty of this Gospel touches our hearts: a beauty that is the splendour of truth. Again and again it astonishes us that God makes himself a child so that we may love him, so that we may dare to love him, and as a child trustingly lets himself be taken into our arms. It is as if God were saying: I know that my glory frightens you, and that you are trying to assert yourself in the face of my grandeur. So now I am coming to you as a child, so that you can accept me and love me.

I am also repeatedly struck by the Gospel writer’s almost casual remark that there was no room for them at the inn. Inevitably the question arises, what would happen if Mary and Joseph were to knock at my door. Would there be room for them? And then it occurs to us that Saint John takes up this seemingly chance comment about the lack of room at the inn, which drove the Holy Family into the stable; he explores it more deeply and arrives at the heart of the matter when he writes: “he came to his own home, and his own people received him not” (Jn 1:11). The great moral question of our attitude towards the homeless, towards refugees and migrants, takes on a deeper dimension: do we really have room for God when he seeks to enter under our roof? Do we have time and space for him? Do we not actually turn away God himself? We begin to do so when we have no time for God. The faster we can move, the more efficient our time-saving appliances become, the less time we have. And God? The question of God never seems urgent. Our time is already completely full. But matters go deeper still. Does God actually have a place in our thinking? Our process of thinking is structured in such a way that he simply ought not to exist. Even if he seems to knock at the door of our thinking, he has to be explained away. If thinking is to be taken seriously, it must be structured in such a way that the “God hypothesis” becomes superfluous. There is no room for him. Not even in our feelings and desires is there any room for him. We want ourselves. We want what we can seize hold of, we want happiness that is within our reach, we want our plans and purposes to succeed. We are so “full” of ourselves that there is no room left for God. And that means there is no room for others either, for children, for the poor, for the stranger. By reflecting on that one simple saying about the lack of room at the inn, we have come to see how much we need to listen to Saint Paul’s exhortation: “Be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Rom 12:2). Paul speaks of renewal, the opening up of our intellect (nous), of the whole way we view the world and ourselves. The conversion that we need must truly reach into the depths of our relationship with reality. Let us ask the Lord that we may become vigilant for his presence, that we may hear how softly yet insistently he knocks at the door of our being and willing. Let us ask that we may make room for him within ourselves, that we may recognize him also in those through whom he speaks to us: children, the suffering, the abandoned, those who are excluded and the poor of this world.

There is another verse from the Christmas story on which I should like to reflect with you – the angels’ hymn of praise, which they sing out following the announcement of the new-born Saviour: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased.” God is glorious. God is pure light, the radiance of truth and love. He is good. He is true goodness, goodness par excellence. The angels surrounding him begin by simply proclaiming the joy of seeing God’s glory. Their song radiates the joy that fills them. In their words, it is as if we were hearing the sounds of heaven. There is no question of attempting to understand the meaning of it all, but simply the overflowing happiness of seeing the pure splendour of God’s truth and love. We want to let this joy reach out and touch us: truth exists, pure goodness exists, pure light exists. God is good, and he is the supreme power above all powers. All this should simply make us joyful tonight, together with the angels and the shepherds.

Linked to God’s glory on high is peace on earth among men. Where God is not glorified, where he is forgotten or even denied, there is no peace either. Nowadays, though, widespread currents of thought assert the exact opposite: they say that religions, especially monotheism, are the cause of the violence and the wars in the world. If there is to be peace, humanity must first be liberated from them. Monotheism, belief in one God, is said to be arrogance, a cause of intolerance, because by its nature, with its claim to possess the sole truth, it seeks to impose itself on everyone. Now it is true that in the course of history, monotheism has served as a pretext for intolerance and violence. It is true that religion can become corrupted and hence opposed to its deepest essence, when people think they have to take God’s cause into their own hands, making God into their private property. We must be on the lookout for these distortions of the sacred. While there is no denying a certain misuse of religion in history, yet it is not true that denial of God would lead to peace. If God’s light is extinguished, man’s divine dignity is also extinguished. Then the human creature would cease to be God’s image, to which we must pay honour in every person, in the weak, in the stranger, in the poor. Then we would no longer all be brothers and sisters, children of the one Father, who belong to one another on account of that one Father. The kind of arrogant violence that then arises, the way man then despises and tramples upon man: we saw this in all its cruelty in the last century. Only if God’s light shines over man and within him, only if every single person is desired, known and loved by God is his dignity inviolable, however wretched his situation may be. On this Holy Night, God himself became man; as Isaiah prophesied, the child born here is “Emmanuel”, God with us (Is 7:14). And down the centuries, while there has been misuse of religion, it is also true that forces of reconciliation and goodness have constantly sprung up from faith in the God who became man. Into the darkness of sin and violence, this faith has shone a bright ray of peace and goodness, which continues to shine.

So Christ is our peace, and he proclaimed peace to those far away and to those near at hand (cf. Eph 2:14, 17). How could we now do other than pray to him: Yes, Lord, proclaim peace today to us too, whether we are far away or near at hand. Grant also to us today that swords may be turned into ploughshares (Is 2:4), that instead of weapons for warfare, practical aid may be given to the suffering. Enlighten those who think they have to practise violence in your name, so that they may see the senselessness of violence and learn to recognize your true face. Help us to become people “with whom you are pleased” – people according to your image and thus people of peace.

Once the angels departed, the shepherds said to one another: Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened for us (cf. Lk 2:15). The shepherds went with haste to Bethlehem, the Evangelist tells us (cf. 2:16). A holy curiosity impelled them to see this child in a manger, who the angel had said was the Saviour, Christ the Lord. The great joy of which the angel spoke had touched their hearts and given them wings.

Let us go over to Bethlehem, says the Church’s liturgy to us today. Trans-eamus is what the Latin Bible says: let us go “across”, daring to step beyond, to make the “transition” by which we step outside our habits of thought and habits of life, across the purely material world into the real one, across to the God who in his turn has come across to us. Let us ask the Lord to grant that we may overcome our limits, our world, to help us to encounter him, especially at the moment when he places himself into our hands and into our heart in the Holy Eucharist.

Let us go over to Bethlehem: as we say these words to one another, along with the shepherds, we should not only think of the great “crossing over” to the living God, but also of the actual town of Bethlehem and all those places where the Lord lived, ministered and suffered. Let us pray at this time for the people who live and suffer there today. Let us pray that there may be peace in that land. Let us pray that Israelis and Palestinians may be able to live their lives in the peace of the one God and in freedom. Let us also pray for the countries of the region, for Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and their neighbours: that there may be peace there, that Christians in those lands where our faith was born may be able to continue living there, that Christians and Muslims may build up their countries side by side in God’s peace.

The shepherds made haste. Holy curiosity and holy joy impelled them. In our case, it is probably not very often that we make haste for the things of God. God does not feature among the things that require haste. The things of God can wait, we think and we say. And yet he is the most important thing, ultimately the one truly important thing. Why should we not also be moved by curiosity to see more closely and to know what God has said to us? At this hour, let us ask him to touch our hearts with the holy curiosity and the holy joy of the shepherds, and thus let us go over joyfully to Bethlehem, to the Lord who today once more comes to meet us. Amen.



Children "Vote" for Obama at Catholic School

On the eve of the presidential election, I'm not going to change any minds at this point, but I'd be mad at myself if I didn't say something.

Our kids attend a Catholic grade school and recently the school held a mock presidential election.  Sitting down for dinner with our kids last night, I found out that Obama won the third grade vote.  Our twins are in third grade but they voted for Romney because they know my husband and I are voting for Romney.  So does this mean the majority of third graders voted for Obama because they know their parents are voting for Obama?  If so, do they not know or care that the Catholic church and our Religious Liberty are at stake?

If this is the case, I'm really worried.  Not so much worried about the outcome of the real election, but for the outcome of future Catholic generations.  I'm worried that as my children grow up around these other kids and their families, that our jobs are going to be even harder to instill Catholic social teachings if the majority of the families they grow up around aren't on the same page as we are... standing WITH the Catholic Church on all things.

I know kids will generally follow what they're first taught at home, but there will come a time when they'll hear and wonder about other values and views, and question theirs (or rather, "ours").  It takes a village to raise a family, so it's important for us to have our children surrounded by like-minded Catholic families and individuals because they will be influence by EVERYTHING around them.  I'm sorry, but it's very disheartening to me to think that many Catholic children my children know may not be taught and shown the truth of our Faith from their own families, which could then be a tragic epidemic of ignorance or apathy towards Church teachings for generations to come.

This is a very touchy subject, and not one you can force upon people to change their minds or views. I feel all I can do at this point is to continue to pray for all the families of our parish and school, and I want to add this eve, my continued prayers for our country and future leaders of America.

May God bless our country, and Holy Mother, please pray for us.

My Prayer for America

 
Agena Hurrle, Indianapolis, Indiana. This is my prayer for America.

Beyond "Grinding" at School Dances

It's Homecoming season, and the perfect time to re-post about "grinding" at school dances. A friend of mine just posted this on Facebook: "Had some football players over tonight for a bonfire. They chose not to be a part of the homecoming dance that is now called "the grindfest". Makes me so sad that school dances are no longer a place I want my child to be."  
 
This blog post (titled "How Do We Help Our Young People Get Beyond 'Grinding'?") from my favorite priest, Fr. John Hollowell, is a must-read for parents and educators!  Until his recent re-assignment, Fr. Hollowell was the Chaplin and a teacher at Cardinal Ritter High School.  Read his post HERE. 
 
 
Parents, I'd like to encourage you to talk to your teens about this, and like my friend did, offer a better alternative for your kids and their friends on Homecoming night if "grinding" is an issue at their school dances.  And if it is an issue at their school, parents and teachers MUST go to the school administrators and speak-out against it.  EVERY school dance, regardless of whether it's a public school or private school, should have policies against "grinding" at school dances and enforce them.  Don't be naive in thinking that this kind of dancing is harmless.

"Does It Really Matter If I Vote?"

This 30 second video is so cute and has a VERY powerful message!

When I was in my 20's, before marriage and before children, I didn't really care about politics.  I had my own opinions about some things, and so I claimed to agree with a particular party, but I didn't exercise my right to vote.  I didn't think my one, little vote would matter.
 
And then I had my own family, and that changed everything.  I became passionate about certain issues and protecting this country's future for my kids' sake.  It's so important to vote!  EVERY vote DOES matter!
 
I 'd like to talk to people reading this who may have never voted before.  I use to be afraid of going to the polls and not knowing what to do, and looking like an idiot.  That was ridiculous of me, because it's SO EASY!  The volunteer workers will show you exactly where to go and exactly what to do, and they aren't going to wave a big, red flag and blow a bull-horn to announce that you've never voted before, and then laugh at you.  They're very helpful and HAPPY that you're there!
 
You might think, "My vote is just one, measly vote", but you can't think that way.  When you vote, and people hear, or know that you voted, that starts a movement.  I guarantee that will encourage someone else to vote (if not now, at a future election), for example a co-worker or two, a friend, a younger sibling, or even your own kids one day.
 
You might think, "I don't know anything about the candidates, or understand anything about politics, the government, or the issues."  While it's good to know as much as you can, that's NOT a requirement to vote.  Pick at least one topic, ask around, or Google it, and learn what each candidate proposes.  For example, if you feel strongly about being pro-life or pro-choice, learn what each candidate endorses about it and what their plans are for running the government regarding that issue.  That is enough to vote.

For those of us who plan on voting this election, ask others if they're going to vote (coworkers, friends, your family).  ENCOURAGE them to vote.  Encourage everyone you know to vote.  It doesn't mean you're trying to have a conversation with them about politics, just leave it as a question of whether they're going to vote or not.  You never know what an inspiration you might be! 

Now, my warning... if you do feeling even the slightest bit of interest about something that's a political issue this election, and you DON'T vote, you're just breathing air.  Why then does anything matter to you?  You're a child of God and your opinions and rights matter!   And don't you at least owe it to future generations, or your legacy (your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, etc.) to take a stand and take action for something important?  Please.  Please get out and vote, and encourage other to vote too.  Millions of lives are depending on it - not just right now, but your vote this election affects the future too!

 

Register to vote right now!  Click on graphic below.



 

 

God, please bless American, and Holy Mother please pray for us.

Guardian Angels

Blessed feast day of Guardian Angels. 

From AmericanCatholic.org:

"Perhaps no aspect of Catholic piety is as comforting to parents as the belief that an angel protects their little ones from dangers real and imagined. Yet guardian angels are not just for children. Their role is to represent individuals before God, to watch over them always, to aid their prayer and to present their souls to God at death.
 
The concept of an angel assigned to guide and nurture each human being is a development of Catholic doctrine and piety based on Scripture but not directly drawn from it. Jesus' words in Matthew 18:10 best support the belief: "See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father."

Devotion to the angels began to develop with the birth of the monastic tradition. St. Benedict gave it impetus and Bernard of Clairvaux the great 12th-century reformer, was such an eloquent spokesman for the guardian angels that angelic devotion assumed its current form in his day.

A feast in honor of the guardian angels was first observed in the 16th century. In 1615, Pope Paul V added it to the Roman calendar."

From infancy to death human life is surrounded by their (the angels) watchful care and intercession. Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life. Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united to God." - from the Catechism of the Catholic Church; 336.
God bless my guardian angel - he/she has been given a big job!  I can recall numerous times throughout my life as I look back, where my guardian angel was working overtime!  Thank you dear guardian angel.  I hope I can live up to whatever reasons God has for me to still be hear, and doing well.  And for my childrens' guardian angels, please protect them as well as mine has protected me.

I love this dear, little prayer.  It's the first prayer my kiddos had memorized...

Guardian Angel Prayer

Angel of God, My Guardian Dear

to whom God's love entrusts me here.

Ever this day be at my side

to light, to guard, to rule, to guide.

Amen.

...and this one is a beautiful one too:

Prayer to One's Guardian Angel

Dear Angel, in his goodness God gave you to me to guide, protect, and enlighten me, and to bring me back to the right way when I go astray. Encourage me when I am disheartened, and instruct me when I err in my judgment. Help me to become more Christlike, and so some day to be accepted into the company of Angels and Saints in heaven.

Amen.

 

 

 

 

"The Chalice and the Pepsi Can - The Call to Holiness"

The perspective from which I'm sharing here on my blog, is of what I want my own children to know and understand.  What my prayers are for them, and for all souls.  This video by Father Joseph Hirsch is excellent in helping anyone to understand God's will for us... holiness. 

Fr. Hirsch gives his insights into what it means to listen to God's call to holiness for our lives. As a member of the office of Vocations for the Diocese of La Crosse, Fr. Hirsch encourages you to ground your life in prayer and discern where God is leading you, not only for your vocation, but also how we should view ourselves and others.  His message here is outstanding!

God's peace and love be with you.

Why Are There 7 Sacraments?

This is a terrific educational video (just 2 minutes long) about the Sacraments, http://vimeo.com/20285898.  A super-easy to understand, brief video explaining why there are 7 Sacraments and how they relate to the 7 conditions of physical life.  The explanation in this video is from the great Archbishop Fulton Sheen. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines a sacrament as "an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace given unto us, ordained by Christ himself, as a means whereby we receive the same, and a pledge to assure us thereof."  In short, a Sacrament is a sacred rite recognized as being of particular importance and significance to our faith.

Video credits

Producer/Director: Derek Natzke
Animation: Derek Natzke
Graphics: Derek Natzke
Music: mobygratis

Leaving the Faith

This homily, from a favorite priest of mine, brings tears to my eyes.  Because of my immense love for Christ and His church, I feel deep sadness in my heart for people who have left the Church;  for all who really don't know the faith and the beauty of its Truth;  for all who don't "agree" with Church teachings because they don't really know what it teaches or why, or because they've succumbed to secular worldviews (what the world and our culture says is right for us);  for those who don't know or believe in the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist;  for those who haven't been taught the faith (or not taught correctly), or who don't have good role models showing them how to LIVE the faith;  and for all whom are Catholic by culture or birth only and they just "go through the motions". 

If one's heart isn't truly in the faith, whether or not you attend Mass regularly, and you proclaim to be a Catholic Christian but yet don't truly live the faith and/or just go through the motions, then you've already left the Church.  I'm not judging anyone.  I'm purely stating the unfortunate reality of where so many people are in their lives right now.  My heart aches for them, and I pray for them.

God bless this priest for speaking what God needs the world to hear.  God's peace and love be with you, today and always.

Don't Let Satan Steal Your Wind

The evil one will try to steal your wind.  Don't let him! 

When you're trying to do good - especially in God's name, or you're changing your life for God, or trying to live a Holy life, Satan will work in sneaky ways to steal your motivation, steal your energy, steal your hope.  He'll even use people in your life that he knows mean the world to you, to mess with your head and make you doubt what God's word is, His love, and His plans.

I've experienced this many times, as I know most people have.  As I mature in life and my faith formation, I can see things more clearly now, and I can recognize when this is happening. 

It's so easy to let people we love who don't have faith in God, influence us because we love them so much and they're very dear to us.  You can even know that those people love you very much, but if they don't speak and live God's word, then be careful of their influence over you.  This is hard and can be painful.  With prayer, strong faith and trust in God, much reflection of His word and teachings, know that it's truly God who has your VERY BEST interests at hand.  "Trust in the Lord with all your heart"  Proverbs 3:5

At the same time, don't let it destroy a loving, important relationship in your life either.  The devil will try to put anger, pain, doubt, spite and pride between you and people you love who may not have the same faith in God... don't let that happen either!  Satan works from all angles.  Keep your prayer life consistent, surround yourself in God's word, and with Holy people - that includes going to church weekly - so you stay strong in your faith and can recognize attacks on your faith.

The evil one will try to distract you, and deceive you, and he knows what buttons work with you, and even knows what people to use to make that happen.  Don't let the wind from your sail be taken from you.  Sail on for the Lord, and keep praying for love in our hearts always, and for those who don't know Him. 

May God protect us all.