First Saturday Devotions

Just a reminder that this coming Saturday is the First Saturday of the month, so you know what that means - FIRST SATURDAY DEVOTIONS (my personal favorite time of the month).

This month, we will have Father Ralph as our celebrant for Reconciliation and Mass. Joe Curry, a II Philosophy Seminarian from the Diocese of Tulsa, will be there to educate us all about Our Lady of Lourdes. 

 So if you plan on attending, they would appreciate a courtesy call by noon on Friday, February 1 at (812-631-2377) to let them know how many you plan to bring with you so they can get a better idea on the amounts of food they need.

I strongly encourage you to check it out. It will change your life if you let it. So come. It may be cold, but offer it up. A little suffering won't kill you. It might even make you a better person.  

Well, I'll see you there.

OUR LADY OF LOURDES:  

 

*picture from  http://holycardheaven.blogspot.com/2012_02_01_archive.html

March for Life

See the short girl with the black and gray scarf in the picture, the third one from the right holding the sign? Yeah, that's me.

The March for Life in Washington, D.C., was January 25, and it was the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade. So for forty years, people from all over America have been coming to protest against the culture of death and to beg for everyone's inalienable right to life.

There have been reports of over half a million people in attendance for the 2013 March for Life. This is the largest amount of people who have ever attended a Civil Rights Movement. Amazing, isn't it? I believe the tides are beginning to turn. I pray with my heart and soul that all Americans especially women are waking up and that they are beginning to realize the truth of abortion. I hope that more and more people will come to understand the true dignity and respect that life itself deserves.I pray that someday all will come to understand that life is truly beautiful.

I pray that abortion and the mentality of the culture of death will come to an end and become a distant memory. I hope that my own children will be unable to believe that my generation could even consider killing the defenseless unborn.

Man's life comes from God; it is his gift, his image and imprint, a sharing in his breath of life. God therefore is the sole Lord of this life: man cannot do with it as he wills. God himself makes this clear to Noah after the Flood: "For your own lifeblood, too, I will demand an accounting...and from man in regard to his fellow man I will demand an accounting for human life" (Genesis 9:5). The biblical text is concerned to emphasize how the sacredness of life has its foundation in God and in his creative activity: "For God made man in his own image" (Genesis 9:6). Human life and death are thus in the hands of God, in his power: "In this hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind," exclaims Job (12:10). "The Lord brings to death and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up" (1 Samuel 2:6). He alone can say: "It is I who bring both death and life" (Deuteronomy 32:39).
~Pope John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), 

March 25, 1995

*picture from  

http://www.themessageonline.org/special_features/article/id/1421

March For Life

This Friday is the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. There are usually a couple hundred thousand people there, protesting against abortions and everyone's inalienable right to life. This year is sadly the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. 

Please join with me in prayer as we protest and speak up for those without a choice nor a voice. Please pray that this decision will be overturned.

There are nearly 4,000 babies aborted every day in the United States alone. Think of how many people could be alive today. They could be growing up, someone's daughter, someone's father, someone's friend, someone's priest.

Please.

Pray for an end to this madness.

Pray for an end to abortion. 

*picture from http://www.markmallett.com/blog/2007/08/sins-which-cry-out-to-heaven/

Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM), no. 373, designates January 22 as a particular day of prayer and penance for abortion, called the "Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children."

On this special day, I invite you to say a prayer for all those children who will be killed today just because their mothers don't want them. And pray for the mothers of these unborn children, that they will make the right choice, keep the baby, and draw closer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

Abortion is worse than the Holocaust. We've got to end it somehow and someday soon. This January will be the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. Please pray, especially today, that this decision will be overturned and that the Rights of the Unborn Children everywhere will be protected and respected. 

Please don't be silent about abortion. Say a prayer for these poor children who have no one to defend them. Stand up for those without a voice. 

Prayer for the Unborn Child

Heavenly Father, in Your love for us, protect against the wickedness of the devil, those helpless little ones to whom You have given the gift of life. Touch with pity the hearts of those women pregnant in our world today who are not thinking of motherhood. Help them to see that the child they carry is made in Your image, as well as theirs, and is made for eternal life. Dispel their fear and selfishness and give them true womanly hearts to love their babies and give them birth and all the needed care that a mother alone can give. We ask this through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

*picture from 

http://www.capetownlawyer.co.za/divorce/children/unborn-child.php.

*prayer from

 http://dailycatholicdevotions.blogspot.com/2013/01/january-22-day-of-prayer-for-legal.html.

Saint Agnes

 

Today we celebrate the feast day of Saint Agnes. She was a virgin and martyr. She was only thirteen when she was martyred because she wouldn't give up her purity. She was a very beautiful girl, but she always said that she would save herself for her one spouse who was Christ. She died in 304 defending her purity and her faith in Christ. She is the patron saint of chastity, gardeners, girls, engaged couples, rape victims, and virgins.

Dear Saint Agnes, patroness of purity, pray for us who struggle with being pure and respecting our bodies. Stand by our side and intercede for us in our times of temptation. Guard our purity and help us to grow closer to Christ and to love Him as fervently as you did. Help us to be a martyr like you except in our everyday lives where it is sometimes more difficult to be pure. Intercede for us that we may become more pure of heart, and therefore, come to inherit the kingdom of God and some day praise God with you in heaven. 

This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Saint Agnes, patroness of chastity, pray for us!

*picture from http://www.southernfriedcatholicism.com/2011_01_01_archive.html.

Baptism of the Lord

This Sunday, we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord. The sacrament of Baptism frees us so that we are no longer slaves of sin, but we are born into a new life with Christ and we become sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father.

I think we would sin less if we just remember what we are really doing: rejecting God and instead saying "yes" to Satan. If we just remember those vows we made to God in Baptism, we would be disgusted and ashamed by any sin we consider committing.

On this special Sunday, it would be a good time to remember our own Baptismal promises we made (or were made for us) when we celebrated this beautiful sacrament.

The Baptismal vows:

V. Do you reject Satan?
R. I do.
V. And all his works?
R. I do.
V. And all his empty promises?
R. I do.
V. Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth?
R. I do.
V. Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father?
R. I do.
V. Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?
R. I do.
V. God, the all-powerful Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has given us a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and forgiven all our sins. May he also keep us faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ for ever and ever.
R. Amen. 

“You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” 

Blessing for a New Year

There has been the tradition of blessing the doors of homes on the Epiphany. This inscription is made above the door, so that all who enter and depart this year may enjoy the blessings of Christ. We ask Christ to visit our home and to bless all who dwell there.

You can take a piece of chalk and write this above your front door: 20+C+M+B+13.

There are two meanings behind the C, M, and B. They are the traditional names of the Three Magi: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. And they also abbreviate the Latin words "Christus mansionem benedicat " which means "Christ bless this house ". 

The crosses in between represent the protection of the Precious Blood of Christ and the holiness of the Three Kings because they came to adore the infant God.

You can use this blessing:

Lord God of heaven and earth, You revealed Your only begotten Son to every nation by the guidance of a star. Bless our house and all who inhabit it. May we be blessed with health, goodness of heart, gentleness, and the keeping of Your law. Fill us with the light of Christ, that our love for each other may go out to all the world. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

I pray that Christ's presence and peace will dwell in your home this new year.

Epiphany of the Lord

This Sunday, we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord. As you know, this commemorates the three magi finding Jesus and giving Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 

The gold symbolized that Jesus was royalty and a King. The Jews used burned frankincense on their altars to show their prayers rising to God, so its symbolism was that it was only used for the worship of God, meaning that Jesus was truly divine. 

Myrrh was used in burials to mask the smell of the decaying body; when the magi gave it to Jesus at His birth, it symbolized that Jesus was born to die.

What gift can you give to Jesus? You may not have gold or frankincense or myrrh (well, I don't), but you have something else you can give, something He wants even more than mundane gifts: YOU. Christ wants your love and the salvation of your soul. He wants you to be with Him forever in Heaven more than any gold. He wants YOU more than anything.

So on this Epiphany, think of what you can give to Jesus.

"Lord, every nation on earth will adore you

Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth."

(from Psalm 72, today's responsorial psalm)

First Saturday Devotions for January

First Saturday Devotions will be this Saturday, January 5th. It will be the perfect way to start your new year out right, so I invite you to come! 

A seminarian will be talking about Our Lady of Pontmain, France. This will help you grow in faith and learn more about our wonderful heavenly Mother. 

So come! It's the best way to spend a Saturday. 

I promise you won't be disappointed.

For more information, go to www.stjosephsholyfamily.org.

I hope to see you there!

Our Lady of Pontmain

Happy New Year!

 

I just wanted to wish everyone a blessed and happy new year! 

I pray that this new year will bring you many blessings and I hope you will continue to grow in your faith in a new special way.

New Year's Resolutions sound kind of cheesy and it seems like they never last, but if you make a commitment to stick to them, they can help you begin a new routine of prayer and help you to grow in holiness. I invite you to make a list or at least write down some goals you want to achieve to help you grow in your faith. One thing you can definitely do is to go to St. Joseph's Holy Family for a First Saturday Devotion and keep coming back! It will definitely keep you on the right path and help you expand your faith life.

A thought-provoking quote I found was said by Benjamin Franklin: "Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man." This quote challenges us to constantly grow and to keep trying to be the best we can be.We should always be fighting the sin in our lives and try harder to be peaceful and more Christlike to everyone we meet.

In today's homily, Pope Benedict said, "May the Virgin Mary, whom today we venerate with the title of Mother of God, help us to contemplate the face of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. May she sustain us and accompany us in this New Year: and may she obtain for us and for the whole world the gift of peace." During this new year, I encourage you to become more devoted to Our Lady. Ask her to lead you to her Son, and I'm sure she will be more than happy to!

Here's a prayer for the new year:

 God, thank you for a new year. May everyone in our family be willing to begin anew with a clean slate. We know that you are always ready to forgive us. Help us to be willing to forgive ourselves and to forgive one another. As we begin a new year, remind us of our truest values and our deepest desires. Help us to live in the goodness that comes from doing what you want us to do. Help us to put aside anxiety about the future and the past, so that we might live in peace with you now, one day at a time.

January 1, 2013

Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God

 "And Mary kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart."

(from today's Gospel reading - Luke 2:19)