Turn to the LORD in your Need

*picture from stjudechapel.org

Either you heard this verse from the Responsorial Psalm this weekend or you heard: "Your words, Lord, are spirit and life." Your parish had to decide which one to read for mass. But I really like this verse from Psalm 69. It reminds us to turn to God with our needs and trials and pains. We should look to Him for help and support, so that we will live. 

He alone can give us true life, eternal life.

It seems like so many try to figure things out for themselves. They believe that they don't need God's help or they don't ask Him for guidance. (I can definitely be this way sometimes, too.) We read self-help books and act like we have it all figured out, but we really can't when we try to do it on our own. We need the Lord's help. He gives us everything, all we need, 

if we just ask.

So let's ask! Let's run to the Lord with all our hurt and pain and our needs and hopes and sadness. He will renew us with His everlasting peace and He will give us a fulfilled life. He will give His Holy Spirit, for He is the breath of our souls and He will breathe into us and make us whole. 

Let's turn to the Lord so we will live.

...but the laborers are few.

This Sunday is yet another Sunday of Ordinary Time - the fourteenth to be exact. Since the Church doesn't recognize Ordinary Time as a period of preparation (like Lent or Advent) or a time of celebration (such as Easter or Christmas), you might think that Ordinary Time is a period where you can just relax and take a break from God. It's not. Ordinary Time is just as important as any other Church season. The Gospel of Christ is just as important and just as beautiful now 

as any other moment in time.

*picture from http://lhim.org

This Sunday, we hear Jesus saying to us that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. This may seem rather ordinary, but there is a deeper meaning behind His words. He wasn't talking about a farm near town, He was talking about the soil in our hearts. What grows there, in your heart? What seeds have you planted? What seeds have you let take root?

Our Lord plants seeds in your heart every day. They may be the words of your priest, the readings from the Bible, or the notes from an inspiring song. But there is another sower who tries so hard to plant sinister seeds. He is the devil, and he is very persistent. Each day, he plants seeds that are quite different from the seeds of God. They may be insults from an enemy, disloyalty from a friend, or temptations. He whispers growth to them, and sometimes they begin to take root and flourish in our hearts. They start to take over the other plants that Christ has planted and tried so hard to cultivate. Sometimes we don't even realize how much they take over as they consume our hearts and dominate the soil within. But they are weeds and they don't belong in the hearts of the children of God. Confession is like God pulling weeds. He takes out all the lies that were planted by the evil one. 

He makes our hearts beautiful and pure again.

Jesus says that the harvest is plentiful. There are so many hearts out there that need to bloom and flourish with the flowers of Christ and His abundant love for us. "...but the laborers are few." We are called to be those laborers. Each one of us is called to be another Christ and to sow His love in the hearts of all. Not just our friends, not just our families, but even our enemies, even those in our workplaces, even those in our schools. Since the harvest is so abundant, we need to reach out to everyone and plant in their hearts the seeds of God's Word. And if you want it to take root and grow, you have to water it by giving others the hope and light of Christ. 

The laborers are few, so let us not stand still! Let's be laborers in the hearts of all, so that everyone will come to know the love of God. Since there are so few, we cannot afford to let seeds of sin grow in our hearts. We must uproot the weeds of the devil in our own hearts, so that we may sow only the seeds of love and hope and life in the hearts of others. As Father John Corapi once said, "You need to know your faith. You cannot give what you do not have." So let's grow in our Catholic faith, so that we may share its beauty with others.

 Since there are so few laborers, we cannot afford to be mediocre Catholics. We should take charge of our faith and let it grow in our hearts. We should always continue to grow in our rich Catholic faith and reach out to others and help them grow and fall in love with the One who loves us most. So don't stand on the sidelines. Take the devil by the throat and let him know that only the love of Christ will prevail.

 THE DAYS IN WHICH WE LIVE NOW REQUIRE HEROIC CATHOLICISM, NOT CASUAL CATHOLICISM. 

WE CAN NO LONGER BE CATHOLICS BY ACCIDENT, BUT INSTEAD BE CATHOLICS BY CONVICTION.

~BISHOP DANIEL R. JENKY

Dear Jesus,

Come into our hearts.

Change us so we will love the way You love.

Teach us to live the way You live.

Show us how to plant Your seeds of love 

in the hearts of all we meet.

Shine through us so everyone will look at us 

and see only You.

Set our hearts on fire for You alone.

Give us the zeal to be true Catholics 

so we may bring others to You.

This we ask through Christ our Lord.

 Amen.

St. John the Baptist

*picture from http://www.agia-markella.org

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Birth of John the Baptist. There are only three birthdays celebrated by the Catholic Church and they are the birthdays of Jesus, Mary, and Saint John the Baptist. This puts into perspective how important this man is to our faith. 

Saint John the Baptist teaches us to be humble. He teaches us to point others to Christ alone and not to ourselves. He had no pride. He didn't think much of himself. He just lead others to Christ and got out of the way. He didn't ever talk about himself. He knew what God's plan for him was, 

and so he followed it perfectly. 

I pray that we can all be more like Saint John the Baptist by being less prideful, less selfish, to do God's will in our lives, and to point others to Christ.

Saint John the Baptist, pray for us.

REMEMBER

"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. 

Rather, we should thank God that such men lived."  

~General George S. Patton

"A nation that does not honor its heroes will not long endure." 

~Abraham Lincoln

"The patriot's blood is the seed of Freedom's tree." ~Thomas Campbell

*picture from http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com

Today we remember all those who fought and died defending our country. Let us remember and honor them. Don't forget that freedom isn't free. Their blood, their lives, their determination and strength has paid for our freedom. 

So let us thank them.

Never take for granted how blessed we are to live in the great United States of America. Let us pray for those living and deceased who gave their lives to protect 

our freedoms and our country.

*picture from http://www.366thspsk-9.com

These heroes are dead.  They died for liberty - they died for us.  They are at rest.  They sleep in the land they made free, under the flag they rendered stainless, under the solemn pines, the sad hemlocks, the tearful willows, and the embracing vines.  They sleep beneath the shadows of the clouds, careless alike of sunshine or of storm, each in the windowless Place of Rest.  Earth may run red with other wars - they are at peace.  In the midst of battle, in the roar of conflict, they found the serenity of death.  

I have one sentiment for soldiers living and dead: 

cheers for the living; tears for the dead.

~Robert G. Ingersoll

Cover them over with beautiful flowers,
Deck them with garlands, those brothers of ours,
Lying so silent by night and by day
Sleeping the years of their manhood away.
Give them the meed they have won in the past;
Give them the honors their future forcast;
Give them the chaplets they won in the strife;
Give them the laurels they lost with their life.

~Will Carleton

*picture from http://boomersint.org

 Prayer for Memorial Day 

*prayer from http://scbpeoria.wordpress.com

Dear Heavenly Father,

With a sober heart we come before You this Memorial Day. We pause for a moment and call to mind all the men and women who have died in the service of our nation since 1776.

Dear God, please look with mercy on our brave and selfless brothers and sisters, who did not shirk from their task but gave themselves completely to the cause of defending and protecting us all. Bless all who have given their lives for the sake of liberty, and grant them eternal rest with You.

We remember also our brave men and women now serving in our Armed Forces, both at home and abroad. Dear God, send out Your angels to protect them all. Help them discharge their duties honorably and well. Please bring them safely home to their families and loved ones. Please bring Your peace and mercy to our troubled world.

We ask this in the name of Jesus, Your Son, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

The Most Holy Trinity

*picture from www.2heartsnetwork.org

"If God is not a Trinity, God is not love. For love requires three things: a lover, a beloved, and a relationship between them." 
~Peter Kreeft

Today we celebrate the Most Holy Trinity. This is the greatest mystery of our Church.

There is a story about Saint Augustine that wonderfully illustrates how deep the mystery of the Trinity is. (story from www.traditioninaction.org) 

It goes something like this:

One day, Saint Augustine was walking by the sea on the sand, trying his best to understand the mystery of the Trinity. Suddenly, he saw a small boy digging a hole in the sand. This little boy then began running back and forth between the sea and the hole, using a seashell to carry water from the ocean and place it into the hole. 

Saint Augustine watched him do this many times before he approached the child and asked, "My boy, what are you doing?"

"I am going to empty the sea into this hole," the little one replied sweetly.

"But that is impossible," the Saint said. 

"The hole cannot contain all the water of the sea."

The little boy looked up at Saint Augustine and replied, "It is no more impossible than what you are trying to do - comprehend the immensity of the mystery of the Holy Trinity with your small intelligence." 

And then suddenly, the little boy disappeared.

Some say that it was an angel sent by God to teach the Saint a lesson about pride and knowing everything. Others think that it was the Christ Child Himself who appeared to Saint Augustine to remind him of the limits of human understanding and the great mysteries of our faith.

I think there is an important lesson to be learned from this story. If a mind like Saint Augustine's can't comprehend the mystery of the Trinity, then how can anyone? We don't have to completely understand every aspect of our Catholic beliefs, we just need to have faith.

*picture from www.marianews.com

Prayer to the Holy Trinity

*prayer from www.catholic.org

Glory be to the Father, who by His almighty power and love created me, making me in the image and likeness of God.

Glory be to the Son, who by His Precious Blood delivered me from Hell and opened for me the gates of Heaven.

Glory be to the Holy Spirit, who has sanctified me in the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation and continues to sanctify me by the graces I receive daily from His bounty.

Glory be to the Three adorable Persons of the Holy Trinity, now and forever. Amen.

Pentecost

*picture from www.flickriver.com

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were.Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. 

Acts 2:1-4

Today we celebrate Pentecost, the birthday of the Church! 

It reminds me of my Confirmation and how we all receive the Holy Spirit and His gifts. All of these great things are at the tips of our fingers if only we ask for them. Through the Holy Spirit, we are given all we need to become more holy and grow in our relationships with Christ.

*picture from www.chicagonow.com

 So even though Jesus left us to go back to Heaven, He didn't really leave because He is physically present with us in the Eucharist and He also sent His Advocate the Holy Spirit to guide us in all we do. 

The Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you. John 14:26

From my experience, I think we tend to focus more on God the Father and God the Son, but we don't really think about the Holy Spirit that much. We have an image of God the Father as the great omniscient and omnipotent Judge (and don't tell me you don't usually think of an old man sitting on a throne). Our image of Jesus the Son is very vivid because we know all the stories about Him in the Bible and we have pictures and crucifixes in our homes and churches to remind us of our Savior who was fully human yet completely divine. But we don't really envision the Holy Spirit as anything other than a dove or a flame. This is a shame because we know 

He is so much more than that. 

The book of Hebrews even says that the Holy Spirit bears witness to us, He establishes a covenant, He is the Lord, He puts His laws on our hearts, and He forgives sins (Hebrews 10:15-17). And according to the Nicene Creed, the Holy Spirit is the Lord and Giver of Life. He is our inspiration. He is the reason for our strength to stand up for what we believe in and do what we think is impossible. He is the flame in our hearts that blazes with desire for Christ. He is the director of our consciences. If we let Him, He will change us and help us to change the world for the glory of God.

This Pentecost, I invite you to let the Holy Spirit become a greater part of your life. He will change you and make you holy. He will direct you and help you to carry out the will of God in your life.

*picture from www.lonelypilgrim.com

Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Come, Holy Spirit, 

fill the hearts of Your faithful 

and kindle in them 

the fire of Your love. 

Send forth Your Spirit 

and they shall be created, 

and You shall renew 

the face of the earth.

Swim Against the Tide

I was reading part of Pope Francis' homily from a Confirmation he celebrated on April 28. Part of it just really struck me and inspired me to be stronger in my faith and swim against the tide.

Here's an excerpt 

from his homily:

 

And here I come to my last point. It is an invitation which I make to you, young confirmandi, and to all present. Remain steadfast in the journey of faith, with firm hope in the Lord. This is the secret of our journey! He gives us the courage to swim against the tide. Pay attention, my young friends: to go against the current; this is good for the heart, but we need courage to swim against the tide. 

Jesus gives us this courage! 

There are no difficulties, trials or misunderstandings to fear, provided we remain united to God as branches to the vine, provided we do not lose our friendship with him, provided we make ever more room for him in our lives. This is especially so whenever we feel poor, weak and sinful, because God grants strength to our weakness, riches to our poverty, conversion and forgiveness to our sinfulness. 

The Lord is so rich in mercy: every time, if we go to him, he forgives us. Let us trust in God’s work! With him we can do great things; he will give us the joy of being his disciples, his witnesses. Commit yourselves to great ideals, to the most important things. We Christians were not chosen by the Lord for little things; push onwards toward the highest principles. Stake your lives on noble ideals, my dear young people! The new things of God, the trials of life, 

remaining steadfast in the Lord. 

Dear friends, let us open wide the door of our lives to the new things of God which the Holy Spirit gives us. May he transform us, confirm us in our trials, strengthen our union with the Lord, our steadfastness in him: this is a true joy! So may it be.

Is it just me or is our new Pope really wonderful? He speaks in such a simple yet eloquent way. His words set your heart ablaze and make you want to live a stronger life in Christ. He makes holiness seem attainable. His words make me look at the Catholic faith in a new light. I'm excited to see how the Holy Spirit will work through this amazing man.

If you'd like to read more of Pope Francis' AMAZING homilies, visit www.vatican.va.