<![CDATA[:: catholicstreet.com  - My Blog]]>Fri, 21 Oct 2011 19:16:25 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[RCIA Classes Online...not online RCIA]]>Fri, 21 Oct 2011 11:24:51 -0700http://www.catholicstreet.com/1/post/2011/10/rcia-classes-onlinenot-online-rcia1.htmlI haven't posted on this blog in months, but I have been teaching and recording R.C.I.A. classes for St. Peter's.  If you would like to watch them, go to:

http://www.stpetergreeley.org/index.cfm?load=page&page=200
]]><![CDATA[RCIA Classes Online...not online RCIA]]>Fri, 21 Oct 2011 11:24:48 -0700http://www.catholicstreet.com/1/post/2011/10/rcia-classes-onlinenot-online-rcia.htmlI haven't updated this blog in months, but I do have lots of new info.  I am teaching RCIA this year and am posting the classes online for all those who miss classes.  Check out the videos.  God bless! ]]><![CDATA[St. Polycarp - Bishop and Martyr]]>Sat, 23 Jul 2011 12:43:47 -0700http://www.catholicstreet.com/1/post/2011/07/st-polycarp-bishop-and-martyr.htmlThis past Sunday Jesus spoke about the Kingdom of heaven being like a mustard seed which starts small and grows into a big plant.  The Church did start small, with 12 but has now grown to 1.1 billion who claim the name Catholic.  Unfortunately, many who claim the name don't live the life and it seems like worldliness is drowning the faith of many.  But someone like St. Polycarp, a bishop who was martyred in 155, during a time of great persecution against the Church, knew what he believed and stood strong in the faith.  Read the story of his martyrdom for some serious inspiration.

The Martyrdom of St. Polycarp

Here are some of my favorite excerpts:

"But again the proconsul said to him, “I will cause you to be consumed by fire, seeing you despise the wild beasts, if you will not repent.”
 
"But Polycarp said, “You threaten me with fire which burns for an hour, and after a little is extinguished, but are ignorant of the fire of the coming judgment and of eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly. But why do you tarry? Bring forth what you will.”

"Now, as Polycarp was entering into the stadium, there came to him a voice from heaven, saying, “Be strong, and show yourself a man, O Polycarp!” … On his confessing that he was, [the proconsul] sought to persuade him to deny [Christ], saying, “Have respect to your old age,” and other similar things, according to
their custom, [such as], “Swear by the fortune of Cæsar; repent, and say, Away with the Atheists.” But Polycarp, gazing with a stern countenance on all the multitude of the wicked heathen then in the stadium, and waving his hand towards  them, while with groans he looked up to heaven, said, “Away with the Atheists.”  Then, the proconsul urging him, and saying, “Swear, and I will set you at liberty, reproach Christ;” Polycarp declared, "Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?'”

"And when the proconsul yet again pressed him, and said, “Swear by the fortune of Cæsar,” he answered,Since you are vainly urgent that, as you say, I should swear by the fortune of Cæsar, and pretend not to know who and what I am, hear me declare with boldness, I am a Christian. And if you wish to learn what the doctrines of Christianity are, appoint me a day, and you shall hear them."


]]><![CDATA[Divine Mercy Sunday]]>Wed, 27 Apr 2011 09:59:35 -0700http://www.catholicstreet.com/1/post/2011/04/divine-mercy-sunday.htmlThis next Sunday, we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday.  There was recently a contest to make a video for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Here is the winning video:
]]><![CDATA[More quotes for Holy Thursday]]>Fri, 22 Apr 2011 11:06:22 -0700http://www.catholicstreet.com/1/post/2011/04/more-quotes-for-holy-thursday.htmlIn his Holy Thursday homily, Pope Benedict commented on Jesus' words, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you.”
“In this eager desire of Jesus we can recognize the desire of God himself – his expectant love for mankind, for his creation. A love which awaits the moment of union, a love which wants to draw mankind to itself and thereby fulfil the desire of all creation, for creation eagerly awaits the revelation of the children of God. Jesus desires us, he awaits us. But what about ourselves? Do we really desire him? Are we anxious to meet him? Do we desire to encounter him, to become one with him, to receive the gifts he offers us in the Holy Eucharist?

Click here for the full homily

From St. Augustine: "God in His omnipotence could not give more, in His wisdom He knew not how to give more, in His riches He had not more to give, than the Eucharist."

]]><![CDATA[Great Quote for Holy Thursday]]>Wed, 20 Apr 2011 16:43:14 -0700http://www.catholicstreet.com/1/post/2011/04/great-quote-for-holy-thursday.htmlTaken from "Christ: the Life of the Soul" by Blessed Columba Marmion talking about receiving Holy Communion.

"The coming of Christ into us tends, of its nature, to establish between His thoughts and our thoughts, between His feelings and our feelings, between His will and our will, such an exchange, such a correspondence, such a likeness, that we have no other thoughts, no other feelings, no other wishes, than those of Christ..."

To have so much offered each and every time we go to communion...amazing!  May the Lord grant us the grace to prepare our hearts for so holy and sacred a mystery. ]]><![CDATA[Encouragement from Sirach 17]]>Wed, 02 Mar 2011 08:51:03 -0700http://www.catholicstreet.com/1/post/2011/03/encouragement-from-sirach-17.htmlOn Monday, the first reading at Mass really struck me.  That is the beauty of the lectionary, though I've read the Scriptures and encountered the same readings every two years, each encounter with the Word of God has its own graces.  This time I was thinking, not only is it an encouragement to me as Lent approaches, but would be a good chapter to give as a penance for confession.  So here is the reading.

Sirach 17:20-24
To the penitent God provides a way back, he encourages those who are losing hope and has chosen for them the lot of truth. Return to him and give up sin, pray to the LORD and make your offenses few. Turn again to the Most High and away from your sin, hate intensely what he loathes, and know the justice and judgments of God, Stand firm in the way set before you, in prayer to the Most High God.

Who in the nether world can glorify the Most High in place of the living who offer their praise? Dwell no longer in the error of the ungodly, but offer your praise before death. No more can the dead give praise than those who have never lived; You who are alive and well  shall praise and glorify God in his mercies. How great the mercy of the LORD, his forgiveness of those who return to him!

Click here for the full reading from the day. ]]><![CDATA[Advice before dating]]>Tue, 08 Feb 2011 10:11:20 -0700http://www.catholicstreet.com/1/post/2011/02/advice-before-dating.htmlOne of the main ministries at the Cathedral is preparing couples for marriage.  In the Archdiocese we require several classes to help couples understand how marriage in the Church is different than marriage in Las Vegas.  And while there are couples who walk through the door with strong faith and are trying to live the teaching of Christ in their relationship, many couples are missing the mark.  About 60-70% of the couples are living together before marriage and even more are sexually active.  So last Sunday, I gave a homily on the things I wish couples knew before they walked through the door and even before they started dating.  Here are the highlights.

1. Seek holiness and a wholesome life - your soul is made for God and when you enter into the dating world without a ton of grace or without a support system of friends, it is very easy to be thrown around by emotions like loneliness and not see clearly
2.  Discern the a vocation to marriage before you start pursuing it.  Many presume they have a vocation because they “want” to get married or want to have kids.  But wanting something is different than being called by God to it.
3.  Know what marriage is about – a) the pursuit of holiness and b) procreation and education of children.  Marriage is about becoming a saint and raising kids to be saints.  Let that foundation inform your relationship decisions.
4.  Have a game plan that will work and that stays faithful to #3
- a) modern dating is defective because it fosters emotional attachment before you really know someone and their core values, making it easier to dismiss those core values.  See "The Seven Habits of Highly Defective Dating" by Joshua Harris
- b) courtship attempts to get to know a person for who they really are and what their core values are before emotional attachment.  Exclusivity (1 on 1 time) should be earned, not presumed
- c) you aren't going to find the next St. Joseph out clubbing every night.  If you want to find a devout Catholic, go to devout Catholic things.  Don't get so hung up on finding a spouse that you stop pursuing holiness and God's will for your life right now.
5.  Seek someone who shares your core values, preferably a strong practicing Catholic if you want to live out #3
6.  When dating/courting...
– a) keep praying and discerning whether this is the person God wants you to be with
- b) be very pure…protect each other’s relationship with God.  Couples that engage in sex before marriage are 3 times as likely to get divorced as couples that don't.  96% of couples that live together before marriage aren't together after 10 years.  Impurity can damage and destroy one's relationship with God and provides the foundation for infidelity.  If you are okay with doing impure things with a person that you aren't married to, then you are okay with doing impure things with a person you aren't married to.  It's training for infidelity.

For more information on all this realm, check out www.chastity.com

]]><![CDATA[The Pride of Relativism]]>Tue, 26 Oct 2010 21:14:30 -0700http://www.catholicstreet.com/1/post/2010/10/the-pride-of-relativism.htmlIn last Sunday's Gospel from Luke 18:9-14 we heard Jesus tell the parable of the tax collector and Pharisee.  The Pharisee justifies himself while the tax collectors prays, "O God, be merciful to me a sinner."  Thus, Jesus warns against pride and exalts the virtue of humility.  Pride, according to the Catechism is, "undue self-esteem or self-love, which seeks attention and honor and sets oneself in competition with God."

Most times when people think of pride, they rightly think of the pride of self-righteousness.  This is something Jesus directly addresses in the parable.  The thought, "I'm a good person.  I'm not as bad as that guy."  But there is also a pride of relativism, wanting to believe that whatever one wants to do is okay because there is no truth, no moral standard or law that all are called to follow.  Self-righteousness places oneself above God and His law, but relativism places the whole world above God and His law.  The relativist says, "if that's what you believe then that's fine for you...whose to say."  Well, God is to say.  There is Divine Revelation that all are held to follow.  Laws that have been written on the heart and are capable of being known by reason and laws that have been revealed by God through Scripture and Tradition as defended by the Magisterium.  Relativism places the whole world in competition with God and can be just as dangerous as the self-righteousness that Jesus speaks against.

One of the problems is that both destroy a need for God's mercy.  If one justifies himself, then why would he or she need forgiveness.  In addition, if there is no objective truth and no higher standard that everyone must answer to, then there is no need for forgiveness and mercy.  People may think by being relativistic that somehow they are being charitable and loving but in reality they are just depriving people from experiencing God's mercy.  The Lord desires deeply to forgive us, not by calling the guilty guiltless but by go through the sin to save and restore the dignity of the offender.  Christ fights through the sin on the Cross so that we can be saved from our sins and experience the new life and new way of life He desires for us.

The Catechism also says that humility is to "acknowledge that God is the author of all good...and provides the foundation for turning to God in prayer."  Humility is walking in the truth. The truth of our need for God, the truth of our need for grace, the truth of our need for His mercy and love.  "O God, be merciful to me a sinner."]]><![CDATA[St. Padre Pio and Mercy]]>Fri, 24 Sep 2010 11:32:56 -0700http://www.catholicstreet.com/1/post/2010/09/st-padre-pio-and-mercy.htmlIn honor of St. Padre Pio's feast day yesterday, I thought I would upload an image of him from my trip to San Giovanni Rotondo where he is buried.  Since he spent so much time hearing confessions, I am also including a quote from Dives in Misericordia, Pope John Paul II's Encyclical on mercy that he wrote shortly after being shot and forgiving the attacker.

For a bio on St. Padre Pio, click here.
Picture
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Going on, one can therefore say that the love for the son the love that springs from the very essence of fatherhood, in a way obliges the father to be concerned about his son's dignity. This concern is the measure of his love, the love of which Saint Paul was to write: "Love is patient and kind.. .love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful...but rejoices in the right...hopes all things, endures all things" and "love never ends."68 Mercy - as Christ has presented it in the parable of the prodigal son - has the interior form of the love that in the New Testament is called agape. This love is able to reach down to every prodigal son, to every human misery, and above all to every form of moral misery, to sin. When this happens, the person who is the object of mercy does not feel humiliated, but rather found again and "restored to value." The father first and foremost expresses to him his joy that he has been "found again" and that he has "returned to life. This joy indicates a good that has remained intact: even if he is a prodigal, a son does not cease to be truly his father's son; it also indicates a good that has been found again, which in the case of the prodigal son was his return to the truth about himself.


For the full Encyclical, click here.
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