Year of St. Paul

St. Paul the Apostle

As the year of St. Paul comes to a close (6/28/2008-6/29/2009) I thought it was important to recognize his vital role in the Church. June 29th also marks the Feast Day of St. Paul and St. Peter.

St.Paul is known as 'Founder of the Christian Church'. In light of this profound title it is only fitting that this disciple would also write in Galatians 2:20 ' It is not I who live, but Christ lives in me'. St. Paul went out of his way to preach the Gospel and did not fear death. His martyrdom secured his eternity with our Beloved.

Pope Benedict XVI says, " From [St. Paul] we draw a very important lesson: what counts is to place Jesus Christ at the center of our lives, so that our identity is marked essentially by the encounter, by communion with Christ and with his Word".



Our Sunday Visitor put out a great pamphlet about St. Paul that provides a few facts about his life:

Paul was born in 8 A.D. in what is now Turkey.

Paul was a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee.

Saul was his Jewish name; Paul was his Roman name.

Paul was a tentmaker by profession.

The letters, or epistles, of St. Paul make up one third of the New Testament.

They include: Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Phillippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.

Paul was beheaded outside the walls of Rome during the reign of Nero, probably between A.D. 65 and 67.

Paul is buried where the Basilica of St. Paul outside the walls now stands.

A Prayer to the Apostle Paul:

Glorious St. Paul,
Most zealous Apostle,
Martyr for the love of Christ,
Give us a deep faith,
A steadfast hope,
A burning love for our Lord;
So that we can proclaim with you,
"It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me".

Help us to become apostles,
Serving the Church with a pure heart,
Witnesses to her truth and beauty
Amidst the darkness of our days.
With you we praise God, our Father:
"To Him be the glory in the Church and in Christ, now and forever."

Amen

The Love Dare

By now I am sure most of us have heard about the movie ‘Fireproof’. I personally have not seen it yet (for no real reason) but it is on my list of things to do this summer. From the movie also came a book called ‘The Love Dare’.

After several opportunities to buy the book and never actually committing to owning it I have finally found myself a copy from the library sale pile. This book serves as a 40 day quest to strengthen your marriage. It is a journal based book that allows you to record thoughts, actions and outcomes. Every day begins with Scripture and there is a one or two page excerpt talking about the meaning of that Scripture. At the end of the excerpt the couple has a ‘dare’ or challenge that will serve to strengthen the marriage. While this book is not predominately Catholic it is a beautiful Christian reference for any marriage.

I look forward to getting through our 40 day quest and pray that God blesses our marriage for our valiant attempt!

Authentic love in the house

I heard some really great advice today that I wanted to share. My good friend over at www.thriftyandchicmom.com shared that instead of concentrating on my tasks such as cleaning, laundry, etc. as accomplishments I should look at the times in my day that I provide my family with authentic love. I can't believe all the time that goes by in a day when I am running around trying to get from one place to the next or to that one pile of laundry. I seem to miss out on a lot of opportunity to just engage and love my family because I am hyper focused on getting my house in order. Tomorrow I am going to try and really look at all the time I spend loving my family and acknowledge that time as time well spent!

Pro-life Checks

My good friend over at Mostly Sunny Days found some great information about pro-life checks. You can find her post here. This is a great way to support an excellent cause and gets some beautiful checks!

Love and the Eucharist

So my week of blogging did not necessarily go as planned. My family is officially leaving tomorrow morning (sniffle, sniffle) but it will allow ample time to devote to Modern Catholic Mom.

I was catching up on my Catholic news when I saw this.

Pope Benedict commented at a Papal Audience on June 15th with the following:

"Love transforms all things", said Benedict XVI, "and hence we can understand why, at the heart of today's Feast of Corpus Christi, lies the mystery of transubstantiation, the sign of Jesus-Charity that transforms the world. By looking at Him and adoring Him, we are saying: yes, love exists, and because it exists things can change for the better and we may hope." (taken from here)

Pope Benedict highlights the most beautiful component of hope possible... love. When we look at the biggest problems of the world right down to the most irritating aspects of ordinary life we are transformed by the notion of love. Sometimes the concept of transubstantiation is overwhelming. As a human being it is impossible to fully comprehend the mystery and beauty hidden in the Eucharist. But with love, we can enter into the depths of Christ coming to us in the Eucharist. We don't have to know how..... that will be reserved for Heaven. All we have to do is believe through love that Christ died upon the cross for our sins using love as His motivator. Essentially we can do anything through the power of love.

And if Christ can die for us because of love then I can learn to love my husband through disagreements, love my daughter when she is disobedient, love my neighbor when he wrongs me. Love can even transform me when I am sitting at the sink washing dishes, cleaning the bathroom or mowing the lawn. His love is what sustains us, moves us, gives us hope. Love, faith and hope are connected in an intimate way as they provide us with the fuel to be believers and in turn to help evangelize the world.

During the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus let us pray for a greater understanding of love from Christ so that we may share that love with our family and friends.

Third Tremester Abortions

My mind cannot wrap itself around the concept of third trimester abortions. It is so heinous that I would almost rather not even think about it. But I do because abortion is morally and ethically wrong. Any abortion is tragic but the idea that a baby in the eighth or ninth month of gestation can be murdered in the womb is so scary. My own heart longs desperately to be blessed with more children and yet abortion still exists.

Father Frank Pavone has written an article that he wishes everyone to read. Take a moment and read what this pro-life priest has to say.


Forcing a Pro-Choice Crisis: What About Third Trimester Abortions?

Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life

What do LeRoy Carhart, Warren Hern, and George Tiller have in common? They are among an unknown number who perform abortions in the third trimester of pregnancy (the third trimester being the seventh, eighth, and ninth month!)

For two decades I have been proclaiming from the pulpits of America that abortions happen in the third trimester. Many Americans find it hard to believe. Now, in the aftermath of the death of George Tiller, this fact is getting a bit more attention.

The Associated Press reported on June 2 in an article by Eric Olson that physician LeRoy Carhart of Nebraska wants to continue performing abortions at this late stage, but he, as well as Warren Hern, also want to make sure enough physicians are trained in how to do so.

How many are we talking about? The AP story reported, "Carhart said 75 to 100 of the "several thousand" abortions he performs annually are in the third trimester."

Stanley K. Henshaw, a senior fellow at the Guttmacher Institute, the research division of Planned Parenthood, and the best source of these statistics, is quoted in a June 5 Washington Post article as saying, "The information just isn't available...This is an area that we just don't know much about."


The Guttmacher Institute does report in its official statistics, however, that some 13,310 abortions each year are at 21 weeks or more of pregnancy (that is, 1.1% of the 1.21 million abortions per year). Of the 40 states that reported in 2005 to the Centers for Disease Control, 32 states reported abortions of babies 21 weeks or older.

This means that every day, 37 babies the size of a large banana are dismembered and decapitated - and these include healthy babies of healthy mothers...and it's happening legally.

These are babies that the mother can already feel moving. According to MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, these babies are storing fat on their bodies, their heartbeat can be heard with a stethoscope, they can hear, they have eyebrows, eyelashes, fingernails and toenails. Incidentally, MedlinePlus calls them "babies." (See www.nlm.nih.gov/MEDLINEPLUS/ency/article/002398.htm ).

Many people wonder how they can get some traction in the seemingly intractable abortion debate. How can they get people to listen, or make pro-choice people believe that pro-life people have good reason to be against abortion?


My suggestion: start by discussing the facts I just mentioned.


It's morally legitimate to focus on late-term abortion; that doesn't deny that all abortion is wrong; it's simply a way to get the ball rolling, a pedagogical method of going from the most obvious to the less obvious, of starting with what people know and leading to what they don't know.

When people are astonished by these facts, as they will be, they are forced to re-evaluate just how much priority "privacy" and "choice" have over life. If they are "pro-choice," they are forced to figure out when in pregnancy the line is drawn - and why.

And now you're talking.


The text and audio of this column can be found online at www.priestsforlife.org/columns/columns2009/09-06-15-pro-choice-crisis.htm

Fr. Frank's columns are podcast. Click here for more information.

Comments on this Column?
Priests for Life
PO Box 141172
Staten Island, NY 10314

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Changing the light bulb for Mary

After too much time away from the blogosphere I am happy to report that Modern Catholic Mom is back! We have officially moved to our new house. I've missed you all and look forward to reading up on how everyone is doing!

I have some great DVD reviews and giveaways planned for this week so make sure to check back regularly.

PRAYER INTENTION:

I have a friend who is having a c-section today. She has been told by doctor's that her little girl Eva has cystic hygroma, a heart defect, and a bi-lateral cleft lip. All of these abnormalities in conjunction with each other mean a fatal diagnosis - usually Turner's Syndrome or Trisomy 13 or 18. Please keep mommy, baby and their family in your prayers today. Thank you Jesus that mom made the decision to keep the baby and allow her to have the chance at life. You can read more about the family here.

On a parting note I will leave you with this:

Yesterday at Church my three year old and I were standing in the foyer. I had her in my arms and she was looking up at the ceiling sprinkled with built-in lights. Her daddy will usually life her high up so she can touch the ceiling in our home. She asked me if I would lift her during Mass and I told her no. She replied by saying, 'But mom, I need to change the light bulbs for Mary!'

Ha!

Happy Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day. Today is always a special day to me.... My dad served in Vietnam marine and my grandfather served in World War II. I appreciate their efforts and all the efforts of our military. It's hard to even put into words how in awe I am of military. Their commitment to keeping our country safe goes beyond my ability to even comprehend. I am grateful and will commit to keeping our military in our daily prayers. God bless our country and God bless our military!

Simple Success

Well I did it~

The garage sale was a great success. I had the sale Friday and Saturday and got rid of most of our stuff. My stuff was definitely priced to sell! I love that all that 'stuff' is gone, gone, gone! (singing voice)

God is good. I prayed that he would help me let go of things I didn't need. I actually prayed to become unattached from my material goods. How crazy is that? I never in a million years would consider myself 'materialistic'. Don't get me wrong, I like a good purse. But for the most part it just isn't high on my priority list. After seeing the massive pile of excess I have accumulated over the past few years I really had to look at myself in a different light. And truly I did not like what I found at first. Through God's grace I think I can continue this ability to get rid of things that we don't use. There are so many people out there who are in need and I definitely don't need a garage full of 'well-we-might-use-it-one-day' type things!

In a world where there is a constant push to buy and own it becomes normal for Americans to have 'extra'. Of course for some this isn't a problem at all but for others (me, me) a cluttered home can lead to clutter in other areas of life. So in the spirit of simplicity I wish you a clutter free basement or garage and the hope that if I can do it, you can too!

Yard Sale and Mt 19:16-24

In the spirit of moving I have taken on the great task of a yard sale. I have been pouring through my things trying to get rid of as much as I can. I have been contemplating the simpler things of life and desiring to rid ourselves of 'excess'. Of course, getting rid of all excess would require me to move to a remote island with no Target. But I am trying. I was looking at the pile of things in the garage and felt really sad about how much I have collected. I mean, it really overwhelmed me to think that I have been swept away by the wave of materialism.

Seeing my pile of 'excess' made me think about the Scripture Matthew 19:16-24:

Now someone approached him and said, "Teacher what good must I do to gain eternal life?" He answered him, "Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One that is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments. He asked him, "Which ones?" And Jesus replied, "You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and mother; and 'you shall love your neighbor as yourself'. The young man said to him, "All these I have observed. What else do I lack?"

Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven. Then come, follow me."

When the young man heard this statement he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Amen I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle then for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."


Oh boy. Now by no means am I claiming the 'rich' title but in light of all my excess stuff I really want to ask the Holy Spirit to guide my decision to 'give'. (Is it still giving if I do so in a yard sale?) I know that materialism has played its part in coming between me and my spirituality. There is always something to clean, read, listen to, watch, put together, take a part, and so on.

I pray that with 'less' in my life there will be room for much more of Christ!

Catholic Mothers Online

I had the opportunity to be a guest writer on Catholic Mothers Online. This site provides the Catholic blogroll you see on different blogs. Excellent way to read about other Catholic men and women in the blogosphere!

Check it out here: http://bloggingcatholics.blogspot.com/

Adoption commercial

Click here to view: Imagine


I am so in love with this commercial. It is an awesome testimony to the beauty and necessity of adoption. We may not be a nation of life but with commercials like these we can well be on our way. Check it out.

Mothers Day

There is something about the celebration of motherhood that just sits right with me. I had a great day with my daugher, husband, mother and one of my sisters. All day Olivia kept telling me and whoever else would listen 'Happy Mother's Day!'. I am pretty sure she even told the waiter at one point.

It is a good thing that we get one day to celebrate. One day to honor the absolute beauty of being a mother. I hope and pray that your day was peaceful and full of 'Happy Mothers Day!'

Pro-life video

Love this youtube grassroots effort. Check out this video:

http://www.catholicvote.org/index.php?/site/homepage/#

Celibacy and the Catholic Church

In light of the recent news from Miami I thought I would bring up why our priests are required to remain celibate.

Fr. Cutie was found to be 'with' a woman on a local beach. Photographers captured this on camera and from there rose the most recent scandal.

I started to read the 'opinions' of AOL readers listed below the article and it seriously made me feel sick. There was so many slams against the church mainly highlighting the 'ridiculousness' of celibacy. There were many erroneous claims and it got me thinking about how much the faithful actually knows about why our priests don't marry.

Here are a few points that may be helpful when talking to those who aren't aware of why:

1. The tradition in the Western or Latin-Rite Church has been for priests as well as bishops to take vows of celibacy, a rule that has been firmly in place since the early Middle Ages. (This is different then the Eastern rite where some priests are married. There are rules bound to this priesthood and marriage as well). www.catholicanswers.com

2. Some believe that celibacy is unbiblical, or even "unnatural." "Be fruitful and multiply" (Gen. 1:28); Paul commands that "each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband" (1 Cor. 7:2). It is even argued that celibacy somehow "causes," or at least correlates with higher incidence of, illicit sexual behavior or perversion. www.catholicanswer.com

- All of this is false. Although most people are at some point in their lives called to the married state, the vocation of celibacy is explicitly advocated—as well as practiced—by both Jesus and Paul. www.catholicanswers.com

-Celibacy is neither unnatural nor unbiblical. "Be fruitful and multiply" is not binding upon every individual; rather, it is a general precept for the human race. (This is not to be confused with the calling of married couples... they are to be fruitful and multiply. But that is for another post). Otherwise, every unmarried man and woman of marrying age would be in a state of sin by remaining single, and Jesus and Paul would be guilty of advocating sin as well as committing it. www.catholicanswers.com

3. The Catholic Church forbids no one to marry. If a priest decides to become a priest he does so with the voluntary notion that he will remain celibant. www.catholicanswers.com

4. Pope John Paul II spoke about priestly celibacy during a general audience in 1993. He spoke of the Scripture:
"I will make you Fishers of Men" (Mt 4:19, Mk 1:17, Lk 5:10)
It is followed by "they left everything and followed him". (Lk 5:11, Mt 4:20, Mk 1:18,20)

JP II writes "This did not only mean renouncing material possessions, such as "house" or "lands," but also being separated from loved ones: "brothers or sisters or mother or father or children," according to Matthew and Mark, and "wife or brothers or parents or children," according to Luke (18:29)."

5. The Second Vatican Council gave the reasons for this "inner consonance" of celibacy and the priesthood: "Through virginity, then, or celibacy observed for the kingdom of heaven, priests are consecrated to Christ by a new and exceptional reason. They adhere to him more easily with an undivided heart; they dedicate themselves more freely in him and through him to the service of God and men, and they more expeditiously minister to his kingdom and the work of heavenly regeneration, and thus they are apt to accept, in a broad sense, paternity in Christ." They "evoke the mysterious marriage established by Christ, and fully to be manifested in the future, in which the Church has Christ as her only spouse. They give, moreover, a living sign of the world to come, by a faith and charity already made present, in which the children of the resurrection neither marry nor take wives" (PO 16; cf. PDV 29, 50; CCC 1579).

6. These lofty, noble spiritual reasons can be summarized in the following essential point: a more complete adherence to Christ, loved and served with an undivided heart (cf. 1 Cor 7:32-33); greater availability to serve Christ's kingdom and to carry out their own tasks in the Church; the most exclusive choice of a spiritual fruitfulness (cf. 1 Cor 4:15); leading a life more like that definitive one in the world to come, and therefore, more exemplary for life here below. Above taken from Vatican-General Audience

It's important for Catholics to be able to explain why the Church asks its priests to be celibate. There are so many misconceptions, many which might be right in our own families. Let us continue to pray for priests and their celibacy as it is a great gift to God.