Sunday, April 17, 2011

Palm Sunday

It must happen this way, to fulfill Scriptures... Jesus declares this, but all the same asks the Father that if it is possible, to let this cup of suffering pass, but the Father's will, not His, be done. This is the alignment of His human will to His divine will. He willingly goes to the Cross, dying for the salvation of the world.
We must do the same thing, align our wills to the Father's will for us.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Fifth Sunday of Lent

"Lazurus, come out!" Jesus Christ calls to the dead man, and he hears and obeys. It was for the glory of God that he should experience this death, that Christ could display His authority on earth. But Christ's authority does not end with His power over the physically dead... He stands in front of those spiritually dead and calls out to us, to come out of the places of sin and darkness. Some might object like Martha, initially... Lord, there is a stench there. But He longs to heal us, and perfume us with the odor of His sanctity. Lazurus, though dead, could not resist the call of Christ, but can we?

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Archbishop Sheehan's Document on Marriage and Cohabitation

Marriage, as a vocation, is under attack. Achbishop Sheehan of Sante Fe has released a beautifully written document on the three forms of cohabitation: Without civil marriage, married civilly, and divorced and remarried. It is worth a read; I highlight here the following:

The Church must make it clear to the faithful that these unions are not in accord with the Gospel, and to help Catholics who find themselves in these situations to do whatever they must do to make their lives pleasing to God.

First of all, we ourselves must be firmly rooted in the Gospel teaching that, when it comes to sexual union, there are only two lifestyles acceptable to Jesus Christ for His disciples: a single life of chastity, or the union of man and woman in the Sacrament of Matrimony. There is no “third way” possible for a Christian. The Bible and the Church teaches that marriage is between one man and one woman and opposes same sex unions.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Fourth Sunday in Lent

A blind man is given his sight by the Lord, and the 'Jews' (those in leadership) are shown to be blind. Jesus heals the man, and is given faith in the Lord at the same time. The means of the healing is interesting: The Lord made mud, and put it on the blind man's eyes - Jesus is re-creating him, giving new eyes. As we continue our Lenten journey, we are called to be like this man - to let Christ give us the eyes of faith.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

84,000 Novenas for the Pope's 84th Birthday!

Will you join me in giving the Pope a huge gift for his birthday? Pope Benedict XVI is celebrating his birthday on April 16th and I'm joining up with praymorenovenas.com to get 84,000 people to pray a novena for the Pope's 84th birthday.

On April 8th, we will begin praying for nine days leading up to and ending on the Papa Benedict's birthday. The Pope prays for us everyday so it is time to return the gift to him on the anniversary of his birth.

84,000 Novenas is a lot! So, I'm going to need your help. I want everyone who reads this blog to do the following to help with this birthday gift!

+ Sign up here: http://bit.ly/h0052O
+ Join the facebook event and invite your friends here: http://on.fb.me/eE2Xs7
+ If you have a website, post about it there!
+ Email your friends and family and get them praying too!

I'm sure the Pope will love that we are all praying for him! Please help us reach our goal of 84,000 novenas for the Pope!

Remember to sign up to pray here: http://bit.ly/h0052O

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Third Sunday of Lent

"Lord, Give me this water..." The Lord Jesus speaks with the woman, most likely an outsider even in the Samaritan town (who else would go to the well at noon, in the heat of the day). He thirsts for her faith, and draws that faith out through gentle, yet challenging, questions. She is moved from seeing him as a Jew, a man, prophet, messiah, and finally Savior of the World. He calls us, and challenges us to conversion, He continues to thirst for us.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Second Sunday of Lent

Jesus is transfigured, and gives Peter, James, and John a glimpse of His glory. He tells them not to share what they have witnessed until after He rises from the dead. The transfiguration most likely allowed them to see through the scandal of the cross, eventually, to believe in the Resurrection. But look what their first response was to the Crucifixion - one denied knowing Jesus, one presumably hid, while one stood at the foot of the Cross in worship. Let us follow the example of John, and recognize Jesus in our midst, and worship Him.