Musings of a Catholic Convert

Give Jesus a present this year:

During my devotional time this morning I read an article by Bishop William Lori. He is the Supreme Chaplain for the Knights of Columbus. You can read the article here (even if you’re not a Knight). I was moved by this article. In fact, my mind has been racing since I read it. Even though I have a deep love for the sacrament of reconciliation, I am even more enthusiastic about approaching it during this Advent season. I want to be holy as our Heavenly Father is holy. I want to grow in grace and love, being daily conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, my savior.

Maybe it’s been a while since you’ve been to confession. Maybe your pride has kept you away. Whatever the reason, I encourage you to take the time and be reconciled to God. Heal the divisions your sins have caused, with God, with the Church, and with family, friends, and co-workers. Remember that when God forgives you, your sins are not merely covered over, they are completely removed. Receive the cleansing power and grace of God’s forgiveness. He WILL forgive you. Trust in Him.

God, grant me perspective:

I’m requesting prayer today. I’m reading through the Mass readings for today and I “know” the answer for what I’m feeling right now, but oftentimes internalizing known truths can be difficult. Look at today’s Gospel for example.

“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”

I’m also reading the Navarre commentaries (gettest thou these for thine own edification). Help abounds here. Read for yourself.

28-30. Our Lord calls everyone to come to Him. We all find things difficult in one way or another. The history of souls bears out the truth of these words of Jesus. Only the Gospel can fully satisfy the thirst for truth and justice which sincere people feel. Only our Lord, our Master– and those to whom He passes on His power–can soothe the sinner by telling him, “Your sins are forgiven” (Matthew 9:2). In this connection Pope Paul VI teaches: “Jesus says now and always, `Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ His attitude towards us is one of invitation, knowledge and compassion; indeed, it is one of offering, promise, friendship, goodness, remedy of our ailments; He is our comforter; indeed, our nourishment, our bread, giving us energy and life” (”Homily on Corpus Christi”, 13 June 1974).

“Come to Me”: the Master is addressing the crowds who are followingHim, “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew9:36). The Pharisees weighed them down with an endless series of petty regulations (cf. Acts 15:10), yet they brought no peace to their souls. Jesus tells these people, and us, about the kind of burden He imposes: “Any other burden oppresses and crushes you, but Christ’s actually takes weight off you. Any other burden weighs down, but Christ’s gives you wings. If you take a bird’s wings away, you might seem to be taking weight off it, but the more weight you take off, the more you tie it down to the earth. There it is on the ground, and you wanted to relieve it of a weight; give it back the weight of its wings and you will see how it flies” (St. Augustine, “Sermon” 126).

“All you who go about tormented, afflicted and burdened with the burden of your cares and desires, go forth from them, come to Me and I will refresh you and you shall find for your souls the rest which your desires take from you” (St. John of the Cross, “Ascent of Mount Car-mel”, Book 1, Chapter 7, 4).

“The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, Universityof Navarre, Spain.

Our Lady of Guadalupe:

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It is a fascinating story of great spiritual renewal and unity. Read about it here.

God of power and mercy, you blessed the Americas at Tepeyac with the presence of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe. May her prayers help all men and women to accept each other as brothers and sisters. Through your justice present in our hearts, may your peace reign in the world. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Lord Jesus, teach us to love you as your mother loves you. May we, like the Blessed Mother, be found to be your faithful servants. Amen.

Feast of St. Nicholas:

Hooray! I love Saint Nicholas. I found a web site this morning that tells all sorts of things about “Good Saint Nick”. As a matter of fact, I’m going to provide a few links for you. In a world where the idea of St. Nicholas has been reduced to this . . .

. . . it is still refreshing to find that there is a large population who remember who the saint truly is and follow his example of loving Christ. Check out my links.

St. Nicholas Center
Catholic Encyclopedia
Patron Saints Index

From the Office of Readings for Today:

The very Son of God, older than the ages, the invisible, the incomprehensible, the incorporeal, the beginning of beginning, the light of light, the fountain of life and immortality, the image of the archetype, the immovable seal, the perfect likeness, the definition and word of the Father: he it is who comes to his own image and takes our nature for the good of our nature, and unites himself to an intelligent soul for the good of my soul, to purify like by like. He takes to himself all that is human, except for sin. He was conceived by the Virgin Mary, who had been first prepared in soul and body by the Spirit; his coming to birth had to be treated with honour, virginity had to receive new honour. He comes forth as God, in the human nature he has taken, one being, made of two contrary elements, flesh and spirit. Spirit gave divinity, flesh received it. He who makes rich is made poor; he takes on the poverty of my flesh, that I may gain the riches of his divinity. He who is full is made empty; he is emptied for a brief space of his glory, that I may share in his fullness. What is this wealth of goodness? What is this mystery that surrounds me? I received the likeness of God, but failed to keep it. He takes on my flesh, to bring salvation to the image, immortality to the flesh. He enters into a second union with us, a union far more wonderful than the first. Holiness had to be brought to man by the humanity assumed by one who was God, so that God might overcome the tyrant by force and so deliver us and lead us back to himself through the mediation of his Son. The Son arranged this for the honour of the Father, to whom the Son is clearly obedient in all things. The Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for the sheep, came in search of the straying sheep to the mountains and hills on which you used to offer sacrifice. When he found it, he took it on the shoulders that bore the wood of the cross, and led it back to the life of heaven. Christ, the light of all lights, follows John, the lamp that goes before him. The Word of God follows the voice in the wilderness; the bridegroom follows the bridegroom’s friend, who prepares a worthy people for the Lord by cleansing them by water in preparation for the Spirit. We need God to take our flesh and die, that we might live. We have died with him, that we may be purified. We have risen again with him, because we have died with him. We have been glorified with him, because we have risen again with him.

- St Gregory Nazianzen

Let’s Go Bowling!

Here is the bowl schedule for anybody with money to travel and buy bowl tickets. I will be watching games (those games that interest me) from the comfort of my home. Tennessee plays Penn State in the Outback Bowl, just as I foresaw it. Should be an interesting game.

Thursday? Nope, it’s Friday:

I missed a whole day. Must have been all the wind we had blowing around Memphis yesterday. We had nice warm temps yesterday in the high 60s and when I woke this morning it must have been 30 or colder. All this up and down temperature is driving my sinuses crazy.

Well, in case you didn’t know, yesterday was the feast of St. Andrew, Apostle and Martyr. His brother became the first Pope, but did you remember that it was Andrew who brought Peter to Christ? St. Andrew is one of my favorite disciples of Christ, and I ask for his intercession often. As someone who tries to point others to Jesus, I follow his example. No one has yet become Pope, but I’m in no hurry to see our current Pope leave us. Benedict XVI is great!

Wednesday Class:

It’s Wednesday already, so I have a class to teach tonight. I hope everyone is there and rested from having a week off. We have a lot of ground to cover tonight so I need everyone to stay focused.

In the meantime, I’ve got another full day of work in front of me. 4th quarter is always our busiest time of the year. And on top of that, it’s going to be in the 70s today and somebody has the heater on in the office.

But you know what? I’ve already made my morning offering today so no complaining from me.

What a Weekend:

I trust that you enjoyed your respective Thanksgiving get-togethers. We had a great visit with my in-laws and had a chance to get out of the house for a few days. I had a good trip but I am so very tired now. The medicine I took for my sinuses last night has left me feeling tired and achy. I expect I’ll get over it though.

Did any of you brave the malls on the 24th? We did, and we lived to tell the tale. The highlight of my day? Getting an orange julius. Man, I haven’t had one of those in years.

So how was your weekend? How was your holiday? I strongly encourage you to ramp up your prayer efforts during the holiday season. Pray especially for the disenfranchised and the lonely. Suicides during this time of year is always very very high. We need to pray for them and reach out when we can. A great many opportunities abound for helping the needy. Prayerfully consider increasing your giving during this time so that more ministries can reach out to those in need without giving less to those ministries you already support. Don’t “rob from Peter to pay Paul”. Give generously and watch as your heart is transformed.

Greetings from the FUTURE: