The Feast of the Miraculous Medal

November 27th is the day we celebrate the day that Mary appeared to St. Catherine Laboure.  At a small chapel on this day in 1830, Our Lady revealed herself standing on the Earth, crushing a serpent under her feet.  She asked that a medal be struck with this image to receive graces of God through her.

The medal was eventually struck, and wearers of the medal have seen numerous conversions, healings and other intercessions. 

One of the biggest followers of Mary, St. Maximilian Kolbe, described the medal as the silver bullet to bring down the enemy of souls, Satan.

I always wear my Miraculous Medal, and I always feel as if Mary is there with me. She never lets me go through any daily toils alone.  Remember, Jesus first love was his Mother. After giving her to us as Our Mother on the cross when he said, "Woman, behold your son."  Followed by telling John, "Behold, your Mother."  We should love her just as Jesus did.

And what better way to show our love and honor for the Ever Virgin Mother of God than wearing her image around our neck-close to our heart.

"Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!"

Everyone is better than you

 

“Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than more important than yourselves, each looking out for his own interests, but also for those of others."

-Philippians 2

A good resolution would be to practice that. Paul seems pretty smart. He's probably one of the most read authors in history after all.

Far from me to try to translate Paul or try to put his work in context, but I think the best way to look at it always trying to consider the other person to be better than yourself so that the interest of the other first.

Today's society is so self-centric. With the internet and social networking it's all about the ME. Posting about your meals and your drive to work and the like. The common thing is all the posts are about the ME.

Maybe if we realized that in the grand scheme of things none of us is really that important. Maybe if we could post more about the good in others we would be more aware of the needs of not only ourselves but also others.

I don't think the Philippians had Facebook, but I think take Paul's words to them and apply them to our lives today, both on the internet and out there in the real world.

The Monarch of Heaven and Earth

Today is Christ the King Sunday, the final Sunday of the liturgical year.  Next Sunday we start advent and prepare for the birth of Jesus.

In the first reading today David talks about the coming of the Son of Man, coming in glory and kingship.  Pilate than asks Jesus in the Gospel if Jesus is a King?  

Jesus replies: "My Kingdom does not belong to this world. If my Kingdom did belong to this world, ay attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.  But as it is my kingdom is not here."

I have grown up in the United States where I am conditioned to think that the best form of government is a democracy (although the US does not really have a democracy), and all other forms of government are inferior.  No dictatorships.  No aristocracies.  No monarchies.

But it seems to me that the problem isn't the type of government, but it is the people who run that government.  We could have a kind dictator, who cared about his people just as easy as we could have a bad leader in a democracy.  The only advantage is we can vote out a bad leader in our system.

The short of it is monarchies can be good.  I am a member of God's Kingdom.  It's bigger than everything on this Earth.  Jesus is my King.  And he is a good King.  Good enough to suffer on the cross and give his life for his people. 

St. Francis and the Sultan

I have been trying to learn more about the history the Catholic faith and how to apply the lessons of the forbearers of the church to our life today.  I read a story about St. Francis today and his dealings with a Sultan during the crusades in the 1200's.

The story has different versions as anything passed over 800 years tend to do, but I will try to get the gist of it here.  Basically, St. Francis went to meet the Muslim leader of Sultan Al-Malik al-Kamil.  In short, the Sultan was impressed by the faith of Francis and rather than killing him allowed him to preach.  Francis didn't waste time trying to convert the devout Muslim leader, but concentrated on befriending him.  To this day the results of this pilgrimage can be seen in Assisi, as relics from the Holy Land that the Sultan allowed Francis to visit are there.   

The lesson I got from this is that rather than trying to force faith on strangers we should befriend and listen to them.  Friendship is the bridge to introduce people to the faith.  Maybe rather than being missionaries we should first be friends.  It worked for St. Francis.

Standing Out

"Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was, but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature.  So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus who was about to pass that way."         -Luke 19

As I was reading the gospel today.  I felt a connection to Zacchaeus, probably because I, short in stature, would have had to climb a tree in order to see Jesus over the crowd.

But the thought occurred to me, would I have climbed that tree?  Would I be willing to make a spectacle of myself and stand out from the crowd?  Honestly, for most of my life, probably not.  I have always been afraid to put myself out there, and felt more comfortable mixing in with the group.

Not Zacchaeus,  he not only climbed that tree just to see Jesus, but he did it in a place where he was probably not popular.  He was a chief tax collector of Jericho.  He might have swindled some of the people of the town out of their money.  He definitely took their taxes in the name of Rome.  He was living a rich life on the backs of their labor.  I am quite sure the people of the town did not look favorably on him.  But still he went up that tree so everyone can witness his desire to just see Jesus.

Maybe it's time I take Zacchaeus's example.  I'm not going to climb a tree, but I can't be afraid to stand out.  I can't be afraid to put my thoughts and feelings out there for people to see.

I really am starting to believe that this silly little blog might be my calling.  I am a cradle Catholic, and felt that just being part of his flock from birth was good enough.  But its not enough.  I am trying to learn about what it means to be part of God's chosen church.  I am trying to grow in my faith.

I'm not a great writer, but I do believe there are others out there who can benefit from what I am saying here.  Maybe they are on their own spiritual journey, maybe they just want to see what a small (in stature) person wants to say about his worship for The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit-His love for the Virgin Mary-His honor for all the Saints.

I will remember all who read this in my prayers.

Where to Pray?

I am still struggling with prayer over all still.  I am falling into a good prayer schedule, but I still know I can do better.

Moses climbed Mount Sinai to talk to God.  You don't have to climb a mountain to pray.  Prayer can be done anywhere and at any time. But what I am finding out is prayer is easier at certain places and times than others.  

So here is where I currently pray:

• In bed before I get out of bed I always try to do a morning prayer offering my day for Jesus and asking Mary to give me strength to get thru the day.  I also listen to the bible being read and a reflection on it.
• I try to pray one rosary in the morning using the daily mystery.  That might be driving, which is not a great place to pray because concentrating on the road is a built in distraction.
• In the afternoon I try to take some time to listen to a couple of daily reflections from other people on the Gospel, Saints, and the world in general.  Most of these are in front of the TV so I really don't count that as prayer time.
• I finish the night praying in bed.  I do another rosary, and try to reflect on the day, and thank God for all he did for me.

So bed is good, driving not as good, when it comes to where to pray there are other options.

But there are other places that I' like to use.  At church prayer difficult.  Sitting in the pews people are talking around you catching up on the week or whatever and its hard to concentrate on prayer.  If you find a quiet place its church is great.  If I want to pray in church I find kneeling under a statue works.  The best place is the Adoration Chapel.  Whether the Eucharist is exposed or in repose its accepted everyone is quiet in there concentrating on their prayer and their physical closeness to the Body of Christ.

I also find praying outside is good.  Whenever Mary has appeared either Lourdes or Fatima or the like, over the years it seems to be outside.  So maybe Mary like to be outside.  So sometimes I like to go for a walk and pray the rosary.  Or Ask for an intercession.  Or just meditate and try to her God outside. 

I do get a little jealous of people who have a prayer spot in their home.  Like a little chapel in a quiet place, free of distraction to sit (or kneel) and pray.  Just a small table with a crucifix or statue, candles and the bible tells people when you are there it is time for you to be with God.

I guess the lesson learned is Jesus is always listening,  no matter where you are.  Just try to find a place you can devote to prayer.  Realize that some places may lead to distraction, but try to keep in the moment and bring yourself back to prayer when you can,

Doubting Thomas

Traditionally when a Catholic gets confirmed they choose a Saint's name.  When I was confirmed that really wasn't done, but I chose a Saint anyway.  My Saint was Thomas the Apostle.  More commonly known as Doubting Thomas. 

I wish we knew more about the original members of the Church.  That includes Thomas.  We do have one story about Thomas that we pull directly from the Gospels.

Following the resurrection Jesus appeared to the Apostles.  But Thomas wasn't there.  When the others told Thomas about seeing Jesus, Thomas had his doubts.  He said ne needed to see the nail marks and feel the marks and the wound in Jesus's side or he would not believe.

When Jesus returned later, this time in Thomas's presence.  Jesus offed to allow Thomas to feel his wounds, and immediately Thomas believed.  Jesus said:

"Have you come to believe because you have seen me?  Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed"  -John 20

So is it OK to have doubts?  In today's society we are filled with reasons to have doubts.  We have scientists explaining to us why things happen without God.  We have the secular media telling us religion is not necessary in the today's world.  We even have friends and family who are separated from their faith.

It's easy to have doubts.  But I think that's ok.  Jesus realized that its is hard to believe things that are unseen sometimes.  Jesus knows what's in our hearts, so we can take solace in the fact that he can see deep down that we believe.  But its important that we show on the outside by our actions that we believe as well.  We need to pray, go to Church and follow the Commandants.

We all have a little Doubting Thomas in us-but we are also blessed because we believe even if we haven't seen.

Amen!

One of the most important words in our faith is "Amen."  We say it all the time.  Every prayer end with it.  We use it as a response during mass multiple times.

Are way saying it without thinking?  When we say "Amen" what are we actually saying?

Jesus often started his teachings with saying, "Amen, amen, I say to you" to let his Apostles know what he was about to say was important and true.  When we say "Amen" we should be saying it with the same conviction.  We should be affirming that what we are responding to is accurate.

• When we do the Sign of the Cross we say amen to show we believe in the Trinity.
• We say amen after the creed to verify that those are true statements of our faith.
• We say amen after the Our Father to verify those are the actual words and sentiments of Jesus when he taught his Apostles to pray.
• We say amen when we receive communion to show we believe that the Eucharist is the actual Body and Blood of Christ.
• We say amen at the end of mass to verify we understand our duty to spread the gospel.

So don't just say "Amen" without realizing you are expressing your faith in the belief in God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  Be proud of your belief in the tenants of the Catholic Church when you say "Amen!"

  

How did Jesus Choose Who to Save?

Jesus preformed many miracles that are documented in the bible.  He changed water into wine.  He healed the sick.  He raised the dead.  I'm sure he did more things that were not documented by the writers in the bible.

How did Jesus chose who to carry out his graces on?

At Capernaum, a paraplegic was healed when his friends lowered him down through a hole in the roof.  Jesus raised Jairus daughter, the widow's son at Nain and his friend Lazarus when he saw the faith and sorrow and faith of their relatives.

It seems to me that Jesus values not just the faith of a person but their friends and relatives.  He saved people who had faith, as well as the people close to them.

So it's important to to pray and have faith not just to save ourselves, but to save our friends and family.  Pray for the redemption of not only our soul but for the soul of those close to us and at the final judgement maybe Jesus will save them because our faith.

No Time to Pray

Day to day life is busy.  We have to work, oversee our social network presence, maintain friendships, manage families, watch Yellowstone, eat and sleep-just to name a few.  So God must understand if we can't find time for prayer, right?

Newsflash-He doesn't.

There are 24 hours in a day; the same 24 hours that our forbearers were able to find enough time to forge relationships with God and become Saints.  If they can do it we can find time to spend with God as well.

So when can we pray?

• When we wake up, before we get out of bed, before we check our phone, we can say a quick morning prayer thanking Jesus for a night's sleep and asking for his guidance for the day.
• Most of us drive alone somewhere on a daily basis.  Why not use that time to pray?  Download a audio rosary and put that on the radio.  Dedicating your drive to a decade or two of the rosary and Mary can help make you arrive safely at your destination.
• Why have we gotten away from thanking God for our meals?  It seems so easy to spend 30 seconds to acknowledge God's role in providing us the food we need to survive.
• When going to sleep we should take a minute reflecting on the day.  We can look at what went well, what went poorly and how we can make tomorrow better.  We should thank god for his role in our day and ask him for a refreshing night of sleep.

If we look for free time and utilize those to spend time with God, I think we would all be surprised how much time we can spend in prayer.  And we might still have time to watch Yellowstone as well.

The Holy Spirit

Whenever we recite the creed at mass or as part of the rosary, we summarize our beliefs as Catholics.  It starts with God, our creator.  The majority of the creed directly addresses Jesus, his role on earth, his resurrection and presence at the final judgement.  Then there's a list of our other beliefs-the Holy Spirit, the church, communion with the saints, forgiveness of sins, resurrection of the body and life everlasting.

Why is the Holy Spirit, a divine part of the Trinity, equal to the God the Father and Jesus his son buried in a list of the "leftover" beliefs?  Shouldn't he have a part of the creed equal to the rest of the Trinity?

I really don't know the answer to this question.  But it seems like we tend to forget about the Holy Spirit sometimes.  We always talk about praying to God or Jesus.  We honor Mary or the Saints.  What role does the Holy Spirit have in our day to day life?

Pope Benedict had similar thoughts.  In 2008 he called the Holy Spirit the "Neglected person of the Blessed Trinity."  In the bible we are taught that the Holy Sprit is a tongue of fire or a dove that just shows up sometimes.

I would argue as a layman in my faith, trying to learn more every day, the Holy Spirit might be more important today for us then even The Father and The Son.  Remember the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.  It is through their love that the Holy Spirit constantly intercedes in our life and guides us in our decisions to become closer to God.

The Holy Spirit protects the Word of God in both the inspiration for the bible and its interpretation by the clergy.  He puts us in communion with the Church in mass.  He intercedes for our good and it is through him that we receive the sacraments.  He helps grow the Church by inspiring us to be closer to our faith and finding our vocations.

Let's not forget The Holy Spirit in our prayers and recognize his role in our life.  Remember its "The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit," distinct and equal members of the Trinity.

Naughty or Nice

When you have done all that you have been commanded to do say, "We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we are obliged to do." -Luke 17

As we prepare for Christmas we will see many advertisements about being on "Santa's Naughty or Nice List."  

I wonder if God has a similar list.  I pray every day.  I keep The Commandments.  I go to church every week.  I treat my neighbor well.  So I must be on God's good list, right?  And I should get special privileges because of it just like good children get presents at Christmas.  I wonder what God will bring me?

Today's Gospel tells us we are God's servants.  Praying, worshiping, and following the Commandments are what we are supposed to do.  We don't get special benefits just for doing what you are expected to do.  That's not how this works.

Serving the Lord does not entitle us to special rewards.  By realizing that following Jesus we can become more open to His graces and we become more ready to realize how the Lord can work through us to become the person He created us to be.

We shouldn't expect God to look at us any different than any of his other creations, He loves us all.  By realizing we are only doing what He expects of us does not make any of us better than anyone else.  

till, I'd rather be on God's nice list, and not on the naughty one.

Limits on Forgiveness

If your brother sins, rebuke him;  if he repents, forgive him.  If he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, "I am sorry," you should forgive him.   -Luke 17:3-4

The last time I was preparing for confession I thought to myself, "All of my sins are repeats.  What is Jesus going to think if I keep having the same sin?"  Jesus forgiveness knows no limits according to this bible passage.  He always forgives my sins.

I wish I was more forgiving.  If someone came to me 7 times saying sorry my likely reply would likely be an annoyed, "Not this time.  If you really want to be forgiven maybe stop doing the same thing over and over again."  As in all things, I need to use Jesus as my example in forgiveness of my neighbor.

And if I can't forgive my neighbor, I shouldn't expect their forgiveness when I say sorry.  Believe me, I need all the forgiveness I can get. 

 

He Puts You to the Test-When He Knows You Are Ready

When you are dealing with a health issue its hard not say "Why me?"  In my case I feel like I'm still relatively young.  I have always made exercise a priority.  Never smoked.  No alcohol.

Compared to other people its hard to not be a little jealous that someone who seems to live a less healthy life still be living into their 80's or more.

But I have realized a few things in reflecting over this situation.

1.  You can't compare your life to anyone else.  Everyone is an individual.  Everyone deals with individual issues that you may or not be aware of.
2. There is no room in life for jealously.  The only judge of a person's situation and worthiness is God.
3. God only puts you to the test when you need it.  You need to trust in God that when you do face a life's test He knows you are ready to deal with it.

Am I facing a life changing situation?  Yes-without a doubt.   But rather than feel sorry for myself or angry that I am facing it rather than someone else, I need to put my confidence in Jesus that he put this on me because I knows I am ready to deal with it.  I just need to put my trust in Jesus to take care of me.  I need to allow Jesus to live through me and let his will be done.  By his will and the Grace of our heavenly mother, Mary, He will take care of me.

He's in the House

Today the Catholic Church celebrates The Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica.  This is the Pope's actual church in Rome.

I was reflecting on the Churches in the world as I thought about the Feast.  Churches are without a doubt some of the most beautiful buildings in the world.  Just a quick Google search will result in churches of various faith groups showing their honor to God in large spires, stained glass, statues and vast halls.  The architecture is amazing, especially when you realize that many of the churches were built 100's of years ago and may have taken a decades to complete.

But those are just buildings.  The most important thing to remember is that the Church is God's house.  In the catholic faith we believe that in the Eucharist is the actual body and blood of Jesus.  After communion, the unconsumed hosts are placed in the tabernacle and remain in the church for the next mass.  So the church is not just a building, but a dwelling place for Jesus.  While Jesus lives in the biggest and most famous Catholic Cathedrals, he also lives in the smallest Catholic community Churches.

The other place he lives is within us.  When we receive the body and blood of Christ at the mass our body becomes a small church, a tabernacle for the living God.  At that moment we are truly one with Jesus.  That's why it's important we do what we can to be ready to receive him and make our body a worthy dwelling place for the Lord.

Ways to Pray-Lectio Divina

I struggle with prayer.  I just don't feel like I'm good at it.  I'm always trying to improve on everything I do, and there can be nothing more important to get good at than talking to God.

So over the next few days I am planning on reflecting on different ways to pray.

Today I am looking at Lectio Divina.  Its the practice of reading and contemplating on a scripture passage.  As I understand there are 4 steps.

1. Lectio-Read a passage.
2. Meditatio-Reflect and imagine being part of the passage.
3. Oratio-Respond to the passage by praising God, asking for grace or healing.
4. Comtemplatio-Contemplation on the passage trying to experience the text as a reality.

Seems simple enough.  I feel the Holy Spirit lives in the scripture.  So evoking a bible passage will help me use the Holy Spirit as a conduit to improving my prayer.

So I'm committing to 5 days of Lectio Divina.  Maybe it will work for me...maybe not.  But I know I can always have it in my prayer toolbox.

Would You Risk 99 for the Sake of 1? Jesus Would.

Today's Gospel includes one of the parables that I always find hard to understand in how we value things today.  Luke says that when questioned about eating with sinners Jesus says, "What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it?"

Whenever I hear this question I always find myself thinking I don't understand how it makes sense to risk 99 of anything to try to save one.

But not all sheep are equal.  Jesus says "There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance."

And that's what I need to remember, Jesus spent time with sinners because their value in becoming part of his flock is more important than someone already faithful to God.  Getting someone to realize their faith and to get on the path to Heaven is worth celebrating.

And its up to us, hopefully part of the flock of 99 righteous sheep give the time and effort to bring back the lost sheep out there.  Spread the Word of God to family and friends who may have wondered off.  That's what Jesus would do. 

 

Election Day and A Our Tattered Nation

"Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself will not stand." Matthew 12:25

How to Become a Saint: Step 3-The Secret Weapon

When I was in the Navy I had a security clearance.  I was allowed to know things that the nation felt was important to keep a secret for the security of the country.

So, with this post I'm, giving you a security clearance.  I'm going to tell you the big secret in how to become a Saint.  Make sure you are alone in a quiet place so no one else can hear this covert fact, the secret weapon to Sainthood.

Here it is. You are already a Saint.

Remember, we were all created in God's image.  We were not created to be Gods ourselves but God wanted us to be his companions.  We were created in God's image to be with Him in heaven.  So how is that not being born a Saint?

This begs the question why isn't everyone a Saint then?  Here is where we tend to go wrong.  In order to enter heaven and receive our Sainthood, we need to give our lives to Jesus and follow his will.  Jesus died for our sins, but he was also an example of how to live our life as humans.  He continues to look out for us and lead us on the pathway to heaven.

But we tend to forget this fact and lead lives away from God.  Even as believers we might forget Jesus during the week and try to make up for it by an hour on the weekend at Church.  We might ignore the Holy Spirit trying to warn us when we veer of the right path.  Through history, our Mother, The Virgin Mary, has come back down in visions to remind us of the glory we are entitled to.  But we choose to ignore her.

Our thoughts and actions take the glorified soul we were created as by God and turn it into less than a Saint.

But it's not too late.  Live close to God.  Follow the example of Jesus.  Hear the Holy Spirit warn us when we go off track.  Follow the lessons of Mary at Fatima and other motherly visions.

Do this and we can again become the Saints that God intended us to be, the Saints we already were before we made mistakes and jeopardized our Soul.  We were born as Saints.  Sainthood is our destiny.  We just need to not botch it up.  Jesus is infallible, so by faithfully living through Him it is impossible to mess up our path to Sainthood.  You just need to do it.

How to Become a Saint: Step 2-Your Sainthood Team

On All Saints Day I was watching some various homilies and thoughts on the day from the experts on faith and Catholicism.  One of my personal favorites is Father Mike Schmitz.  His 2023 homily really struck a chord with me.  I will summarize parts of the sermon here, but I encourage you to get it straight from the source by clicking this link.

Father Mike likened becoming a Saint to an Ironman Triathlon.  Immediately, I was interested as 20 years ago I finished the 2.4mi swim, the 112mi bike and the 26.2mi marathon run and heard those words "You are an Ironman."  The rules have eased over the last 15 years ago, but it used to be very strict.  An Ironman race started at 7am with thousands of people starting the swim together and in order to be considered a finished you needed to cross the finish line by midnight.  That gives 17 hours to finish the race and be an official finisher.

When it gets close to that midnight time limit it became tradition for people who had already finished the race to return to the finish line to cheer on the final racers for the day.  Father Mike talks specifically about an Ironman Canada, but I've seen and heard of this happening numerous times late in Ironman Triathlons.  With the stands at the finish line full in the last half hour of the race, the announcer says he hears about a racer who is struggling, 2 miles down the road, but has only 15 minutes to finish the race to be an official Ironman.  Running 2 miles in 15 minutes is not impossible, but remember this a person who has been going non-stop since 7am.  So finishing the race is definitely not a certainly.  So  people then leave the stands to go down the road to encourage and run with this individual.  Over the next few minutes more people go to meet the racer and encourage him.  They want this person to experience of becoming an Ironman like them. 

When the racer gets near the finish line and makes that final turn they have a crowd of Ironman behind them helping and encouraging them to finish the race so they can hear the words, "You are an Ironman."

So how does this relate to Sainthood?  Like becoming and Ironman becoming a Saint is a race.  The racecourse is life.  And like the Ironman we have a team behind us, helping and encouraging us to finish the race.  All the Saints who have already finished before us are there running with us to the finish line.  We are never trying to run the race of life alone.  Pushing us to the finish are St. John, St. Joan of Arc, St. Pope John Paul, and all the Saints.  Your own Sainthood team.  The Saints want you to experience becoming a Saint like them.

We just need to follow our team's encouragement to get to the finish line, with the crowd of Saints behind us, where St. Peter says the words, "You are a Saint."

 

How to Become a Saint: Step 1-Finding Flaws

This year in my goal to better understand and become more connected to my faith, I have completed a couple of cycles of the Marian Consecration.  It is a way of completely devoting one's life to the Virgin Mary and offering oneself to Jesus through Mary.

As I understand the idea for committing to Mary as a way to reach Jesus was first started in the 1600's by French Priest St. Louis de Montfort.  More recently it was reestablished by St. Maximilian Kolbe (who should be the patron Saint of Beard-Growing) in the 1920's and 1930's.  In either case there is a series of 33 days of daily reflection before praying to commit to Mary.

In the case of St. Kolbe's consecration the daily prayers always included "...become a Saint.  A great Saint."

This was always uncomfortable to me to say.  I'm not a Saint.  I'm definitely not a great Saint.  I have faults.  I have made mistakes.  I have spent parts of my life distanced from Jesus.  I can't be a Saint.

Or can I?

I think the first step to becoming a Saint is the realization that even the Saints we admire probably had faults.  St. Paul was a Roman who persecuted Jews and early Christians.  Before his conversion St. Augustine pursued a life paganism and had a child out of wedlock.  St. Pelagia and St. Mary of Egypt were well known seductresses.  

More recently, in the 1800's, Bl. Bartolo Longo described himself as an atheist and  "Satanic Priest."  During his beatification St. Pope John Paul called Fr. Longo the "Apostle of the Rosary."  That's quite a turn around.

It seems like almost every Saint has a story of being distanced from God and a conversion that led them to return to their faith.

So maybe I can be a Saint.  Maybe we all can.

Being a Saint is not about being flawless.  Becoming a Saint is about working on flaws and using them to become perfect.

I want to end on this thought from one of those flawed individuals who became a Saint and a was named a Doctor of the Church, St. Augustine:

"There is no Saint without a past, no sinner without a future."

Let us realize our flaws and figure out how to use them to become Saints, great Saints.

All Souls Day-How to Get Out of Purgatory

Today is All Souls day.  It is a day for us to remember those who have gone before us, especially those still in purgatory being purified prior to being allowed to go to heaven.

As a Catholic we believe that all souls live on forever.  After the earthly life has ended all soils go to one of 3 places. 

The first is Heaven. This is where we will be reunited with God-Our Creator, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and all the Saints. This is a return to paradise for those whose souls are ready to receive the joy of Heaven.

The second option for souls is Hell. This is for those souls who do not merit ever being together with God. They live in eternal damnation apart from God.

The third option for deposition of a soul is purgatory.  I think this more of a Catholic specific belief but it is basically a place for those souls to be purified prior to entrance to heaven.  The Catechism of the Church says “All who die in God's grace and friendship l, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed ensured of eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.”

It would be interesting if getting out of Purgatory was as simple as getting out of jail in Monopoly, rolling doubles or getting a card from the chance pile, but it's not. It's our job on earth to help the souls waiting for entrance to heaven.

And that's what we should be remembering on All Souls Day.  Pray for and ask for indulgences for those undergoing the purification in Purgatory.  That they may go on to the joy of heaven.  And when they do they will remember us who have prayed for them so when we undergo the test they will be on our side defending us.  It's like we will have our own heavenly character witnesses waiting for us when St. Peter asks us if we are ready to go through the Pearly Gates.

So today I pray for all the soils in Purgatory, that they will be undergo a quick purification and proceed onto to not of eternal life in heaven.  Especially for the souls of those who have made a personal mark on my life with Jesus. 

Dad. Grandma. Frank Thornton. Captain Pavis. Herb and Mary Dean. Dr. Pezanoski. And Anyone I've forgotten.

All Saints' Day: The Story of a Non-Saint

On November 1st we celebrate the best of those of us who have lived on earth, the Saints.  We can use the day to remember people who have lived their faith above all.  The Catholic Church has many Saints and it is not hard to find one that we have a connection to, either by the way they lived or by things they were associated with.  Some lived 100’s of years ago.  Some have only passed on recently.

I would like to take the time to remember the story of someone who is not a Saint, but whom I look up to for intercession often,  Father Vincent Capodanno.

Born in 1929 of Italian immigrants, Vincent Capodanno was called to the faith and joined the Maryknolls, a Catholic missionary group just shortly after World War 2.  He eventually was ordained a priest in 1958 and completed missionary assignments in Taiwan and Hong Kong, fulfilling academic and emotional needs of the people he worked with.

In the mid-1960’s Father Capodanno found a different calling, to join the Chaplain Corps of the Navy and administer to those fighting for our country.  In 1966, after receiving his commission in the Navy, he was deployed to Vietnam, serving with the U.S. Marines.  Though he didn’t have to, Father Capodanno felt it was important to live among and to be as close to the front line Marines as he could be.  He spent time among them giving confessions, consoling the grieving and helping the suffering.  He was affectionately known as the “Grunt Padre” in honor of the way he lived as a Marine.

On September 4, 1967, Father Capodanno was involved in a major battle.  According to accounts he didn’t have to be there, and was asked to head back to safety by many of his fellow Marines.  But Father Capodanno didn’t leave.  He felt his duty to the men and to God was too important.  He continued to console the men, helping the wounded to safety and offering last rights as necessary for the dying.

It was there he gave the ultimate sacrifice.  Unarmed, he was shot 27 times, and died on that battlefield.  He gave his life as a Marine and faithful servant of God.

Posthumously, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.  He has had chapels named in his honor, especially those associated with the military.  In 1973 the Navy named a ship in his honor.

In the Catholic Church he has been named a “Servant of God.”  This is a step in becoming a Saint in the Catholic Church.  I don’t know if he will ever become St. Vincent, that’s up to the Vatican, but he is a Saint to me.  I ask for his prayers often.

"May God, who has offered strength through the hands of His only Son, Our Lord, and the Christ's many servants grant me the favor of His healing hand through in intercession of His servant, Father Vincent Capodanno, priest, missionary, and chaplain, who always sought to heal and comfort the wounded and dying on the field of battle.  May I be granted this request on my own field of battle.  I pray in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

My personal battlefield might not be in the jungles of Vietnam, but I still depend on Father Vincent Capodanno to give me strength to fight my personal battles, wherever and whatever they may be.