Category: Parish News & Events

Consider Your Ways

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Today is the feast of St. Pius of Pietrelcina better known as Padre Pio. The First Reading from Haggai today is quite fitting as Padre Pio was known for the gift of inspired listening while in the confessional. He had the gift of being able to tell the person receiving the sacrament what he/she omitted from a confession, and called the person out about it.

Here’s how I imagine Padre Pio would sum up the First Reading. ‘What I hear you saying is, you work, eat and drink, yet nothing gives you fulfilment or satisfaction. Wake up! Clean up your act! Stop going through the motions and really commit to being your true self and do so authentically. When you work, do so sincerely and with your best effort. The intention behind what you do and why, matters. Then when you offer your works to the Lord, God will be pleased with you.  Let your true self come through just like a flower.’

A flower doesn’t give any thought to what it is, how it fits in, or what it looks like. It is a flower and God enjoys each and every flower. It is at peace.

I am human. God enjoys each and every part of my authentic self. I do not have to be the best in any way, shape, or form. I just have to try as best I am able in the moment, and to use the God given gifts and the talents I’ve developed throughout my life. I need to find a way to do those things with good intentions that are not selfish or miserly. I need to live in peace and unity with the kingdom He entrusted to humankind.

Padre Pio wrote, “There is only one thing the soul should regret, and that is offending God.”
My actions and thoughts need to be formed with this in mind.

Oh Lord, I want you to take pleasure in all the facets of life. With the help of my Guardian Angel, enlighten and guide me to do your will in every action, thought, deed and prayer. Amen.

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Beth Price is part of the customer care team at Diocesan. She is a Secular Franciscan (OFS) and a practicing spiritual director. Beth shares smiles, prayers, laughter, a listening ear and her heart with all of creation. Reach her here bprice@diocesan.com.

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St. Padre Pio: Saint of the Day for Thursday, September 23, 2021

St. Padre Pio was an Italian priest who was known for his piety and charity, as well as the gift of the stigmata, which has never been explained.

St. Padre Pio was born Francesco Forgione, on May 25, 1887, in Pietrelcina, Italy. His parents were peasant farmers. He had an older brother and three younger sisters, as well as two other siblings who died in infancy. As a child, he was very religious and by the age of five he reportedly made the decision to dedicate his life to God.

Fortunately, …

Prayer for Women with Breast Cancer: Prayer of the Day for Thursday, September 23, 2021

Father, for the strength you have given me I thank you.
For the health you have blessed me with, I thank you.
For the women who are going through breast cancer and their families
I ask you to strengthen and to heal as you see fit.
Lord we know you want us to be in good health and to prosper.
Lord use us to do the work you have for us to do.
For we know time is getting short on this earth.
Lord be with every woman who is sick
and encourage them as only you can.
I know …

The Lord Provides

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I love the Gospel passages when Jesus summons the Twelve apostles, gives them their mission and sends them forth. Maybe it’s because I work for the Church and can easily see myself in their shoes as I receive my mission, my vocation as a youth minister, from the Lord and am sent forth into my parish to serve the young people. Maybe it’s something different. 

However, what strikes me about this particular Gospel, is not the action of the sending forth; rather, it’s the instructions that Jesus gives them. “Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic.” 

Um, what did He say? Take nothing? Really? That would have been my immediate gut reaction if I was really in the apostles’ shoes. A walking stick or a second tunic probably would have been helpful for a journey such as this, let alone food and money. There is no mention of complaining or second-guessing in the rest of the Gospel passage, though. The apostles went out and did what they were told – proclaimed the good news and cured diseases. 

Jesus was trying to teach the apostles – and us, by extension – a lesson in trust, in total reliance upon Him. The apostles didn’t need to bring food or money on their journey because the Lord would provide for all of their needs, which included their physical and material needs. 

We can never learn too many lessons about trusting in the Lord. It’s something that we can all grow in, all the time, and I’ll be the first one to admit it. I know I need to trust the Lord more in my daily life, in my spiritual life, in youth ministry, in everything. Again, maybe that’s why I like this passage so much, because it invites me to grow in trust like the apostles did. I am reminded that He will provide for me and for His Church. 

As you prepare to go out on your journey, in your mission, how can you invite the Lord to provide for your needs today? For this week? A simple prayer to the Holy Spirit is a great way to start!

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Erin Madden is a Cleveland native and graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville. She is passionate about the Lord Jesus, all things college sports and telling stories and she is blessed enough to get paid for all three of her passions. You can catch her on old episodes of the Clarence & Peter Podcast on YouTube as well as follow her on Twitter@erinmadden2016.

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St. Thomas of Villanueva: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, September 22, 2021

Augustinian bishop. Born at Fuentellana, Castile, Spain, he was the son of a miller. He studied at the University of Alcala, earned a licentiate in theology, and became a professor there at the age of twenty-six. He declined the chair of philosophy at the university of Salamanca and instead entered the Order of St Augustine
at Salamanca in 1516. Ordained in 1520, he served as prior of several houses in Salamanca, Burgos, and Valladolid, as provincial ofAndal usia and Castile, and then court …

Prayer to Our Mother of Perpetual Help: Prayer of the Day for Wednesday, September 22, 2021

Mother of Perpetual Help, today we face so many difficulties. Your picture tells us so much about you. It reminds us to reach out and help those in need. Help us understand that our lives belong to others as much as they belong to us.
Mary, Model of Christian love, we know we cannot heal every ill or solve every problem. But with God’s grace, we intend to do what we can. May we be true witnesses to the world that love for one another really matters. May our daily actions proclaim how fully …

Get Up

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Getting up can be difficult – getting up in the morning, getting up from the couch, getting up to help someone. I like sitting down myself. Getting up is a big change; a change of posture, certainly, but also a change of ATTENTION, a change of INTENTION. One moment I am doing one thing, the next moment I have gotten up to do SOMETHING ELSE. It’s human nature to want to remain where we are, to be undisturbed from whatever we are doing. Change is hard. Change requires a decision and a choice.

Matthew was sitting. He was at his customs post, waiting to collect more money, probably counting the money he had. Maybe he was figuring sums as he sat. Maybe he was sitting there figuring out how to find real fulfillment in his life, we don’t know. His Gospel doesn’t tell us, and doesn’t flatter him in any way. It tells the truth in such simplicity we might miss the monumentalness of it all:

“As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.”

He GOT UP. He made a decision and a choice to change. He changed his attention and his intention. One moment he was doing one thing, the next moment he got up to do something else. He responded to a call. He literally rose to the occasion.

Clearly, he was moved by grace to do this. Clearly, he saw something in this carpenter from Galilee that promised more than the money he had been counting. And clearly, he wanted to share this with his friends (who were clearly tax collectors and sinners) because he invited them to dinner with Jesus. And Jesus’ answer to the ever-skeptical Pharisees gives us some insight into the reason for the calling of Matthew: “Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” Matthew wasn’t perfect; but Jesus would perfect him.

Three lessons blaze up like fire from this short Gospel:

First, God does not wait for us to get all our spiritual affairs in order and to do everything right before he calls us! He calls us, the spiritually sick and imperfect, to follow him so that we can be healed and perfected by his Presence.

Second, we must respond to the call of Christ by GETTING UP and making a decision and a choice to change our attention and our intention. We must turn from one thing to another, from a lesser thing to the best thing, which is the will of God for our lives.

Third, others may question this change in us. No matter. Our witness to the mercy of God will outshine any ridicule or questions. For our part, when we are called, we must GET UP and follow wherever He leads. This is our YES to God.

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Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including Father Rob), and four grandchildren. She is President of the local community of Secular Discalced Carmelites and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 30 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE, and as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio. Currently, she serves the Church by writing and speaking, and by collaborating with various parishes and to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is www.KathrynTherese.com

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Nuptial Blessing, Longer: Prayer of the Day for Tuesday, September 21, 2021

O God, by Your mighty power You made all things out of nothing. First, You set the beginnings of the universe in order. Then, You made man in Your image, and appointed woman to be his inseparable helpmate. Thus You made woman’s body from the flesh of man, thereby teaching that what You have been pleased to institute from one principle might never lawfully be put asunder. O God, You have sanctified marriage by a mystery so excellent that in the marriage union You foreshadowed the union of Christ …

St. Matthew: Saint of the Day for Tuesday, September 21, 2021

Little is known about St. Matthew, except that he was the son of Alpheus, and he was likely born in Galilee. He worked as a tax collector, which was a hated profession during the time of Christ.

According to the Gospel, Matthew was working at a collection booth in Capernaum when Christ came to him and asked, “Follow me.” With this simple call, Matthew became a disciple of Christ.

From Matthew we know of the many doings of Christ and the message Christ spread of salvation for all people who …

Let Your Light Shine!

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Like literally millions of other Christians, I have been listening to Father Mike Schmitz’s Bible in a Year podcast regularly since January 1, 2021. Recently we spent weeks on the Exile, the period during which most of the Israelites dwelt in Babylon while Jerusalem and the Temple were in ruins.

So I was excited to see that today’s First Reading recounts the beginning of the end of that period of exile. King Cyrus of Persia not only lets the Israelites go, he also promises that the Temple will be rebuilt. After reading the many details on the Temple and its construction, and knowing what it meant to the Israelites, this makes me happy to read. How much happier must they have been at this news? The Responsorial Psalm tells us of their laughter and rejoicing. I love to imagine their dancing and singing and their smiling happy faces.  

Today’s Gospel Acclamation exhorts us to let our light shine, and in the Gospel Jesus reminds us not to place that light under a bushel. At the end of their exile, the Israelites could not hide the light of their faith and their appreciation of the good things God had done for them.

Surely God has done great things for all of us, but how good are we at shining? I reflect today on the martyrs of the Church in Korea, whose feasts we are celebrating.  Saints Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and Companions (103 other priests, missionaries, and lay people) let their light shine even when it meant certain death.  During waves of persecution, surely God would have excused them if they had chosen to consider their faith more of a private matter, right? Yet St. Andrew said, “We have received baptism, entrance into the Church, and the honor of being called Christians. Yet what good will this do us if we are Christians in name only and not in fact?” He and these other witnesses to the faith chose to shine brightly even unto death.

What does this mean for us today? What does shining your light look like for a modern Catholic in a country where we have no fear of martyrdom? I believe there are as many ways to shine as there are Catholics! Some of you wear Catholic apparel and jewelry. Others extend invitations to Mass or to a parish event. Some might offer prayers to a friend in need. Perhaps you write about your faith for others to read. Some of you may be the proprietors of Catholic businesses. These are all wonderful and valid ways of letting others see your light.

But I think that more important are the less obvious ways that all Christians are called to demonstrate their faith: by loving God and neighbor and making sure that all our actions, every day, reflect that love. How do we treat one another when we are not at church? Are we kind to those who serve us in stores and in restaurants? How do we conduct ourselves during online disagreements? Remember that anyone who knows you are a Christian is apt to judge ALL Christians by your behavior. The very best way for Christians to be the light of the world is to love one another visibly and well.

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Leslie Sholly is a Catholic, Southern wife and mother of five, living in her hometown, Knoxville, Tennessee. She graduated from Georgetown University with an English major and Theology minor. She blogs at Life in Every Limb, where for 11 years she has covered all kinds of topics, more recently focusing on the intersection of faith, politics, and social justice.

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