Category: Parish News & Events

Christ Commands Obedience / Jesucristo Exije la Obediencia

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In today’s Gospel, Luke retells the story of Jesus driving a demon out of a man. Before the demon lets go and leaves the man, he says to Christ, “I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” Jesus commands him to be quiet and to come out. The demon then leaves the man, and all of the onlookers are amazed that Christ could make the demon obey. 

The scene must have been both scary and amazing. Imagine witnessing a demon do as Christ commands. God’s words are so powerful that even a demon had to obey.

As we think about this obedience, let us reflect upon our own lives. Do we obey God? Do we do as He commands? Or do we prefer the commands of the world or our own desires to God’s?

It is extremely easy to get wrapped up in a life that takes us far from God’s words. We allow the false idols of society to take His place and to overshadow His voice. We allow vices to prevail. We permit things to interfere with the time we should be spending in God’s house or listening to His words. These are our demons. These are the things that make it so that we cannot even hear God’s voice.

But God persists. He wants us to be free of our demons just as He wanted the actual demon to leave the man. He keeps calling. He keeps commanding. 

And why does He do this?

He does this because He loves us. We belong to Him. Just as the demon possessed the man and rendered him unable to live a holy life, our demons possess us. Our demons create a rift between us and God. They keep us from growing closer to Him. 

But we can make changes in our lives that will lead us to God instead of away from Him.

How do we do that? We begin with prayer and confession. We prayerfully examine our lives, our actions, and all of the things that interfere with our relationship with God. And then we tell God that we are sorry for our sins. We go to confession and apologize. We thank Him for the grace to pick ourselves up again. We promise obedience. 

We do this because we know, just as the demon knew, that Christ is “the Holy One of God.”

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En el Evangelio de hoy, Lucas vuelve a contar la historia de Jesús expulsando a un demonio de un hombre. Antes de que el demonio suelte y abandone al hombre, le dice a Cristo: “Sé que tú eres el Santo de Dios”. Jesús le ordena que se calle y que salga. El demonio luego deja al hombre, y todos los espectadores se asombran de que Cristo pudiera hacer que el demonio obedezca.

La escena debe haber sido tanto aterradora como asombrosa. Imagínese ver a un demonio hacer lo que Cristo ordena. Las palabras de Dios son tan poderosas que incluso un demonio tuvo que obedecer.

Mientras pensamos en esta obediencia, reflexionemos sobre nuestras propias vidas. ¿Obedecemos a Dios? ¿Hacemos lo que Él manda? ¿O preferimos los mandatos del mundo o nuestros propios deseos a los de Dios?

Es extremadamente fácil quedar envuelto en una vida que nos aleja de las palabras de Dios. Permitimos que los falsos ídolos de la sociedad tomen Su lugar y eclipsen Su voz. Permitimos que los vicios prevalezcan. Permitimos que las cosas interfieran con el tiempo que deberíamos pasar en la casa de Dios o escuchando Sus palabras. Estos son nuestros demonios. Estas son las cosas que hacen que ni siquiera podamos escuchar la voz de Dios.

Pero Dios persiste. Él quiere que seamos libres de nuestros demonios tal como Él quería que el demonio real dejara al hombre. Él sigue llamando. Él sigue al mando.

¿Y por qué hace esto?

Él hace esto porque nos ama. Pertenecemos a Él. Así como el demonio poseyó al hombre y lo hizo incapaz de vivir una vida santa, nuestros demonios nos poseen. Nuestros demonios crean una brecha entre nosotros y Dios. Nos impiden acercarnos más a Él.
Pero podemos hacer cambios en nuestras vidas que nos lleven a Dios en lugar de alejarnos de Él.

¿Como hacemos eso? Comenzamos con la oración y la confesión. En oración examinamos nuestras vidas, nuestras acciones y todas las cosas que interfieren con nuestra relación con Dios. Y luego le decimos a Dios que nos arrepentimos de nuestros pecados. Vamos a confesarnos y disculparnos. Le damos gracias por la gracia de levantarnos de nuevo. Prometemos obediencia.

Hacemos esto porque sabemos, tal como lo sabía el demonio, que Cristo es “el Santo de Dios”.

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Susan Ciancio has a BA in psychology and a BA in sociology from the University of Notre Dame, with an MA in liberal studies from Indiana University. For the past 19 years, she has worked as a professional editor and writer, editing both fiction and nonfiction books, magazine articles, blogs, educational lessons, professional materials and website content. Thirteen of those years have been in the pro-life sector. Currently Susan freelances and writes weekly for HLI, edits for American Life League, and is the executive editor of Celebrate Life Magazine. She also serves as executive editor for the Culture of Life Studies Program—an educational nonprofit program for K-12 students. You can reach her at slochner0.wixsite.com/website.

Feature Image Credit: Angie Menes, www.cathopic.com/photo/20657-yo-te-absuelvo-tus-pecados

St. Rumon: Saint of the Day for Tuesday, August 30, 2022

St. Rumon, also known as Ruan, Ronan, and Ruadan, was probably a brother of Bishop St. Tudwal of Trequier, but nothing else is known of him beyond that he was probably an Irish missionary and many churches in Devon and Cornwall in England were named after him. Some authorities believed he is the same as the St. Ronan (June 1) venerated in Brittany and believed consecrated bishop by St. Patrick, but others believe that he and St. Kea were British monks who founded a monastery at Street Somerset. …

God Writes Straight With Crooked Lines / Dios Escribe Recto con Líneas Chuecas

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God has a way of writing straight with crooked lines. 25 years ago today I made promises to God as a consecrated lay woman. I had been raised in a conservative Catholic home and thought that this was my calling. I longed to live a saintly life and to love God. Yet, after struggling for three and a half years I knew something just wasn’t right and I discerned it wasn’t my calling. I lived the single life for 11 years after coming home and this year my husband and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary with 5 kids in tow. 

In the back of my mind on that day two and a half decades ago, I wondered if it was a bad omen (not that I really believed in omens) being consecrated on a day a saint got his head chopped off.  But in the end, it truly came to pass that God had other plans for my life. 

The Gospel passage does not focus on John the Baptist, rather on Herod’s imprudent reward, Herodias’ evil request and Herod’s subsequent internal conflict. 

What must John have been thinking in those final moments when they approached him with an ax telling him he was going to die? Was he filled with fear? Or was he happy to finally be able to meet God face to face after being a good and faithful servant?

He surely had a “crooked lines” kind of life. Being born to an old barren couple, being related to the Son of God, living out in the desert, eating locusts and wild honey, baptizing with water, preaching repentance, and being thrown in jail, only to die a martyr’s death. 

Perhaps your life appears similarly crazy, yet each one of us are called to follow Him, even unto death.  

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Dios tiene una manera de escribir recto con líneas chuecas. Hoy hace 25 años hice promesas a Dios como laica consagrada. Me crié en un hogar católico conservador y pensé que ese era mi llamado. Anhelaba vivir una vida santa y amar a Dios. Sin embargo, después de luchar durante tres años y medio, supe que algo no estaba bien y me di cuenta de que no era mi llamado. Después de volver a casa, viví la vida de soltera durante 11 años antes de casarme y este año mi esposo y yo celebramos nuestro décimo aniversario de bodas y tenemos 5 hijos.

En el fondo de mi mente ese día hace dos décadas y media, me preguntaba si era un mal presagio (no es que yo realmente creyera en los presagios) ser consagrado en un día en que a un santo le cortaron la cabeza. Pero al final, realmente sucedió que Dios tenía otros planes para mi vida.

El pasaje evangélico no se centra en Juan Bautista, sino en la imprudente recompensa de Herodes, la malvada petición de Herodías y el posterior conflicto interno de Herodes.

¿Qué habrá estado pensando Juan en esos momentos finales cuando se le acercaron con un hacha diciéndole que iba a morir? ¿Estaba lleno de miedo? ¿O estaba feliz de finalmente poder encontrarse con Dios cara a cara después de ser un servidor bueno y fiel?

Seguramente tenía un tipo de vida de “líneas chuecas”. Nacer de una pareja de ancianos estériles, estar relacionado con el Hijo de Dios, vivir en el desierto, comer langostas y miel silvestre, bautizar con agua, predicar el arrepentimiento y ser arrojado a la cárcel, solo para morir como mártir.

Tal vez tu vida parezca igualmente loca, pero cada uno de nosotros está llamado a seguir a Cristo, incluso hasta la muerte.

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Tami Urcia grew up in Western Michigan, a middle child in a large Catholic family. She spent early young adulthood as a missionary in Mexico, studying theology and philosophy, then worked and traveled extensively before finishing her Bachelor’s Degree in Western Kentucky. She loves tackling projects, finding fun ways to keep her little ones occupied, quiet conversation with the hubby and finding unique ways to love. She works at for Christian Healthcare Centers, is a guest blogger on CatholicMom.com and BlessedIsShe.net, runs her own blog at https://togetherandalways.wordpress.com and has been doing Spanish translations on the side for over 20 years.

Feature Image Credit: Sam Poullain, unsplash.com/photos/TuAZPj1uaZs

St. Sabina: Saint of the Day for Monday, August 29, 2022

St. Sabina’s feast day is August 29th. We know St. Sabina only through legend, and there is some question as to it’s trustworthiness. Even the century in which she lived is unknown. Supposedly Sabina was converted to Christianity by her Syrian servant Serapia. During the persecution of Emperor Hadrian, Serapia suffered martyrdom for her Christian Faith. It is believed that St. Sabina was murdered for the Faith about a month later. The reknowned basilica on the Aventine in Rome is dedicated to …

Prayer for Charity: Prayer of the Day for Monday, August 29, 2022

O my Jesus, Thou who art very Love,
enkindle in my heart that Divine Fire
which consumes the Saints and transforms them into Thee.

O Lord our God,
we offer Thee our hearts
united in the strongest and most sincere love of brotherhood;
we pray that Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament
may be the daily food of our souls and bodies;
that Jesus may be established as the center of our affections,
even as He was for Mary and Joseph.
Finally, O Lord, may sin never disturb our …

Seeking Humility / Buscando la Humildad

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“Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find favor with God,” we hear in today’s reading from Sirach.  

Jesus reiterates this in the Gospel, saying, “For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” 

And St. Augustine, whose feast we celebrate today, wrote, “If you should ask me what are the ways of God, I would tell you that the first is humility, the second is humility, and the third is humility. Not that there are no other precepts to give, but if humility does not precede all that we do, our efforts are fruitless.”

That is a difficult prescription in today’s society, in which humility may be the most underappreciated, unrewarded virtue. In a world obsessed with social media, many of us judge our worth by how often our posts are liked or shared by others, hoping to go viral, obsessively checking our phones throughout the day when we think we have shared something exceptionally profound or amusing. That does not exactly predispose us toward humility!

Jesus did not just talk about humility; rather, he set the example for us to follow. He began by coming among us: God taking on our flesh, our lives, our physical limitations. His place of birth, his social status, the way he lived, and his manner of death were all humble in nature. One of his last acts was to wash the feet of his friends.  If we want to call ourselves Christ followers, clearly humility should be central. 

Pride is the vice in direct opposition to humility. The fact that it is the sin that made the angels fall should alert us to its seriousness.  It is a stumbling block for me, so much so that when I first encountered the Litany of Humility (excerpted below), I did not want to say it! I remember thinking, “I don’t want to pray for those things!”

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, Hear me.

 From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, Jesus. 

From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, Jesus.

From the fear of being ridiculed, Deliver me, Jesus. 

That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may become holier than I, provided that I become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

But eventually I realized that the Litany does not require that we renounce being loved or honored and seek out ridicule and humiliation, but rather that we shift our focus away from actively being motivated by a desire for these things. This prayer promotes a change in perspective that can help us “follow the ways of God,” as Saint Augustine wrote. So I began to pray it daily. Will you join me?

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“Hazte tanto más pequeño cuanto más grande seas y hallarás gracia ante el Señor”, escuchamos en la lectura de hoy del Eclesiástico.

Jesús reitera esto en el Evangelio, diciendo: “Porque el que se engrandece a sí mismo, será humillado; y el que se humilla, será engrandecido”.

Y San Agustín, cuya fiesta celebramos hoy, escribió: “Si me preguntaras cuáles son los caminos de Dios, te diría que el primero es la humildad, el segundo es la humildad y el tercero es la humildad. No es que no haya otros preceptos que dar, pero si la humildad no precede a todo lo que hacemos, nuestros esfuerzos son en vano”.

Esa es una receta difícil en la sociedad actual, en la que la humildad puede ser la virtud menos apreciada y sin recompensa. En un mundo obsesionado con las redes sociales, muchos de nosotros juzgamos nuestro valor por la frecuencia con la que otras personas les gustan o comparten nuestras publicaciones, con la esperanza de volverse virales, revisando obsesivamente nuestros teléfonos durante todo el día cuando creemos que hemos compartido algo excepcionalmente profundo o divertido. ¡Eso no nos predispone precisamente a la humildad!

Jesús no solo habló de humildad; más bien, nos dio el ejemplo a seguir. Comenzó por venir entre nosotros: Dios tomando nuestra carne, nuestras vidas, nuestras limitaciones físicas. Su lugar de nacimiento, su estatus social, la forma en que vivió y su forma de muerte fueron todos de naturaleza humilde. Uno de sus últimos actos fue lavar los pies de sus amigos. Si queremos llamarnos seguidores de Cristo, claramente la humildad debe ser central.

El orgullo es el vicio en oposición directa a la humildad. El hecho de que sea el pecado el que hizo caer a los ángeles debe alertarnos de su gravedad. Es una piedra de tropiezo para mí, tanto que cuando me encontré por primera vez con la Letanía de la humildad (extraído a continuación), ¡no quería rezarla! Recuerdo haber pensado: “¡No quiero orar por esas cosas!”.

Oh Jesús, manso y humilde de corazón, escúchame
Del deseo de ser amado, líbrame, Jesús
Del deseo de ser honrado, líbrame, Jesús
Del miedo de ser humillado, líbrame, Jesús
Del miedo de ser ridiculizado, líbrame, Jesús
Para que otros sean amados más que yo, Jesús, concédeme la gracia de desearlo
Para que otros sean más santos que yo, con tal de que yo sea tan santo como debo, Jesús, concédeme la gracia de desearlo.

Pero al final me di cuenta de que la Letanía no requiere que renunciemos ser amados u honrados y busquemos el ridículo y la humillación, sino que desviemos nuestro enfoque de estar activamente motivados por el deseo de estas cosas. Esta oración promueve un cambio de perspectiva que puede ayudarnos a “seguir los caminos de Dios”, como escribió san Agustín. Entonces comencé a rezarlo diariamente. ¿Me acompañaras?

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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.

Feature Image Credit: falco, pixabay.com/photos/church-window-church-window-1881232/

St. Augustine of Hippo: Saint of the Day for Sunday, August 28, 2022

St. Augustine of Hippo is the patron of brewers because of his conversion from a former life of loose living, which included parties, entertainment, and worldly ambitions. His complete turnaround and conversion has been an inspiration to many who struggle with a particular vice or habit they long to break.

This famous son of St. Monica was born in Africa and spent many years of his life in wicked living and in false beliefs. Though he was one of the most intelligent men who ever lived …

Hymn to Saint Rita of Cascia: Prayer of the Day for Sunday, August 28, 2022

I.
Come, virgins chaste; pure brides, draw near:
Let Earth exult and Heaven hear
The Hymn that grateful accents raise,
Our song of joy in Rita’s praise.

II.
By fast her sinless frame is weak;
Her livid flesh the scourges streak.
In pity for her Savior’s woes,
Her days and even nights are closed.

III.
The thorn-wound on her brow is shown,
The crimson rose in winter blown,
And full-ripe figs on frozen tree
At Rita’s wish the wonders see.

IV.
The widowed spouse …

Are You Too Weak For God? / ¿Eres Demasiado Débil Para Dios?

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I really like the words of First Corinthians 1:26-31. I guess it is because I’ve struggled all my life with poor self-esteem. That usually starts young in life after being told that you’re a bad person. The good part is that I’ve felt God being part of my life beginning at a very early age. I’ve probably mentioned it before but I’m not a cradle Catholic. I came into the church at 9 years old. But, prior to that, the pastor’s wife of a free Methodist Church would pick me up on Sunday morning and bring me to Sunday school. I would really like a picture of myself at that age (4) because my eyes must have been as big as saucers! I would look at the felt board and listen to Bible stories. I remember it like it was yesterday. That Lady was like a surrogate mother to me, but I didn’t realize it until I was about 40 years old. It was discovered during spiritual direction. I think I went through a lot of Kleenex at that moment.

Today’s First Reading talks about most of us not being of noble birth. Then it says that God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise. I chuckle at that because I’ve seen it happen many times. Paul goes on to say that God chooses the weak of the world to shame the strong and chooses the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something. 

Wow! Is that awesome or what? Except, the world does not believe that! The world tells us that we have to be powerful. And what gets power, you say? Usually, it’s money. Following the line of logic, if you have no money you have no power. But, power is not all it’s cracked up to be. At least human power. 

Hopefully by now, you have felt the Lord’s presence working through you. That includes Him giving you the words to say when he places someone before you that needs help. In my opinion, one can only believe that by experience. And where does that experience come from? It is from us dying to ourselves and actually allowing the Lord to work through us. Be careful though, because when that first happens it can or may become prideful. The Lord’s words have power, especially when delivered in a gentle way. There are so many places in Scripture where this was proven and sometimes we forget that some of the greatest people in Scripture were the lowliest, at least in the eyes of the world.

I am going to get real serious now. If you have ever had the feeling of being “less than”, please hear this: Many people disregard the idea of God speaking to a person. That is because they never heard God speaking to them. Scripture tells us that God loves the poor and the lowly. How could that be true? Easy, the poor and the lowly need God to survive. So, they are in contact with the Lord every day. They do not wait for a major crisis to call on the Lord. 

The secret is to die to self (sound familiar?) and open up that channel between you and God and let Eternity be your goal.

Amen?

Serving with Joy!

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Me gustan mucho las palabras de 1 Corintios 1,26-31. Supongo que es porque he batallado toda mi vida con una baja autoestima. Eso generalmente comienza temprano en la vida después de que te digan que eres una mala persona. Lo bueno es que he sentido a Dios siendo parte de mi vida desde muy temprana edad. Probablemente lo he mencionado antes, pero no nací católico. Entré a la iglesia a los 9 años. Pero, antes de eso, la esposa del pastor de una iglesia metodista me recogía el domingo por la mañana y me llevaba a la escuela dominical. ¡Realmente me gustaría una foto mía a esa edad (4) porque mis ojos deben haber sido tan grandes como platos! Miraba el tablero de fieltro y escuchaba historias bíblicas. Lo recuerdo como si fuera ayer. Esa Señora fue como una madre sustituta para mí, pero no me di cuenta hasta que tuve unos 40 años. Fue descubierto durante la dirección espiritual. Creo que gasté muchos Kleenex en ese momento.

La Primera Lectura de hoy habla de que la mayoría de nosotros no somos de nacimiento noble. Luego dice que Dios escogió a los insensatos del mundo para avergonzar a los sabios. Me río de eso porque lo he visto suceder muchas veces. Pablo continúa diciendo que Dios elige a los débiles del mundo para avergonzar a los fuertes y elige a los humildes y despreciados del mundo, a los que nada valen, para reducir a la nada los que son algo.

¡Wow! ¡Qué impresionante! Solo que el mundo no cree eso. El mundo nos dice que tenemos que ser poderosos. ¿Y qué obtiene el poder? Por lo general, es el dinero. Siguiendo la línea de la lógica, si no tienes dinero no tienes poder. Pero, el poder no es tan bueno como parece. Al menos el poder humano.

Ojalá ya habrás sentido la presencia del Señor obrando a través de ti. Eso incluye que Él te dé las palabras cuando pone a alguien delante de ti que necesita ayuda. En mi opinión, uno solo puede creer eso por experiencia. ¿Y de dónde viene esa experiencia? Se trata de nosotros muriendo a nosotros mismos y permitiendo que el Señor obre a través de nosotros. Sin embargo, ten cuidado, porque cuando eso sucede por primera vez, puedes volverte orgulloso.

Las palabras del Señor tienen poder, especialmente cuando se pronuncian con dulzura. Hay tantos lugares en las Escrituras donde esto se demostró y, a veces, nos olvidamos que algunas de las personas más importantes de las Escrituras eran las más humildes, al menos a los ojos del mundo.

Voy a ponerme muy serio ahora. Si alguna vez has tenido la sensación de sentirte “menos”, por favor escucha esto: Muchas personas ignoran la idea de que Dios le hable a una persona. Eso es porque nunca escucharon a Dios hablarles. Las Escrituras nos dicen que Dios ama a los pobres y a los humildes. ¿Cómo podría ser cierto? Fácil, los pobres y los humildes necesitan a Dios para sobrevivir y por eso están en contacto con el Señor todos los días. No esperan una gran crisis para invocar al Señor.

El secreto es morir a uno mismo (¿te suena familiar?) y abrir ese canal entre tú y Dios y dejar que la Eternidad sea tu meta.

¿Amén?

¡Serviendo con Alegría!

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Deacon Dan Schneider is a retired general manager of industrial distributors. He and his wife Vicki have been married for over 50 years. They are the parents of eight children and thirty grandchildren. He has a degree in Family Life Education from Spring Arbor University. He was ordained a Permanent Deacon in 2002.  He has a passion for working with engaged and married couples and his main ministry has been preparing couples for marriage.

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