Jun
29
Saint Dominic Savio: My Patron
Filed Under Biography, Confirmation, Saints | Leave a Comment
All my life, I have read stories about the saints. As a child, my parents would read me stories from picture books. When I became too old for the pictures, I developed a desire to learn more on my own. You might even say it was a pastime in elementary school. No matter which saint I read about, I never lost interest in the courageous faith exhibited within each one’s life. However, there has always been one particular saint that has held special meaning to me in every age, trial, and circumstance. His name is Dominic Savio.
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Jun
28
Prayer at the Crossroads
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Father,
Look kindly upon Your son, broken and confused as I am. There are so many things in my life of which I am now unsure. There are so many decisions I need to make. Some of them are very difficult. At times such as these, I find my life filled with confusion and doubt. Everyday activities threaten to overwhelm me, and I learn the hard way that my life is not my own.
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Jun
27
The Consequences Don’t Cut It
Filed Under Chastity, Reflection | Leave a Comment
Reading the paper last night, I came across this interesting article in the health section:
“Study finds condoms useful in preventing HPV”
Curious, I read through the very biased and drawn-out article which talked about a new three-year study scientists have performed on young women starting out college as virgins. Obviously, they did not stay virgins. Monitoring use, they found that 70% of those that always used condoms were less likely to become infected with HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) than those who used a condom 5% of the time.
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Jun
24
The Storm
Filed Under Fiction, Reflection, Spiritual Warfare | Leave a Comment
“Great,” said Michael, “There’s a storm coming.” And indeed there was. Dark clouds were quickly advancing across the western horizon. A flash of light illuminated something in the distance. Michael strained his eyes. Another flash lit up the darkening sky, illuminating the advancing troops but two miles away. “As if the storm wasn’t enough”, he grumbled, and he quickly turned to alert his superior.
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Jun
21
In the Streets - Marching 4 Christ
Filed Under Eucharist, Priesthood, Reflection, Spiritual Warfare, Witness | Leave a Comment
Image from The Westerly Sun
On the feast of Corpus Christi, this past Sunday, my parish participated in a Eucharistic procession through the streets that led from its Mother Parish to our own. This year I had the great privilege of leading the procession as cross-bearer. There are no words that can aptly describe such an experience. It was one I know I shall never forget.
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Jun
20
The New Covenant
Filed Under Catholicism, Eucharist, Mass Readings, Reflection, Scripture | Leave a Comment
June 18, 2006
The feast of Corpus Christi
Excerpt from the First Reading: Exodus 24:3-8
Moses then wrote down all the words of the LORD and, rising early the next day,he erected at the foot of the mountain an altar and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. Then, having sent certain young men of the Israelites to offer holocausts and sacrifice young bulls as peace offerings to the LORD, Moses took half of the blood and put it in large bowls; the other half he splashed on the altar. Taking the book of the covenant, he read it aloud to the people, who answered, “All that the LORD has said, we will heed and do. “Then he took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words of his.”
This excerpt taken from the Old Testament is an extremely significant scene within salvation history. Moses has just received the Ten Commandments from God. Through these commandments, God’s intention is to create a covenant with Israel, whom he has chosen among all other nations to be His own; His chosen race. This covenant may at first be deceiving. It may at first appear that God is nearly enslaving Israel with a set of rules and regulations, but it is not so. Instead, such an agreement between God and Israel is, on God’s part, both completely unselfish and accomplished through an unconditional love. God promises to be with Israel if they but promise to obey his laws. But God’s laws are not tyrannical or overbearing. They are made for the good of each person on an individual level. It is as if God were to say, “If you but do the best that you can for yourselves, I promise to remain true to you.”
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Jun
16
A Prayer at Dusk
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Lord, I reach the end of yet another day. The sun has set beyond the horizon, and the last vibrant rays will soon disperse in the gathering dusk. The moon is out and it’s getting brighter every moment. Soon, the stars will dangle in their places, woven throughout the darkening sky like a celestial blanket that cloaks the earth while it sleeps.
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Jun
16
A Day to Retreat
Filed Under Chastity, High School, Reflection, Retreat, Witness | Leave a Comment
On Tuesday, I had the great privilege to help put on a retreat at my parish for its eighth grade class. I think back 2 years ago to my eighth grade retreat when my pastor ominously said, “Who knows, once you’re a bit into high school, perhaps one of you might help out on this retreat.” Two years later, I was privileged enough to make such a statement a reality.
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Jun
11
Doubt and Belief
Filed Under Catholicism, Mass Readings, Reflection, Scripture, Spiritual Warfare, Trinity | Leave a Comment
The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they all saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
(Matthew 28:16-17)
Doubt - it is a flaw all too common to humanity. It’s a continuous sign of a fallen humanity; a humanity bereft of the omniscient nature of God. Man’s knowledge has a limit, and the void which such a breach creates allows man the capacity to doubt.
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Jun
5
The Importance of the Catholic Priest
Filed Under Eucharist, Mass Readings, Priesthood, Reconciliation, Reflection | Leave a Comment
Recently Ordained Father Greg Stowe:
June 4, 2006 Gospel Reading: John 20:19-23
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,“Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
When it comes to the Catholic Church today, there’s a lot of talk. Not much of it is good. It seems like every day the media is spewing out another report on the newest sex scandal by a Catholic priest. At school and at work, the priesthood is referred to as a ‘gay occupation’ and is talked about with disgust. Many have left the Church in response to the scandals and even more have been led to doubt the truth of the Catholic Faith. After all, how could the ‘Fathers’ of such a religion perform such heineous acts upon the smallest of their children?
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