Embrace the Final Week of Advent

Maybe I’m getting old…okay I am getting old.  This struck me the other day as I was driving into work and saw multiple people working feverishly on their smart phones while they were driving.

That sight got me to thinking about my younger years.  Back then the only way you received messages was via “snail” mail, an actual phone call (with phones that people used only in their homes), or a note that was folded into a triangle or square and passed around the classroom with great trepidation due to the chance of the teacher catching the contraband. 

Generally speaking one had to wait for such communication, usually with some type of anticipation, which added to the importance of each message.  Because of this heightened value we typically put thought into our messages – carefully crafting them in order to insure that our intended recipient received the proper message.

In our modern society we do not need to wait, as every method of communication is, for the most part, instantaneous.  Every message seems fueled by the desire for instant gratification with no sense of wonder, no paused moments full of anticipation.

One can see this same mentality during the “shopping season” which leads into Christmas.  How many Facebook statuses on Black Friday bragged “I went shopping…and bought things for myself?”  In a season (especially for the Christian) that is supposed to be fueled by the desire to give to others, we find an antithetical message of taking care of me first.  Again, no pausing and waiting with anticipation for what others may have sacrificed to buy or make for me…I’ll take care of it myself and allow the others to pile on that "holiday" at the end of the month.

Our faith, counter-culturally, challenges us to embrace the joy that can be found in anticipation.  This is the message of the Advent season.  Stop.  Listen. Be aware of God’s presence.  Wait expectantly for His coming among us again as we wait joyfully to celebrate the Incarnation when God “pulled back the curtain and revealed His love for the heart of man” (Chapman, Precious Promise).

It is not too late to embrace the spirit of this holy season.  It is not too late to shed the shackles of entitlement and instant gratification for the “yoke” that Christ offers us, which leads to rest and peace.   It is not too late to enter into Advent and wait with joy-filled anticipation for the gifts prepared for you, the most important of which is the gift of Jesus Christ, most powerfully manifested in the Eucharist, which is the Real Presence of Christ. 

May this embracing of the final days of Advent bring a greater awareness of God's grace in all our lives and a spirit of selflessness which is the true spirit of the Christmas season which will soon be upon us.

P.S. By the way there is a practical reason for showing some restraint when it comes to the addiction of texting and instant messaging while driving.  You will save your life and mine.


Michael Lavigne

Mission Minded

Not many of you know this about me, but when I prepared to enter religious life as a young adult, it was with the intention of becoming a missionary.  I had hoped to serve in Africa one day.

My dad traveled the world for his work and did not approve of this desire because of the great poverty he witnessed personally.  However, he loved Quebec and enjoyed his business trips there.  So, when I discovered the Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary founded in Quebec, I enthusiastically showed him the booklet (making sure he did not see the pages about Africa and Haiti.)

After entering the community, which also embraced Brazil, I realized the Lord had something else in mind and I never served outside the country.  However, it was my goal to meet someone from every country in the world and reached 28 before losing count.  (I have many wonderful experiences and friends as a result!)

My other connection to the missions is my personal patron Saint, St Therese of Lisieux.  When studying at Providence College, my spiritual director and professor told me to research her life for one of my assignments.  As you know,  St Therese of Lisieux is the patron Saint of missionaries yet she was a cloistered nun!  So you see, you need not travel far to be "Mission Minded".

As the Director of Missions/CRS, I want to keep in touch with you because we are all called to be "Mission Minded" in our efforts to evangelize and catechize...  I want to continue supporting you in your efforts and ask for your prayers and support as I begin my new position.

For those who know me well... let me say... my joy for creativity and change is beginning to simmer....

God's Blessings for Advent and Christmas!

Ruth Oakley

The Nativity Story in 2010

The Spirit of Christmas

Here is a surprising little fact you may not know about the real Santa Claus, St. Nicholas. St. Nick punched the heretic Arius in the face during the council of Nicea in 325 AD! Arius was asserting that Jesus was not God but only a prophet.

You can read about it in the following article…

http://cantuar.blogspot.com/2009/12/st-nicholas-he-who-punches-heretics-in.html

So why do I share this with you? To encourage you to act violently against heretics? No! While St. Nicholas himself would not be proud of his actions against Arius, it is his zeal for the truth about who Christ is that is admirable. Jesus Christ is God, and God came to earth as a human, a baby in fact from the womb of Mary. This is the great mystery we celebrate at Christmas!

Pray for the intercession of St Nicholas, pray that you will have the faith to believe Jesus is God and that our world will see past the superficiality that often masks the true meaning of Christmas, that all will come to know and believe that Jesus is Lord! 

Joe Mailhot

Silent Beauty, Beautiful Silence

That’s what I get to look at every single morning.  Yep, pretty much amazing!  Every morning when I wake up I am seriously blown away by the awesome-ness of a God who created such beauty.  My life has been so full of peace since I moved here and I believe a lot of it has to do with the fact that I am surrounded by two things: beauty and silence.  Living alone in such a beautiful place has really turned into a personal retreat for me.  I wake up every morning to this breath-taking beauty and in the silence cannot help but enter into conversation with the God who made such beauty.

I’ve been reflecting on these two elements of silence and beauty.  In our culture today, we are surrounded by so much noise that silence often makes us uncomfortable.  We have developed an aversion to it.  With ever-increasing technology where people can get a hold of us whenever and however they wish, we rarely take time to separate ourselves from the noise surrounding us.  Interiorly, silence can be frightening because it is in the silence that we are often led to face those things inside of us that are not pretty to look at.  John Paul II spoke of man “deafening himself with noise” and being “unable to be silent for fear of meeting himself, of feeling the emptiness that asks itself about meaning” (Orientale Lumen, 16).  Compare this aversion to silence with the typical reaction we have to beauty.  Beauty is attractive, draws us in, captivates us.  We have a natural inclination to beauty.  A gorgeous sunset, snow-capped mountain peak, Mozart concerto, or a baby’s smile all leave us longing for more.  

I find the link between silence and beauty to be profound.  Beauty calls for silence.  A beautiful mountain vista leaves the viewer speechless.  Speaking in the presence of great beauty somehow seems out of place.  At the same time, silence is necessary to notice and truly appreciate beauty in the first place.  Beauty is often bypassed because of a lack of silence.  Silence allows us to truly immerse ourselves in beauty.  I believe there is an integral connection between silence, beauty, and conversion.  It is in silence that we are able to encounter God, who is Beauty itself, and that is where our hearts experience true and lasting conversion.

During this Advent season and what all too often becomes a hectic time of year, I encourage you to make time for silence in your life.  Sit for awhile and in the silence contemplate the beauty of our God become man in the person of Baby Jesus.  You may not have the vast expanse of ocean to look at out your front window, but if you take a moment to be silent, you’ll be able to see the greatest beauty of all: a loving God who humbled Himself and became man for us!  Let your heart be captivated by that beauty!

Sarah Houde

Advent

Inspirational video regarding our focus during Advent. Be challenged. Refocus. Remember that God is loving you into existence each and every moment.  Be a conduit of God's love.

Being Present

Advent, this powerful liturgical season that we are beginning, invites us to pause in silence to understand a presence. It is an invitation to understand that the individual events of the day are hints that God is giving us signs of the attention he has for each one of us. How often does God give us a glimpse of his love!

Pope Benedict XVI, Homily in Celebration of First Vespers of Advent, November 28, 2009

Pope Benedict XVI reminds us of the simple message of this season of Advent in challenging us to be aware of God's presence.  To stop amidst the busyness and distractions of the "holiday season" and be mindful of the One who gives us life. Indeed this season is meant to be a time of waiting with joyful anticipation of Christ's second coming and the celebration of the Incarnation - the celebration of the coming of Emmanuel - God with us.  How will you take time during this season to be aware of His presence?

As individuals we can take time each morning and evening by stopping and praying.  Begin and end this time of prayer with silence allowing yourself to simply rest in God's holy presence.  If possible spend some time with the Real Presence of Christ in Eucharistic Adoration.

As parents we can help our children to appreciate and experience the real beauty and joy of the season, which is Christ.  Take time to light the candles of an Advent wreath and pray.  Explain the many symbols of the season and their connection to our Catholic tradition.  Allow them to wade into the richness of our faith during this Advent season.

As catechists we can teach those in our care about the importance of silence by reaching into Scripture and drawing inspiration from the lives of the saints.  Additionally we can help them to experience silence by taking time during our sessions to be in silence. 

In a world which never seems to be quiet - always wired to something or has something "on" - silence can be the way to begin learning the importance of being present and of spending time in the presence of the God who loved us enough to become man.

Michael Lavigne 

Click here for Advent & Christmas with Pope Benedict XVI from the USCCB

Gift Received; Gift Given

Gift Received; Gift Given

As Divine Providence would have it, my Chinese missionary friend, from the Philippines, and I were walking together on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City one warm and bright summer day.  Our conversation was filled with youthful zeal as we explored our 'vocations' together; she moving to Taiwan, and I returning to Maine.

Sr. Nancy asked philosophically, "How does one "BE" a contemplative?"  You see, we were lamenting our busy schedules and daydreaming of quieter surroundings.  As we strolled along, I allowed my imagination to drift around the concept of contemplative living. 

Over the years, I have come to understand the difference between my imagination and the Lord's promptings and I assure you, this gift I am sharing with you came from the Lord!

A contemplative is one who:

SEEs.... KNOWs whom they SEE.... LOVES who they KNOW.... and ENJOYS who they LOVE.  (rho 1989)

I have prayed with this gift for many years now.  To SEE means to become aware of God's movement within us, which is life giving!  To KNOW this God who dwells within us is to feel secure even in the midst of trials.  To LOVE the God we come to KNOW in the depths of our being is to find healing for all our wounds.  And to ENJOY God whom we LOVE is to find peace, balance, belonging, affirmation, hope, and trust which assures us that nothing can separate us from Jesus.  And our Lord comes to us each day most intimately in the Eucharist.

Want to live contemplatively?  Then SEE our Lord in the Eucharist.  KNOW it is the real Presence that comes to us so tenderly.  LOVE the Lord in the Eucharist so you may find strength for your mission.  And ENJOY the fruits of the grace that is ours each time we receive Him.

Who is a Contemplative?  Anyone desiring to be.....

Ruth Oakley

In Thanksgiving

This week most families in our country will pause on Thanksgiving Day to take stock of all that we have been blessed with in our lives.  While it is important for us to express our gratefulness to God every single day, I am no different than most people in recognizing the significance of this cultural practice and using this occasion to spend a little more time reflecting on the blessings from the past months – a little more time to focus on the Giver of all good things – a chance to pour out my heart and say that I am thankful. 

This year I am focused on being thankful for the gift of my wife, our marriage and fruits of our love – our children.  I am humbled by my wife’s ability to love me selflessly day-in and day-out and her constant example of patience as she daily loves our children.  Words cannot express the thanksgiving in my heart for the gift of our marriage – the ups and the downs, the struggles and the joys – all of it is part of this graced journey with our God.  I thank the Creator of all life for the miracles of life (fruits of our sacramental love for one another) that He has given Lori and I in our children.  There are so many directions that I could go in following such a thought, so let me simply focus on the thanksgiving I have in my heart each day when I gaze upon their faces – their innocence, their capacity to learn, their child-like faith, their reminding me each evening to stop and…play. 

In the moments of peace (and play) I realize the enormity of their lives – the fact that God entrusted these young souls to my wife and I.  That they are not objects for our amusement.  They are not prizes or possessions.  They are gifts and they belong to God. And in accepting these gifts we assume a great responsibility upon which we will be judged.  Our vocation – our job if you will – is to model for our children our Catholic faith.  We must be passionate in our desire to teach the truths of our faith, model a sacramental life and pass on an awareness of our baptismal call to be disciples of Jesus Christ here on earth. 

As we celebrate Religious Education month (here in New England) it is easy to connect this thought process to our roles as catechists.  In saying “yes,” we take on the awesome responsibility of teaching our Catholic faith to all the children, youth, young adults and adults who God places in our paths.  We will be held accountable for our actions – for our words – for the teachings we pass on or fail to pass on.  Every catechist has an obligation to represent the Magisterial teachings of our Catholic faith to the best of his or her abilities.  It should be the very desire of our hearts.

Jesus, Himself, reminds us of this standard in the Gospel of Matthew when He warns, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” (Matthew 18:6).  Prior to these words Jesus speaks of how one needs to have the same humility seen in a child in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  When I gaze into the face of one of my children or think of the faces of the young people I have worked with throughout the years I am reminded to humble myself – to remember that it is not about me – and to teach the Truths of our faith with courage and integrity, thus remembering that the children, youth, young adults and adults we serve are ultimately children of God, who is the Way – the Truth – the Life.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving Day and may we all celebrate the many gifts that have been bestowed upon us from our Father in Heaven.

Michael Lavigne

Wherever You Send Me

At the beginning of the Book of Jeremiah we read the beautiful, yet daunting, exchange between God and the namesake of the book. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. Before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you." (Jer. 1:5) Jeremiah, clearly awestruck and dumbfounded by the Lord's call, insists upon his unworthiness citing his young age.  God objects and calls on Jeremiah to go wherever He sends him and to say whatever He tells him and to do so with "no fear before them, because I am with you to deliver you." (Jer. 1: 8)  Jeremiah is called.  And so are we.

Fr. Robert Barron, in his book The Strangest Way, describes the call in this way: "And friendship with God - not simply worship, discipleship, seeking, or ethical uprightness - but real intimacy with God entailed, I discovered, a giving of self that mirrored the radicality of God's own gift of self in Christ. The point of the Christian life is to be holy with the very holiness of God, and this means conformity with a love unto death." (Barron, The Strangest Way, p. 11) In the end the call is a complete abandonment to the will of the One in Whose image we are created.

This is the challenge of the Christian journey.  Faced with obstacles, both from within and from the outside, each of us must daily "die to ourselves" for the sake of the call.  Of course this can only be done through prayer, taking part in the sacramental life of the Church (especially the Eucharist), learning about our faith, and selfless giving.  It can only be done through growing a true friendship with God.

I raise the above thoughts as a preface for my announcing a little project that I know God has placed in my heart.  Quite frankly, God has been pounding away on this for almost a year and I have found lots of great excuses to ignore His promptings with the most used one being that "I am not worthy."

Beginning with my next blog I am going to begin to write a reflection for each of the Venerable Pope John Paul II's general audiences which make up his "Theology of the Body."  Now there are many, more learned than I, who are better equipped to take on such a project.  However, I take God at His word, "have no fear," as I embark on this journey.  My thoughts on each audience will be brief - less a theological treatise and more an effort to prayerfully reflect on the little things that God will place in my heart and mind as I move through each audience.

This will be my contribution to the growing body of work which has been inspired by the late pope's masterpiece - the "theological time bomb (as George Weigel famously and prophetically described it)" that has begun to have a tremendous impact on the modern world.

"Wherever you send me, I will go.  Send me Lord. Send me Lord. Whatever you tell me, I will say.  Send me Lord. Send me Lord." (Franzak, "The Call")

Michael Lavigne 

Preparing a Place

I’ve recently moved into a seasonal rental right on the ocean and have been doing quite a bit of work to make this little beach cottage my own.  Rearranging furniture,sewing new curtains, decorating with my own style, finding rugs I like, new couch pillows, bedding to match, etc. has been filling the bulk of my spare time.  I want my home to be a place where people will feel welcome and comfortable upon entering.  I’m finding it is a lot of work to prepare such a place!  But knowing the purpose behind the work makes it totally worth it.

All of this house remodeling I’ve been doing got me thinking about the passage from John 14:1-3 where Jesus says to his disciples, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (italics mine)  I started pondering this in light of my recent undertakings.  What does it mean that Jesus is preparing a place for me in His Father’s house?  It seems to me that He is preparing a place where my heart can be at rest in the heart of the Father, where I will enter and immediately know that this is where I belong, that I am home.  So often I allow my heart to become troubled by the things of this world, by the daily obstacles that come my way, by unfulfilled desires and unanswered questions.  I find great comfort and hope in knowing that Jesus has promised to prepare a place where my heart will rest in being home.

Sarah Houde

Humbled to be Catholic

Every morning, I thank God for the day, for the life He has given me and most especially, for my Catholic faith. Often in our culture, faith is seen as something extrinsic, as part of our lives. I’m often accused of being too Catholic, of having no life outside of my Catholic faith. And I think to myself, why would I want to do anything outside of my Catholic faith? If I take the message of the Gospels and Scripture seriously, shouldn’t my faith inform my whole being, everything I am and everything I do (Gal 2:20)? Does this mean that I create a Catholic bubble for myself and shun the rest of the world…ok, occasionally I may be
guilty of this, but for the most part I think I am very much one of God’s workers in the world, just not of the world. Capisce?

Last weekend I attended Life Teen’s Core Member University in Boston. They made a very important distinction: for those of us who work for the Church, whether we are paid employees and/or we are volunteering our time, our work doesn’t make us exceptional Catholics. Ministry, evangelization and teaching the faith are the bare minimum of what is required of us. You may be familiar with this quote from G.K. Chesterton, "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried." I challenge all of you to rise above the bare minimum of your faith and to allow God to cast you out into the deep (Lk 5:4). Living out radical hospitality, striving to build up community and being good stewards of all that God has blessed us with (suffering included – never miss an opportunity to offer up your pains, fears and anxieties), answering those calls is what makes us different and in accordance with the dignity God has given us, exceptional. 

At a youth rally mass a few years ago, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Apostolic Nuncio for the United States, remarked that we are not Catholic Americans, we are American Catholics. In other words, our Catholic faith is at the very core of our identity and as such, we very much should be viewing the world and all we do through Catholic-tinted glasses. I absolutely love being Catholic, and I’m humbled at the gift of our faith.

Shaina Tanguay-Colucci

Miner's Miracle

October 15th is the feast of St. Teresa of Avila, doctor of the Church and famous for her analogy of our spiritual life being connected to the depths of the 'well within' from which we draw "life giving water" as Jesus promised the woman in John's gospel.

How appropriate that today I would want to focus my sharing on the Miracle in the Chile Mine!  Because from St Teresa's 'well bucket' of spiritual graces from which we drink the love of God who dwells within... to the Miners in the depths of the earth 'drinking the grace of HOPE'... the same lessons can be applied.

Imagine, 17 days with limited food, you are in complete darkness not knowing if people have given up the search for you?  Then suddenly the ceiling opens and you look up realizing that you will be rescued.  "Mario Sepulveda, the one who brought rocks as souvenirs for fellow miners, gave this remarkable testimony: “I was with both God and the Devil. God won. I held His Hand and there was no doubt He would get me out.” 

The Fenix descended 2,230 feet below the ground to 'scoop up' the miners one by one and hoist them to the surface where the whole world cheered, intoxicated with JOY!  The chaplain to the President who organized a prayer chain said, “this miracle is a proof that there is a God." (taken from Dr. Florangel Rosario Braid, Manilla Bulletin Publishing Co.)

Both images (well bucket and Fenix capsule) make me grateful to the Lord that I'm Catholic!  Because I know that Faith, Hope, and Love, with the greatest virtue being Love... certainly embraced each miner below and family members above, sustaining the HOPE that the miners would be found, would be alive, and would be brought to safety.

St Teresa speaks about the dark night of the soul as a feeling of abandonment by God, yet, she tells us, it is in this moment that we most need to be faithful to prayer which is our lifeline to the "Light" of God's loving embrace.  Like the miners who held God's hand, trusting, refusing to collapse in fear, we too are challenged to trust with Faith, Hope, and Love, that our Lord will never abandon us in times of trouble.

My relationship with Jesus has taught me this truth.  It is through prayer, reading God's Word, quiet times for listening in the depths of my being that enable me to discern between the devil of doubt and the God of Hope!  Thank you Lord, for your steadfast love!  Bless the Miners, family members, rescue workers, and all who choose to drink from the depths of your grace!  Amen.

Ruth Oakley

Profound? Not so much.

I’ve had a note on my desk for several weeks now with the word “BLOG” written in large red letters.  It’s supposed to be a reminder that I have a Blog to write. It’s been all over my desk as I move it from one place to the other wondering, “What do I write about?”  I would like to write something profound and moving.  Something truly inspiring. Something worthy of all of you “out in the trenches” so to speak.  Alas, it is not to be.  Again this morning I saw the big red “BLOG” on my desk and said “Lord, what do you want me to write about?”  Immediately, in my mind, I saw an image of my year old grandson laughing.  In a heartbeat, I knew what this blog would be about.

His name is Emerson and I’ve only seen him twice in person because he lives in Alaska.  However, I’ve been blessed to live in a time when we can use Skype and video footage can be sent via email.  I was watching a clip of him the other day.  He was toddling along laughing at the camera and he was so happy! My heart filled with joy & love for this wonderful baby boy. When that image came to mind this morning, I sensed that this is the same reaction our Heavenly Father has when we turn to Him.  I know, it’s cliché. But for me, at that moment , it became a tangible experience of something that is intangible, incomprehensible really because much as I love Emerson, that love pales in comparison to God’s love for me, for us.

Judy Michaud

Go Green!

Our culture embraces the “green” movement. Everywhere you go you hear about more ways of reducing, reusing, and recycling. Many people are very passionate about reducing their carbon footprint and they think that you should be doing the same and are not shy about telling you so. In school, being environmentally friendly is taught as a fact the way math and grammar are taught. Who can argue with the facts… Our earth has limited resources, humans are consumers of these resources, and in the process we pollute! 

There are another set of facts that it seems our culture does not embrace. These facts are that God exists, He created the world good, He loves us, He wants us to be happy, He sent His son Jesus to save us from our sins. All Christians know this to be true but many are afraid to tell others about it. If you are  convicted about “being green” you probably have no problem living green and encouraging others to do so. But if your convicted that Jesus is Lord are you living it out so that people know you are a Christian, and are you telling everyone you know about His awesome Love and Mercy!?

Be an Evangelist!

Joe Mailhot

Waiting on the Lord

 Let’s be honest…how many of us like waiting?  Doctor’s visits where you sit in the waiting room for close to an hour before even being seen, DMV lines that run out the door, and those 5 minute red lights when you’re running late are some of the most frustrating times known to man!  Then there are the bigger things we find ourselves waiting for: potential employers to call back, the healing of a loved one, children to return to the Church, a future spouse.

I’ve been apartment hunting lately and having a difficult time waiting for the Lord to provide in His timing and in His way.  Last week, on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, the first reading described my current state rather well, “With their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses” (Numbers 21:4).  How easy it is for us to immediately start complaining when we are waiting for the Lord to provide something we feel we need!  We get so worn out by the journey that we fail to recognize all the ways that He has provided and trust in His proven faithfulness that He will continue to provide.  God had freed the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt, sent a pillar of fire to guide them by night and a cloud by day, provided the daily nourishment of manna, and so much more, yet their only response is to grumble and complain against Him!  Did you know that the Israelites could have made the desert crossing in as short as a few months if they had gone straight across the desert from Egypt to Canaan?  Yet, God allowed them to wander through the desert for 40 whole years!  Why?  Perhaps so they could learn to trust Him, so they could learn to rejoice in His provision for them, so they could learn the lesson of waiting on Him.  Their choice to grumble and complain against God instead of trust Him caused more suffering and a longer journey through the desert.  It certainly makes me think twice about complaining when waiting on God’s provision!  Let’s resolve to stay focused on all that we have to be grateful for, especially in those tough times of waiting on the Lord!

Sarah Houde

Pause and Look Up

Luke 9: 12-13,16-17 

"Late in the afternoon the twelve came to Him and said, "Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here."  But He said to them, "You give them something to eat!" And they said, "Five loaves and two fish are all we have, unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people. Then taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He said the blessing over them,  broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. They all ate and were satisfied. And when the leftover fragments were picked up, they filled twelve wicker baskets."

With the new catechetical year beginning, I imagine us all taking a deep breath as we launch our programs.  This Scripture passage is one I pray with often because of the disciples' dilemma: "There are so many and we have so little." Maybe the disciples learned something that day that could help us all?

While reading between the lines, I had the impression that the disciples were becoming overwhelmed with the crowd and wanted to take a break by sending everyone home to regroup.  They told Jesus, "Send the crowd away..." Instead, Jesus helped them realize two things. First, they don't work alone,  it is Jesus who feeds people.... through their efforts.  This can help us keep our ministries in perspective. Secondly, our efforts, however inadequate we may think they are as we begin this new catechetical year, are enough for the Lord to work miracles!  We need to intentionally give the Lord all of ourselves: our minds, hearts, hands, and plans so that He can bless all of it and then, through us, feed His people with what they will need to draw closer to Him.  When and where and how our ministry will touch the hearts of God's people is perhaps not for us to know. However, we can be certain of this: Jesus will take even the little we have to give and multiply the blessings to overflowing if we ask Him.

So, on those 'stressful' days of activity, let's pause, look up, and receive the blessing Jesus gives us to give to others.  Because when we do this, I've discovered, we will always have enough... (energy, time, resources, etc.) to accomplish the tasks at hand with more left over for rejoicing!

Ruth Oakley

Taylor Swift & the Beauty of Being Female

 

I don’t have a problem admitting that I really, really enjoy Taylor Swift’s music; it calls out to the desires of my feminine heart and helps me rejoice in being created female. This is a rare happening in today’s culture where so often the truly feminine is viewed as weak and immature instead of beautiful and a gift to the world in its own right. We are often too quick to forgo our darling dresses, penchant for pink and divine desires for motherhood for the sake of “equality” to men because in modern times – equality implies sameness. Perhaps this is why so many “feminists” attack Swift and particularly her latest song/music video in which, despite coming from a broken home, her desires for marriage and a family are fulfilled.

I am not saying that all women should be relegated to the kitchen, but I am saying that we have a unique gift to this world that men can’t offer and that we should quit trying to be something we are not. Taylor Swift seems to get this – she is both girlie girl and fully-capable woman. The fact that she likes sparkly dresses (that are much more modest than all of her pop culture rivals), that she writes about “fairytale” love (thus affirming that yes, we are all made for relationship and yes, love can and is in fact meant to last) and that she continues to break records – all tell me that we don’t have to be like men to be equal to them and, not only that, but that when we embrace our feminine hearts, we truly reflect the absolute dignity inscribed in our womanly beings – body and soul.

Shaina Tanguay-Colucci

Free to be Saints

I want my children to be saints.  Whew....there, I said it.

This does not rise out of some misguided pride for my children or some wishful desire.

My hope for them flows from my understanding of who they called to be by virtue of

their Baptism. They are destined for sainthood. As their parent, I, along with my wife,

am responsible for helping them to come to know that they have been loved into being

and therefore free to embrace the call to holiness throughout their lives.

In fact all of us who have accepted the call to teach our Catholic faith should have

this hope for all those who hear our words and see our actions. As catechists we are

obligated to teach the truths of our faith with passion, conviction and charity in order to spur an awareness of their dignity as children of God.

In the clip below, Fr. Robert Barron, S.T.D. eloquently speaks of how we, after knowing

our value as God's children, can be free to answer the call to holiness and be conduits

of God's love and truth for others:

The Saintly Way of Being from Office of Lifelong Faith Formati on Vimeo.

As we celebrate the "beginning" of the catechetical year over the next few weeks let

us all "relax" and abandon our lives to the One who loves us into being each and every

moment. Let us breathe and allow Christ to use us as instruments of His grace for the

many souls who will cross our paths in the evangelization and catechetical efforts of our

parishes and diocese. Let us strive for sainthood and hope for the same for our children

- for all our brothers and sisters, the young and the old, in Christ.

Wishing you a blessed Catechetical Sunday on September 19th! 

Dare to embrace the call to holiness.

Michael Lavigne

Permission was received from Fr. Barron to post this clip from his DVD, Seven Deadly Sins-Seven Lively Virtues. This is an excellent video which would be perfect for individual or group enrichment!

Please visit WordonFire.org

Heating Up

For some reason the brutal heat and humidity of last week got me
to thinking about sin. My train of thought was that my conscience is my
spiritual gauge and when I sin, it too heats up, like the thermometer.

Admittedly, I’m not a fan of all this heat and humidity. Never have
been. Anything over 80 degrees and I start looking for AC. There is no
AC when it comes to sin and I have to suffer the consequences of that.
I’m not talking about major stuff here, but rather the little things that are
easy to escape notice: the sarcastic remark; not taking time to help,
call, listen, console; failing to remain gracious and kind when I’m talking
to customer service. I’ve been trying to run interference with some of
these situations and I try to see Christ in each person. I often think of
what Jesus said, “That which you do to the least of these, you do to me.”

It’s not the black and white situations that get the best of me, it’s
the grey areas and if I’m not vigilante about what I say and do in these
situations my conscience will overheat. I have to remember that I am
first and foremost an emissary of Jesus Christ and I will be judged by the
standards which I proclaim. I have failed many times and will continue to
do so. Of that I am sure because I am, after all, a human being.

My goal however, is to have more successes (way more successes)
than failures and if that means my conscience has to “heat up” on a regular
basis then so be it.

Judy Michaud

Megachurch!

Have you seen or heard about megachurches? The term megachurch generally refers to any Protestant congregation with a sustained average weekly attendance of 2000 persons or more in its worship services.  Other characteristics of a megachurch include… a charismatic senior minister, a large paid staff, hundreds of weekly volunteers, membership that draws from a large geographic area, a multitude of programs and ministries, 7-day a week activities, contemporary worship, state of the art sound and video equipment, bookstores, coffee shops, multi-acre campuses, and huge parking lots. 

I’ll be honest; some of the stuff on that list sounds awesome! I will also admit that I don’t see most of these things in the Catholic parishes local to me. None-the-less, I believe that the Catholic Church is a Mega-Church!

“A charismatic senior minister”
Even if your local priest isn’t a “charismatic leader,” every time that a priest consecrates the Eucharist he is acting “in persona Christi” (“in the person of Christ”). And so, in the Catholic Church we believe that Christ himself has called and equipped our priests and even is present to us in their ministry.

“Large geographic area, massive attendance, 7-day a week services”
Every single day Catholic mass is celebrated approximately 350,000 times! That means that for every second of the day, 4 priests are consecrating the Eucharist, recalling his saving passion , and making Christ truly present in the world. Hundreds of thousands of Catholics go to mass each day and every single one of them celebrates the same liturgy, hears the same readings, and receives the same Eucharistic Lord. 

It doesn’t get anymore Mega than this! 

Joe Mailhot

Changing of Seasons

As the summer comes to a close and the new school year begins, I find myself reflecting on the changing of seasons.  I’ve always loved living in Maine because, unlike other places in the country where the climate is less changing, we are blessed to experience the fullness of all four seasons (perhaps some to a greater extreme than others!)  Summer allows for Maine’s beauty to shine in all its splendor with the sparkling harbors dotted with fishing vessels, the late night BBQs which permeate the whole neighborhood with the smell of summer, and the tranquil sunsets which cast a golden glow on everything.  And yet, as all this comes to a close, there’s something just as exciting about the sounds and smells and sights of fall.  I can’t wait for apple picking followed by the smells of freshly baked apple pie, the crisp, refreshing feel of a beautiful fall day, and the trees bursting with bold colors of orange, red, and yellow as the leaves rustle in the wind.  Besides just the excitement of the new season, I can’t fail to mention another significant benefit of the season change: variety in my wardrobe once again as by summer’s end my warm weather clothes are becoming repetitive and boring!

While I love the carefree-ness of summer, by its end I find myself longing for the discipline of routine and a steady rhythm of life once again.  Oftentimes my prayer life suffers in the summer due to my own laziness and lack of routine.  You would think that the summer and vacation time would bring more time for prayer with less demands on my schedule, but somehow I always find myself struggling to remain faithful to prayer commitments and daily Mass due to the changing nature of each day in the summer.  I find the season change an ideal time to check myself and re-establish daily prayer routines or make new prayer commitments to strengthen my spiritual life and relationship with God.  It’s a chance to clean the slate and start over in a way, evaluating what changes I need to make in any areas of my life and then implementing them as I settle into the new routine this season change naturally provides.

Sarah Houde