Stand up for your beliefs…They do!!

As I prepare to head back to college for the year I was thinking that I need to do a better job of standing up for things I believe when they are contradicted in conversation with others at my secular institution.  I know that last year I would often just remain silent or give the polite smile when someone was talking about something that I disagreed with.  This is out of the desire to please everyone I guess.  The desire to appear likable.  To not want to rock the boat or have people call me holier than thou.  However, I see that this is folly to behave this way.  The people positing their hedonistic belief system don’t seem to have the same qualms I do about expressing themselves.  I am going to vow this year to be consistent with my faith and live it out.  Speak out when I know I should.  This is especially necessary when someone is espousing their opinions that are in direct contradiction to my Catholic faith.  I and all Catholics have a duty to uphold our Catholic truth when it is being assaulted in front of our faces.  I don’t care if people call me holier than thou.  I don’t care if they think I’m an uptight jerk.  I will no longer sit around when people try to defend gay marriage, or abortion, or speak unkindly about Christians.  It is time that Catholics and all Christians speak up and speak loudly when this is going on.  The other side doesn’t waste any time trying to assault us.  It is our duty to defend the truth.   Stand with me and speak up for yourselves!!

The Assumption of Mary

Today is the Feast of the Assumption.  Our Blessed Mother was taken up body and soul into Heaven.  Preserved throughout her life from any stain of sin by a special grace of God.  Remember Gabriel’s greeting “Hail Mary, Full of Grace!”  Mary was full of grace.  What does that mean?  She, accepting the will of God without protest, was filled with the grace of God from the moment of her conception.  Mary was immaculate because only in an immaculate vessel can God fully and truly dwell as He did in Mary.   When we recieve grace it keeps us away from sin.  God freely gives us grace and we accept or reject it.  There was nothing in Mary that was displeasing to God.  Therefore, the fullness of God could dwell in her.  By a special and mysterious Grace Mary was preserved free from all stain of original sin.  In her life she did not sin.  She is the perfect Apostle.  She is the perfect saint.  She is our Queen in Heaven ruling over all things as the Mediatrix of all Graces.  God gives her the privelidge of dispensing his grace as she sees fit.  She is admired, praised, and bowed down to by the angels.  Satan fears her more than anything else because this beautiful creature was allowed to present to the world God’s dearly beloved Son.  This mortal woman was given full grace by God and he chose to fully dwell in her.  Her womb is the tabernacle where the Blessed Trinity fully dwells.  It drives Satan nuts that this human woman was given a glory greater than all the angels and allowed to give birth to God.  It drives Satan nuts that this human woman was exalted above all and taken up body in sould into heaven, crowned with glory, and given Queenship over all things while sitting at the right hand of her Son.    There is no way to Jesus except through Mary.  There is no way to holiness except through the example of Mary.   Hail Holy Queen.  Thank you for all of your blessings, peace, kindness, and mercy you have shown me and innumerable others.  Hail Mary Full of Grace, The Lord is with Thee!!

The Catholic Priest and the Zen Master

St. John Vianney once told this story in a sermon:  “It is related that in a certain parish there was a young man who was a model of virtue.  He went to Mass almost every day and to Holy Communion often.  It happened that another was jealous of the esteem in which this young man was held, and one day, when they were both in the company of a neighbor, who possessed a lovely gold snuffbox, the jealous one took it from its owner’s pocket and placed it, unobserved, in the pocket of the young man.  After he had done this, without pretending anything, hes asked to see the snuffbox.  The owner expected to find it in his pocket and was astonished when he discovered that it was missing.  No one was allowed to leave the room until everyone had been searched, and the snuffbox was found, of course, on the young man who was a model of goodness.  Naturally, everyone immediately called him a thief and attacked his religious professions, denouncing him as a hypocrite and a sanctimonious fraud.  He could not defend himself, since the box had been found in his pocket.  He said nothing.  He suffered it all as something which had come from the hand of God.  When he was walking along the street, when he was coming from the church, or from Mass or Holy Communion, everyone who saw him jeered at him and called him a hypocrite, a fraud, a thief.  This went on for quite a long time, but in spite of it, he continued with all of his religious exercises, his Confessions, his Communions, and all of his prayers, just as if everyone were treating him with the utmost respect.  After some years, the man who had been the cause of it all fell ill.  Too those who were with him he confessed that he had been the origin of all the evil things which had been said about this young man, who was a saint, and that through jealousy of him, so that he might destroy his good name, he himself had put the snuffbox in the young man’s pocket.”

Here is a story from Zen Buddhism:  The Zen master Hakuin was praised by his neighbors as one living a pure life.  A Japanese girl whose parents owned a food store lived near him.  Suddenly, without any warning, her parents discovered she was with child.  This made her parents angry.  She would not confess who the man was, but after much harassment at last named Hakuin.  In great anger the parents went to the master.  “Is that so?” was all he would say.  After the child was born it was brought to Hakuin.  By this time he had lost his reputation, which did not trouble him, but he took very good care of the child.  He obtained milk from his neighbors and everything else the little one needed.  A year later the girl-mother could stand it no longer.  She told her parents the truth – that the real father of the child was a young man who worked in the fish market.  The mother and father of the girl at once went to Hakuin to ask his forgiveness, to apologize at length, and to get the child back again.  Hakuin was willing.  In yielding the child, all he said was:  “Is that so?”

I think St. John Vianney’s comment applies to both of these stories:  “There, my brethren, is a religion which is true, which has taken root in the soul.  Tell me, if all of those poor Christians who make profession of religion were subjected to such trials, would they imitate this young man?  Ah, my dear brethren, what murmurings there would be, what bitternesses, what thoughts of revenge, of slander, of calumny, even perhaps of going to law…They would storm against religion; they would scorn and jeer at it and say nothing but ill of it; they would not be able to say their prayers any more; they would not be able to go to Mass; they would not know what more to do or to say to justify themselves; they would collect every item of harm that this or that person had done, tell it to others, repeat it to everyone who knew them in order to make them out as liars and calumniators.  What is the reason for this conduct, my dear brethren?  Surely it is that our religion is only one of whim, of long standing habit and routine, and, if we were to put it more forcefully, because we are hypocrites who serve God just as long as everything is going according to our wishes.  Alas, my dear brethren, all of these virtues which we observe in a great many apparent Christians are but like the flowers of spring, which one gust of hot wind can wither.”

Wow!!!  God help me to be like those men in the above stories.  God knows, I have more often been the wretched hypocrite that St. John calls out.

Dying to Self

“Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.”

Jesus’ words today have many layers of meaning and there are many different things we can learn about ourselves from reflecting on this passage from John.  One of the meanings is that we must destroy our egos.  Christ cannot live in us if we are steeped in egotistical self delusive living.  We have to die to this world and all of its trappings if we truly want to live and experience joy and peace.  Everything we do must be to glorify God and Jesus.  Why do our egos need to die?  Because ego is an illusion.  The I is nothing but a conglomeration of never ending and constantly changing wants and desires.  It has no basis in reality.  The ego is smoke and mirrors.  It is never satisfied.  When one thing is obtained it goes on grasping at the next best and latest thing.  We can never have happiness as long as we are living to fulfill our own desires.  When we turn our life over to God and let him take control then we are truly living.  We ascend to a higher order of being right here on earth.  God cannot work in the person who is filled to the brim with his own greatness.  We are not great.  We can do nothing good on our own.  Only through the grace and love of God can we hope to achieve something meaningful in this life.  When the ego dies and falls to the ground it allows God to work in us.  All of the energy that we used to place at building up our own egos is now available to love and serve God and Christ.  The ego falls to the ground and is absorbed and transformed in God’s love as he accepts us as he adopted sons and daughters.  Christ becomes our brother, Mary our Mother, and God our Father.  Anything less is only going halfway.  God doesn’t go half way.  God can only come fully.  It is our own egos that keep God from fulfilling his plan for our lives.  How much do we really need?

Gospel

Jn 12: 24-26
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat;
but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
Whoever loves his life loses it,
and whoever hates his life in this world
will preserve it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me,
and where I am, there also will my servant be.
The Father will honor whoever serves me.”

Shut Up and Pray!

Sometimes I think that the best advice is to shut up and pray.  If we have someone in our lives who seems to be lost and directionless then we often want to scold them and chastise them for their current decisions and life.  This is usually unproductive and unhelpful.  I think the best thing and only thing we can do after a certain point is to pray for them.  Pray the Rosary and ask Mary to throw her mantle over them.  Ask the Holy Spirit to call their heart.  Ask Jesus to make himself known to them.  There just comes a point where you have to learn to shut up and stop preaching.  Preaching to others is usually ineffective anyway, think of the crazy man or woman standing on the street corner shouting passages from Revelation at the top of their lungs.  The only effective preaching is to the ones who ask for your opinion or what you think.  The priest is usually the only one who has a regular group of people that are asking to be preached to.   For the rest of us the greatest sermon we can ever preach is the example of our own lives.  If you are holy (and you should want to be) it will naturally be shown in how you live your life and treat those dearest to you and around you.  If you have a very close relative that is on the path to destruction then you can make known your concern.  After that you should shut up and pray.

Barna Poll Shows Blacks and Whites Ignorant on Basics of Faith!

A recent poll by the Barna Group claims to show that black Americans are more religious then all other groups.  However, when I looked at their findings the first thing that stuck out was that while blacks profess that loving God with their whole heart, mind strength and soul is their most important purpose in life (85%  blacks to 69% whites) 54% believed Jesus Christ sinned while on Earth!!  Whites did a little better on the Jesus sinning question with 42% believing that he did indeed sin while on earth!  God help us.  As for the existence of the Devil 46% stated that they believed he was just a symbol of evil and not a living being (38% of whites agreed with this).  66% of blacks opposed to 46% of whites believed the bible is totally accurate in the principles it teaches.  What the #$%$?  Where is the disconnect with people here.  So the bible is right about the principles it teaches but it didn’t really mean that whole existence of evil thing.  And the book of Hebrews clearly states “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.” Hebrews 4:15

So the Bible tells us the truth about the principles we should live by but for some reason is completely wrong about the whole Jesus sinning thing.  And that pesky Devil well don’t worry too much because he is just a symbolic representation of evil.  This is the problem with Christianity split into a million sects and denominations.  You have a crop of people who are evangelizing people and doing a horrible job of it because they didn’t receive the proper education.  The thump a few favorite bible passages and make up the rest.  Oh, it also helps if they yell really loud and shout JESUS at the top of their lungs as they hold their hands over someone.
Look at the poll here: http://www.barna.org/barna-update

The Holy Rosary – Reflections on the Sorrowful Mysteries

First Sorrowful Mystery:  The Agony in the Garden

They came to a place named Gethsemane, and He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.  My soul is sorrowful even to death.”  He prayed to His Father: “Take this cup away from me, but not what I will but what you will.”  Mk 14:  32-36

Jesus begins His suffering through bearing the sins of the world in such psychological and spiritual agony that He sweats blood.  His body trembles as the pain of all of our sins (past, present, future) bear down on him.  It is almost too much to bear and He utters from his humanity that the cup may pass him over.  Then His divine will takes over and He stands ready to accept the mission as the betrayer approaches.

Prayer:  Lord, I pray for all those suffering from depression and crippling anxiety that they may find refuge in you.  May they know that there is a God in Heaven that understands their suffering intimately.  May they find peace and healing by resting in your Sacred Heart.

Second Sorrowful Mystery:  The Scourging

They bound Jesus, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate.  Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd relleased Barabbas to them and, after he had Jesus scourged, handed him over to be crucified.

The God of the Universe is bound to a pillar and scourged.  The Roman soldiers bring out the flagrum, a short whip with three leather thongs (ropes) connected to a handle.  The ropes were knotted with pieces of zinc and iron and would quickly remove the skin.  The “Scorpion” flagrum contained a hook at the end and would tear the skin from shoulder to waist.  The criminals being scourged would be whipped until near death.  Oftentimes they died right here.  The God of the Universe is whipped to near death for our sins.  Each laceration on His Holy Body contains a sin that you or I have committed.  Each time we sin we whip the body of Jesus Christ.  We tear apart his flesh, expose the muscle underneath, and pour out his blood.  Each time we sin we are the Roman soldier in posession of the flagrum whipping the God of Love.

Prayer:  May we always bear in mind the severity of our sins as they tore your flesh.  May we be filled with repentence and transform our lives by seeking your forgiveness and seeking to do your will.

Third Sorrowful Mystery:  The Crowning with Thorns

The soldiers led Jesus away inside the palace and assembled the whole court.  They clothed Jesus in purple and, weaving a crown of throns, placed it on Him.  They began to salute Him with, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and kept striking His head with a reed and spitting upon Him.  Mk 15:  16-19

He is mocked and spit upon.  The God of the Universe endures humiliation and degradation.  When they rip the purple cloak from his skin the fabric rips the skin open again and blood begins to flow.  Jesus bears their mocking and torture without protest.  When He is struck on the face with a backhand He raises His head with dignity and strength and offers the other cheek.

Jesus, I pray for all the children of the world that are tortured daily by a bully in their life.  May they find your stength.  Amen.

Fourth Sorrowful Mystery:  The Carrying of the Cross

And they compelled a passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.  And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull).  Mk  15:  21-22

The weight of the cross bears down physically as the weight of our sins bore down in the Garden on Him spiritually.  Beaten to near death in the scourging, Jesus can barely walk.  He falls and gets up.  He meets his Mother and they exchange a glance.  She begins to weep and can hardly bear to look at her Son who has been beaten beyond recognition with dirt and sand ground into the wounds from the scourging.

Lord, help us to be Simon to others we meet in our life that are bearing much suffering.  May we help bear their load.  I offer this next decade to relieve the suffering of those who don’t know how to pray.

Fifth Sorrowful Mystery:  The Crucifixion

When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified Jesus.  Darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.  Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into Your hands I commend my spirit.”  And when He had sid this, He breathed His last.              Lk 23: 33-46

Jesus has been beaten to the point of death, forced to carry the instrument of his death up a hill, nailed to it and crucified.  In his last moments, even amidst unimaginable physical and spiritual pain he keeps giving and showing love.  The Good Theif repents and Jesus assures him he will be with Him in Heaven.  Showing us the love, forgiveness, and mercy of God.  Jesus didn’t ask him what he was sorry for.  He didn’t ask the theif to explain himself.  He simply gave him love and forgiveness.  Jesus gives us Mary as our Mother.  “Seeeing his mother there with the disciple whom he loved, Jesus said to his mother, “Woman, there is your son.”  In turn he said to the disciple, “there is your mother.” Jn 19: 26-27  Jesus gives Mary the role as mother of Christians personified by the beloved disciple.  From that moment on she will be mediator of all graces for grace was fully fulfilled in Mary’s womb and acceptance of God’s will.

Mary, pray for all parents that are watching their children suffer in the darkness of addiction.  Stand at the foot of the cross with them and give them hope.  Amen

Easy Way to Know God’s Will

1Peter 1: 15 – 16

As he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct,  for it is written, “Be holy, because I am holy.”

We are all called to be saints.  God’s will for each of us is to become a saint.  There is nothing more or nothing less that he expects from us.  The call to new life is the call to sanctify every aspect of our existence.  It is to raise above our desires and wants and hand over our entire will and body to God to do with as he pleases.  This is because there is no true happiness unless one is doing God’s will.  Man and woman are created to know and love God.  We are called to be holy.

People often wonder how to discern God’s will.  Here is an easy measuring stick.  Ask yourself if what you are considering will make you more holy and spread love to those around you.  If the answer is no then it cannot be God’s will.  God wants us to love.  Sometimes this love includes discipline as with children or difficult people in our lives.  Discipline if done out of love without any self-serving anger is God’s will.  Another way I use to discern God’s will is saying to myself, “This is what I want to do, but what should I do?”  There is often a stark difference in what I want to do versus what I should do.  Sometimes I want to bark at everyone and curse.  However, this would sow discord and anger in my own home so it is not God’s will.  This is also directly related to what I feel like doing and what I need to do.  There is often a conflict.  This is the unique aspect of being human and a sign of God’s presence.  I can discern between what I feel like doing and what I should do.  Animals do not have this gift.  It is the gift of inherently knowing the “Natural Law” and it is a sign of God’s love for humans.  It is the gift of free choice.  The catch is that I will not be happy and neither will my soul rest until I make the decision to accept God’s will and stop trying to run the show myself.  God’s will is always to my benefit.  I may not see it at the moment but it will work out for the better in the long run and it always does.  This is where we have to trust God that he sees the picture in a way in which we cannot and never will in this human life.  We see only the present and reflections of the past.  God sees only the present as their is not time for him.  Thus, what seems to be the future to us is the present to God.  God gives in the present.  We may have a difficulty or hardship in the present but it is only a sign of God’s love.  The difficulty or hardship may seem to bee unfair or unnecessary but that is only because you are not fully trusting in God.  When you fully give your will and life to God all things are sanctified in your life.  Pain, suffering, misery, joy, happiness, elation all bring the greater glory to God in the end.  The mysteries of the Holy Rosary of The Blessed Virgin Mary will help anyone to endure and find consolation during great suffering.  Mary will take your hand and guide you gently along the way.

How do we do God’s will?  Always ask “How can I, in this situation, show LOVE?”

How The Catholic Faith Got Me Sober.

I absolutely hate AA.  If you are one of the 5% of people that AA works for, then good.  However, it never worked for me.  I found it more offensive than anything.  I found that AA actually created in me a desire to drink.  So I quit going and I finally have racked up some clean time.  I used my Catholic faith to get me clean.  I used sober in the headline but I actually hate the word sober.  Who wants to be sober?  It sounds so lame.  Anyway, here is what I’ve been doing and if you are Catholic then this should work for you too.  If you are not Catholic then you should be, until then try SMART Recovery if you hate AA.  SMART is based on actual science and works.  I love SMART and find their forum and meetings very useful.  I will confess that I don’t visit SMART currently or use it but I did in the past and it worked much better than AA for me.

First, I visited the blessed Sacrament and asked Jesus to please help me.  I said the Rosary and asked Mary to intercede for me.  On the way out of the Church I found a St. Jude Prayer Booklet which coincidentally had a prayer for people struggling with addiction.

I went to Reconciliation every week for the first couple of months.  Now I go at least every three weeks.  This is key if you want to stay clean.  Reconciliation heals your soul and removes any obstacles in your path.  You leave free and clean and have nothing to dwell on to get you stuck in using thoughts.  It is very cleansing.  I don’t know how anyone can have a deep spiritual life without the regular use of the sacrament of Reconciliation.  Trust me it is one of the most important things you can do to get clean.

I took a vow with my parish priest to stay clean for six months.  This holds you accountable to someone that you will not want to let down.

I pray the Holy Rosary everyday.  This is very important.  The Blessed Mother has helped me immeasurably.  I owe everything to our Lord through her beautiful and loving intercession.  I joined the Militia of the Immaculata and renew my consecration to Mary every day.

I read the day’s Mass readings first thing in the morning (ok, I usually make coffee first).  I say the liturgy of the hours every morning after reading the Mass readings.  You can find it on Universalis.

I go to Mass 3 days a week if possible.  If not it is almost always two days a week.  Receiving the Lord gives me the strength to remain in a state of grace and feeds my soul with the power and strength I need.

I say the St. Jude Prayer for Addictions every single day.  The help of St. Jude has been a key difference in staying clean.

Prayer To St. Jude For Those Affected By An Addiction:

God of life, You made me in Your perfect image, to live in Your love and to give You glory, honor and praise.  Open my heart to Your healing power.  Come, Lord Jesus, calm the waters of my soul just as you whispered “Peace<” to the stormy sea.  St. Jude, most holy apostle, in my need I cry out to you.  I beg you to intercede for me that I may find strength to overcome my weakness (list your addiction here).  Bless all those who struggle with addiction.  Touch them, heal them, reassure them of the Father’s constant love.  Remain at my side, St. Jude, to chase away all evil temptations, fears, and doubts.  May the quiet assurance of your loving presence illuminate the darkness in my heart and bring lasting peace.  Amen.

I end every day with prayer.  Sometimes it is the night hours.  Lately it has been the St. Louis Consecration prayers and readings.

I read the Catechism every day.

I think that is it.  It has worked for me.  Hope this helps.

Reading List: Recovery Without AA

There are many, many books out there about recovery without AA.  These are books that I’ve read and found helpful.  Some are about how to beat addiction and others are just good reads that expose the ineffectiveness of the treatment industry and AA.   The first four books are about how to recover without AA and are listed in order of how helpful I found them to be in my own case.  Albert Ellis’ book is, in my opinion, one of the greatest tools out there to honestly help you with overcoming addictive behavior patterns.  All of these are linked just click on the book title and it will take you to Amazon.

1. When AA Doesn’t Work For You:  Rational Steps to quitting Alcohol by Albert Ellis
2. Over the Influence: The Harm Reduction Guide for Managing Drugs and Alcohol by Patt Denning, Jeannie Little, and Adina Glickman
3. The Small Book (Rational Recovery Systems) by Jack Trimpey
4. 7 Tools To Beat Addiction by Stanton Peele
5. Alcoholics Anonymous: Cult or Cure? by Charles Bufe
6. Addiction Is A Choice by Jeffrey A. Schaler Ph.D
7. Diseasing of America: How We Allowed Recovery Zealots and the Treatment Industry to Convince Us We Are Out of Control by Stanton Peele

Albert Ellis (Author)

› Visit Amazon’s Albert Ellis Page

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