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Scenes from my first Christmas

Yes, this is my First Christmas.....as a Deacon of course. Fr. Andrew reminded me and the entire congregation of that, along with the story ...

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Blessed are..................

We are now well into our final course for this year, and like last year there is something I love about studying moral theology. I have been impressed on how much has lifted me up and in ways that surprise me. This book we have to read is deep, as in cavernous. It is only a totally different plain than I'll ever be on, yet today it happened.

I have to share a quote with you from the book,

"the human person, endowed with special perogatives of reason and will,
acts so as to reach beatitude!"
 
I literally had to put the book down and reflect upon what I had just read. To reach beatitude, what a thought! It is hours later and I'm still reflecting on what that means to me and to all of us.
 
 I was attending a funeral this morning and brought my Bible in to reflect on the Sermon on the Mount before the funeral. I took a long pause in between each and every one of the beatitudes to reflect upon how I could reach beatitude.
 
For the rest of this day I will continue to reflect on how I can reach beatitude through the grace of God!
 
Bonjour et Adieu mes Amis,
 
Mitch


Sunday, April 21, 2013

Malchus, Religulous, and Idols!

In this past week I was able to accomplish everything I needed to do, except for one trivial thing. Writing a paper, finishing the psych evaluation, and begin reading for our Moral Theology course part deux.

Now on the topic of Malchus. Malchus is the slave that St. Peter cut his ear with a sword in the garden of Gethsemane. So what is the significance of Malchus? Well this week my son and I had a verbal exchange on the Catholic faith. Deep down inside he is a believer but doesn't practice. When the conversation got a little heated I kind of pulled out my sword and cut off his ear, not literally of course. A day later it dawned on me what I had just done and I couldn't help but think of this occurring in Scripture. I was also thinking about how our Holy Father is calling us to be respectful of those of other faiths and those who don't practice or believe. I reflected on what I had done and asked my son to forgive me for the way I treated him. I was thinking about how if we cut off the ears of those we are trying to reach, how in the world are they ever going to hear "The Good News".

My son then asked me to check out the movie Religulous. Yeah, the one with the comedian who is sharing his view that the Bible and Jesus are all stories packed together to fit nicely. In the spirit of keeping an open mind I took the challenge. Number one, I didn't like the movie for obvious reasons. I thought in the spirit of Malchus I would just pray for this man and for all who are still searching. Second, I told my son I watched it and he thanked me for keeping an open mind. I told him next I need for him to do something for me. I haven't completely figured out what I will share with him. I thought I would leave it up to the Spirit to move me.

Idols! We all remember those Old Testament people who just couldn't get enough of the golden calves, etc. Those days are over right? Wrong! Again our Holy Father had something wonderful to say about this............
 
 
"We have to empty ourselves of the many small or great idols that we have in which we take refuge, on which we often seek to base our security. They are idols that are sometimes well hidden; they can be ambition, a taste for success, placing ourselves at the center, the tendency to dominate others, the claim to be the sole masters of our lives, some sins to which we are bound, and many others.
 
This evening I would like a question to resound in the heart of each one of you, and I would like you to answer it honestly: Have I considered which idol lies hidden in my life that prevents me from worshipping the Lord?" 
Pope Francis.
 
 
So there it is folks, one week gone by and on Monday evening we begin our final course for year three!
 
God Bless you all!
 
 
Bonjour et Adieu mes Amis,
 
Mitch

Friday, April 12, 2013

The Pope of the People

                       



Please check out this wonderful article on our Holy Father by the Knights of Columbus!



The Pope of the People
 

Time to buckled down!

First of all I want to thank you all for your prayers and your support. Everything that was said, was thought, was prayed for has carried me this year. This has been a very challenging year and everything is getting crammed into a very tight schedule. For about a week I will be concentrating on my family, my work, my prayer time, my studies, papers, and everything else. So keep the prayers pouring in for all 22 of us during this very hectic time. 

Bonsoir et Adieu mes Amis,

Mitch 

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Say goodbye to Paul!

On Monday evening we finished the classroom portion of our course on the New Testament Letters of St. Paul. I have been moved, I have been impressed, I have been inspired from what the Spirit has filled me with. I could have honestly taken a full year course on this and I know that I would have enjoyed it. 

I now have a 5 page reflection paper to write and a few thoughts have piqued my interests. I think our Holy Father played an impact on this also when he spoke of an issue and divided it between a matter of faith and a matter of discipline. I think at times we confuse the two as being the same, and of course St. Paul would have deep thoughts on this. 

I leave it into your hands to seek out a course on St. Paul. Call your local Church, talk to your priests. I know you will be forever changed.

Bonsoir et Adieu mes Amis,

Mitch 

Thursday, April 4, 2013

"I want to go back to Church!"

Can one person make a difference in your life? Everyone has heard, that if I can help only one person it would have been worth it. Today one of my sales reps was in town to do some sales calls and at lunch he asked how my studies were going. I filled him in on where I'm at and that I'm still a little over a year away from Ordination.He then asked me...
"What do you think of the new Pope?" Naturally I answered "I love him, I absolutely love what he says, and how he lives his life, and his faith!"

Well I was stunned to hear more. His wife was raised Catholic and then through a tragedy had to move somewhere else and was no longer attending the faith of her birth. Today he shared that his wife said...." I love this Pope, he is so inspiring, I want to go back to Church!"

To say that I'm absolutely shocked is wrong. I feel the same way, and he inspires me to be a better disciple. I pray that the Spirit continues to guide him and lead more people back to their roots, back to that relationship that Christ is calling all of us to.

Bonjour et Adieu mes Amis,

Mitch