catholic family faith

Lord's Day Faith Chat - Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time - January 31, 2010

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.  (Jeremiah 1:5)

God created each of us out of great love.  Accordingly, God has called us to speak and live according to God's Loving Word.

But sometimes when we speak, we are moved by our personal ego and emotion rather than by God's loving promptings and so can be a "resounding gong or a clashing cymbal."  We don't always act with love.  When we speak or act out of ego and not divine love, our words and actions are not effective.

And when we do speak God's Loving Word, not everyone will hear and heed what we say.  We will be rejected, as Jesus was rejected by the people in his own village.  We will experience rejection by friends and family, acquaintances and others.

Faith Chat Question:  How do you live according to God's Loving Word in your daily life so as to share God's love with others and all of God's creation?

Faith Response:  Share your love with one another this week.  Cut many small hearts out of red and/or pink construction paper.  Put the hearts in a bowl on your prayer/kitchen table.  As family members do loving things for one another through the week, have the person receiving the loving action write a thank you note on a heart and put it at the giver's place at the table so they can see the thank you heart at mealtime.

Prayer:  God of Love, move in us so that we may share your Loving Word with all whom we meet.  Amen.

 

March for Life 2010

This past Friday, January 22nd, thousands of people (half of them under age 25) gathered in Washington, D.C., to mark the 37th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that legalized abortion.  Many more participated in the pro-life demonstration through a Virtual March for Life.  To join your voice with the thousands speaking out for the dignity of human life, follow this link:  http://www.virtualmarchforlife.com/.

A World on Its Knees, an E-Prayerbook for Our Brothers and Sisters in Haiti

As the world continues to respond to the devastation in Haiti, the Daughters of St. Paul are offering a free book of prayer for the victims.  Sr. Kathryn James Hermes, FSP (Franciscan Sister of Peace) has compiled a collection of prayers to pray with and for our brothers and sisters in Haiti.

The website states:

Now, more than ever, we need to stand with our Haitian sisters and brothers,
both those in Haiti and their friends and relatives around the world
worried about their well-being.

This e-prayerbook is a useful way to focus intentions
and be in spirit with those who need us most.

Let's get this into the hands of millions of people around the world
who can't go to Haiti in person but can pray.
The Haitians are giving us an impressive example of faith and prayer.
Let us lift up their needs now that they will be able to
rebuild their lives, their church, and their nation.
 

Use the prayers in bulletins, prayer groups, parishes
or in the silence of your own heart.

 

To download this e-prayerbook, click this link:  http://www.pauline.org/FreeEbookofPrayersforHaiti/tabid/375/Default.aspx

 

Lord's Day Faith Chat - Third Sunday in Ordinary Time - January 24, 2010

He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.  He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:  "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me..." (Luke 4:16b-18a)

In the first reading from Nehemiah, we hear how Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform before the assembly of people and read from the book of the law of Moses.  In the gospel reading from Luke, Jesus reads from a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.  These readings remind us of how important it is for us to read and listen to the Scriptures.  When we gather on the Lord's Day or for any liturgy, for that matter, we participate in the Liturgy of the Word, which is just as important as the Eucharistic Liturgy with which it is combined on the Lord's Day.  Through the Liturgy of the Word, our souls are fed with the Word of God, we hear God's Word and are challenged to apply it to our every day lives.

Faith Chat Question:  What is your favorite Bible story?  What does that story teach you about God?

Faith Response:  Begin a new habit of reading the Bible every day (if you don't already do so, that is.)  Place your Bible in a prominent place, on your household prayer table, a coffee table, or your kitchen table.  Each day, make time to read and reflect on a passage from the Scriptures.  You may access the daily readings on the USCCB website (http://www.usccb.org/nab/) or check your parish's bulletin for a listing of the daily readings.

Prayer:  Word of God, fill our hearts and minds so that we may live your truth in our lives.  Amen.

Catholic Relief Services in Haiti

After the earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Catholic Relief Services and Caritas turned a golf course into one of the first camps for displaced people.  They have provided food, water, and medical assistance in the midst of the devastation.  For more on Catholic Relief Services' involvement in Haiti and to donate to CRS' efforts, visit http://crs.org/.

Vocation Awareness Week - January 10-16, 2010

Prayer for Vocations

Lord Jesus, as You once called the first disciples 

to make them fishers of men,

let your sweet invitation continue to resound: 

Come, follow Me! 

Give young men and women the grace of responding quickly to Your voice.

Support your bishops, priests and consecrated people in their apostolic labor. 

Grant perseverance to our seminarians and to all those

who are carrying out the ideal of a life totally consecrated to Your service. 

Awaken in our community a missionary eagerness. 

Lord, SEND WORKERS TO YOUR HARVEST 

and do not allow humanity to be lost for the lack of pastors,

missionaries and people dedicated to the cause of the Gospel. 

Mary, Mother of the Church, the model of every vocation, 

help us to say “Yes” to the Lord Who calls us to cooperate in the divine plan of salvation. 

We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen. 

(Pope John Paul II)

Lord's Day Faith Chat - Baptism of the Lord - January 10, 2010

And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.' (Luke 3:22b)

In the account of Jesus' baptism from the Gospel of Luke, Jesus was baptized just like all of the other people.  Then, "after all" (v. 21) the baptisms, the people's and Jesus', Jesus was praying.  As he prayed, "heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove." (v. 21b-22a) 

Many of us were baptized as infants, so we don't remember how the Holy Spirit came upon us.  But we do have the Sacrament of Confirmation that allows us to focus on the coming of the Holy Spirit into our lives.  (But of course, we have experienced the Holy Spirit long before our Confirmation as a young teenager!)  In any case, by our baptism, the Holy Spirit dwells in us, empowering us to discover the gifts that God has given to us and to use those gifts to serve God through God's people.

In addition to helping us discover and use our God-given gifts, through our baptism, we experience in a profound way, God's love for us.  Just as the Father told Jesus, "You are my beloved Son," God tells each of us, "You are my beloved Son/Daughter."  Every moment of every day, God is whispering in our hearts, "I love you...I love you..."

Faith Chat Question:  What does it mean to you, how does it make you feel, to be God's "Beloved Son/Daughter"?

Faith Response:  Place a bowl of holy water on your prayer/kitchen table.  (Most parishes have a holy water dispenser near their baptismal font from which you can fill a small container.)  At the end of each day, at dinner or bedtime, invite family members to recall their baptisms by blessing one another with the holy water and the Sign of the Cross on their foreheads.  Then give one another hugs and tell one another, "I love you!"

Prayer:  Beloved Son of God, help us to live our baptismal call each day of our lives.  Amen.

Lord's Day Faith Chat - Epiphany of the Lord - January 3, 2010

The word epiphany means

1. an appearance or manifestation, esp. of a deity
2. a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/epiphany)

On this feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, we commemorate Christ's epiphany.  In Matthew 2:1-12, the magi, astrologers from the East, see a new star.  In ancient times, the appearance of a new star signified the birth of a great king.  They follow the light of this star to search for the new king.  Their   search leads them to Jerusalem, and of course, they go first to the palace; where else would a king be present?  But they find out that the new king is not in the palace.  They continue their search, based on the Jewish prophecy from the prophet Micah (Micah 5:1), and journey to Bethlehem, where "they were overjoyed at seeing the star" (Matthew 2:10).  Upon seeing the star overhead, they knew their search was ended.  The light of the star enlightened them to the presence of the King.  The epiphany for the magi was "an appearance or manifestation of a deity."

For us, especially we Catholics in the U.S., the feast of the Epiphany isn't usually as exciting.  Our big celebration just happened at Christmas.  Oh, on Epiphany we go to Mass, still singing Christmas carols, still taking in the Christmas decorations, but for any of us it is simply a Sunday liturgy in the season of Christmas.

The second definition of the word epiphany probably speaks more to our personal experience.  We more often have "a suddent, intuitive perception of or insight into" God, Messiah, in "some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience."  The feast of the Epiphany reminds us that God is with us always, but that sometimes we experience, we recognize God's presence more deeply, more intimately.  Perhaps we have a feeling that God is with us as we hold the hand of someone we love who is sick.  We might feel God's presence in a overwhelming sense of joy as we play with our children.  Maybe we feel God most in a quiet moment of meditation or contemplation.  While we may have some heart-stopping "Aha" experiences of God, most often we experience God in these simple, homely, ordinary occurrences.

Faith Chat Question:  The magi followed the light of the star to find the newborn king.  What helps you to recognize Christ's presence in your life?

Faith Response:  Each evening this week, snuggle together as a family.  Invite each family member to share how they experienced God that day.  Where were they?  What did they do?  How did they know God was with them?

Prayer:  Christ Jesus, Messiah and King, help us to recognize your presence with us always.  Amen.

Happy New Year!

Over the past 24 hours or so, people around the world rang in the New Year with parties and food, friends and family.  But this is just one New Year's celebration in our world, primarily a Western tradition.  Other cultures have different traditions.

The Church celebrated the new year on the first Sunday of Advent.  The traditions of Advent call us to recall our activities of the past year; to reflect on the present, especially Christ's presence in our lives; and to prepare for the future, Christ's coming.

The Jewish new year begins on Rosh Hashanah, at the beginning of their month, Tishri, which falls at the end of September of the Julian calendar.  Rosh Hashanah is a time for recollection, signalled by the blowing of the shofar (ram's horn.)

The Muslim new year, called Al-Hijra, begins with the month of Muharram, which is in May on the Julian calendar.  Al-Hijra commemorates the date of the Prophet's move from Makkah to Medina; hijra means "migration."

Southern Buddhists (in Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, and parts of India, Vietnam, and Bangladesh) spend three days of cleaning homes, washing statues of Buddha, and gathering in the streets as they celebrate a time of renewal and return after the spring equinox.

The Chinese New Year, a Taoist tradition, begins on the first day of the first lunar month, usually near the beginning of February.  At the new year, Taoists symbolically sweep away misfortune and mistakes from the past.  They hang protective charms in their homes, set off firecrackers to frighten away evil spirits, dine on festive foods, and exchange gifts as they prepare to welcome the good fortune of the new year.

Each culture celebrates their new year in different ways, but it seems that in any culture, the new year is a time to recollect, to recall the events of the past year, to renew spirits, and to prepare for new opportunities.  New Year's celebrations remind us of forgiveness and reconciliation and anticipating new possibilities.

For more on New Year's celebrations and other festivals around the world, check out these resources:

• Festivals of the World.  Breuilly, E. O'Brien, J. Palmer, M. eds.  (New York: Checkmark Books, 2002)  [Much of what I wrote was found in this book.)
• http://www.fathertimes.net/traditions.htm
• http://www.novareinna.com/festive/atw.html

What is your family's favorite New Year's tradition?