Doing Nothing is Not an Option

Today's families are struggling for survival. broken with divorce, addictions to drugs, alcohol, pornography and many other sinful behaviors.

Jesus taught us the definition of true love and gave us a plan of how to take care of each other, unfortunately man has turned his back on our Creators divine plan for our society and our world and has instead created his own self centered definition of love. This has resulted in an incorrect view of the Sacrament of Marriage in our society. We are now turning a Sacrament designed by God to give us special graces and a divine plan for living together in peace, harmony and spiritual growth and are turning it into a Sacrilege against God and an assault on the human family.  Seems that man individually and collectively has forgotten that the primary purpose of his existence in this life is to to obtain the goal of eternal salvation.

The Supreme Court is getting ready to make a ruling this year on gay marriages. We must pray for Divine Guidance for deliverance from the evils of gay marriage which shamefully have taken over our country. The book of Genesis tells us through the story of Sodom and Gomorrah that the sin of homosexuality is indeed a very grave matter in God's eyes and requires us as faithful followers of Jesus Christ to love the sinner, but to hate the sin. We also know that the two cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which God ultimately destroyed by fire, would have been spared from destruction had there been only ten good men to pray for them (Gen.18:16-33).

Can you Spare a Dime?

Recently I received an email from a Jewish friend, which read: "I finally figured out that the rule of Gemilut Hasidim is you should always do what is right - even if others do not. Tradition holds that a Jew must give to a beggar in the street when asked. Equally important, Jewish commentary insists that a beggar or poor person be treated with dignity. There are many reasons for this, but two stand out. By performing Gemilut Hasidim, people cultivate the divine qualities within them. Also important within Judaism is the notion that anyone who suffers diminishes every member of the community."

"Brilliant!" I emailed back, and thought, "vaguely familiar." So I started reading. What I discovered upon digging deeper into this Jewish rule of 'loving kindness' was a heritage that we as Christians and Catholics draw richly upon as well.

First, we recognize God as the Master of Charity - that He sustains all creation through His acts of kindness and that as recipients of this kindness, we emulate Him when we act in a like manner to one another. If we recognize that we are totally dependent on this loving Creator, that everything we have is a gift from Him and we own nothing of ourselves, then pride and feelings of superiority are non-existant - we give, we share, with the same reckless and selfless abandon.

“Life Offers us Many Ways to Suffer..."

Regardless of whether it’s merited or not, whether a consequence of a conscious choice or a turn of an unfriendly card, suffering is part of our fallen human nature. There’s no escaping it in this life. We may try to fight it and we may not admit it, but ultimately, we all serve, we all sacrifice, and we all suffer.

There are questions we need to ask ourselves in the face of suffering: What do we do with it? What is our attitude towards it? Like tempering steel, it can be a source of great strength and growth if we let it. If it becomes more than merely something to endure or plow through, we (or someone else) may merit from it.

Even with God’s grace and the dignity brought about through endurance, sometimes the meaning of suffering can only be discerned by looking at it through the lens of time. “Misfortunes” may become blessings with the proper perspective. In Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl wrote: “... suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of sacrifice.”

The Christian Family - A Centripetal Force

The Christian Family - A Centripetal Force

A great deal of attention and much discussion has recently centered on a subject that should interest Holy Name Society members tremendously.  It is the state of the American family. The family is a microcosm of the Church; it has an important place in God’s plan for the salvation of individual souls throughout the world.

There is growing unrest today among Holy Name Society members on what is believed to be a decline in family values.  Family values can best be described as the values or beliefs that provide for a safe and secure environment for children to learn true moral values as taught to us by our Christian faith – values that keep a family in harmony and peace.

There seems to be a “centrifugal” force at work in our families. This describes the phenomenon that seems to pull our families apart, a force that should concern us greatly.   The word centrifugal means literally to flee the center or fly from the center.  A simple dictionary definition speaks of a force or action proceeding away from a center (see pictorial above).  Scientists speak of this as a force that an object moving along a circular path exerts on that object constraining the object and acts outwardly driving it away from the center of rotation.  An example would be a stone whirled on a string exerts centrifugal force on the string.  The opposite force is called "centripetal" force i.e. “seeking the center” and so proceeding in a direction to the center of rotation – a force directly opposed to centrifugal force.

Freedom of Religion in America?

 There are many lessons we can learn from history if we pay attention to them. I would like to talk about these lessons. It shows how evil can triumph over a nation, if it is done gradually, and no one responds.

 In 1932 a man with a funny looking mustache was seen in many parts of Germany campaigning to be the leader of the nation. He talked about the “Jewish menace”. Many people thought he was goofy and they paid little attention to him.  No one did anything. As time went on this man formed a political party, the Nazis’. He encouraged them to persecute the Jewish people, and they listened to him.  No one stepped up to say or do anything. This man then came to power. He began to take away the rights of the Jewish people.  He would not allow them to teach in the Universities, or to practice their professions. He even forced them to leave the country. No one did anything. One night the persecution went a step farther. Jewish businesses were vandalized. No one did anything. Next he deported the Jewish people to concentration camps for slave labor. No one did anything.  Lastly, the “final step” took place - genocide. Over six million Jewish people were murdered, and along with them many Catholic Religious (e.g. Maximillian Kolbe)