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Has the commercialization of Christmas turned you into Scrooge? Rather than just making lists, baking cookies, hanging stockings, and wrapping presents, spend some time preparing your heart for the birth of our Savior by actually celebrating Advent. Here are some practical suggestions. . . . → Read More: Keep Christ in Christmas by Celebrating Advent  Leave a comment  Faith, Family, Schmidt, Joel  Adoration, Advent, Christ the King, Christmas, Elderly, Family, Gospel, Happy Holidays, Homeless, iPad, iTunes, Joy, Magi, Magnificat Advent Companion, Manger, Merry Christmas, Nativity, Old School, Peace, Pia de Solenni, poor, Reconciliation, Saint Nicholas of Myra, Service, Technology, Thanksgiving, Unplug, Volunteer, Wait Obama administration empowers dissident Catholics to represent the Church, tries to shift conversation from religious freedom to contraception. EWTN's Teresa Tomeo interviews NY Archbishop Dolan at 2012 March for Life “Click, click.” Did you hear that? It’s the sound of the Obama administration taking aim at the Catholic Church. I’m sure there are some who disagree with me, who want me to just relax and stop with the conspiracy theory nonsense. I won’t. According to Fr. Jesus Urteaga, “If we love truth, we must learn to defend it against all attack.” Make no mistake; we are most definitely being attacked. The Obama administration has declared war on religious freedom, . . . → Read More: Catholic Church in the Crosshairs 4 comments Schmidt, Joel abortion, Catholic Church, Contraception, Department of Justice, Ethics, Fellowship of Catholic University Students, First Amendment, FOCUS, Joe Biden, Kathleen Sebelius, Nancy Pelosi, Natural Family Planning, NFP, Notre Dame, Obama Administration, Obammunism, One-Child Policy, Planned Parenthood, Prolife, Reconciliation, The Family Plan, Tim Murphy, Timothy Cardinal Dolan, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, University of Texas, US Constitution, White House, Women's Health, Women's Rights Lent, a season particularly focused on renewal and conversion, begins today. Flip through the pages of most current home and garden magazines and you will easily find articles with tips for spring-cleaning. I recently found an article titled, “Spring Clean Your Finances.” The first paragraph read, “Spring is the season of renewal — the time to get out the gardening tools, begin a new exercise program, or tackle the dirt that’s accumulated in the house.” Let’s focus on that first line: Spring is the season of renewal. What a great reminder that the season of Lent is also a season of renewal for Christians. As we approach the Easter . . . → Read More: Ash Wednesday: Begin Again On the 39th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, in remembrance of the 51 million children lost to abortion . . .
“Along with the work of advocacy, and the importance of our vote, in the struggle to secure the rights of the unborn I urge us all to embrace the truth of what it means to be human in our own lives. Never forget, we have been made by love, for love. In your families — strive for compassion and for mercy. In your neighborhoods — look for ways in which you can reach out to the most needy in your midst. In your workplace — be an . . . → Read More: Building a Pro-Life Culture in Honor of the Millions Never Born Advent Week 2 Reflection: Occupy the Confessional We’re going to see Jesus!” my then two-year old daughter joyfully proclaimed as we entered the church parking lot on the morning of the first Sunday in Advent. My husband Joel and I, a little surprised yet proud of her recognition, chuckled and agreed, “Yes, we ARE going to see Jesus!” How fitting her proclamation was at a time when we are especially called to joyfully prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus Christ. If you were planning to go see an “important” person, I suspect there would be a few things involved in preparing for this meeting; there would be for . . . → Read More: Going to See Jesus! Take back Christmas by preparing your heart to receive Christ. Poster by Joel Gehman. Source: occupytogether.org. Like homecoming weekend in a college town, there are currently no vacancies. Everything, it seems, is occupied. Occupy Wall Street. Occupy San Francisco. Occupy DC. Begun as Occupy Dataran in Kuala Lumpur in late July, the Occupy movement has spread around globe like wildfire in just over three months. “The 99%” seem intent on taking back financial and government institutions that have apparently been corrupted by the minority who presumably control them by their concentration of wealth. The majority are fed up with their interests not being represented, so they’re moving in and . . . → Read More: Occupy Advent 5 comments Faith, Schmidt, Joel Adoration, Advent, Christ the King, Christmas, Elderly, Family, Gospel, Happy Holidays, Homeless, iPad, iTunes, Joy, Judgment of Nations, Kuala Lumpur, Magi, Magnificat Advent Companion, Manger, Merry Christmas, Nativity, Occupy Advent, Occupy Dataran, Occupy DC, Occupy San Francisco, Occupy Wall Street, Old School, Peace, Pia de Solenni, poor, Reconciliation, Saint Nicholas of Myra, Service, Technology, Thanksgiving, The 99%, Unplug, Volunteer, Wait September 11, 2011: Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Have you ever held a grudge? C’mon, who among us hasn’t? When we have been wronged, our first instinct is usually to get angry. Our second instinct then is to hold onto our anger, because we somehow feel justified in doing so. Forgiveness comes later, much later if we’ve been deeply hurt. Sometimes, forgiveness never comes. In contrast, “The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion” (Ps 103). So, what is the price of holding onto anger, of failing to forgive? That is the subject of this week’s readings. Who are we really hurting? I’m better than . . . → Read More: Holding Back and Hurting Ourselves How should Catholics respond when other Catholics publicly misrepresent the Church? That’s really the fundamental question. It has been before American Catholics ever since September 12, 1960 when John F. Kennedy, in a televised speech in Houston, essentially disavowed the influence of the Catholic faith on his political choices. With regard to politicians, U.S. bishops have increasingly taken them to task for publicly touting their Catholicity while simultaneously undermining the Church by advancing legislation contrary to Catholic moral and social teaching. Where matters of public policy are directly affected, it follows logically that if you represent yourself as Catholic, you have a duty to do so with the utmost fidelity . . . → Read More: The Curious Case of the Cursing Catholic Coach 8 comments Schmidt, Joel cross, Example, Ezekiel, Fidelity, Football, Frank Leahy, Greg Pollowitz, JFK, John F. Kennedy, Knute Rockne, Lou Holtz, Luke, Matt Archbold, Mission, Moral, National Catholic Register, National Review Online, Notre Dame, Politics, Public, Reconciliation, sacrament, sin, Social, witness, Woody Hayes September 12, 2010: 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time The daily Mass readings this past week urged us to conduct our affairs in a manner pleasing to God. In 1 Corinthians, St. Paul urged us to purge immorality from our lives (Mon.), deal justly with one another (Tue.), refrain from idolatry (Thu.), exercise discipline (Fri.), and respect the Eucharist (Sat.). Given we often fall short at one time or another, how fitting it is to begin this week with an unmistakable reminder of God’s mercy! The Lord relented in punishment (Exodus 32:14). While Moses was on Mount Sinai, conversing with God and retrieving the Ten Commandments, the Israelites ran amok under . . . → Read More: They Know Not What They Do |
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