PathToHoliness

Speaking about priests, the New York Archdiocese has a vocation campaign that features a great video which is incredibly well done and inspiring.

In this Year for Priests a good book for spiritual reading is “The Cure D’Ars : St. Jean-Marie-Baptiste Vianney” by Abbe Francois Trochu. Here’s a description of the book.

The definitive life, based on the official “Process of Beatification and Canonization,” and thus totally factual and documented. Of humble education and assigned to a forgotten farmers’ village, he attracted the whole world to Ars and was proclaimed “Patron Saint of Parish Priests” in 1929. Ate one meal a day, slept only a few hours a night, heard confessions up to 17 hours a day, converted thousands. His body remains incorrupt. A grace-filled story of total love of God!

He is the patron saint of priests and the book is a very good look at his life like the description says. I’m only part way through it now but it is great reading and I highly recommend it.

The Pope has issued a message in advance of World Day of Social Communications. The day is celebrated on January 24 which is the feast of St. Francis of Sales, patron saint of journalists. I think it’s especially important in this era of new media communications which is allowing us to communicate in ways we never could before. Pope Benedict’s theme for the day is, “The Priest and Pastoral Ministry in a Digital World: New Media at the Service of the Word.”

A communique made public today explains that the aim of the Message is “to invite priests in particular, during this Year for Priests and in the wake of the Twelfth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, to consider the new communications media as a possible resource for their ministry at the service of the Word. Likewise, it aims to encourage them to face the challenges arising from the new digital culture”.

The communique concludes by noting that “if wisely used, with the help of experts in technology and the communications culture, the new media can become – for priests and for all pastoral care workers – a valid and effective instrument for authentic and profound evangelisation and communion”.

So priests, this means you need to get and start using your Twitter account and perhaps start a blog!

The last couple days I’ve missed daily Mass just due to my schedule of travel and meetings. However, this morning I have the pleasure of attending Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Kansas City, MO. This church is managed by the Redemptorists order.

I’m heading out to my annual pheasant hunt in South Dakota with several of my clients today and we’ve already made plans for attending Mass while there.

A movie is being made about the life of St. Josemaria Escriva. I’m guessing that this will be a very different look at Opus Dei and its founder than that sensationalist but from what I understand poorly made movie that got so much attention. Here’s some information about the movie from the Catholic News Agency.

The film “There Be Dragons” is a film set during the brutal Spanish Civil War in the second half of the 1930s, Catholic San Francisco reports. It is expected to be released in summer or fall 2010 and has a budget of about $30 million.

“At that time, that’s pretty heroic. That’s a time when almost all human beings were faced with making extraordinary choices.”

This morning I had the pleasure of attending Mass at Immaculate Conception Church in Dardenne Prairie, MO. This is the church where I have been able to attend an evening of recollection once in a while which is put on by the Wespine Study Center.

Mass was actually in what they call the Chapel which I guess was the original church. There is a large new church on the same property. I really like the Chapel though because it’s smaller and more “traditional.”

Here’s a meditation from their Sunday bulletin:

Mary, the mother of God, was very aware of the enormous blessings God showered on her and she gave credit to Him as the one “who has done great things for me.” Do we recognize the many gifts which God bestows on each of us? Do we also sing His praises by sharing our gifts?

Yesterday Pope Benedict called on our Blessed Lady to protect families. Now is a great time to pray for all families and as usual, our Pope shows us the way. He spoke to a group of cloistered nuns.

. . . the Holy Father said: “To you I entrust my intentions, the intentions of the pastor of this diocese and the needs of everyone who lives in this land. In this Year for Priests I especially entrust you with clergy, seminarians and vocations. … Offer the Lord the sacrifice of your lives for their sanctification and for the good of souls”.

“Console those who weep, who suffer for human injustice; support those who waver under the burden of fatigue and look to the future without hope; encourage those who work to build a better world in which justice many triumph and fraternity reign, in which egoism, hatred and violence may end. May every form and expression of violence be overcome by the pacifying power of Christ”.

That’s my message to my wife Cindy. Today’s our 29th wedding anniversary! This photo was taken after breakfast this morning. We’re relaxing for a couple days at a Lake Ozark B&B.

It may sound a little sweet but I love my wife as much as ever. We started dating in college and got married the week after I graduated. I seriously encourage all married couples to keep working at it. It is worth it. Even when it isn’t easy. I would have to say that sharing our Catholic faith has been a real blessing in our marriage. Cindy converted prior to our marriage and that was her decision and I’m very grateful that she did and that the Lord has blessed her with a great faith.

This morning we attended Mass at Our Lady of The Lake. This is the huge statue of Mary that sits on top of the church overlooking the lake.

So I wish everyone a happy holiday weekend and if you are married then I pray for you and hope you have a long and satisfying marriage. Here’s a marriage prayer I found online.

We thank you, O God, for the Love You have implanted in our hearts. May it always inspire us to be kind in our words, considerate of feeling, and concerned for each other’s needs and wishes. Help us to be understanding and forgiving of human weaknesses and failings. Increase our faith and trust in You and may Your Prudence guide our life and love. Bless our Marriage O God, with Peace and Happiness, and make our love fruitful for Your glory and our Joy both here and in eternity.