PathToHoliness

Don’t you wish Archbishop Fulton Sheen was still being broadcast? I do. However, you can watch lots of videos of him speaking on YouTube. You can also download or listen to lots of audio files too. Here’s a good one I just watched.

It has been a rough last two weeks. I came down with the worst flu bug I can remember and then we had a blizzard with 20 inches of snow in mid Missouri. Cindy and I had to fly to Denver for a convention and then I had to fly to another one in Phoenix. Let’s just say that flying, below zero to 70 degree temps and dry hotel and convention centers are not good for your sinuses! But I survived!

The photo is the altar in St. Mary’s Basilica in Phoenix. It’s conveniently located right across the street from the convention center and has a noon weekday Mass.

Last week I attended Mass one day at the Cathedral of Christ The King in northern Atlanta. I thought I had been to this church before but am pretty sure this was my first visit. Normally, I attend Mass at the Sacred Heart Basilica in downtown Atlanta. You can find the history of the Cathedral on their website.

While there the priest was willing to hear confession! With all this traveling, it makes it difficult to keep up with my devotions but there are some things that just have to be adhered to and frequent confession is one of them.

The 2011 March For Life will be taking place tomorrow in Washington, DC, as have others around the country this weekend including here in Jefferson City, MO. This is to mark the anniversary of the legalization of abortion in America. Since then the estimate is at about 52 million abortions performed. It will drive you crazy if you think about it. 52 million people killed in our country outside of any other type of death (accident, defense of country in military, etc.). It’s too big a number for me to wrap my mind around. And most of those performed just to keep from having the “inconvenience” of a child. It’s the most severe form of birth control.

The recent horror story in Philadelphia with the abortion doctor who is now being charged with multiple accounts of murder contains all the elements of what make abortion so incredibly horrible. You can read the details for yourself. Just do a Google search for it. This story should be the top one in the news but guess what? It’s not. Our news folks are more interested in what President O is going to say about the economy. Yeah. That’s more important than human life.

What it means is that we need to continue to pray and especially for our lawmakers, women facing tough choices and those who have had an abortion. I would like to think this will change in our country some day. I keep praying that it will.

I just noticed on the St. Josemaria Escriva YouTube channel a great video explaining who he was.

Cindy took a picture of our St. Francis statue after last week’s snow storm. That’s the image I use for my Twitter account.

We did have a snowy week and were supposed to get more last night and today. We even went to Saturday evening Mass last night thinking we may not have been able to go this morning. However, Msgr. Higley, prayed that the snow would miss us and he was answered. At least we haven’t received what we expected. Just a light dusting so far.

In case you haven’t hear yet, May 1 is the date for the Beatification of Pope John Paul II. I already ran the idea of going past Cindy and she can’t even stand the idea of dealing with the crowds. I could deal with it but the cost is also a factor. I did a quick look at flights and didn’t see anything less than about $980!

It would be awesome to attend this ceremony for the Pope I’ve personally met and who was such an inspiration in life and continues to be so in death. He met all of my family on a visit to the Vatican years ago and I know has touched all our lives for the better.

Reports are saying they expect about 2 million for the ceremony which is a million less than his funeral. They know how to deal with big crowds there and do a good job. I had the fortune to attend the Canonization of St. Josemaria Escriva and it was packed too.

Pope John Paul II has also been named the patron of the upcoming World Youth Day in Madrid, Spain, which will be celebrated August 16-21.

If you’re interested in seeing “There Be Dragons” which is scheduled for a May release then enter a sweepstakes contest for tickets and other prizes. You can find the entry on Facebook.

Grand Prize Winner will receive:

Prize Eligibility
Only persons who are at least 18 years of age can enter.
Sweepstakes Starts
December 20, 2010 @ 12:01 pm (PST)
Sweepstakes Ends
January 31, 2011 @ 12:01 pm (PST)

Today is the feast of Mary, Mother of God. Our Holy Father prayed for peace in his homily according to Vatican Radio

“On this day, too, we pray especially for peace throughout the world, and I invite all of you to join in heartfelt prayer to Christ the Prince of Peace for an end to violence and conflict wherever they are found.”

You can listen to a full report from Vatican Radio here: Vatican Radio Report

The day after Christmas, Cindy and I took part in the baptism of our niece Abi and nephew Charlie. They are the children of Cindy’s brother Jeff and wife Rosa. Cindy and I are Godparents for Charlie and our daughter Chelsea and I are for Abi. Here’s all of us with after the ceremony which was held at St. Agatha’s Church in Miami, FL.

Becoming a Godparent (or sponsor) is a real responsibility. Here’s what the Code of Canon Law #872 says about it: Insofar as possible, a person to be baptized is to be given a sponsor who assists an adult in Christian initiation or together with the parents presents an infant for baptism. A sponsor also helps the baptized person to lead a Christian life in keeping with baptism and to fulfill faithfully the obligations inherent in it.

We’ll do our best to be good ones for Abi and Charlie!

Merry Christmas to everyone. Here’s the whole family after midnight Mass. We may have looked bright eyed in the photo but we were asleep pretty soon after we got back to the house.

I don’t know when we started going to midnight Mass for Christmas but it has been a while. It was standing room only at St. Gregory’s. I’m looking forward to a nice quiet day of relaxation and celebrating the birth of Jesus. I will confess to going to Starbucks for a venti Christmas blend though. But that’s the extent of my adventuring out to the retail world. We might take a drive to the beach today though since it’s supposed to be warm one more day before cooling down.

You can’t have enough Nativity scenes this time of year. Our family has escaped the cold and wintery white stuff for the sunshine and relative warmth of south Florida.

I attended early Mass at St. Gregory the Great Church in Plantation, FL. I’m not sure if we’re going to go to Midnight Mass tonight or Mass in the morning. We’ve been going at midnight for years. I personally prefer in the morning. I always fall asleep before midnight and then have trouble getting back to sleep after Mass. Whichever one you pick though, they’re all beautiful!

This is the manger at the Cathedral of St. Joseph. As you can see it’s waiting for baby Jesus. Almost Christmas. Come Lord Jesus.

Our family is headed toward south Florida for the holiday weekend. On Sunday Cindy and I become God parents again to our nephew, Charlie. He and his sister will be getting baptized!

Here’s wishing you and yours a blessed Christmas and safe travels.

Yesterday I was overwhelmed to learn that my brother Paul’s house burned down. This is a photo he sent me from his phone. It was still burning the next morning.

I can’t even imagine what they’re going through right now. Talk about an emotional jolt at best and right before Christmas. On the good side of this, no one was hurt, they have a small “guest house” on their property that he used as an office. It’s a one bedroom, one bath house and they have 6 children, 5 of which still live at home. So they have a roof over their head and good insurance. But they lost a almost all of their belongings. The help and support that poured in from neighbors and friends was unbelievable. I spoke with Paul late in the day and he said one church even had a food schedule for them for the next week!

My first thought was to hop a plane for Atlanta but Cindy helped me think that through. They have more support almost than they need right now and it’s kind of chaotic. Not much I can do there really. We’re going to Atlanta for work in January so we can leave early and stay with my parent’s who live nearby and see them then.

I’ve really had trouble getting this out of my mind since I learned about it yesterday. Besides thinking I need to go help I did say a prayer and many more since. It has also made me think about what is really important. They are all alive, they have a place to stay and they have their faith which remains unshaken! They will rebuild and start new memories.

The film “Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen: Servant of All” is now .

No truer words have ever been written. For decades, Fulton Sheen served as a shining example of what it means to serve God. His television show, “Life is Worth Living,” reached 30 million viewers a week, and his words were captured in over 100 publications. His inspiration came not just from his teachings, however. Millions were influenced by the way he lived and by witnessing his personal relationship with God.

This new film, “Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen: Servant of All,” introduces this beloved priest to a new generation — a generation that desperately needs this shining example of what it means to serve God. His messages remain as relevant and powerful today as they were nearly a half-century ago. Through the stories of those who knew him, viewers are reminded of his life and works. He lives on in the memories of those whose lives he forever changed.