PathToHoliness

The next couple of days I’ll be in Atlanta but this morning I got to attend Mass at St. Pius X in Conyers, GA with my parents. It was a beautiful Mass with a young priest on his first assignment. Here’s the welcome message from the Pastor.

Dear Friend,

Father John C. Kieran, Pastor

I came across the iPadre iPhone app while looking into the 3rd Annual Catholic New Media Celebration. So let’s make this the next iPhone app to bring to your attention.

First check out iPadre Catholic Podcasting with Fr. Jay Finelli.

Father Jay Finelli is a priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence in the state of Rhode Island. He began building web pages in 1995 and started podcasting in September of 2005. This is a great new means of evangelization. Pope John Paul II said that we are in need of a new evangelization. Podcasting is a small part of this new work of evangelization. All of us need to do our part in spreading the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He’s got a blog along with other information on his website. I’ll be subscribing to some of his feeds and will let you know what I think when I get time. Feel free to leave your comment if you’re already a subscriber.

The 3rd Annual Catholic New Media Celebration will be held near Boston, Massachusetts on August 7, 2010.

The Catholic New Media Celebration (CNMC) is an international conference which focuses on evangelization of the Roman Catholic faith using new media. It is a day to Learn, Share, and Explore how New Media can help the Catholic Church in the New Evangelization called for by Pope John Paul II.

* To support and enhance evangelization through the use of New Media
* To provide information and support for New Media Producers
* To foster community among producers and consumers of Catholic New Media

Register here. Look at the program here.

There is a growing number of good Catholic apps for the iPhone and now the iPad. I’ll try to point you to them as I find them. I’ve already done posts on iBreviary, iRosary, Vatican News and the St. Josemaria app.

Today let’s look at iPieta. This is a very comprehensive app with versions for both the iPhone and iPad containing writings on Catholic teaching, Catholic calendar and a long list of prayers. You have to do a little work but you can go to their website and download audio files of many of the prayers, import into your iTunes and then it becomes available in the app so you can play them. They have asimilar but different App in Spanish which is iPieta Español.

CONTENT:

• Bibles: Douay-Rheims, Clementine Vulgate (Catholic and public domain; note that Psalms are numbered slightly differently than some modern Bibles).
• Baltimore Catechisms #1-3; the Cat. of Christian Doctrine, the Roman Catechism, and the Cat. of St. Thomas Aq
• Both the Ordinary (Novus Ordo) and Extraordinary (Tridentine) Calendars with access to the day’s Gospel and Reading(s) from the D-R & Vulgate.
• Numerous devotions including a version of the Little Office of Our Lady, the 33-Day Total Consecration Preparation, Novenas to the Holy Spirit and to the Divine Mercy, St. Alphonsus Stations of the Cross, and the St. Bridget 1-Year and 12-Year Prayers.
• Spiritual writings by St. Louis Marie de Montfort, St. Teresa of Jesus, St. John of the Cross, St. Catherine of Siena, the Summa Theologica by St. Thomas Aquinas, the Imitation of Christ, Intro to Devout LIfe (St. Francis deS) , St. Jean-Marie Vianney, Treatise on Purgatory (St. Catherine of G), Spiritual Exercises (St. Ignatius), Sinners Guide, Haydock Biblical Commentary, Catena Aurea (St Thomas Aq). The Summa (except for the Supplement) is also in Latin.
• Papal Encyclicals
• Ecumenical Council Documents
• Scriptural passages for the Holy Rosary
• Examination of Conscience
• Saint Notes (incomplete / in progress)
• Bookmarks

My wife and I did a pilgrimage today to the National Shrine of Mary, Mother of the Church in Laurie, MO. It is a beautiful day for a drive and the Shrine is in great shape. There is a Mother’s Wall on which you can have your Mother’s name inscribed and they will be included in the prayers said for all Mothers. Both of our Mother’s names are on the wall.

It is my understanding that during this month of Mary a plenary indulgence can be gained by saying 5 decades of the rosary on the way, 5 decades while at the shrine and 5 decades on the way home. So that’s how we spent part of our day today. I will try to find a source to point you to for this indulgence and add it later.

A magnificent Shrine dedicated to Mary, Mother of the Church features an awe inspiring fourteen foot stainless steel sculpture of Mary, which stands in a natural amphitheatre surrounded by beautiful fountains.

In 2003, the Shrine became a National Shrine, making this the sixteenth Nation Shrine in the United States, and the only recognized National Shrine in Missouri.

Last week I was on the road again. While in St. Louis I attended Mass at St. Ann in Normandy, MO which is a south side suburb. They’ve got a great website. Pastor Fr. William Kempf has his own blog called “Pastor’s Pen.”

It all started with the kindness of a woman, who like the widow in the gospel, was so incredibly generous with what God had given to her. In 1854, the widow Ann Lucas-Hunt donated the land along with a monetary donation to the Jesuit Order “to establish a church and see to the education of the children” in her beloved Normandy, Missouri. The Jesuits then tasked Fr. Peter DeSmet with the project of establishing St. Ann church. In him we know a parish founded with a missionary spirit. St. Ann was his ‘home’ when his feet were not on the road proclaiming the good news to the Native American Indians. Our first pastor, Fr. Adrian Van Hulst, would make the journey from the Jesuit provincial house at the corner of Lindell Boulevard and Grand Avenue by horse and carriage. It was said that he was so punctual that farmers could set their watches by his approach. In him, we see the virtue of a steadfast, faithful presence.

It’s a challenge to find time to write here when I am on the road live blogging events for my company. During the week I had several inspirations for posts that I have now forgotten. Hopefully I’ll come up with them this weekend.

However, a couple of things come to mind. Several people I’ve spoken with this week have expressed feelings of despair, hopelessness and doubt over what they see as a world out of control. They see and hear so much alarmist information that they feel on edge emotionally all the time. I think they may be bordering on depression as a result.

I understand why and how they can have those feelings. Let’s take abortion as just one example. If you really stop and think hard about how many babies are killed just in the United States each day it will drive you crazy. Especially when you consider how little you can do about it. But I’ve learned that you cant give in to these feelings of hopelessness. That’s what our faith is for, and not just my Catholic faith.

I just got back home from an agricultural animal health conference. There were people there despairing over the impact from animal rights wacko groups like the Humane Society of the United States. In case you think they are an animal welfare group that supports animal shelters, think again. They’re a huge scam operation of militant vegans. You can find out all you need to know about them at HumaneWatch.org. Don’t support them. Support your local animal shelter instead!

Okay, back to the subject. New digital media tools are allowing all of us as individuals to have a voice in the world. That’s why our Holy Father has urged priests and the laity to use them to evangelize the faith. At the same time they’re being used by anarchists, terrorists and to promote promiscuity and pornography. But I think we can let ourselves get overwhelmed by the messages and lose our peace.

Let’s step back. Take time to meditate in a quiet place. For me, daily Mass is a great way to put all that behind me and put myself in the presence of God who loves me and will always protect me. I get a fresh perspective and then go back to my work knowing that I will not allow the forces of evil in our society to discourage me and that I can make a positive impact for true change, not the kind touted in Washington, DC these days.

Consider this. If you courageously speak up when you need to for what is right, correct people you come in contact personally when they’re wrong and set a good personal example by your own conduct, you will be a force for change. I like to think that if I save one baby from being killed in my whole life that I will have made an accomplishment of immeasurable value. If I convert one person, if I bring one person back to the faith, if I change one mind for the good, I have done what God wants and I have something to be proud of. I don’t care if I ever know who I impacted. Maybe I will after I die. I don’t know but God does.

That gives me a real sense of peace even in light of the terrible things that are happening in our society and around the world today.

My Knights of Columbus Council 12992 met last night. It was very gratifying to see our Grand Knight pull out his rosary before we got started and lead us.

This is the month to especially honor our Lady and she means a lot to members of the Knights. When we become members we receive a rosary like the one in his hands in the photo. All Knights are encouraged to use their rosary daily, especially during this month.

At the evening of recollection I attended this week I had a chance to talk with Fr. Jay Alvarez, Wespine Study Center, who conducted our meditation talks. I didn’t know he has a YouTube Channel.

Here’s one of his videos which is a “Music video about two early Christians, Junia and her brother Marcus, around year 140 AD, in Rome. Based on the books of Michael E. Giesler. Video, Music and lyrics by Jay Alvarez.” I think he’s taking the Holy Father’s call to use the digital media to evangelize to heart!

May is the month dedicated to Mary. Pope Paul VI said the following about it in his encyclical, Mense Maio.

. . . a month which the piety of the faithful has long dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God. Our heart rejoices at the thought of the moving tribute of faith and love which will soon be paid to the Queen of Heaven in every corner of the earth. For this is the month during which Christians, in their churches and their homes, offer the Virgin Mother more fervent and loving acts of homage and veneration; and it is the month in which a greater abundance of God’s merciful gifts comes down to us from our Mother’s throne.

For spiritual reading during this month a great book to consider is “True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin” by St. Louis de Montfort. You can find a pdf of it on the Montfort Missionaries website or buy it on Amazon. I also found it in the Amazon Kindle e-books and loaded it on my iPad.

Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers!

May I also say a special Happy Mother’s Day to our Queen of Heaven, Mary!

If you’d like to better understand why we give Mary the title of Queen of Heaven then read the Encyclical on the subject by Pope Pius XII. Excerpt:

AD CAELI REGINAM

From the earliest ages of the catholic church a Christian people, whether in time of triumph or more especially in time of crisis, has addressed prayers of petition and hymns of praise and veneration to the Queen of Heaven. And never has that hope wavered which they placed in the Mother of the Divine King, Jesus Christ; nor has that faith ever failed by which we are taught that Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, reigns with a mother’s solicitude over the entire world, just as she is crowned in heavenly blessedness with the glory of a Queen.

According to a story in USA Today, the birth control pill turns 50 on Mother’s Day. That is so ironic and sad. And there are so many things wrong with this story that I won’t even try to point them all out. In typical biased reporting the story makes wild unsubstantiated claims that show the author’s viewpoints on the topic of contraception.

Here are a couple of excerpts: “It became a symbol of women’s rights . . . ” “But the consensus among both physicians and sociologists is that a girl who is promiscuous on the pill would have been promiscuous without it.” The author claims the pill did not spark the sexual revolution. I’m sure she had scientific evidence of that too although none is cited. She also writes about Margaret Sanger as if she’s some kind of hero. Sanger looked at birth control and abortion as ways to get rid of unwanted people especially of inferior races, at least in her opinion.

This is really just a sad commentary on our society. The article doesn’t point out that STD’s, single mothers and abortions have all sky rocketed during the time since the pill was put on the market. It makes no reference to faith. And this is where I think things have gone so wrong. So many people have left their Christian faith behind. They don’t look to it for guidance. They don’t want to follow it. They don’t see themselves as God’s children. They are only concerned about themselves. There is plenty to find in scripture on this subject. Look at St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians as an example. I won’t quote verse here. You’ve probably got a Bible that I hope you read.

If people would follow their faith we wouldn’t have to be concerned with equality. Husbands are taught to love and respect their wives and vice versa. There never will be equality in the sense that I think many woman activists think of it. Men can’t have babies. That’s a pretty big difference and no amount of “control” over their bodies will change it.

To get a really good perspective from a woman’s point of view I would encourage you to read this news story quoting Dr. Janet Smith on this subject. She says:

Also, “it is really, patently absurd for women to be putting chemicals in their body to correct a condition that is not a defect.

“Fertility is a perfectly healthy condition,” Smith emphasized.

The Bishops of the U.S. have created a new website/initiative to be a resource for men and women who are discerning a vocation. It provides “an aid for promoting a vocation culture within the home, and a range of tools for educators, youth leaders and vocation directors.” The website is titled For Your Vocation.

Vocations to the Priesthood and Consecrated Life are tremendous and essential gifts to the Church, and it is the bishops’ desire that their two goals for this initiative are achieved:

To educate all Catholics on the importance of encouraging others through prayer and activities to promote vocations.

Follow along on Facebook, YouTube and their blog.

Here’s a great cause to get involved with. Host a viewing of a new film about the life of Archbishop Fulton Sheen titled, “Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen: Servant of All.”

As Father Andrew Apostoli has said, “Our Church needs a hero of the faith like Archbishop Fulton Sheen, and maybe now more than ever. We can’t let his voice go silent; there’s too much at stake.”

The film “Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen: Servant of All” was developed by The Archbishop Fulton John Sheen Foundation to ensure this hero lives on to inspire new generations. The Foundation’s mission is to make known the life, works and thoughts of Archbishop Sheen — and this film is perhaps its most important effort in leading others to a deeper relationship with God and His Church using Sheen’s example. The goal of the film is to fill viewers with the same zeal for the Church that Archbishop Sheen himself experienced.

Follow along on Twitter, Facebook or the film’s blog.

Here is my already favorite iPhone app and I just downloaded it. The St. Josemaría iPhone App!

The first iPhone application with Saint Josemaría Escrivá teachings, life and catholic prayer devotions.

Contents of Application:
•Biography
•Saint Josemaría Escrivá Prayer Card
•Saint Josemaría Escrivá Writings
•Daily catholic prayer devotions
•Videos of Saint Josemaría Escrivá via Youtube