PathToHoliness

It is still Easter season and I was able to make my annual retreat. This was held at the Villa Maria Catholic Life Center near Springfield, IL. The retreat was put on by the Wespine Center in St. Louis, MO. Pictured is the chapel where we listened to talks from our priest, Fr. Mike Giesler, and held Mass and Adoration as well as just being able to sit in the presence of Jesus in the Tabernacle.

I always take a lot of notes during the talks and meditations. I’m sharing many of these on my Twitter account: @PathToHoliness. Feel free to follow and thank you.

I had not been able to go to an Opus Dei retreat for a couple of years and it was greatly missed. I needed it because it “recharges my spiritual batteries.” The biggest and pleasant surprise was that Fr. Giesler was here. He was the priest at my first retreat back in 1997! He has written several books that you can find easily online. I purchased “How Christ Saves Souls – With Us: The Mystery of Co-Redemption, which was published last year by Emmaus Road Publishing.

I hope you had a wonderful Easter as we celebrate the risen Christ. Hopefully you know that the Easter season continues for 50 days! It is a time of celebration and hope.

I’m looking at the last time I posted here and am finding it hard to believe. This year so far we have seen a significant increase in business for our little company. That is a good thing and something that I have prayed a lot about for the last 3+ years. The work we do requires me to do significant travel and I can’t say it excites me any more. I have been in many countries and almost all the states in the USA. And some, many, many times. But if this is what God wants me to do then I will do it with the best of my ability and with joy, not boredom/laziness/anxiety/indecision.

At the same time I am feeling called to put my talents to more use in helping others come to Jesus or have conversions that bring them closer. I want to become a saint and to do that I have to help others do the same. It starts with me, my family and the many people I interact with in my business.

Now, if the technology we have today would be more reliable, simple . . .

It has been a challenging year for many non-profits as inflation has taken made it difficult for people to continue regular donations. My Knights council did a great job though in collecting donations for our support for life.

Knights of Columbus council 8589, Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel, raised a record $5721.41 in the annual Baby Bottle Drive this year. The Council presented a check to the Alpha Center, a pregnancy support service offering alternatives to abortion. Pictured is Fr. Joe Fowler, Rector and Pastor and left to right, Chuck Zimmerman, Council Lecturer/Program Director, Mary Thomas, Alpha Center and Mark Fanfalone, Council Financial Secretary.

Last week I spent 4 days working in Chicago. On Thursday, the Solemnity of The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I used Uber to and from Assumption Catholic Church. Which, of course, was well worth it. It was cold and I really don’t have any desire to walk around the streets of a city like Chicago has become. I overheard attendees asking the hotel staff if it was safe to walk even just a couple blocks.

But all was well and we had a wonderful Mass where I renewed my Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary prayer. It’s actually several weeks of meditation and prayer and I highly recommend it.

The next trip I have to make for work isn’t until January 10 in New Orleans. It is shaping up to be a busy 1st quarter of 2023, just like it was this year. I don’t really relish the travel anymore but it is work and I offer it all up to God. I am hoping to see some family members before then, especially my Mother. In six weeks it will be the anniversary of my Dad’s funeral and I’d like to see her before then.

It was a happy family Thanksgiving at our house. Pictured with Cindy and me are the kids and grandkids, almost all with names that start with C. Chuck, Caitlin and Clint, Case and Cruz, Chelsea and Cove, Cindy, Carly, Charli, … and Doug. Not pictured: Pets – Croix, Chiara, Calypso and Limu Emu.

I am very thankful first and foremost for my faith in God and love of Jesus. But my wonderful wife, Cindy, is right at the top. We’ve celebrated our 42nd wedding anniversary this year and hope to have many more. With Cindy we have three daughters that we love dearly and the grand kids as well. We’re scattered around the country along with other family members and friends so it makes it difficult for us all to get together. But we put in the effort and don’t regret it.

And, as you might imagine, we’re looking ahead to when we can visit again. Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, pray for us.

It doesn’t often work out but last week I had to go to Clearwater Beach, FL for a business conference and had enough time to see some family and friends. It was cheaper to fly into Sarasota and rent a car than flying into Tampa. I was born and raised in Sarasota, which was only an hour or so away for Clearwater Beach. On the way to the hotel I saw my mother’s sister and my father’s brother-in-law and various cousins, as well as my college roommate and best friend from high school. Had not seen any of them in many years, so it was a nice treat.

But most important to me was seeing where Dad was buried after passing away early this year. We had the funeral in Georgia where he lived with Mother who is still living there. We were able to fly him to the cemetery where they had purchased grave sites. The grave stone has not been finished and placed there but I was able to find the spot where it will be. That’s why there is an open area in the photo. I am so glad to have been able to stop and say some prayers for him and my grandparents who are buried there too. And especially during this month when we remember our departed ones. BTW. I can’t thank my uncle enough who made the transportation and internment details for us.

My Knights of Columbus Council 8589 received the Columbian & Founders Award at our last meeting. Presenting the award was our District Deputy Roger Avery and receiving was our just past Grand Knight Fred Myers.

The Columbian Award is presented for excellence in sponsoring programs that serve the church, community, families, culture of life, and youth organizations, as well as council members.

The Founders’ Award recognizes excellence in your council’s promotion of our top-rated insurance products.

Our council is embarking on some changes to help attract new members. We’re especially hopeful to have some of our younger parishioners join and get involved. Here are the requirements: Membership in the Knights of Columbus is open to practical Catholic men in union with the Holy See, who are at least 18 years old.

If you are interested you can join online here.

Just in case no one has reminded you to get out and vote on Tuesday then please exercise your right to do so. I know many have voted early. I just like to go into my precinct vote and see my vote gets handed in to the people who work there.

I’m not writing to tell you who to vote for. I can tell you what I look for in someone who is running for office though. The respect for all lives is first up for me, especially those conceived in their mother’s womb. I can’t comprehend how many babies have been killed for convenience. Hopefully you know that is the primary reason for abortions, regardless of what anyone wants to tell you. The statistics don’t lie. But besides abortion I think we should all respect life in all its stages and that includes elderly, disabled and unemployed. So I look for a candidate who respects life.

Another big issue for me is how our governments are handling immigrants who legally want to come to America. It is heart breaking to see what is happening on our country’s borders. The crime, drugs and trafficking in people can be stopped. But we need help from our government to do that and none is happening.

There are a lot of issues to take note of and to think hard about what you really want for yourself and your family and friends, not to mention your workplace. Inflation, supply chain disruptions, health care that is becoming a shadow of what it used to be and don’t forget the immense amount of mental illness everywhere in our country. I wish is was just as easy as turning off the “news,” don’t spend much of any time on your phone/tablet/computer for social media and texting. Pick up the phone and call someone instead. Make an appointment to see your priest or church leader who can listen and help you.

And I’ll end with the need to pray more often. Ask God what He wants you to do before you make a decision. He will always listen and wants to hear you. Just spend some quiet time listening (not talking) to God. You probably won’t hear Him audibly but your soul will.

May all your Guardian Angels look over and help you overcome all the things that bother you or that you need serious help with.

I don’t know why it is so difficult to “find my voice” with this website. My original purpose was to just share the journey of faith that I’ve been on, especially after a very incredible conversion experience that changed my life. There are so many facets to this that I think I should be able to at least share my thoughts on these things for the rest of my life.

So, I’ll keep trying.

Over 2 weeks ago someone accessed my Facebook account via my AgWired.com business page. I got a notice from FB and immediately logged in and saw that it was someone on a computer in Chicago. I was in Minneapolis at the time. Before I could cancel them out, FB blocked my whole account. Although I went through their disagreement process I still do not know why they did this other than that “someone reported to them that I had violated FB standards.” I have never done that in any way. So, I don’t know who, how, why. And there is no way to communicate with FB.

This has bothered me more than I would have expected. I have been on FB since the moment you could create an account. I have used it to communicate with family, friends and business associates. I created two business pages to provide more value to my customers who want the audience I can offer. FB was the only way I could communicate with a lot of people since I didn’t have any other contact information for them.

But, besides being a valuable communications platform I found that you can become “addicted” to spending too much time on it. For the first several days after this happened I felt like I was missing something and feeling anxiety as the result. Not good.

So, as of writing this, I am blocked by FB. Do I want it back? Yes. Do I care if I never do? No, I can live without it.

I’ll update this post if anything changes. But for now, I’m considering how the time I’m not spending on FB is allowing me to do other things that are of much greater value. This includes more prayer time, working on my to-do list, communicating more directly with other people. And that’s not a bad thing.

So, Memento Mori.

This past Saturday morning the Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel, Pensacola, hosted a Knights of Columbus display and ceremony of the Silver Rose program. There are several silver roses that travel around the country. In this case, our Florida member hands off the silver rose to a member in Alabama who will take it to the next stop.

The Silver Rose program demonstrates the unity between Knights of Columbus in Canada, the United States and Mexico, through a series of prayer services promoting the dignity of all human life and honoring Our Lady.

Each year, from early March through mid-December, Silver Roses are stewarded by Knights of Columbus councils along routes from Canada to Mexico. Every stop the Silver Rose makes throughout the pilgrimage is a rosary-centered occasion for Knights, parishioners and community members to pray for respect for life, for the spiritual renewal of each nation, and for the advancement of the message of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The Silver Rose Program began in 1960, when the first rose – a real, live one – was blessed by a bishop in Ontario. The rose then traveled to New York and then to Texas where it was taken across the border into Mexico. The rose ended its pilgrimage at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Monterrey on Dec. 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. To better ensure future annual trips, a silver rose was ultimately made. Today, due to the popularity of the program throughout the North American continent, eight silver roses travel unique routes.

You can find more information here. Perhaps your local council can be selected for a stop on the annual pilgrimage. Thanks to Bob Pappas we have lots of photos of this event you can find here.

I have used the regular size Liturgy of the Hours books for about 20 years. But when my Dad passed away this year, Mother told me that he used the large size print books while she used his original regular size ones. She started using his newer books because she said it made her feel closer to him. I found that very moving and looked up the large print versions and they were on sale. I bought them and gifted my original set to someone else.

I love the large books. I didn’t need the larger print size but I like it. I like how the books stay open and flat. I probably won’t travel as much with them since I can use my iPad, iPhone or computer to read the prayers via an app.

So, I do think of my Dad every time I have used these new books. I would like to have been even closer to him than I was but I loved him dearly and miss him.

At our 9am Mass last week at the Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel Archbishop Joseph Augustine Di Noia, O.P., Adjunct Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Titular Archbishop of Oregon City, said Mass. He was responsible for resolving our long-delayed application in Rome to designate our church as a minor Basilica. This was official on December 28, 2011.

So he graciously visited to help us celebrate 10 years as a minor Basilica. With him are pictured Very Reverend Joseph Callipare, Rector of the Basilica. Cindy and I were Lectors for the Mass.

And to top it off the Mass intention was for my Dad who passed in January.

Today Pope Francis consecrated Russia and Ukraine to Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. You can find the consecration prayer here. It was a beautiful ceremony which was live streamed by the Vatican through various channels.

You can watch the full video on the Vatican Youtube channel.

There is a lot of blame, finger pointing, misinformation and more about this sudden war. However, real people, including children, are homeless and dying. This is a horrible situation that will have impacts for a long time to come. And it is not over yet. IMO satan is at work and what we’re seeing plenty of examples of that all over the world. It is very clear that we need prayer and to turn to faith in God more than ever. I see encouraging signs and I have hope for the future.

I love this picture of my grandchildren.

Here is a short meditation from St. Josemaria Escriva.

Christmas time. You write: “Together with the holy expectation of Mary and Joseph, I also impatiently await the Child. How happy I shall feel at Bethlehem! I have a feeling that I won’t be able to contain this joy without bounds. Yes! but, with Him, I also want to be born anew.” —I hope you really mean what you say! (Furrow, 62)

There are many options for finding excellent spiritual reading during Advent. One I recommend is Scepter Publishers. Besides the many books they offer, you can find a “Daily Quote to Contemplate.” You can subscribe to it here. Here is an example from 11/30/21:

“Healing power pours forth unceasingly from the sacred Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, but in order for this power to be received, it must meet with a certain receptivity. This receptivity consists in the theological virtues.” From The Bishop of the Abandoned Tabernacle by St. Manuel Gonzalez Garcia.

Memento Mori. Know what that means? Remember your death. Sounds kind of morbid doesn’t it? However, it is an old spiritual practice. Here’s more information:

Memento mori or “remember your death” is a phrase that has been long associated with the practice of remembering the unpredictable and inevitable end of one’s life. The spiritual practice of memento mori and the symbols and sayings associated with it were particularly popular in the medieval church. But the tradition of remembering one’s death stretches back to the very beginning of salvation history.

I have found a treasure trove of information and aids to this practice by Sr. Theresa Altheia Noble, who is a former atheist who is now a religious sister of the Daughters of Saint Paul. You can find lots of information here.

Since we’re on our way to death even as we’re born this practice is an excellent way to prepare yourself for when that time comes.