family love.

wow, such a great reflection on the feast of the Holy Family by Father Edward Koharchik (Director of the Paulist Regional Outreach in Texas and also serves as the Pastor for St. Martin De Porres Catholic Church in Dripping Springs, Texas)

Every year on the Sunday after Christmas, we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family: Jesus, Mary and Joseph. With this feast being so close to Christmas, it is easy to have a sentimental, “holy card” image of this family in mind. That’s nice, and of course they are holy. After all, one is God and the other two are really special saints. However, it is also easy to think that we, with our own families, can find it difficult to relate to them, or, for that matter, how they could relate to us. It is important that we remember that Jesus, Mary and Joseph were real human people. The gospel reading for this feast, and the scriptures throughout this season, reminds us just how real these people were. 
 
In the gospel for this feast, we hear about Mary and Joseph, forced to be displaced; to pick up and leave because their lives, and the life of their child, was in danger. These were individuals facing very powerful challenges in their lives. How many times have we seen in the news stories about people struggling, displaced, made homeless, be it because of war, genocide, or even the economy. The people in our scriptures knew raw fear, anxiety, struggle. Yet, what made this particular family holy wasn’t that they were perfect, but that, in the midst of their uncertainty and doubts, they trusted that, somehow, God is involved in their lives and will make certain that everything will work out. What made them holy was their faithfulness and obedience to the message of God that they discerned in their hearts. 

None of us is perfect. None of our families are perfect. But, we are called to be holy. We all know that our family experiences can be very positive and enriching. We talk about people who come from “really good families,” or we respect families who stick together through tough times. These families are an inspiration to us. We all desire that our homes be strong and loving.

We also know that families can be destructive and that their destructive influence can last over a lifetime. How many therapists and counselors are kept busy, trying to undo damage that was done as a result of poor family relationships? Some of the deepest pain, be it physical or emotional, is inflicted in families. Family members become estranged. Grudges are held. Or just plain indifference settles in and the loss of contact takes over. It’s when we realize all of this that we look to the Holy Family. In their trust of God’s care and providence, we are able to find strength to allow the reality of God’s love to envelope our family relationships.

Ours are holy families too, but we must be willing to help them become stronger in holiness. It’s up to us to “activate” this holiness. As God’s chosen ones, we who are holy and beloved of God must put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience. We must bear with one another; forgive one another, and put on love – the bond of perfection, and let the peace of Christ control our hearts. We must be thankful and mutually respect each other. Whatever our family situations may be: “nuclear”; single parent; adopted; foster; groups of friends; parish family; entire Church family; human family, we can enable our families to become holy in the ways we accept and deal with the difficulties and challenges, the inconveniences and interruptions, that we encounter with one another. It’s not about perfection. It’s about faithfulness and always, always responding to God’s will for us. Sometimes it’s harder than others. Sometimes it’s easier. But, it’s in our fidelity that we, too, become the Holy Family.

As we continue the celebration of Christmas, let us look to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph as our support and encouragement in living together as the family of God, the Body of Christ, in our homes, our parishes, and in our world.

confession.

This is one of my all-time favorite stories. After hearing Msgr. Torgeson deliver this same story at St. Monica's Catholic Church, in Santa Monica, CA, a couple of years ago - it has stayed with me. I hope you enjoy it! It's beautiful.

(Third Sunday of the Year (A): This is part of a homily given on January 27, 2002 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I. by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Matthew 4: 12-23.)

The following is a true story about Pope John Paul II:

A priest from the Archdiocese of New York was visiting Rome. As he was walking into a church to pray, he noticed a beggar sitting at the front door—not an unusual sight in Rome. But something about this particular beggar bothered him. He didn’t figure it out until he began to pray: he suddenly realized that he knew the man from his days in the seminary. 

He immediately went back outside and said to him, "Excuse me, do I know you?" Sure enough, the beggar had been in the seminary with him many years earlier. He had been ordained a priest, but had [in his words] "crashed and burned" in his vocation.

The priest from New York was understandably shaken up when he left the beggar a few minutes later.

That afternoon he was at the Vatican, and had the opportunity to meet the pope and speak with him. He said to him, "Please, Holy Father, pray for this particular man. I went to seminary with him, and he’s now a beggar on the streets of Rome. Please pray for him, because he’s lost."

The Holy Father instructed the priest to go back to the beggar.

He found him—once again—in front of the church, and he said to him, "I have an invitation for the two of us to have dinner with the pope tonight." The beggar said, "No, I can’t." The priest responded, "You’d better, because I’m not going to have dinner with the pope any other way." 

So the priest took the beggar to his room, where he provided him with a razor, a much-needed shower, and some clean clothes.

Then they went to dinner. About an hour into the meal, the Holy Father asked the priest from New York to leave the room. He then said to the beggar, "Would you hear my Confession?" The beggar said, "I’m not a priest anymore." The pope replied, "Once a priest, always a priest." The beggar said, "But I’m not in good standing with the Church." The pope shot back, "I’m the pope. I’m the bishop of Rome. I can re-instate you now." 

The beggar agreed, and Pope John Paul II proceeded to confess his sins.

The beggar-priest barely got the words of absolution out of his mouth before he dropped to his knees and tearfully asked, "Holy Father, will you please hear my Confession?" He confessed, and was restored to good graces with our Lord and the Church.

The Holy Father then invited the New York priest back into the room, and he asked him at what church he had found the beggar. The priest told him. The pope then said to the beggar-priest, "For your first assignment, I want you to go to the pastor there and report for duty, because you’ll be an associate at that parish with a special outreach to the beggars in that area."

And that’s where he is today, serving God and the poor as a priest.

see it this way.

amazing. :) check it out! the video will speak for itself. :) so brilliant!

just some facts.

november 25th was declared the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (IDEVAW). here are some statistics i came across, while attending a conference:

* one woman suffers from acts of lasciviousness every four hours
* one woman is raped every one hour and 16 minutes
* one woman is the case of wife battering every hour and 50 minutes
* gang rapes are increasing in this country
* 25.4 million filipinos live below the asian poverty line of $1.35/day

keep the prayers coming for the philippines, especially women and children.

to the future.

the "thanks" from the juveniles i work with at the jail, at the end of our christmas party. their words below, are not why i do what i do, but rather, by them expressing this to us, i realized, they get it. they see how those afternoons are for them, and why we come, and why we share what we share, and do what we do with them. but also, it was such an affirmation - they know i care about them. :)

woohooo! here it is:

first of all, i would like to thank God for making our program successful and enjoyable. On behalf to our guests and speakers for today, we the juveniles thank you for the time you have given us. It is our pleasure to be part of our program for today and also to our CICL department. 

We're very, very thankful for the support and patience for coming here every friday afternoon - not only for that day, but almost all of the times coming here and giving us such kind of fun activities. We so much feel the importance even though we are here in this facility you giving us the meaning of our live's spending here inside...also we thank you for giving us hope and making good toward our future...we are able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of, but infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes. We are products of our past, but we don't have to be here, but trust God's purposes. We also thank you cause you are the reason in order to focus all our energies on this thing, "forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead" your our inspiration, hope, and desire. 

so again, very very thank youl. God bless you all and advance Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year to each and everyone.

press play!

hi there!

one of the college kids from SOSCFI shared this song with me, and i absolutely love it! it's a beautiful christmas song, and it is so true! :) hope you enjoy it! if you don't like the video, or don't have time to watch it, at least listen to the music, and follow along with the lyrics. it's great! :) happy advent!



"give this christmas away" - matthew west (feat. amy grant)

What if I told you
You have the power
To give someone hope
Beyond their wildest dreams
What if I told you
It’s right there in your hands
In your hands

It’s hard to imagine
How something so small
Can make all the difference
Tear down the tallest wall
What if December
Looked different this year
What if we all just

Give this Christmas away
If there’s love in your heart
Don’t let it stay there
Give this Christmas away
And your life will be changed
By the gifts you receive
When you give this Christmas away

It’s feeding the hungry
Serving the poor
It’s telling the orphan
You’re not forgotten anymore
It’s doing what love does
Even when no one’s watching you

Give this Christmas away
If there’s love in your heart
Don’t let it stay there
Give this Christmas away
And your life will be changed
By the gifts you receive
When you give this Christmas away
For God so loved the world
That He gave His only Son
So we could be
His hands, His feet, His love
His love

What if I told you
You have the power
To give someone hope
Far beyond their wildest dreams
What if December
Looked different this year
Yah what if we all just

Give this Christmas away
If there’s love in your heart
Don’t let it stay there
Give this Christmas away
And your life will be changed
By the gifts you receive
When you give this Christmas away

Give this Christmas away
You have the power
Just give it away
Give it away
Give it away
This Christmas
Give it away
Give Christmas away
Give it away