Men of St. Joseph

Benedict Calls on Laity to Recognize Pastoral Responsibility

2009-05-29T13:07:00.000-07:00

From Zenit

Benedict XVI: Church Needs Change of Mentality

ROME, MAY 28, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Laypeople are not merely the clergy's collaborators, but rather share in the responsibility of the Church's ministry, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope called on the laity to become more aware of their role when he inaugurated Tuesday an ecclesial conference for the Diocese of Rome on "Church Membership and Pastoral Co-responsibility." The conference is under way through Friday.

"There should be a renewed becoming aware of our being Church and of the pastoral co-responsibility that, in the name of Christ, all of us are called to carry out," the Holy Father said. This co-responsibility should advance "respect for vocations and for the functions of consecrated persons and laypeople," he added.

The Pontiff acknowledged that this requires a "change of mentality," especially regarding laypeople, shifting from "considering themselves collaborators of the clergy to recognizing themselves truly as 'co-responsible' for the being and action of the Church, favoring the consolidation of a mature and committed laity."

The Bishop of Rome suggested that "there is still a tendency to unilaterally identify the Church with the hierarchy, forgetting the common responsibility, the common mission" of all the baptized.

"Up to what point is the pastoral responsibility of everyone, especially the laity, recognized and encouraged," he asked.

Referring to laypeople committed in the service of the Church, the Pope said there should not be "a lessening of the awareness that they are 'Church,' because Christ, the eternal Word of the Father, convokes them and makes them his People."

Benedict XVI thus asked priests to transmit to laypeople a "sense of belonging to the parish community" and the importance of unity. He further encouraged that laypeople draw close to sacred Scripture, through means such as lectio divina, and carry out missionary activity, in first place through living out charity.

The Holy Father contended that preparations for the Jubilee Year 2000 in Rome helped "the ecclesial community to enhance awareness that the command to evangelize is not just for a few, but for all the baptized."

That's how the Church has lived for generations, he added, while "so many baptized" have "dedicated their lives to educating young generations in the faith, to care for the sick and to help the poor."

"This mission is entrusted to us today, in different situations, in a city in which many baptized have lost the way of the Church and those who are not Christians do not know the beauty of our faith," the Pope stated.

On the other hand, he cautioned against a tendency to see the People of God from a "purely sociological" point of view "with an almost exclusively horizontal perspective that excludes the vertical reference to God."

The Pontiff looked at the distinction between "People of God" and "Body of Christ," affirming that both concepts "are complementary and together form the New Testament concept of the Church."

He explained: "While 'People of God' expresses the continuity of the history of the Church, 'Body of Christ' expresses the universality inaugurated on the cross and with the resurrection of the Lord."

"In Christ, we become really the People of God," which, he affirmed, means everyone, "from the Pope to the last child."

"The Church, therefore, is not the result of a sum of individuals, but a unity among those who are nourished by the Word of God and the Bread of Life," the Pontiff noted.

And the Church "grows and develops," he affirmed. "The future of Christianity and the Church of Rome is also the commitment and the testimony of each one of us."

See also APOSTOLICAM ACTUOSITATEM: DECREE ON THE APOSTOLATE OF THE LAITY

Paul and His Message

2009-05-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

Men of St. Columba

In recognition of this being the year of St. Paul, starting May 14th we will begin a new study entitled, "St. Paul and His Message". It will include a survey of St. Paul, his life and his writings including an understanding of the context in which St. Paul was living and writing. We will also take a brief look at the letters that St. Paul wrote including the letters to the Galatians, Romans and Corinthians. This will be a study that you can come when you can and not be lost.

The Men of St. Columba meet every Thursday morning from 6:30 am to 7:30 am at Atlanta Bread Company in Dothan. If you have any questions please call Doug Martin.

Men's Retreat at St. Columba

2009-04-07T12:06:00.000-07:00

MEN’S RETREAT

On April 24th & 25th Fr. Victor Seidel S.T. will come to St. Columba & present a mini-retreat to the men. His topic is “A man’s relationship with God.”
Since the Retreat is offered at St. Columba we hope that many of our men will participate.

There will be a session on Friday evening 7-9pm and on Saturday beginning with 9:00 am Mass & concluding at 12:00 noon.

Many of you know Fr. Victor because he has celebrated Mass & preached here on many weekends. He preached a Men’s Retreat at Holy Trinity recently to a full house.

Lenten meals give families chance to teach important lessons

2009-02-23T13:01:00.001-08:00

By Nancy Frazier O'Brien
Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- It's not always easy to bring family members together for a tasty, nutritious and affordable meal. When Lent comes around, the need for meatless Fridays and the hope of teaching children about why Catholics fast and abstain from meat can make meal planning seem nearly impossible.

But two Catholic mothers in different parts of the country have a few solutions to offer.

"I think it's very important that we do observe Lent as families, even though it's not doctrinally required below a certain age," said Lisa Hendey of Fresno, Calif., the mother of two teenagers and founder of CatholicMom.com, a Web site that offers a variety of free resources to Catholic parents.

Amy Heyd, a mother of three from Cincinnati, says meals can be a teaching moment at any time of year. She wrote her new book, "Saints at the Dinner Table" (St. Anthony Messenger Press, $19.95), in part to bring lessons from the early days of the church into the lives of her children today.

"I'm constantly trying to find ways to teach them about my faith and teach them to make good choices in life," Heyd said. "They need to keep relearning (about good choices) until it's part of who they are."

Hendey said it is important for Catholic children to know not only what they are expected to do during Lent, but why. "We link it to an act of service," she said of the family's simple, meatless meals on Fridays in Lent.

The money saved by keeping a meal simple or not going out to dinner as a family is donated to Catholic Relief Services' Operation Rice Bowl or the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, she said.

"Kids can understand that giving" when parents say, "We'll take this and use it to help someone else who is not as blessed as we are," Hendey added. "It's not so much talking about what we're doing without, as it is what we're doing to help other people."

Heyd -- whose children are in third, sixth and eighth grades -- sometimes makes it a family project during Lent to take a meal to a needy friend or to a local soup kitchen or Ronald McDonald House. They usually don't do it on Fridays, however, so that they can provide "a good hearty meal" such as the meatball tortellini soup featured in Heyd's book in a chapter on St. Margaret of Scotland.

St. Margaret, queen of Scotland, often welcomed groups of commoners into the royal castle during Advent and Lent, providing them with "magnificent feasts," Heyd said. For that reason, the chapter on St. Margaret also includes a recipe for chocolate mint cake with vanilla cream -- hardly appropriate for a sacrificial meal during Lent, Heyd noted with a laugh.

Hendey said her Friday meals during Lent sometimes focus on a concept rather than a recipe. She might offer her teenagers the fixings for "build your own veggie pizza," a baked potato bar or fondue.

CatholicMom.com, the Web site Hendey founded in late 1999 as "my personal response to Pope John Paul II's call to live out the faith" during the jubilee year, offers dozens of meatless recipes contributed by visitors to the site.

The site also includes downloadable religious education materials for all ages, ranging from word searches to coloring pages to lesson plans geared to a variety of feast days, sacraments or Bible events. Hendey records a weekly podcast with a Catholic author, entertainer or personality and more than two dozen columnists offer their views on a wide range of topics.

She said CatholicMom.com began as "a hobby" that generated barely enough in advertising to pay its own Web hosting fees. Hendey, whose husband, Greg, was not Catholic, also wanted to strengthen her own knowledge in "not single-parenting, but single-faith-parenting" their two boys.

The site now receives "hundreds of thousands of hits every month" and generates enough income to give Hendey a small salary. She'd like to see it expand enough to pay her columnists, who all contribute their work at no charge, but she doesn't want it to grow much beyond that.

"It's not a business, and I don't intend for it ever to be a business," Hendey said.

But the years since the founding of CatholicMom.com also have brought changes in the Hendey household. Six years ago, 17 years after Lisa and Greg were married, he became a Catholic.

"That was such a blessing for our family," she said. "I still get a lump in my throat every time I see him go to Communion."

Lent: Call to Conversion

2009-02-23T13:00:00.001-08:00

What is the Church's official position concerning penance and abstinence from meat during Lent?

From AmericanCatholic.org

In 1966 Pope Paul VI reorganized the Church's practice of public penance in his "Apostolic Constitution on Penance" (Poenitemini). The 1983 revision of the Code of Canon Law incorporated the changes made by Pope Paul. Not long after that, the U.S. bishops applied the canonical requirements to the practice of public penance in our country.

To sum up those requirements, Catholics between the ages of 18 and 59 are obliged to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. In addition, all Catholics 14 years old and older must abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and all the Fridays of Lent.

Fasting as explained by the U.S. bishops means partaking of only one full meal. Some food (not equaling another full meal) is permitted at breakfast and around midday or in the evening—depending on when a person chooses to eat the main or full meal.

Abstinence forbids the use of meat, but not of eggs, milk products or condiments made of animal fat.

According to Father John Huels in The Pastoral Companion (Franciscan Herald Press), abstinence does not include meat juices and liquid foods made from meat. Thus, such foods as chicken broth, consomme, soups cooked or flavored with meat, meat gravies or sauces, as well as seasonings or condiments made from animal fat are not forbidden. So it is permissible to use margarine and lard.

Huels states that even bacon drippings which contain little bits of meat may be poured over lettuce as seasoning. And Huels notes that no one considers gelatin or Jell-O to be meat.

Huels gives a norm long used by moral theologians: If in doubt whether a particular food is considered meat, look to the common estimation of persons in the area. Custom is the best interpreter of the law.

Each year in publishing the Lenten penance requirements, the U.S. bishops quote the teaching of the Holy Father concerning the seriousness of observing these days of penance. The obligation to do penance is a serious one; the obligation to observe, as a whole or "substantially," the days of penance is also serious.

But no one should be scrupulous in this regard; failure to observe individual days of penance is not considered serious. Moral theologians remind us that some people are excused from fasting and/or abstinence because of sickness or other reasons.

In his "Apostolic Constitution on Penance," Pope Paul VI did more than simply reorganize Church law concerning fast and abstinence. He reminded us of the divine law that each of us in our own way do penance. We must all turn from sin and make reparation to God for our sins. We must forgive and show love for one another just as we ask for God's love and forgiveness.

The Code of Canon Law and our bishops remind us of other works and means of doing penance: prayer, acts of self-denial, almsgiving and works of personal charity. Attending Mass daily or several times a week, praying the rosary, making the way of the cross, attending the parish evening prayer service, teaching the illiterate to read, reading to the blind, helping at a soup kitchen, visiting the sick and shut-ins and giving an overworked mother a break by baby-sitting—all of these can be even more meaningful and demanding than simply abstaining from meat on Friday.

from Ask A Franciscan, St.Anthony Messenger magazine

The Family Rosary

2009-02-23T12:28:00.000-08:00

From the Catholic Exchange

February 23rd, 2009 by Br. Peter Martyr Yungwirth, O.P.

“Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.” These words were said over and over by my cousin’s family this past Advent. She and her husband and their four sons gathered each day to pray the Rosary together as they awaited the coming of the Son of God at Christmas. As they prayed the Rosary and meditated on the mysteries, they embarked on a journey experienced by families for the past few hundreds years — a journey that ultimately led to great peace, joy, and love.

A Tradition for Families

The Rosary prayed in common is part of the tradition of the life of the Church, especially the little Church — the family. The riches of this prayer have been passed down for centuries through the family. It was not uncommon for families to gather together, sometimes every night, to say the Rosary. Not only with its repetitiously soothing words did the children calm down, but it also united the members of the family in a beautiful way. The Rosary brought together husband and wife, father and son, mother and daughter, and it gave them a chance to join together in a bond that surpassed any fights or discrepancies they may have had. Mary, the Queen of Families, brought together broken homes and aided strong families so that both could grow in holiness, wisdom, and charity. And, she continues to do so to this today.

The Moonlit Path

With each and every Hail Mary, we are better instructed how to love God and to imitate the Blessed Mother as we follow her journey with her Son. It is like taking a leisurely walk on a cool, moonlit summer’s evening when there’s not a care in the world. Walking down this path, it is the Blessed Mother who reflects the light from the Son and so leads us on the path to our eternal home; all the while, we are filled with peace. On this journey, we take breaks to soak in the beauty of the night’s sky, and thus we are better able to understand the mysteries of Christ’s life reflecting at each stopping point on just how important each part of His life really is. Even in the midst of a hectic world, we can actually find peace in the darkness of the night’s sky knowing that it is the Blessed Mother who guides us safely on the path lighting each and every step for us as we pray each and every Hail Mary.

This path is the one that I found my cousin’s family taking when I visited this past Christmas. In visiting them, I noticed an extraordinary love for God and for each other. My four nephews were well-behaved. They obeyed their parents. And, they actually paid attention at daily Mass. Moreover, my cousin and her husband have a beautiful marriage. With their patience, their hospitality, and their love for each other and their children, they gave a witness to what the sacrament of marriage is all about. This is what happens when the Blessed Mother is brought in to teach the family about the virtues.

A Culture of Life and Peace

Bringing back the family Rosary would not only help the individual families, it would also greatly aid the restoration of the family in society. When a culture is built by strong families with members that really desire charity and unity, that culture will surely find its way back to being healthy. A resurgence of the importance of all life, from the unborn to the elderly, will naturally occur. Through this little catechism, as people meditate on the importance of the unborn during the mystery of the Visitation and the importance of suffering during the Sorrowful Mysteries, it will only become normal that we will appreciate human life in all its stages and conditions. The Rosary is a powerful tool in truly establishing a culture of life and a civilization of love. Can we imagine a culture that was built on the humility of the Annunciation, the charity of the Visitation, and the hope of the Ascension?

So why aren’t more families praying the Rosary together? It might be hard for a family to go to daily Mass together, and many families might not yet know how to pray the Liturgy of the Hours. But, the Rosary — families know how to say the Rosary. It’s easy to learn, it’s easy to pray, and it doesn’t take much time. Especially in an age where it seems we never have enough time to add anything to our schedules, it is amazing to note that when we give God our time, He gives it back to us tenfold. He turns the hectic day into one filled with peace. All it takes is starting with one night a week. A family could have dinner together on Sunday night and gather afterward to pray the Rosary. Moreover, in seasons like Advent and Lent, it’s a great practice to bring families together to prepare for the great mysteries of the Nativity and the Triduum. The benefits would be tremendous, and it would only be a matter of time before peace reigned within the walls of the home.

The family Rosary has helped countless families throughout the centuries. It has helped them grow in holiness, charity, and unity. By following the Blessed Mother on the path to her Son, families have raised up great saints who have changed the world. And, this still happens today. Last Advent, my cousin said, “We have started our Advent devotions and Rosary with the boys this year (first time), and it has been such a blessed experience!” After seeing the love in her family at Christmas, I can truly see that it must have been a blessed experience. The family Rosary — what a blessing indeed!

Br. Peter Martyr Yungwirth, O.P. is a Dominican Friar in formation for the priesthood at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. Please visit our vocations blog at www.dominicanfriars.org.

Why Men Don’t Pray

2009-02-23T12:23:00.000-08:00

Why Men Don’t Pray
(and how to see through our own excuses)

From Catholic Men's Quarterly

by Fr. Thomas D. Williams, LC

Ask any catechized Catholic whether prayer is important, and he will immediately assure you that it is. He may even enthusiastically spout a series of reasons why we should pray. Then ask him how much he prays. He will probably look at the floor, shift his weight nervously from foot to foot, and murmur an inaudible excuse as to how tough it is these days...with work and all...and the family...

If prayer is so wonderful, why do so few people—especially men—practice it with any regularity? Prayer is the sort of thing we all know is necessary but never seem to find enough time for. Despite our good intentions, other urgent affairs always seem to take precedence over prayer time and effectively crowd our prayer.

This nearly pandemic neglect of prayer undoubtedly has multiple causes. The following list presents six of the more common rationalizations I have heard (and used!) over the years. Like most good excuses, each of these bears an element of truth, but also an element of falsehood. Unmasking them may help us overcome them.

1. “I don’t have time to pray.”

No one has time to pray, really. The idyllic notion of “free time” simply doesn’t exist. We all have twenty-four hours in a day, and we fill those hours with something. Yet in these twenty-four hours some men pray and others don’t. Why is that? Here a glance at Christ’s life can prove illuminating. The first striking feature of Christ’s prayer life is not the way he prayed, or what he said, but the fact that he prayed. Simply put, Christ was a man of prayer. Since Jesus was God, we may think that he wouldn’t have needed to pray. And yet in the Gospels we find him praying all the time: in the morning, at night, alone and with others.

We don’t have much disposable time in our hectic lives, but the same was true in the case of our Lord. His days were packed with activities (just as ours often are): foot travel from town to town, long hours of preaching and teaching, visiting people, listening to their questions and problems, curing the sick, and so forth. True, he didn’t have a wife and kids, but he did have twelve needy Apostles and a vibrant ministry that occupied his waking hours. The Gospel relates that Jesus was so busy that sometimes he had no time even for eating (see, for example, Mark 3:20, 6:31; John 4:31). How many of us can say that? And still, he always had time to pray. Or, to be more exact, he always made time to pray.

This seems to be the key to Christ’s prayer life. He made it a priority. He preferred prayer to other good, wholesome activities. He specifically set aside blocks of time to speak with his Father in prayer. And if he did this, it was because he was convinced of his need for prayer. It’s not that he had “nothing better to do,” but rather that for Him prayer was not a filler activity but a priority.

Prayer doesn’t just happen. It doesn’t spontaneously occur like breathing or our heartbeat. It doesn’t impose itself on our organism like eating and drinking. If we don’t make time to pray, it simply won’t happen. Sure, on occasion we can spontaneously be moved to direct a word or two to our Lord, but a vigorous, constant life of prayer and union with God is more the result of hard work and willpower than chance occurrence.

We often allow other “urgent” activities to displace prayer in our lives. The more work we have to do, the less time we leave for prayer, under the pretext that we simply have no time to pray. Our Lord teaches us by his example that the contrary is true. The more we have to do, the more we need prayer. The bigger our business decisions, the more transcendent our choices for our family and future, the more we need prayer. Meetings, strategic planning, and careful consideration are important, but they don’t match the impact of prayer. Otherwise, what value does all our work have? The psalmist reminds us: “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1).

2. “I don’t know how to pray.”

Sometimes we deal with prayer the way we would attempt brain surgery or glass-blowing. It can seem so daunting that we approach it with exaggerated reserve, as if we needed a PhD in spirituality in order to pray. We think that prayer requires extensive training to master complicated techniques. And since we “don’t know how” to pray, we don’t do it.

Even if we do attempt prayer, we may quickly abandon it out of discouragement. Knowing that we possess no special spiritual credentials, we may feel that our prayer is second-rate, that we aren’t doing it right, and that God surely has more interesting people to listen to. If we compare our ramblings, say, to the soaring spiritual poetry of John Donne or Teresa of Avila, we can’t help but feel more than a little inadequate.

These considerations would be valid if God were a professional prayer critic whose primary concern was the technical perfection of our performance. But God isn’t a critic, or an Olympic prayer judge, but a Father. Think, instead, of a small child who brings home a crayon drawing from school for Mothers’ or Fathers’ Day. A child’s drawing will lack the technical expertise of the practiced artist, but will charm a mother or father’s heart more than a work by Raphael or Rembrandt. Its value to a parent does not depend on its artistic merits, but on the effort and love invested in the work, and the fact that it is done by a son or daughter. In a similar fashion, God is predisposed to be delighted with whatever we offer him, by the mere fact that we are the ones offering it. Sincere manifestations of our desire to please him, however imperfect, do indeed please him.

Others simply don’t know what to do during prayer time. Like an adolescent boy calling a girl for the first time, many would-be prayer practitioners quickly run out of topics of conversation and end with a clumsy and premature good-bye. Such failed attempts sometimes lead to the abandonment of prayer, with a shrug of the shoulders and resignation to the sad fact that “I guess I wasn’t made for prayer.” In these cases, some revert to the rote recitation of standard formulae, which, in spite of their real value, often leave one with the vague interior nagging that prayer should somehow be more than that.

We mustn’t be afraid to dive into prayer, and to stick with it once we have begun. We learn to pray by praying. We learn to love by loving. We make progress when we get out of the theoretical stage and move on to the active. We will make more progress in prayer by praying than by reading 100 good books on prayer techniques, just as we will learn more about swimming by jumping in the water than by sitting on dry land consulting swimming manuals. But we must persevere despite setbacks. Prayer is an act of love, a lifting up of the heart to God. The more we do it, the more natural it becomes.

3. “Nothing happens when I pray.”

Our prayer can often feel ineffectual. We experience no interior heat, hear no angelic choirs, see no flashes of light, and often get no quick answers to our problems and queries. Yet we would be wrong to think that nothing happens when we pray. True, we may not get the result we expect, but something happens nonetheless. In the first place, even without its many consequences prayer is good. Spending time with God is never time wasted, but time well spent. We should find it very strange if a young man valued time spent with his girlfriend only according to the productivity of their time together. And a girlfriend treated in such a way could rightly feel used. Surely God must often feel used if we see him only as a sugar daddy whose sole purpose is to grant us favors. God is worth loving for his own sake, regardless of the favors he bestows.

But prayer does bring favors as well. Things do indeed happen every time we pray. They may not coincide exactly with our expectations, but that doesn’t mean that our words fall on deaf ears. Remember that prayer is not meant to “bring God around” to our way of seeing things. We do not present ourselves before our Maker armed with convincing arguments like an attorney pleading a case. Nor do we say a magic word and expect an automatic result. In prayer we praise God, place our needs before him, thank him and enjoy his company. And he in turn transforms us. We may not feel it right away, but all experienced pray-ers know, that God answers every prayer we utter. True, he does so in his own time and in his own way, but that is part of the adventure of living a personal relationship with your Creator. By persevering in prayer we experience the special delight of discovering, little by little, how wonderful and unexpected God’s responses are.

4. “I get along fine without prayer.”

Though most of us would vehemently assert the necessity of prayer for the Christian life, in practice it often seems that we can get by all right without it. Some writers compare the spiritual life to our bodily existence, such that what eating, breathing, and sleeping are to the body, prayer is to the spirit. Yet like all analogies, the comparison only goes so far. If we fail to sleep at night, the effects make themselves immediately felt on our next day’s performance, whereas a day without prayer often produces no such immediate consequences. Parallels to eating and breathing seem even more forced. Neglect of prayer often produces no evident harm, especially in the short run.

Yet the absence of prayer does produce negative effects in our life, just as its presence produces positive ones. They are often gradual effects, but real ones nonetheless. Removing prayer from the Christian life is like trading in a color television for a black and white. Life without prayer slowly becomes a drudgery. It dries up, grows dull and sad, and saps our energy and enthusiasm. Prayer doesn’t only affect prayer time; it affects every moment of our lives and colors them with excitement, depth and meaning. Prayer means going through life in the company of the One who loves us, instead of trying to wing it on our own. Though it seems we can get along without it, how much richer and colorful life is when we travel it in God’s company through an active prayer life!

5. “I’m a spiritual person, but I don’t pray.”

Often these days people make the pseudo-sophisticated claim of being interested in “spirituality” but not particularly big on “religion.” Personal prayer is out; “spirituality” is in. Forgive my bluntness, but spirituality without religion strikes me as the ultimate cop-out. Like live-in lovers who want all the benefits of marriage with none of the commitment, chasing “spirituality” in lieu of religion substitutes a sham for the real thing. What in the world does it mean to be a “spiritual” person? For many, it seems to be nothing more than a justification to feel somehow engaged with the transcendent without those bothersome demands of a personal God. Instead of having to adore one’s Creator and live up to his expectations, we would rather lower the bar, creating a comfortable little spiritual world under our own control. That way we feel “spiritual” but are accountable to no one but ourselves.

Those advocating a religion-free spirituality remind me of what Holocaust victim Dietrich Bonhoeffer called “cheap grace.” Bonhoeffer, a Christian theologian, described cheap grace as “preaching forgiveness without requiring repentance....It is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross. Cheap grace is grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” This is why people who pursue religion-free spirituality become victims of fashion. They end up following the most popular guru-du-jour for a little while, until the novelty wears off. Then they have to find another one, and another. They are trying to get into shape by eating potato chips when what they really need is some hearty meat and fresh vegetables—spiritual nourishment, not junk food.

Christian revelation can be uncomfortable, since we must give up the reins of our lives and allow Someone else to be God. The last word is his, not ours. Yet letting God be God is also immensely liberating. The weight of the world sits on his shoulders, not ours. He is the Savior, we are not. And in our personal lives as well, he has the solutions even to our most difficult problems. Christian prayer recognizes God for who he is, and accepts him on his own terms. It doesn’t try to downsize him to our own measure, or to replace authentic discipleship with a vague, feel-good spirituality.

6. “I am an active sort, not a contemplative.”

Many men find prayer difficult and naturally prefer action to contemplation. We are practical, even pragmatic, and figure we can leave the praying to others who like that sort of thing. We may even consider prayer to be a less “manly” activity. Besides, isn’t doing good to others the essence of true religion? And all that precious time wasted in idleness, couldn’t it be better invested in fruitful activity? Well, no. Both prayer and action are essential to the Christian life, but prayer takes precedence. Prayer is not idleness, and as odd as it may seem, prayer provides more good for the world than all sorts of human activity.

There was a saint who once tried this excuse on Jesus, but it backfired. You probably remember the Gospel story of two sisters, named Martha and Mary, who invited Jesus over to their house (See Luke 10:38-42). While Martha bustled about preparing supper and waiting on her guest, Mary sat “idly” by at Jesus’ feet, listening to him. Martha finally reached the end of her rope and came over to Jesus in a huff. “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” Yet rather than acknowledge Martha’s complaint, Jesus defends her sister. “Martha, Martha,” he says, “you worry and fret about so many things, yet few are needed, indeed, only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part, and it shall not be taken from her.”

Good and worthwhile as activity is, prayer is more needful still. It is prayer, after all, that gives meaning and worth to action. Prayer is, as one writer puts it, “the soul of the apostolate.” Our activity would be an empty shell, a “gong booming or a cymbal clashing” (1 Corinthians 13:1) without prayer, without personal contact with our Lord. No number of good works, no matter how useful, can compensate for our lack of prayer.

Some have gone so far as to accuse contemplatives of escapism. Instead of getting their hands dirty with hard work, contemplatives would hide away in their safe, inner retreats. I think that those who indulge in such criticisms must never have tried praying. Once we strip away its romantic trappings, prayer is really hard work. Beautiful moments of inner peace and consolation do indeed sweeten the task, but ongoing struggles against distractions and listlessness are just as common. Of the three types of work—physical work, intellectual work and spiritual work—spiritual work is the hardest. Wasn’t it that great woman of prayer Saint Teresa of Avila who said that for a long period of her religious life she would have preferred to do anything rather than pray? Her exact words were these:

And very often, for some years, I was more anxious that the hour I had determined to spend in prayer be over than I was to remain there, and more anxious to listen for the striking of the clock than to attend to other good things. And I don’t know what heavy penance could have come to mind that frequently I would not have gladly undertaken rather than recollect myself in the practice of prayer (The Autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila, pp. 97-98).

Far from being a dreamer’s escape, prayer requires a good deal of mettle, which many of us lack. Again, without courage we won’t get very far in the Christian life, even in something as basic as prayer.

Prayer is a Christian duty, to be sure, but even more it is a privilege. Our God is not an unapproachable legislator or a distant, indifferent watchmaker, but a Father personally interested in his children. Christ revealed to us a God who listens, a God who has counted every hair on your head, a God who hastens to give good things to those who ask him. The same almighty Lord who spoke a single word and all things came to be, now bends his ear to listen to every word that you utter. Let us take to heart the words so often repeated in the liturgy: Let us pray! There is simply no better use of our time.

Father Thomas D. Williams, LC, is dean of the Theology School at Rome’s Regina Apostolorum University and author of Spiritual Progress: Becoming the Christian You Want to Be (available at Amazon.com).

Apostolicam Actuositatem

2009-02-12T12:36:00.000-08:00

Starting on February 19, 2009 we will begin a 6 week study of the Vatican II document Apostolicam Actuositatem. This is the “Decree on the Apostolate for the Laity.” All men are invited to attend, even if you can’t commit to every week.

The schedule will be as follows.

February 19 – Intro & Chapter 1 – The vocation of the Laity to the Apostolate

February 26 – Chapter 2 - Objectives

March 5 – Chapter 3 – The various fields of the Apostolate

March 12 – Chapter 4 – The various forms of the Apostolate

March 19 – Chapter 5 – External Relationships

March 26 – Chapter 6 & Exhortation – Formation for the Apostolate

If you have any questions, please call Doug Martin at 334-464-2162.

Dei Verbum

2008-12-23T10:49:00.000-08:00

Starting on January 8th we will begin a 6 week study of the Vatican II document Dei Verbum.

The schedule will goes as follows:

Jan. 8th - Preface & Chap. 1 - Revelation Itself
Jan. 15th - Chap. 2 - Handing on Divine Revelation
Jan. 22nd - Chap. 3 - Sacred Scripture, Its Inspiration and Divine Interpretation
Jan. 29th - Chap. 4 - The Old Testament
Feb. 5th - Chap. 5 - The New Testament
Feb. 12th - Chap. 6 - Sacred Scripture in the Life of the Church

We meet at Atlanta Bread Company on Thursdays at 6:30 am.

Marriage Leads to Heaven

2008-12-09T12:48:00.000-08:00

Interview on the Beatification of Thérèse's Parents

By Miriam Díez i Bosch

ROME, NOV. 25, 2008 (Zenit.org).- As if to emphasize that marriage is a vocation to holiness, the Church will commemorate the feast of Blesseds Louis Martin and Marie-Zélie Guérin, St. Thérèse's parents, on their wedding anniversary.

The Martins were beatified last month in Lisieux, the second married couple the Church has raised together to the altar.

ZENIT spoke with Eva Carlota Rava, a consecrated virgin and spiritual theology professor at the Pontifical Lateran University, about the beatification and what it means for married couples around the world.

Q: What is the meaning of the beatification of the parents of a young saint?

Rava: We must first clarify -- as has been done on several occasions -- that the basis of Thérèse's parents' beatification is not their daughter's holiness but the heroic virtues they lived in their lives as spouses and parents.

However, the beatification of the Martin spouses manifests the importance of the family environment and the concrete education given, for the formation of the children -- an integral education sealed by the life of faith, undoubtedly transmitted with words, but above all by daily example. If, as Pius XI said, Thérèse is "the greatest saint of modern times," this is explained in part by the extraordinary father and mother she had.

Q: You were in Lisieux on the day of the beatification. What can you tell us about that festive moment as compared to other beatifications you have attended?

Rava: I was given the grace of being able to go to Lisieux for the beatification and I think the joy of that day will remain forever in those who were present. Although I have participated in other beatifications, it was always in Rome. This was the first time I could attend one in the blessed's place of origin, and that made it more intimate.

What impressed me most was the family atmosphere of that day: There were people from very different places and continents, not only from Europe but also from Africa and Asia -- all united by their common devotion to Thérèse and her parents, as well as many young people and married couples with their children. It seemed to be the celebration of one great family. Added to this is the fact it was a brilliant day, mild, really spring-like, as Thérèse would have liked.

Q: Why are there few lay and married saints?

Rava: During the first centuries of the Church there were laypeople, young people of different professions, families recognized as saints such as St. Cecilia, her husband Valerian and her brother-in-law; or St. Vitalis and his wife St. Valeria and their sons, Gervase and Protase, martyrs.

However, in the course of the centuries, though holiness was always a universal vocation, in pastoral practice withdrawal from the world was favored, and the practice of the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience, and the profession of these as the state of perfection.

The layman, to the degree that he is immersed in the world and has obligations of a temporal character, seemed relegated to a less exacting and committed Christianity.

In the history of spirituality, it is only with St. Francis of Sales and later St. Thérèse herself that in the pastoral order, holiness was increasingly a universal call addressed to all and accessible to all. This is the "novelty" of Vatican II.

Beginning with Pope John Paul II's pontificate, the Church became increasingly interested in promoting the causes of laypeople who lived their Christian faith by assuming all their temporal commitments in a heroic way.

I believe this explains in part the small number of [lay] saints and blesseds.

Q: What positive influence might the model of the Martin spouses bring?

Rava: In general, blesseds and saints are remembered in the liturgy on the day of their death. With the beatification of the Martin spouses, the Church has established for the first time that the commemoration of these spouses not be the day of their death, but of their marriage. With this I understand that the Church wishes to point out the importance of marital union as a way of sanctification and source of elevation of society.

Although the Martins lived in a historic time and circumstances that are very different from our own, their experience is an example for us in many aspects.

Above all, they teach us the truth of Jesus' words: "Seek first the Kingdom of God and his justice and all the rest will be given unto you." Indeed, they experienced the happiness of profound and generous spousal and family Christian love and had the fortitude necessary to face all the sacrifices. Although they suffered the loss of four small children, the difficulties and demands of indispensable work to support the family, and serious illnesses -- she died of cancer at 46 and her husband, then widowed, suffered from cerebral arteriosclerosis -- love, trust and gratitude among them and toward God always prevailed.

Also an example for us is the way they were able to reconcile and face the demands of often exhausting work with the family, educating each one of their children with loving and firm dedication in religious practice to overcome all obstacles.

Moreover, the Martin spouses show that the family is not an ambit closed in on itself but open to others. They showed solicitude and help to all those who entered into contact with them; women laborers who worked for the family business, the domestic servants, the city's poor. In addition, they gave witness of their Christian spirit by living the harsh moments of the Franco-German war when it affected Alencon and its surroundings, with patriotism and compassion, free of hatred.

Louis Martin and Marie-Zélie Guérin can give light and strength to Christian spouses and parents to make their marital life a source of joy and a way of holiness. They give witness to the fact that, when the Christian family is animated by reciprocal love it is the ambit where everyone -- parents and children -- can grow and develop to the point of attaining holiness and thus make an irreplaceable contribution to society and the Church.

Men and Spirituality

2008-09-09T09:26:00.001-07:00

From US Catholic.com by Tom McGrath

Beyond the banging drums and clashing symbols, Catholic men have a lot to gain from tapping into an authentic men's spirituality movement.

I was at my local big-chain bookstore one Sunday and decided to check out their books on male spirituality. Having trouble locating that section, I asked the young, multiply pierced woman at the information counter, "Can you direct me to your books on men's spirituality?"

She snorted. "Books on men's spirituality? I've never heard of any. I know we don't have a section on that topic. Maybe you can look under war books. That's quite sizable."

"But you have quite a large section on women's spirituality,"I said. Half joking I added, "Is there some sort of discrimination going on here?"

She bristled. "Hey, you're talking to the wrong person about discrimination. I'm a feminist."

"Me, too," I replied. "I think the women's movement has been a great gift to society." Perhaps my voice rose; her colleague, an equally pierced young man, walked over. I pleaded, "But don't you think it would be good for men to take a look at what's going on inside them?"

To which her male colleague piped up, "Now that's a scary thought!"

I guess it is a scary thought to many.

Read the rest here. This is an excellent article.

Retreat for Men

2008-09-02T12:44:00.000-07:00

Rev. Den Irwin will conduct a retreat for men at the Visitation Monastery, September 12th-14th, 2008. Registration begins on Friday at 4:00pm and the retreat ends after the noon meal on Sunday. The schedule includes daily Mass, spiritual talks, and an opportunity for confessions and private conferences with Fr. Irwin. The suggested offering is $100.00. Since space is limited, call 251-473-2321 for reservations.

Assumption of Mary

2008-08-14T14:00:00.001-07:00

August 15th

The Blessed Assumption of Mary, the Mother of God

New Meeting Time

2008-06-02T15:14:00.000-07:00

Hello all! We are changing the day that we are meeting. Starting June 5th we will begin meeting on Thursday's at 6:30 am at Atlanta Bread Company. You are invited to attend even if you have never come before. We do not keep attendence so come as often as you can, but you are not required to attend every week. We are still using the book, "Catholic Questions, Catholic Answers." We will continue to meet throughout the Summer. Please come and join us.

Pope Benedict 16 has come and gone

2008-04-24T12:55:00.000-07:00

Pope Benedict XVI to visit United States and United Nations

WASHINGTON (November 12, 2007)– Pope Benedict XVI will come to the United States with visits to Washington and New York City on a six-day trip which includes an address at the United Nations.

The visit is slated for April 15-20.

Among venues during the visit will be the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, where Pope Benedict will meet with the Bishops of the United States.

“This is a blessed moment for our nation,” said Bishop William Skylstad of Spokane, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). “Pope Benedict is not just the leader of Catholics, he is also a man of inspiration for all those who work for peace.”

Cardinal Edward Egan of New York voiced the delight of the people of New York.

“When our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, told me last July that he would be visiting New York this coming April, I was delighted with the news and shared it with the People of God of the Archdiocese of New York and the entire community of greater New York. The response of all was both rejoicing and thanksgiving to the Lord for the great grace of the presence of the successor of St. Peter in our midst. I have assured the Holy Father of a warm and prayerful welcome. We all look forward to his visit with pleasure and anticipation.”

Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington spoke of “faith-filled joy and enormous enthusiasm” in the Archdiocese of Washington.

“Personally, and in the name of all of the clergy, religious and faithful of the archdiocese, I express our warmest welcome while renewing our sentiments of love and loyalty to our Holy Father. We all look forward to his visit as a time of renewal of our faith and pastoral ministry and an opportunity to confirm our solidarity with the Church universal made visible among us by the successor to Peter, Pope Benedict XVI,” Archbishop Wuerl said.

“It is an enormous privilege for the Church of Washington to host our Holy Father. We pledge to do all that we can to make his presence among us a moment of true spiritual renewal and a vibrant manifestation of God’s kingdom at work among us.”

Msgr. Walter Rossi, rector of the national Shrine, noted the Shrine’s importance in the nation.

“The Shrine was established by the Bishops of the United States as our nation’s tribute to Mary Immaculate and so it is appropriate that the Bishops of our country meet with the successor of Peter in the house they established to honor the Mother of God,” he said.

Information on media credentials will be forthcoming.

Apostolic Journey to the United States and the see of the United Nations

April 15 - Arrival in Washington

April 16 - Visit with President Bush at the White House

April 17 - Public Mass at National Stadium

CUA meeting with Catholic University presidents and diocesan heads of education

Interreligious event at John Paul II Cultural Center

April 18 - Address to the United Nations

Ecumenical event at a parish in New York

April 19 - Mass with priests, deacons and members of religious orders at St. Patrick's Cathedral

Youth event at St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers

April 20 - Ground Zero

Public Mass at Yankee Stadium

Happy New Year!

2008-01-04T06:48:00.001-08:00

We have started meeting again. We are meeting at Atlanta Bread Company at 6:30 am on Friday mornings. We are starting a new book entitled, "Catholic Questions, Catholic Answers" by Fr. Kenneth Ryan. Please come join us.

USCCB's Guide to Voting

2007-11-16T06:30:00.000-08:00

Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States

Why Dads matter

2007-11-05T09:18:00.001-08:00

Reports Show Children Need Presence of Both Parents

By Father John Flynn, LC

ROME, NOV. 4, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Children need more than ever the presence and guidance of fathers in family life. According to a recent collection of essays, a significant body of scientific research clearly documents the vital role a father plays in the formative years of a child's life.

The book is titled "Why Fathers Count: The Importance of Fathers and Their Involvement with Children" (Men's Studies Press). Sean E. Brotherson and Joseph M. White, the editors and authors of the first chapter, set the tone for the book with an overview of arguments regarding the importance of fathers for children. The presence of a father has a positive impact in many ways, they note, as children with fathers have fewer behavioral problems, obtain better academic results, and are economically better off.

Brotherson and White also clarified that they do not in any way wish to minimize the contribution made by mothers to family life. In fact, they stated, both parents count: fathers and mothers. Nevertheless, as statistics amply confirm, there has been a marked increase in fatherless families in recent decades, hence the book's concentration on fathers.

Rob Palkovitz, a professor at the University of Delaware, dedicated a chapter on the theme of men's transition to fatherhood. Men can become fathers in a biological sense, he noted, and yet not always make the psychological and behavioral adjustments needed to embrace the role of fathering.

Being a father, Palkovitz explained, carries a different type of responsibility to that of a husband and requires an additional commitment. This change will affect a man's choices, behavior and priorities in everyday life. This takes time, and fathering is a role that men gradually grow into.

The transition to fatherhood, he continued, is a monumental turning point in a man's life. If men are willing to undertake this relationship with their children, it is among the greatest changes in a man's life and development as a person, Palkovitz concluded.

The marriage factor

The relationship between spouses and its impact on fathers was examined in a chapter authored by University of Arkansas professor, H. Wallace Goddard. When couples have a strong relationship they can use their differences to complement each other, and draw on each other's strengths, and there is a much greater likelihood that both mother and father will be good parents, he argued.

Goddard also noted that in many ways the contemporary dating culture does little to prepare future couples for the commitment needed to nurture and protect a marriage. A culture that overemphasizes romance and quick fixes, he pointed out, does little to prepare couples for the inevitable difficult periods that every marriage goes through.

Brotherson, from North Dakota State University, examined what he termed "connectedness" in the relationship between fathers and children. This connecting involves the building of a bond over time that is more than just the love a parent has for a child, but also the degree to which a child perceives this love and acceptance.

The connectedness, Brotherson added, is developed in the details of loving another person and the trust and closeness that develops in that relationship.

Citing various research sources on family life, Brotherson went on to explain that the more connection a child feels with his parents the more likely he or she is to trust others and enjoy stable relationships with peers and adults outside home. A close-knit family relationship is also more effective in protecting children from problems such as depression, suicide, precocious sexual activity or drug use.

The final part of the chapter offered suggestions for fathers on how they can connect with their children. Brotherson recommended playing together with children, and also helping them in their education. Being available to comfort them in times of need, expressing affection, and a shared spiritual activity such as praying together were among other points mentioned.

Paternal love

Academics Shawn Christianson and Jeffrey Stueve wrote about the importance of a father's love for their children. The majority of social science research, they maintained, does not recognize sufficiently the bond parents form with children in their loving and caring of them. Not only is there little mention of love in family theory, but many contemporary theories focus on self-interest.

A father's love for his children is often expressed in the sacrifices they make, whether in times of crisis or just in the everyday choices of family life. Obviously some fathers fail to take responsibility for their children, Christianson and Stueve acknowledged. At the same time, however, many do cooperate with their wives in raising their child.

Most research in this area has been done on fathers of younger children. It has shown that fathers are indeed capable of being sensitive to a child's needs and can show affection.

Defining fatherly love is not easy, Christianson and Stueve noted. One way to do so is to demonstrate the way in which a father is present in a child's life, helping out in physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. The sharing of time, activities, conversation and self, means a constant support that children perceive as being enduring in their lives.

Vicky Phares and David Clay, respectively a professor and doctoral student at the University of South Florida, delved into the influence of fathers on the psychological well-being of children. They point to three main styles of parenting: authoritative, authoritarian and permissive.

Guidance

Phares and Clay explained that fathers whose parenting style is authoritative -- combining control with warmth and regard -- are more likely to have children who feel secure and demonstrate good mental health.

Another influential factor is the emotional availability of fathers. Being engaged in a child's life, and responsive to emotional needs, is important in the healthy development of children and adolescents.

The role of fathers in the moral development of their children was pondered by Terrance Olson and James Marshall, respectively from Brigham Young University and the University of Kansas.

Having a moral influence is manifested in varying ways, they pointed out. It can be something as simple as keeping promises made to a child, or putting certain boundaries by making clear which behaviors are acceptable and which are not.

In this sense, while it is true that the quantity of time fathers devote to their children is important, it is also vital how a father reacts to a child's needs and behavior. The personal example a father gives, and how they teach their children to treat others in the community, are additional opportunities for teaching. In this way fathers have many possibilities to transmit attitudes and values to their children and teach them the implications of moral responsibility.

Benedict XVI continued his frequent commentaries on the importance of families in his Sept. 13 address to the new Slovak ambassador to the Holy See, Jozef Dravecky.

"The family is the nucleus in which a person first learns human love and cultivates the virtues of responsibility, generosity and fraternal concern," the Pontiff commented.

"Strong families are built on the foundation of strong marriages. Strong societies are built on the foundation of strong families," the Pope continued. He then urged that governments acknowledge, respect and support marriage, in which a man and a woman join together in a lifelong commitment. An undertaking indeed vital for the flourishing of future generations.

Christian Fatherhood, Chapter 1

2007-09-15T22:03:00.000-07:00

For our meeting on September 21st we will be reading chapter 1 of the Christian Fatherhood now that it has arrived.

See you at 6:30 am

September 7th

2007-09-04T10:33:00.000-07:00

Next article for us to read is: A Sensible Growth in God

Hopefully the books will be in for next week.

Have a good week and see you bright and early at 6:30 am on Friday, Sept. 7th.

1st Meeting August 31st at 6:30 am in O'hara Hall

2007-08-24T11:12:00.000-07:00

The articles below will be for our first gathering. Click the link below to print them.

The first was suggested by Fr. Irwin. It is entitled "As the Family Goes " written by W. Bradford Wilcox in the May addition of the magazine entitled First Things.

The second is an article entitled "The Christian Heart of Fatherhood " written by John M. Haas in the Jan./Feb. 2001 in the magazine Touchstone.

Our first gathering will be Friday, Sept. 7th at 6:30 am in the upper room. We will pray and share concerns, then we will discuss the 2 articles. Hopefully the books will be in by then. If not, I will be prepared with another article or two.

For those who do not have email, I will bring copies of this to the 10 AM Mass this weekend.

I am really encouraged by our group. I think we have a great bunch of guys. Remember, invite anybody you like, we are open to others coming even if they didn't get to come to Thursday night.

And a big THANKS to Fr. G and Fr. I for coming to our meeting last night, you are always welcome at our meetings.

Christian Fatherhood

2007-08-23T09:18:00.000-07:00

Our small groups will start out reading the book "Christian Fatherhood" written by Stephen Wood. This is a very good book for men who have been fathers, are fathers, intend on being fathers, or single guys who may never be a father. It is simple in approach, but effective in reminding men of things we might forget or overlook in the day to day living of life. Here are some other reviews by clicking here.

The book can be purchased from 2 sources:
Amazon

Stephen Wood's Website

We will also be using a study guide. Purchase is not necessary, but if you want it go here. It is inexpensive.

I am personally looking forward to studying together, as men, the rich spiritual heritage God has given us.

Won't you join us?

2007-07-18T10:41:00.000-07:00

We are planning to form a group for the Men of St. Columba so that each man can be a better husband, a better dad, granddad, or single guy, a better Catholic. “Men of St. Columba” base their spirituality on the Bible that calls them to fellowship and greatness as men of the Church.

The approach will be to have small groups supporting each member in his journey of faith. Being part of a men’s group is a vital step to deeper faith and stronger ties with the Church. “Men of St. Columba” will be a worthwhile venture for any man in our parish. We hope you will participate.

Our first meeting will be held at 6:00 PM on Thursday, August 23rd in O'hara Hall.