+++++++++++++++++++++God's timing is not our timing, but He is never late.+++++++++++++++
"If we're open to it, God can use even the smallest thing to change our lives." Donna Van Liere, The Christmas Shoes


Layers - in the knowledge of God and the path to holiness

Learning about God is like unwrapping a head of lettuce, pealing back one leaf at a time. Always there is another leaf below. We will eventually reach the center of the head of lettuce; but we will never unwrap everthing there is to know about God.

The path to holiness is like pealing an onion. God shows us what is sinful and convicts us that we have sinned. No matter how sweet the onion, there are always tears in the peeling. No matter how sweet the grace of repentence, there are always the pain of letting go of the sin. As the peeling of the onion reveals another layer, so God shows us what we lack in holiness, drawing us ever closer to "be(ing) perfect even just as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:48



What I Believe

Why I am and always will be a Catholic. "So Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. Tthe living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever." John 6:53-58 The words and actions of man cannot sanctify. Only the priest, empowered by his ordination, can invoke the Holy Spirit to transform the bread and wine into Jesus so we can receive Him - Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity into our bodies and souls. This is the core of the Catholic Church; without this there is no purpose or meaning to the Catholic Church. There are other ways to holiness, to grow in grace; there is no better way than union with Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.

Visitation Catholic Church

Visitation Catholic Church

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Respect Life Month

You may have seen crosses on church lawns or people standing in a group praying.  October is designated as Respect Life Month by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Respect Life Month recognizes life in all its glory and in all its forms, providing opportunities to embrace the whole cycle of life with which humanity has been blessed, from conception to natural death.


Visitation Catholic Church, Elmhurst, IL

PRAYER FOR A CULTURE OF LIFE
Lord God, We thank you for our salvation in Jesus Christ. We thank you for the call he gives us -– not a call to sit in a corner cowering in fear over our enemies, mystified about how to overcome the Culture of Death, despondent because of our sins or worried about the perceived strength of our opponents. Rather, it is a call to stand victorious in the light of the Resurrection and to proclaim to the Culture of Death: “You have been conquered! You have no place here, no power to defeat the forces of truth and goodness!”
Yes, Lord, we stand in that light and we are filled with joy –- not a superficial joy that rises and falls with the ebb and flow of circumstances beyond our control, but with the profound joy that only you can give and that nobody can take away. In the strength of that joy, may we your people continue to proclaim your truth and share your grace not only within the walls of our Churches, but in the halls of government, in the voting booth, in the media, and in every inch of the public square.
Lord, in our work for you, may we find you in our efforts to change the world, may we ourselves be changed. In our struggle to build a Culture of Life, may we find life eternal. We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.
(From bulletin of Queen of Angels Catholic Church, Chicago)
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