I was getting ready to post the pics for {pretty, happy, funny, real} and I noticed a trackback link from someone with a picture of the Carmel Mission (my parish). I clicked it and discovered the JOYfilled Family Blog. I haven’t had a chance to read the posts yet but I love the prayer that is posted on the site. I’ll be saying this every morn. š
A Prayer Before Logging onto the Internet
Almighty and eternal God,
who created us in Thy image
and bade us to seek after all that is
good, true and beautiful,
especially in the divine person
of Thy Only-begotten Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ,
grant, we beseech Thee,
that, through the intercession of Saint Isidore,
Bishop and Doctor,
during our journeys through the internet
we will direct our hands and eyes
only to that which is pleasing to Thee
and treat with charity and patience
all those souls whom we encounter.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
~Father Z
Category Archives: catholic faith
Prayer Before Logging onto the Internet
Putting Life in Perspective
This weekend a close friend of the family has died. (She was the mom of Brian’s childhood friend and like an aunt to him.) We are still in shock because it happened very quickly. We were just with her two weeks ago at Matthew’s baptism. She had cancer and was just starting chemo but the doctors were optimistic that she could beat it. However, there was a complication with her treatment and on Saturday she fell into a coma. By early Sunday morning she passed away. Her son and daughter never had a chance to speak to her and say their goodbyes. Everything happened so quickly.
It is a somber reminder of how fleeting this life is and how we need to make the most of the time we have here. It also puts into perspective all the trivial things in life that cause us to get upset. When you consider the crosses that we could be carrying, we actually have it pretty good. So today I will give an extra hug to those I love and when I feel my impatience starting to rise, I’ll take a deep breath and be thankful for my blessings instead.
Movie Night: There Be Dragons
There Be Dragons is an epic action-adventure romance set during the turmoil of the Spanish Civil War. The story traces the lives of two young men, Josemaria Escriva (Charlie Cox) and Manolo Torres (Wes Bentley), childhood friends who are separated by the political upheaval of pre-war Spain to find themselves on opposite sides as war erupts. Choosing peace, Josemaria becomes a priest and struggles to spread reconciliation by founding the movement Opus Dei (work of God).
Manolo chooses war and becomes a spy for the fascists. He becomes obsessed with a beautiful Hungarian revolutionary, Ildiko, who has joined the militia in pursuit of passion and purpose. But when Ildiko rejects him out of love for the courageous militia leader Oriol, Manolo’s jealousy leads him down a path of betrayal.
As personal and national battles rage, the characters’ lives collide and their deepest struggles are illuminated through the fateful choices they make. Each will struggle to find the power of forgiveness over the forces tearing their lives and friendship apart.
The movie opens on Friday, May 6, 2011. To find a theater near you visit http://www.dragonsresources.com/resources/theaters.html.
St. Leonard of Port Maurice: Apostle of the Stations of the Cross
Here is the second of two posts from my better half, just in time for Lent.
by Brian
It is not uncommon to read about saints, especially those that were priests and religious, who promoted amongst the lay faithful the practice of specific devotions. For example, St. Gaspar del Bufalo promoted devotion to the Precious Blood, while Bl. Henry Suso promoted devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus. With Lent here, I would like to introduce to you a saint who was known for his fervent promotion of the Stations of the Cross, St. Leonard of Port Maurice (1676-1751).
In 1697, at the age of 21, St. Leonard joined an Italian branch of the Franciscan Order that was known for its austere way of life. With dreams of being a foreign missionary, he was ordained a priest in 1704. Shortly after his ordination, he developed a painful stomach ailment that prevented him from leaving his native country and forced him to retire to his Order’s monastery in the region of Port Maurice. After four years, St. Leonard recovered from his ailment and slowly began to give missions to the faithful in nearby towns.
St. Leonard’s reputation as a highly effective preacher grew and eventually caught the attention of Pope Cosmos III, who immediately commissioned him to give a series of retreats throughout Tuscany. His success in Tuscany reached the ears of the new Pontiff, Pope Clement the XII, who personally invited him to come to Rome and preach to the people of the city. As in Tuscany, his style of preaching touched the hearts of many Romans, bringing about numerous conversions.
What caught my attention when reading about St. Leonard’s life was his love for the Stations of the Cross. Wherever he gave a mission, he would implore the faithful to make the “Stations” regularly. The reason for this was that he recognized through this devotion a simple way for people to grow closer to Christ and to experience His Love. St. Leonard’s devotion for and faith in the Stations was so immense and complete that he erected over five hundred Stations throughout Italy. What an awesome witness to the Passion of Jesus Christ!
I am sure if St. Leonard were alive today he would encourage all of us to make the Stations of the Cross frequently, but especially during the season of Lent. The Stations are a beautiful devotion/prayer that can help us enter into the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. Each of the fourteen Stations act as stepping stones to greater virtue and greater insight into the sacrificial love displayed by Christ during the final hours of His life.
If you have never prayed the Stations of the Cross I would encourage you to begin this Lent. If you are praying them, keep it up! What makes the Stations an easy devotion to practice is how they can be tailored to your particular needs and time constraints.
“We adore you O Christ and we praise You, because by Your Holy Cross You have Redeemed the world.” Amen. God bless.
Dedicate Your Day to God
Here is the first of two posts from my better half, just in time for Lent.
by Brian
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (#2157), “The Christian begins his day, his prayers, and his activities with the Sign of the Cross: in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The baptized person dedicates the day to the glory of God and calls on the Saviors grace which lets him act in the Spirit as a child of the Father…” Why is it important for Catholics to dedicate their day to God? I can offer three reasons:
1) By dedicating our day to God, we are giving back to God, what he gave to us – another day.
2) By dedicating our day to God, we unite ourselves to the priestly office of Jesus Christ whereby our entire day becomes a “spiritual sacrifice acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
3) It prepares us, before we tackle the challenges that the new day will bring, to embrace the closing words of the liturgy – “go in peace, to love and serve the Lord.”
Two of the most attractive features about this spiritual practice of dedicating one’s day to God, is that it is simple and time effective.
Simple – When I use the word “simple” to describe dedicating my day to God, I use it in the best possible sense. In my opinion, any prayer which is uncomplicated and straight forward is the most excellent. It doesn’t get any simpler than making the sign of the cross and in your own words thank God for the new day and pray for the grace to love and serve Him.
Time Effective – Another element that makes the “dedication” special is that it is time effective. What do I mean by time effective? As a husband and father with a growing family to look after, I rarely have an abundance of time to spend in daily prayer. Therefore, to be able to dedicate a new day to God in a way which is time effective is exactly what I need.
One thing I must caution the reader about is that this prayer needs to be prayed from the heart. Because the “dedication” can be both simple and time effective, it is easy to pray it in a manner that is routine and commonplace. To avoid this, I say my “dedication” with as much devotion and reverence as possible.
There are many spiritual tools that Catholics must put into practice in order to remain close to Christ. One tool that is vital to our spiritual life is to, dedicate each day to God. If you are doing this already, I encourage you to keep it up. If you are not, I would highly recommend that you begin.
God bless.