Money needed to educate seminarians!

The Diocese of Springfield, MA has a good problem - we have doubled our number of seminarians in the past few years! This is great! However, now we need money to help educate them. They are responsible for their undergraduate education but their seminary studies are paid for by the diocese. If you can help in any way, please consider making a donation to help secure the future of the priesthood in our diocese, especially in this "Year of the Priest." You can visit www.myvocation.com or contact Fr. Gary Dailey, Director of Vocations at 413-452-0811. Thank you!

Catholic Mom talking about "The Meal Box" today

Visit CatholicMom.com today at http://new.catholicmom.com/2009/06/22/special-event-today-catholicmomcom-hosts-the-meal-box/ to find out about a great new product designed to increase conversation around the dinner table. You can find out more, ask a question, or leave a comment! Check it out!

Following In the Footsteps of Paul

The “Year of St. Paul” is coming to a quiet conclusion this month. I have to admit, even though I was aware of that fact, I really didn’t pay it that much attention. Recently, however, I had the pleasure of reading “In the Footsteps of Paul: Experience the Journey that Changed the World.” This is a coffee-table book written and photographed by Ken Duncan (Thomas Nelson 2009). As Duncan states, he “tried to follow [St. Paul’s] travels in Acts as closely as [he] could bring them to life on film.” Duncan previously published two similar books on the life of Jesus, “Where Jesus Walked” and “The Passion of the Christ.” Exploring Paul’s life, however, presented a special challenge for him. Unlike Jesus, St. Paul was human, “born with the seed of sin and prone to all the same temptations we face . . .Paul’s adventures are an inspiration to all who are Christians and a challenge to those who are not.”

Duncan’s photos are breathtaking. The colors are intense. One feels as if one could step right into the photos. Duncan takes the reader from Tarsus to Caesarea to Stephen’s gate to Damascus, throughout all of Paul’s travels, and finally ends in Rome. Interspersed with the photos are quotes from the book of Acts as well as insights about St. Paul from well-known Christian writers. Max Luxado writes of St. Paul’s conversion, “Alone in the room with his sins on his conscience and blood on his hands, he asked to be cleansed. The legalist Saul was buried, and the liberator Paul was born. He was never the same afterwards. And neither was the world.” Richard Exley reminds us of the value of offering encouragement: “Sometimes the most significant things we can do for the Kingdom of God is to encourage others. Only God knows how far-reaching our investment in their lives may be. When Barnabas took time to encourage Saul, I doubt that he ever imagined that his kindness would affect believers for twenty centuries to comes, but it did and it does. Never make the mistake of belittling the eternal value of the ministry that you invest in another.” Rick Warren offers the reflection that “Great souls are grown through struggles and storms and seasons of suffering. Be patient with the process.” Henri Nouwen invites us to discover how we can best use our own gifts to be of service to others.

“In the Footsteps of Paul” offers a wonderful introduction into the life and travels of St. Paul. Ken Duncan has put together an inspiring collection of photographs and meaningful reflections.

God's Love Has No Limits

The heart of God is filled with inexhaustible love. Because it is infinite, everyone can possess it without lessening another's possession of it. God has enough love for the entire universe without being drained. When everything has been filled to the brim with God's love there remains an infinity of love in reserve. - St. Francis de Sales

An Ever-Changing Love

Susan Hines-Brigger wrote a very insightful article for St. Anthony Messenger entitled "An Ever-Changing Love." Hines-Brigger reflects on the famous passage from 1 Corinthians 13:4,7 : Love is patient, love is kind . . . It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Like many of us, she had this as one of the readings at her wedding and at the time she reflected on it only in light of married love. However, through the years, she has come to understand how it speaks to all types of love.

Yes, there are many types of love in this world, but all of them have the elements that St. Paul refers to. Love is a precious gift. St. Paul has a load of wisdom revealed in these few words. We should all work to live up to them in all of the various loving relationships in our lives.

Loving One's Enemies

The Gospel readings for today and tomorrow come from the book of Matthew (5: 38 - 48) where Jesus is instructing us to turn the other cheek and love our enemies. This is perhaps one of Jesus' most radical teachings. After all, it is relatively easy to love those who are kind to you - much harder to love, or even be kind to, people who are spewing nothing but venom in your direction. In today's Living Faith Rebecca Sande suggests saying a prayer for the person who is making your life miserable. I have done that in my own life and it does help reduce the anger and enmity that you might feel toward the offending party. I don't remember exactly where I read it, but I recall a saying that "It is impossible to hate someone you are praying for." Prayer is an important first step on the road to loving one's enemies.

The Gift of Time

Last week I had the pleasure of being part of a panel discussion on beginning homeschooling at the 1st Annual New England Catholic Homeschooling Conference. I have just finished my first year of formal homeschooling my two sons who have successfully completed 2nd and 1st grade. I am hardly what one would consider a homeschooling veteran. Thankfully, the conference had several other speakers with many years of homeschooling experience under their belt. Yet, I felt I did have something to offer this particular group of people I found myself standing in front of. Sometimes when one has been doing something for a long time, one forgets the fear one felt at the beginning. I could recognize and relate to the fear in the eyes in front of me. Hopefully, I helped to allay some of their concerns and helped convince them that they could take on the awesome task of educating their children.

It has been said that homeschooling is a separate call within the call of motherhood. Certainly, not every one is cut out to homeschool and I am very grateful that there are schools. Nevertheless, some women know even before their children are born that homeschooling is what they were meant to do. For others, the call comes later, perhaps out of necessity. Then there are people like me who hear the call, pray about it, and still run in the opposite direction! I first heard the call when my older son was just shy of two years old. I read a homeschooling magazine and was intrigued by this alternate means of education. I would go on to read everything I could get my hands on about homeschooling. I thought it would be such a good fit for us. Nevertheless, I would go on to send both that child and his younger brother to school because I wanted to be “normal.” School was a disaster for them, yet I was still determined to stay the course. God basically needed to smack me over the head to get me to finally heed the call. I received a letter from my son’s first grade teacher last April telling me that there was no way my very anxiety prone son was going to be able to cope with second grade. I had no choice. I had to take the plunge and I was absolutely terrified. Thankfully, I had some friends who homeschooled who greatly helped with that transition with prayer, support and advice.

While certainly not always easy, this past year has been a great gift. We belong to Western Mass Catholic Homeschoolers whom we get together with twice a week. Both my children and I have made great friends. As far as their actual education goes, we completed all the textbooks, something that rarely happens in a traditional educational setting. Perhaps the greatest gift, however, was the gift of time. Our lives were so much more relaxed once school was taken out of the equation. There were no more morning battles. If the children wanted to sleep past 6:15 a.m., this was no longer a big deal. There were no more after school battles regarding homework. No more rushing from school to after school activities. No more struggling to find the time to visit grandparents. No more hearing complaints about how there was no time to play. Homeschooling is very time efficient. Most days, we were done all formal lessons by noon and that was with breaks. Afternoons were spent reading for enjoyment, playing games, and pursuing their individual interests. There was time for frequent play dates with friends. After school activities were no longer a burden. There was plenty of time to spend visiting with other family members, nurturing those relationships.

For people considering homeschooling as a possibility for next year, the strongest argument that I could give them to try it is that they will get to truly enjoy their time with their children. Not only that, but their children will also get to enjoy their time. Time is a gift from God. How we use it matters whether we are 8 or 80. Homeschooling provides the ability to use time more wisely and that is an incredible gift for which I am so very thankful.