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Showing posts with the label hope

Angst, Hope, and Building a Better World

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I've run into — and experienced — many flavors of angst over the decades. Back in my 'good old days,' some folks feared the communist menace, others the population bomb and imminent death of all the ocean's fish. And there's that perennial favorite — the End Times Bible Prophecy. ( June 9, 2012 ; October 3, 2009 ) I take the last things — death, judgment, Heaven and Hell — quite seriously. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1021 - 1022 , 1023 - 1029 , 1033 - 1037 , 1681 - 1683 ) But recognizing that there's a really big closing ceremony for Creation 1.0 coming up — the Last Judgment — doesn't mean I think someone knows more than God the Father. ( Mark 13:32 - 37 ; 1038 - 1041 ) More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

A Response to Fearmongering

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People are writing with fear and panic underlying their comments and articles in the face of the States sanctioning same-sex marriages. Why?  We are people of hope, not doomsayers or fearmongers. Christ has already triumphed over sin and death. We are  not called to focus on disaster, on evil, on sin. Christ commanded us to refrain from condemnation and judgment so  we will not be judged and condemned by our Master.  Our mandate is simple; allow the Light of Christ to grow ever more brightly within us, especially as the darkness deepens. Then we will be a light unto the world. He will conquer darkness through us. We are simply channels of truth, light and mercy.  This is the central message of the New Testament. continue 

Dealing with the problems in our country: One person, one step at a time

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This is my most recent column in The Catholic Free Press : Our son called the other day to share a lovely story about a former student. Until recently Stephen had been a pre-school teacher in Brooklyn, NY. Although he had neither experience nor background in education, he took the job because he was desperate, having been unemployed for months. Even as he fumbled in the dark with no idea as to what he was doing, Stephen managed to touch the life of a then 3-year-old boy. Surprising encounter Stephen knew well the thankless nature of teaching. So imagine his surprise when the now five-year-old boy recognized him on the street and ran up to him, throwing his arms around him. The family followed up with a phone call and Stephen is planning an outing with them as a result. Give what little we have We never know how we will affect other people’s lives. We think we have to be experts; my son’s experience says otherwise. We don’t need to know anything—we just need to be open and v

Leaping into the unknown: is it worth it?

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What happens when you begin to fear doing something you've done for much of your life? How to cope? This scenario has been playing out since I received a healing of my singing voice. God was calling me to go public again. I share to show that fear never conquers so long as we are willing to go where God leads and we trust in him. from picturespost.blogspot.com During the fifteen years that I was a professional musician I went out on gigs, holding concerts and sometimes doing some public speaking. When my mother died in 2010, I stopped doing that sort of thing. Now, five years later, I've decided to dive back in. It is not without fear and trepidation for I am rusty! While I had my years of experience to fall back on, I wasn't sure I would remember how to do it. Something once familiar to me had become unknown territory. Was it worth trying? Yes! Click to continue reading.

Are You a Querulous and Disillusioned Sourpuss?

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    I've slowly been reading my way through Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel).   I will be sharing things that I find particularly edifying over the next several posts.  Today's snippet is talking about not allowing the immense evil we see all around us rob us of the joy of our faith.  He also calls us to not lose hope and become pessimistic sourpusses that want to separate "the wheat from the weeds" before it's time.  In other words, we shouldn't develop a separatist attitude from the Church and the world.  Although we are living in a spiritual desert right now, families are still called to preserve and communicate the faith.  We have to be vigilant in living the Spirit of the Gospel in our homes and workplace and do our part to "point out the way to the Promised Land and keep hope alive."  Pope Francis says "we are called to be living water from which others can drink."   

An Open Christmas Letter to Grief

Dear Grief, You have found me despite my hopes to escape you. You have become a travelling companion through this journey of life, but never a friend. You are the proverbial glass of spilled milk, happening when most inconvenient, spilling all over me and my home. You splash and roll into unexpected places, hiding for me to find as I go about my every day work, clinging to ordinary items and ringing them with painful recollection. Left unaddressed, your spill begins to smell and turn the stomach, causing disorientation, upset, and regret. Crying over you changes nothing, but in tears I can wash you away, I can shine the marred surfaces and begin anew. In tears I may respond but I am not vanquished, you have not won Read more at Veils and Vocations.

What Christmas Shows Children About Self-Esteem

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Children are hungry for affirmation. Children are desperate for love, for family, for an understanding of their place in the world. Children who lack these things grow up hating themselves and wanting to disappear, or forcing others to pay attention to their outrageous displays of addiction or terror. The truth about Christmas provides all the affirmation we need: the only reason we exist is because our God created us out of love; and when we forgot this, God proved his love by becoming one of us. Relentless headlines tell us about school shootings, suicides, rampant drug use, epidemic STDs, teenagers joining terrorist groups. . . . This is not God's plan for us or for our children. And we don't begin to address the crisis by telling children how great they are. We free our children by showing them how great God is. Read more at Praying with Grace .

Suicide, Sin, and Dealing with Depression

Like I said last week, 'tiz the season to be frazzled . It's also a time of year when folks get together with family, including folks like Yogi Yorgesson's "goofy relations:" " ...After dinner my Aunt and my wife's Uncle Louie Get into an argument; they're both awful screwy Then all my wife's family say Louie is right And my goofy relations, they yoin in the fight. Back in the corner the radio is playing And over the racket Gabriel Heater is saying 'Peace on earth everybody and good will toward men' And yust at that moment someone slugs Uncle Ben.... " (" I Yust Go Nuts At Christmas ," via eLyrics.net) Oddly enough, December is generally a month with the fewest suicides each year in America. (" Holiday Suicides: Fact or Myth? ," Injury Prevention & Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (December 31, 2013)) Digging a little deeper, I noticed that those 'December suicides' sta

Victory and Standing Orders

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I've watched, and enjoyed, disaster movies like Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) and Deep Impact (1998). It's been a few years since Harold Camping 's high-profile predictions, and I'll get back to that.... ...I'm a Christian, and a Catholic, so I take the Bible, Sacred Scripture very seriously: including Mark 13:32 - 37 . My Lord didn't know when this creation will be wrapped up, but made it clear that we were on standby alert in the meantime. That was about two millennia back now, the orders haven't changed, and every few years someone pops up with another 'end times' prediction.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

#1 New Release in Recovery by Adult Children of Alcoholics

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Little Girl Lost, Little Girl Found  is a fictional account of a woman’s journey of recovery and is the  #1 New Release in Recovery by Adult Children of Alcoholics on Amazon. Written by Helen A. Scieszka, Ph.D., affectionately known as "Dr. Helen,"  Little GirlLost, Little Girl Found  is the first book in a trilogy which gently and lovingly approaches the journey of self-discovery and healing. Dr. Helen has degrees in Clinical Psychology and a special master’s level certification in Theology. Once retiring from her careers as an advertising executive, therapist, college professor, parish Pastoral Associate and diocesan Married and Family life director she was finally able to focus on her lifetime love of writing with the focus on using fiction as a tool for healing. Little Girl Lost,Little Girl Found  is highly recommended reading for all adults looking for inspirational fiction and is particularly valuable to adults seeking to heal wounds of the past and embrace

Life, Death, and Hope

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I'm going to die. That's what happens to humans.... ..."Memento mori" — Latin for 'remember your death,' more or less — makes sense: if done with common sense. Recognition of impending doom can have a wonderfully focusing effect. ( May 20, 2011 ) I don't have a skull mounted on my desk, reminding me that my days are numbered. For one thing, I don't think that'd be consistent with respect for the dead. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2299 - 2300 )... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Spiritual growth right where you are now

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I remember reading long ago in The Spiritual Combat by Dom Lorenzo Scupoli, that we deceive ourselves if we think we would be holier if only our exterior circumstances were different. That made a great impression on me. Temperamentally, some people feel they are in control of everything. Others feel like they are controlled by forces outside themselves. Melancholics can especially fall into this second attitude, feeling sorry for themselves and powerless to change their circumstances. St. Paul encourages such people: God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.” (2 Tim 1:7) Even when we are powerless to overcome our circumstances, God is not. Indeed, as both Paul and St. Therese tell us, our weakness can actually be an asset. Continue reading at Contemplative Homeschool.

Adapting for Disabilities

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Photo Source . . . Suffering and sin pressed on me heavily this morning, making me feel constricted, helpless. Feeling burdened and discouraged, I boarded the bus for work. Immediately I noticed something new on the bus: a PA system recently installed that announces every upcoming stop. I couldn't help but notice the new system, because it's loud and relentless. The computerized voice blared out each bus stop as we approached: 120th Street! 118th Street! Watertown Plank Road and 116th Street! Watertown Plank Road and Mayfair Road! Transfer to Route 31, State Street Branch! Given how deflated I was feeling, my first reaction was to be annoyed by the new two-block warning system. And then, by God's providence, I started to imagine why the automated voice had been installed in the first place. Read on at Praying with Grace

Caesar, Civilization, Dealing With Change — and Building a Better World

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After nearly five hundred years, the Roman Republic had grown from a small city-state to a major world power: and it was a mess. I'm not talking about the chronic SNAFUs perpetrated by America's Congress. If America's government was like the Roman Republic's, we might see the House ways and means committee lead an armed assault on the Senate: while their assassins took care of a filibuster the hard way. Yes: things could be worse. Run-ins like the Catilinarian Conspiracy and Second Catilinarian conspiracy made the worst Washington mudslinging seem like a sedate poetry reading. The Roman Senate finally named one of their members " dictator perpetuo " ("dictator in perpetuity") — hoping that Julius Caesar would solve their problems. A few Senators got nervous: cutting the term, and Caesar's life, short. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

When all hope is lost

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WHEN ALL HOPE IS LOST CLICK HERE

St. Therese's daring teaching on Purgatory

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Before we discuss St. Therese of Lisieux’s teaching on Purgatory, I want to put that teaching into context. Her teaching is daring. Some of the nuns she lived with in the Carmelite monastery were scandalized by it, thinking it presumptuous. The last thing St. Therese (or I) would want is for people to interpret her teaching in such a way that they thought they could be spiritually lax and still go straight to Heaven. So, As you read about her teaching, keep these things in mind: Therese is a doctor of the Church. The Church has only 35 doctors, four of them women. Now, being a doctor of the Church doesn’t mean she was infallible. But it does mean that the Church especially recommends her spirituality for Christians in any age. Therese is the Doctor of the Little Way of Spiritual Childhood, and her teaching on Purgatory was part of that Little Way. St. Therese was completely orthodox . This follows from #1. What she taught about Purgatory must never be taken to

St. Bernard of Clairvaux: A model of peace for these troubled times

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“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” – Matthew 5:9 How do we deal with the violence, war, and conflicts that we face in our world today?  How can we serve as true peacemakers in our 21st century culture? St. Bernard of Clairvaux , a Cistercian abbot, a contemplative, theologian, and mystic of the twelfth century is an excellent example for us to follow. Due to the numerous schisms which had arisen in the Church during his age, he traveled extensively throughout Europe, restoring peace and unity. Not only did he deal with divisions in the Church, but he also mediated in secular disputes and was sought out as an adviser and an arbitrator by the ruling powers of his era. What was his secret for restoring peace and unity to a troubled world? He was merely a modest monk with no worldly power or possessions. What made him so influential and valuable to others was the fact that he was a man of heroic virtue. Which virtues made him effective as a peac

Robin Williams, Suicide, and Hope

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Robin Williams was a few months older than I am when he died. That photo is from 1979, when he was becoming famous for his role in " Mork & Mindy ." I admire Williams' work, regret his addiction to cocaine and alcohol, and am sorry that he is dead. He was a remarkably talented actor and comedian. Sadly, he apparently decided to hang himself. We can't be sure, but it's likely that suffering from depression had something to do with his death. Celebrity deaths get heavy media coverage: so when yet another movie star dies from suicide, drug overdose, or some other avoidable cause, it can seem that fame leads to self-destruction. Although famous folks from Hannibal to Margaux Hemmingway killed themselves, I think it's prudent to remember that many high-profile folks didn't: like Lauren Bacall and Bob Hope . I'll be writing mostly about life, depression, death, and why I haven't killed myself. You'll find links to articles about Rob

Depression and the Average Christian

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With the sad and tragic death of Robin Williams, there is now a lot of talk and speculation about depression and suicide. Suicide is always a tragedy. I do not agree with the people that are saying Robin Williams is free now and in a better place. Yes, we can entrust him to a loving and merciful God but I am not going to presume he is in a better place. It is so tragic that he felt there were no other options than to end his life.  Continue Reading at Beautifulthorns.com>

Only God

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Whenever something wonderful would happen My grandmother would say "Only God!" Whenever there was a great need... Please continue reading @  mommynovenas.org