St. Ignatius of Antioch

Today's second reading in the Liturgy of the Hours is from St. Ignatius of Antioch, his letter to the Magnesians. This reading is a very important apologetic piece because it discusses the differences between priests and laypersons and between priests and the diocesan Bishop. Many fundamentalist Protestants will argue that this distinction was developed by Catholics in the 400s or even the Middle Ages. That's why this writing is so important. It dates as early as 70 A.D. and definitely no later than 120 A.D. Indeed our Catholic Faith is Christ's Body - the same today, yesterday, and forever.

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Martyrdom

Because today is the feast day of the Chinese martyrs, this morning's homily focused on their giving of themselves and how that is tied to the Holy Spirit as seen in the readings. I was thinking during mass that most of us will never be fortunate enough to call ourselves martyrs for Christ. We will likely never die because of our faith or suffer as Our Lord did.

However, as ordinary individuals we have the opportunity to offer up little sufferings in unity with Christ's suffering. As St. Terese of Liseaux and so many other saints have taught us, even the smallest inconvienences and pains can be offered to God.

Also, we can martyr ourselves in another way, frequently mentioned in the New Testament. By "dying" to sin, we not only sacrifice something that brings us temporal pleasure, but also draw closer to God. In both these ways we can become "little martyrs". and indeed saints.

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New Parish

I just wanted to share a quick picture of our new parish. We think it is quite beautiful. I will try to get our good camera there soon and take some detail shots but this one is a quickie with my cell phone.

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Faustina

Last night my wife and I watched the Polish movie Faustina about the life of the saint. My biggest complaints were that the movie had to roll many characters and events into one or oversimplify them, that the theological depth of her writing is largely missing, and that her relationship with her confessor Fr. Sopocko is very simplified. Overall, however, the movie does give a general introduction to St. Faustina's life and sufferings and I recommend it.

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Sunday's Readings

As I was listening to the Gospel readings yesterday morning in mass, I was once again struck by how God speaks to us in each reading. If we open our ears and listen, we can all discern totally different important messages from the very same readings. Try reading them slowly below and see what God is saying to you personally:

http://usccb.org/nab/062710.shtml

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Busrides

So sorry that its been a while since my last post. We moved to a new city when I got a new job and I've just been swamped. Everyone in ny family is doing great down here. I wanted to share two devotions I've been doing since the move. First, riding the bus to work allows me now to do my morning and evening prayer consistently every day from the Liturgy of the Hours. I even started using IBreviary on my Android phone. Second, in the mornings when I get up, my wife got me "Mornings with Fulton Sheen" where I can read a meditation from his life, a scripture from Proverbs, and meditate for a few minutes on how it impacts my life. God continues to bless us!

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A Confession

I have a confession. I got a Google Android phone and I'm addicted to it. I can do the Liturgy of the Hours on it, read daily prayers, about the Saint of the Day...and it's caused me to neglect blogging. I have so much to blog, and I plan to get back into it later, but I'm still around!

Chicago!

So, I made it to Chicago. I wanted to share a couple pictures with you, first a couple of the Cathedral as a whole:

Then, one of the Tabernacle of the Blessed Sacrament:

Finally, a nice shot of a relic of St. Faustina (who we plan to name our first daughter after) and the IHS on the ceiling:

Man who murders Nun confesses and converts to Chrisitanity

I ran across this story and couldn't stop from posting it. A man in India murdered a nun about 15 years ago and upon being visited by her biological sister (who is also a nun), he asked for forgiveness and began his conversion to Christianity. Remember to pray for all those in India, that the religious violence will stop.

In other news, I'm about to board a plane to Chicago and hope to be visiting that Cathedral in a couple hours.

I'm hoping to go see the Cathedral in Chicago tomorrow. I've blocked out a tiny bit of time in the afternoon that I might just make it!