On the Inside; On the Outside


 
Dec 20 2013
Love0

Acceptance

Posted by | Everyday Life | No Comments

I am passing along a beautiful blog post from my friend Fr. Tom Zielinski from the St. Anthony Spirituality Center in Marathon, Wisconsin. As we are in the home stretch of the Advent season, let his words fill you with joy and anticipation for the Lord’s coming…

“Acceptance” is a word that is becoming more important for me during Advent. We have the usual words of waiting, longing, desiring, expecting, which are all very appropriate for this season. But with the Second Sunday of Advent, the word and idea of acceptance stood out for me in the Sunday readings. The word itself was not there, but the idea was. Read More

Dec 12 2013
Love0

Carrying Christ to Others

Posted by | Prayer | No Comments

Every time I hear the story in today’s Gospel (Luke 1:26-38), I can’t help but to be in awe of Mary and her acceptance of her call to be the Mother of God. I can’t help but to think about how Mary responded with complete, obedient faith.

I’m sure that Mary had a ton of questions that were bouncing around in her mind. And I’m sure that Mary, so innocent and young, struggled with her fear and not really knowing what was being asked of her – just as we too struggle with allowing God to accomplish all things through us. But it is in faith that we know that God will use us in spite of our weaknesses, our deficiencies, and even our own ignorance.

In these remaining weeks of Advent, let us take a deliberate step back from the rapid pace of our lives and take some time to simply breathe. Let us then focus on what God is asking of us; knowing that God has chosen each one of us, just like Mary, to carry Christ to others.

Let us pray for the strength to echo Mary’s words of prayer: “May it be done to me according to your word.”

Dec 05 2013
Love0

Like a Rock

Posted by | Prayer | No Comments

Have you ever had a song just pop into your head out of the middle of nowhere? And it was a song that you haven’t heard in years? Well, that happened to me a couple of days ago when the song “Like a Rock” from Bob Seger entered my brain. And what a great tie-in with today’s Gospel (Matthew 7:21, 24-27). Here are some of the lyrics:

My hands were steady; my eyes were clear and bright.
My walk had purpose; my steps were quick and light.
And I held firmly to what I felt was right. Like a rock.
Like a rock, I was strong as I could be. Like a rock, nothin’ ever got to me.
Like a rock, I was something to see. Like a rock. Read More

Dec 01 2013
Love0

Being in God’s Presence

Posted by | Prayer | No Comments

God and a man are walking down the road. The man asks God, “What is the world like?” God replies, “I cannot talk when I am thirsty. If you could get me a drink of cool water, we could discuss what the world is like. There is a village nearby. Go and get me a drink.”

The man goes into the village and knocks at the door of the first house. A beautiful young woman opens the door. His jaw drops, but he manages to say, “I need a glass of cool water.” “Of course,” she says smiling, “but it is midday. Would you care to stay for some food?” “I am hungry,” he says, and your offer of food is truly kind.” He goes in and the door closes behind him. Read More

Nov 28 2013
Love0

Happy Thanksgiving

Posted by | Prayer | No Comments

thanksgiving4Many Americans think of Thanksgiving as a wonderful time to celebrate getting out of school for a long weekend, and eating a great dinner. Or, maybe they think it is the start of the Christmas holiday season. What is the real meaning behind Thanksgiving? 

We can trace this historic American Christian tradition to the year 1623. After the harvest crops were gathered in November 1623, Governor William Bradford of the 1620 Pilgrim Colony, “Plymouth Plantation” in Plymouth, Massachusetts proclaimed:

“All ye Pilgrims with your wives and little ones, do gather at the Meeting House, on the hill… there to listen to the pastor, and render Thanksgiving to the Almighty God for all His blessings.” Read More

Nov 23 2013
Love0

Entrepreneurs for Social Justice

Posted by | Virtues | No Comments

For those of you who attended my workshop at the National Catholic Collegiate Conference in Indianapolis, a very sincere thank you. (For those who are just reading this from my blog, keep reading. This is good information for you as well!) I really enjoyed being with you, and I am truly excited about the fact that you are ready to begin working as an Entrepreneur for Social Justice. We shared some great information with each other during the workshop, and I really appreciated your enthusiasm and participation.

As promised, I have attached some additional information to help you get more involved in charity and social justice. Click on the link below to download the document: Read More

Nov 18 2013
Love0

Today’s Daily Special

Posted by | Prayer | No Comments

I saw a commercial last night on television for a very large sandwich chain. They have a special going on where you can get a different sandwich every day of the week for a low price, eliminating the possibility of getting stuck in a routine of eating the same sandwich day after day. And that got me thinking: what if we did the same thing with our prayer lives? Read More

Nov 07 2013
Love0

Lost and Found

Posted by | Everyday Life | No Comments

Lost and FoundOne Sunday morning, I was going through the Lost and Found box in the usher’s room at our church to see if I could find someone’s rosary. I didn’t find any rosary, but there was a pair of glasses, a set of keys, one glove, a watch and many other interesting items. And I couldn’t help but to think of that prayer:

“Tony, Tony, turn around. Something’s lost that must be found.”

It’s a prayer to St. Anthony who is the patron saint of lost items.  Read More

Oct 27 2013
Love0

I Am a Sinner!

Posted by | Prayer | No Comments

If you haven’t had a chance to read the America Magazine interview of Pope Francis, I have included the link here. It is a wonderful insight to our Pope. (http://www.americamagazine.org/pope-interview) One of the things that struck me the most was when the reporter asked him: “Who is Jorge Mario Bergoglio?” The pope answered, “I am a sinner.” Well if the Pope is a sinner, what does that make me? Our Pope has inspired me to come clean…I too am a sinner! Read More

Oct 17 2013
Love1

St. Ignatius of Antioch

Posted by | Prayer | No Comments

Today is the feast day of St Ignatius of Antioch. He was the bishop of Antioch in Syria and was the second successor of St. Peter.  He was a disciple of the apostle St. John, and also met St. Peter, having probably been ordained by him.St. Ignatius of Antioch

During the reign of Emperor Trajan, Ignatius was sentenced to be thrown to the wild beasts. He was transported in chains to his martyrdom in Rome; along the way, he was met by Christians from nearby places.  To these friends, he wrote seven letters, six addressed to some Christian communities and one personal letter to Bishop Polycarp of Smyrna.  All seven are most beautiful pearls of our early Christian literature.

Prior to his death in the year 110, he wrote a letter to the Ephesians where he highlighted the following four points, which are still relevant to this very day: Read More