poem hug

Today I feel like this poem says:

Hug

coming home so weary,
working nine to five
with the feeling I must be
the most exhausted Dad alive.
greeted with the knowledge
my dishwasher's on the blink
seeing an avalanche of dirty dishes
piled up in the sink.
how will I ever do it, Lord?
then I feel the answering tug
of a little hand, reaching out for me
God's love within my daughter's hug.


by Deborah P Kolodji


Thank You Jesus.

The catholic church - builder of civilization

Episode 1 - Introduction


Episode 2 - The Church and Science


Episode 3 - Priests as Scientific Pioneers


Episode 4 - The Galileo Case


Episode 5 - The University System


Episode 6 - Does God Exist???


Episode 7 - The Monks


Episode 8 - Catholic Charity


Episode 9 - Western Morality


Episode 10 - Concept of Rights and Law


Episode 11 - Origins of International Law


Episode 12 - Anti-Catholic Atrocities


Episode 13 - Wrap up

December 28th - the fourth day of Christmas

On the fourth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

Wel, I did not receive any of these things. but that ok.... it does not change the fact that it is indeed the fourth day of Christmas. Today is also the solemnity of the slaughter of the Innocents - here is Trinidad, the children carry their toys to Mass for them (and their toys) to be blessed. It is a good thing.

O! hold on a minute it is 8:00pm.... so I guess its not the 4th day of Christmas... it's fourth NIGHT.

Catholic birthday / Christmas gifts - a spiritual bouquet

The Spiritual Bouquet. A great idea for gift giving.

Recently I racked my brain for a gift idea for a couple who I believe needs nothing. My wife and I gave it so much thought: Wine; books; clothes; functional crockery; paintings; or electronics. We could not agree on what would be a good gift for this couple. We did agreed that it should be something special.

After praying about it, an idea came to give the gift of a spiritual bouquet in the form of Masses being offered. Such a gift is not for the physical world but the spiritual. Prayers for oneself, our special intentions or that of others are so important. Prayers offered in the Mass, by a holy man is even more effective. The Bible talks about offering prayers:

Job 42:10 - And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.

1 Timothy 2:1 - First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people,

Philippians 4:6 - Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

James 5:16 - Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

John 14:13 - Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

The Church tells us to offer Masses and the effectiveness of this act to lessen our time in purgatory and help us in our requests to God - remembering that the Mass is offered To the father, Through the Son, With the Spirit, asking the Angels, Saints and Virgin to pray for us:

"In the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, the Church prays that God, the Father of mercies, will grant His children the fullness of the Holy Spirit so that they may become one body and one spirit in Christ. In raising this prayer to the Father of lights, from whom comes every good endowment and every perfect gift, the Church believes that she will be heard, for she prays in union with Christ her Head and Spouse, who takes up this plea of His Bride and joins it to His own redemptive sacrifice" JPII

"The Holy Mass would be of greater profit if people had it offered in their lifetime, rather than having it celebrated for the relief of their souls after death." Pope Benedict XV

“A single Mass offered for oneself during life may be worth more than a thousand celebrated for the same intention after your death. The merit of the Masses we have offered for ourselves during life will obtain for us a higher degree of glory in Heaven.” – Saint Anselm (Doctor of the Church)

Lastly, the giving of a gift of a Mass, is good financial move. For every Mass offered a donation must be made to the church. Many churches have a suggested donation figure. More masses offered would mean more money in the coffers of the church to maintain the good works that are done by the church... for the upkeep of the buildings, parish and laypersons who labour in the "vineyard". God knows money is always needed for these and other works.

Create Holy Doctors, Holy Lawyers, Holy Engineers.

Years ago I put a chain over my open palm and was told that I would have a daughter and a son. A decade later, after having my daughter and my Son I asked God to grant me another Son that my family name would be carried on and I would by His grace, have one who would become a priest. What a great thing, for one to have a child take Holy orders.

Another Decade Later, my wife and I have four children - A girl and three boys. I have no expectations for my children, other than to become good citizens and good people, what ever course they take. The local saying is that "we make our children, not their minds". It refers to children doing what they want in life, even after the parent has planned another direction for them. So I don't plan. They have ideas about what they want to do in life and I support and pray, as does my wife.

If all my children take Holy orders I would be disappointed not to have grand children, but I would be so proud of them. Archbishop Harris in a homily at the church of Saint Phillip and St James in Chaguanas on December 17th (and reported in the Catholic news of Christmas day) says that Catholics might just be about 19% of the local population based on the recent census. he urged parishioners to encourage young men to consider priesthood. “The priesthood is an endangered species but the Church cannot exist without priests. Pray that your son becomes a priest. Help him imagine himself as a priest.” Parents often encouraged their children to become lawyers, doctors, engineers or other professionals for the financial benefits, he added. “But we need to pray that they become holy doctors, holy lawyers or holy engineers,” so that they could give back to society.

I pray that too Father.

Archbishop of Port of Spain Christmas Message 2011

The following Message was taken from the Website (and the Catholic News) for the Archdiocese of Port of Spain.

Once again we have come around to the celebration of Christmas, which unlike what some persons would like us to believe, is not a secular feast. It is the celebration of the birthday of Jesus Christ, for us Christians, our Lord and saviour. The Gospel of St. John tells us that “he came to his own and his own did not receive him but to all who did receive him he gave power to become children of God.” They did not receive him I suppose because they did not recognise him. Who would have thought that the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes was in fact the Son of God yet this infant was in fact Emmanuel God with us.

We celebrate this feast in the midst of trying times for the country. We have just ended the state of emergency, an alleged assassination plot against government figures, threats of industrial unrest and murders which appear to be on the rise again. We must ask ourselves to what does this feast call us. It cannot be that we are simply called to have a good time. That we will do, but we must ask ourselves what gift do we bring to the One whose birthday we celebrate? For us who believe, to those whom he gave the power to become children of God, like the child of God par excellence we have to be Emmanuel, God with us, for all those with whom we come into contact. Like Emmanuel we must bring the love of God to all people, a love not expressed simply in words but much more in action. And this we must do not only at Christmas time but all the year round. This is the gift which the Lord whose birthday we celebrate wants. If we give him this gift we will be doing our land a great favour.

To every single person in this land, a safe, happy and holy Christmas and a New Year filled with God’s richest blessings.

+ Joseph,

Archbishop of Port of Spain

Also taken from the Archdiocese website:

I wish you all a blessed Christmas. May the peace of the Christ Child remain with us all beyond the Christmas season.The Christmas Cycle of the Liturgical Year embraces a number of major themes in Catholic spirituality: the Birth of the Lord, the Feast of the Holy Family (Friday 30), the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God (Sunday, Jan 1) and the Epiphany of the Lord (Sunday, Jan 8). The Christmas cycle closes on Monday, January 9 with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. I ask your continued prayer for Archbishop Gilbert who is recuperating from surgery and will celebrate his 75th birthday on December 26.

I thank you for your usual generosity to the clergy of the archdiocese at this time and for your continuing response to the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal.

Well, Happy Birthday Archbishop Gilbert. We share a great birthday - the feast of St Steven.

Merry Christmas 2011