Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Holy Spirit Interactive in the Family

How do we allow the Holy Spirit to interact with us everyday in our family relationships? We believe that he is really present in our hearts and lives. Outside of prayer time, how often are we aware of his loving, gentle presence? How much do we allow him to interact with us through each other? God is love and where there is love, there is God. The sacred life-giving love of spouses and parents is a sacramental sign of God's presence and creative action. When two or more are gathered together in Jesus' name, he is in their midst. Is this not true when spouses, parents and children are gathered together in Jesus' name?

The Holy Spirit is a real person, a Divine person, a gentle person who never forces himself on us. As we come to know him better and acknowledge our need for him, we will listen to his gentle inspirations. We will allow him to transform us, empower us and act through our weaknesses too. He loves each one of us as we are and in the state of life in which God calls us.

....To read the whole article click here: Holy Spirit Interactive in the Family....

Monday, July 23, 2007

The Feast of St. Sharbel



St. Sharbel (also spelled Charbel) is a saint of the Maronite Catholic Church. His feast day is July 24th. He was canonized by Pope Paul VI on October 9, 1977.

Here is what the Holy Father had to say about St. Sharbel:

"...a hermit of the Lebanese mountain is inscribed in the number of the blessed, a new eminent member of monastic sanctity is enriching, by his example and his intercession, the entire Christian people. May he make us understand, in a world largely fascinated by wealth and comfort, the paramount value of poverty, penance and asceticism, to liberate the soul in its ascent to God..."

To read more about St. Sharbel visit Charbel.org.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

The 3rd Annual Podcast Awards

Nominations are under review. Once voting starts you may want to vote for the catholic podcasts that make up the SQPN network. Check out SQPN.COM for more info.


Great Quote from Blessed Mother Teresa

Do you really know the living Jesus - not from books but from being with Him in your heart? Have you heard the loving words he speaks to you?

Ask for the grace; he is longing to give it.

Until you can hear Jesus in the silence of your own heart, you will not be able hear Him saying, "I thirst" in the hearts of the poor.

Never give up daily intimate contact with Jesus as the real living person - not just the idea.

--Taken from When Did We See You, Lord? by Bishop Robert J. Baker & Fr. Benedict J. Groeschel, C.F.R.

This is a fantastic quote that cuts to the heart of the matter in our relationship with Jesus. Jesus is REAL! He loves us and wants to be in a personal relationship with each of us. We simply need to open our hearts and SPEND TIME with Him in prayer.

May all of us dedicate time to Jesus every day!

Monday, July 16, 2007

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

21 years ago today, I had an experience of the Holy Spirit that changed my life. I experienced what is referred to as the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. The late Fr. Harold Cohen explained this experience as a "stirring up of the Holy Spirit that you have already received." He used the image of chocolate milk. The Holy Spirit is like the chocolate. If you pour Hersey's Chocolate into a glass of milk, what does it do? It sinks to the bottom and has no effect on the milk. In order to change the milk into chocolate milk you need to stir it up! Many times people can receive the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation, but the Holy Spirit just sinks to the bottom of their hearts. We have a role to play here! We need to stir into flame the gift of the Holy Spirit!

For more information on the Holy Spirit and stirring the Spirit into flame, go here.

For more information on Our Lady of Mount Carmel, go here.



God bless you!

The Holy Spirit can set you on FIRE!

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Now on Twitter

Check out twitter.com. Pretty cool concept. I don't know whether I can keep up with it or not, but you can find me by searching for alberione.

New Podcast!

I launched a new podcast last week. It's not really a personal podcast...it's just makeup classes for 9th grade PSR (Parish School of Religion). This is part of the three year Confirmation program at St. Peter Parish.

If you have nothing better to do and want to hear about the Old Testament, you can check it out at 9psr.com.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

The Night of Light

Taken from a biography of Blessed Alberione by Sr. Mary Tiziani dal Masetto, SDDM found at here.
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On the night between December 31, 1900 and January 1, 1901, James knelt in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. He was sixteen, still somewhat confused as a consequence of his recent crisis.

The Cathedral of Alba was filled with parishioners and seminarians in response to the powerful, prophetic voice of Pope Leo XIII. The ardent pontiff had already called on the Catholic world to spend a Holy Year of prayer in preparation for the twentieth century and had written the encyclical Tametsi Futura, in which he vigorously pointed to Christ as the Way, the Truth, and the Life leading humanity to salvation.

After the celebration of midnight Mass, James and the other seminarians stayed at length in prayer. Four hours of fervent prayer! Young James was the last to rise to his feet. Later that morning another seminarian, Giordano, expressed astonishment upon meeting him; James must have let something of his interior state show.

Let us listen to how Alberione, fifty-three years later in Abundantes Divitiae Gratiae Suae, described his experience of God:

“ Particular enlightenment came from the Host, and a greater understanding of that invitation of Jesus: ‘Come to me, all of you…’ (Mt 11:28).

“ He seemed to fathom the heart of the great Pope, the Church’s call (for help), and the priest’s true mission. What Toniolo said about the duty of being apostles today and of using the means exploited by the opposition made sense to him. He felt deeply obliged to prepare himself, to do something for the Lord and for the women and men of the new century with whom he would spend his life” (AD 15).

“He had a clear grasp of his own nothingness. At the same time he experienced a message from the Eucharist, ‘And know that I am with you always, yes, to the end of time’ (Mt 28:20). He understood that he could count on the Eucharist—on Jesus—for light, nourishment, consolation and victory over evil” (AD 16).

“His prayer was…for the century to be born in Christ in the Eucharist; for new apostles to reform the law, education, literature, the press, morals; for the Church to give fresh impetus to mission; for good use of the new means of apostolate; for society to welcome the great teachings of Leo XIII’s encyclicals.

“ His mind and heart became so fixed on the Eucharist, the Gospel, the Pope, the new century, the new means…and ‘Come to me, all of you’…from then on these things always dominated his thoughts, inspired his readings, his study, his prayer, his spiritual work, and his yearnings. He felt an obligation to serve the Church, the women and the men of the new age, and to work with others in an organized way” (AD 19-21).

“ Projecting himself mentally into the future, he felt that, in the new century generous people would experience what he was feeling and that teamed up into an organization they could bring about what Toniolo kept on repeating: ‘Unite; if the enemy finds us alone he will defeat us one by one.’ …This idea of his at first was quite confused; with the passing of time, it became clearer and more specific” (AD 17, 21).

In that first and extraordinary prayer he saw and felt clearly the specific mission, and the particular spirit, in which the Pauline Family would be born and live.

Though Alberione wrote the above experience in his characteristically laconic, under-stated way, we can gauge the magnitude of the mystery that had enveloped him that night. The huge growth in holiness, the enormous development of the works of God for which he would become a tireless instrument throughout his long life, would find in this “night of light and fire” its official onset.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

SQPN CST #40: Is God Real? (We say yes)

SQPN CST #40: Is God Real? (We say yes)

Catholic in a Small Town on SQPN.com. Faith, Family, media and pop culture... Catholic in a Small Town has it all! (...and two hilarious hosts, as well!)

Check 'em out!

SQPN: The Best in Catholic Podcasting

If you haven't heard of SQPN, you really need to check it out. Head over to SQPN.com.

SQPN was started by a Roman Catholic priest in the Netherlands, Fr. Roderick Vonhögen. The network consists of several podcasts, all with a Catholic flavor. Some podcasts are hosted by married couples, others by priests. There is even a podcasts hosted by kids!

I highly recommend SQPN.com! Great podcasts about life, faith, and family!

Monday, February 26, 2007

Pope praises the life of the consecrated

Pope Benedict XVI praised the life and work of consecrated men and women during his homily for the World Day of Consecrated Life.

Read about it here.

Check out his homily here.