Truth

10 Reasons Why Catholics Should Always be Thankful

/ chicoinematt

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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on November 26, 2017.

G.K. Chesterton stated in Christmas and Salesmanship, “Gratitude, being nearly the greatest of human duties, is also nearly the most difficult.” As a father I know all too well how difficult it is sometimes for my children to express gratitude to me. On the other hand, as a husband I struggle to tell my wife how thankful for all that she does. Not only do I need to improve on my attitude of gratitude within my marriage,  I need to focus on having a thankful mindset in my spiritual life and relationship with God. In celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday, I came on my top ten reasons for why I am thankful for Catholicism!

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Eucharist

The Bread of Life Discourse in John 6 has Jesus preaching the most profound truth in the history of the universe. Jesus said, I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world” (John 6:51). The Catechism of the Catechism Church calls the Eucharist the “source and summit of the Christian life” (CCC 1324). Every Sunday I experience the miracle of being able to receive the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ!

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Holy Trinity

God is love. Love entails relationship. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is the Mystery that God is a Communion of Three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I am grateful for the revelation of this truth. I am able to ponder the depth of its truth without it growing stale, it always remains fresh and profound!

Incarnation

The most solemn moment of the Nicene Creed occurs when we profess: “For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and was made man.” At this point, we bow to recognize the amazing fact that God became a mere human. St. Athanasius had this to say about the Incarnation, “God became man that man might become God” (On the Incarnation). I am thankful that God sent his only Son-Jesus Christ—to become a bridge for humanity to access God.

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Confession

I have experienced real, tangible, and concrete healing when I receive God’s healing grace’s in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Through frequent reception of Penance, I have been able to overcome sins that dominated me in my youth. I have also been able to recognize sins that hid in the background previously. As a result, Confession provides me with graces to root out sinful tendencies and to grow in holiness.

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Divine Mercy

While I experience Divine Mercy in the Sacrament of Confession, I want to treat this topic as a separate point. I used to view God as a wrathful Judge. My scrupulosity leads to a judgmental mentality—that I struggle with still today. However, through the intercession of the Divine Mercy saints of the 20th century such as St. Maria Faustina, John Paul II, Maximilian Koble, and Mother Teresa my awareness that God is a Merciful and Just Judge has increased!

 Mary

My relationship with our Blessed Mother has improved over this past year. In celebration of the centenary anniversary of the Apparitions at Fatima, my wife and I consecrated ourselves to Jesus through St. Louis de Montfort stated, “[Mary] is the safest, easiest, shortest and most perfect way of approaching Jesus and will surrender themselves to her, body and soul, without reserve in order to belong entirely to Jesus” (True Devotion to Mary). I learned that Mary is the greatest witness and advocate for God. Her desire is to lead ll her children to Jesus Christ.

 Saints

Along with Mary, the saints in Heaven provide a model for me to follow to help me grow in holiness. Reading about the lives of my favorite saints [St. Athanasius, John Paul II, St. Amelia, St. Bernadette, St. Pius IX, St. Maria Faustina, and St. Maximilian Koble—to name a few] helps provide concrete examples of what holiness looks like and how I am able to emulate their trust in God in my own life.

 Hope

I am thankful for the hope that the Catholic Church teaches and provides me daily. Attending Sunday Mass, going to Eucharistic Adoration, meeting with my monthly Catholic men’s group, and teaching Religious Education at my parish are ways that I receive [and pass on] hope. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 1843, “By hope we desire, and with steadfast trust await from God, eternal life and the graces to merit it.”

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Sacred Tradition

I am a history buff. In fact, I earned my undergraduate degree in history. The Catholic Church is a storehouse and guardian of 2,000+ years of history and tradition. While lesser important traditions pass away and give way to more appropriate devotional practices that fits the needs of the faithful, Jesus Christ knew that stability and consistency of truth is essential in mankind’s relationship with God.

The Catechism tells us in paragraph number 96-97,

What Christ entrusted to the apostles, they in turn handed on by their preaching and writing, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to all generations, until Christ returns in glory. ‘Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of the Word of God’ (DV 10) in which, as in a mirror, the pilgrim Church contemplates God, the source of all her riches.

I am thankful that Jesus instituted the priesthood and office of the papacy to have truth passed on through the ages.

Beauty

The final fact about Catholicism in my top ten list that I am grateful for is the beauty I experience. Catholic cathedrals and basilicas are places where I have experienced beauty in an ineffable way. During the celebration of the Liturgy, I experience the beauty of God in both song and sight. The icons in my local church allow my prayers to be better united to God. I am pointed toward higher realities when I meditate with the aid of sacred song and holy images.

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Lord, we thank you
for the goodness of our people
and for the spirit of justice
that fills this nation.
We thank you for the beauty and fullness of the
land and the challenge of the cities.

We thank you for our work and our rest,
for one another, and for our homes.
We thank you, Lord:
accept our thanksgiving on this day.
We pray and give thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord.

R: Amen.

Related Links

Catholics, Be Thankful Always and Everywhere

Why I’m Thankful To Be Catholic

Announcing 10 Catholic Role Models to be Thankful for!

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Our Hope is in God Alone

/ chicoinematt / 1 Comment

Fear mongering occurs when you want to manipulate a group of people to take certain actions. Both the Republicans and Democrats are guilty of it.

You truly won’t know the time of the coming of the Lord. But at the same time not every single election is Armageddon.

Fear not in the unknown. Put on the armor of faith and hold up your shield of hope.

I’ve already endured the hell of losing two unborn babies to miscarriage so nothing rattles my faith anymore.

Suffering (redemptive suffering that is) is a great source of healing for our woundedness due to sin.

Jesus told his disciples to let him help, “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” You don’t have to fear if you entrust your troubles to Christ.

Don’t place your ambitions, hopes, and dreams in worldly leaders. You will only be disappointed. Jesus alone saves. If you must rely on a human than ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to lead you to her Son. She’s our great Advocate and Guide to the Savior.

Voting as a Catholic

No matter what happens in politics and elections (this one and future ones) God reigns supreme.

Pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit to vote in accordance with Truth and your conscience.

May God bless the USA!

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Keeping Perspective During a Global Pandemic

/ chicoinematt

The story of Covid-19 is akin to this image:

Perspective

Perspective matters. It colors our vision and understanding of an event.

Lockdowns in hindsight clearly (at least in my mind) caused adverse effects on the economy and equally important to mental health.

The virus is serious enough not ignore it but balance must be the focus.

Like a see-saw going too far left or right the danger is it will fall over the edge. Balance isn’t a pious belief but a necessity in order for our nation to survive.

Please pray for your family, friends, neighbors, municipal leaders, state and federal politicians to be safe with all that’s going on and to engage the election process with discernment.

I will continue to pray America finds balance.

I trust in the Holy Spirit to guide us towards this reality.

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“It is better to rise from life as from a banquet – neither thirsty nor drunken.” —Aristotle

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Facts about Mary’s Assumption You Should Assume

/ chicoinematt / 1 Comment

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on August 16,  2018.

Catholics around the world [and throughout time] celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of Mary on August 15th. Along with the feast of the Immaculate Conception and the Motherhood of Mary this feast day is a holy day of obligation for Mass attendance. The reason for this is due to the veneration—NOT WORSHIP—Catholics hold for the Mother of God.

Catholics honor Mary

Marian doctrines closely relate and point us to the even greater truth of the Incarnation—God becoming Man. The feasts of Mary, Mother of God and Immaculate Conception relate to the Incarnation. And the feast of the Assumption points toward the Resurrection of Jesus.

Assumption—Logically Flows from the Immaculate Conception

When I taught high school theology one of my favorite lessons involved the subject of the teachings on Mary. I enjoyed showing the interconnectedness between the various Marian dogmas. God preserved Mary from the stain of original sin. Due to this reality, Mary would not suffer the same type of bodily decay and separation of body and soul like the rest of humanity.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 966,

Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death.

Divine Providence inspired the office of the papacy to proclaim the infallible teaching Marian dogmas to be viewed in unity with one another. Pope Pius IX in 1854 infallibly defined Mary as being immaculately conceived. Nearly a century later, his successor Pius XII formally declared the infallible dogma of the Assumption.

Assumption Hinting at the Resurrection and Destination of Heaven

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Again, I will defer to the Catechism for the best explanation of the Assumption of Mary pointing to the Resurrection,

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son’s Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians (CCC966).

Saint Pope Pius XII, in Munificentissimus Deus, articulated the fact Mary orients us to Heaven.  He wrote, “It is our hope that belief in Mary’s bodily Assumption into heaven will make our belief in our own resurrection stronger and render it more effective.”

Mary’s Complete Love for God is a Model for Us

Mary’s whole earthly life centered on obedience and love of God. Because of this, she is the perfect guide to her Son. Marian titles such as Stella Maris [Latin for Star of the Sea] and Morning Star point to this reality as well.

Mary’s Assumption into Heaven, body and soul, gives Christians hope. Hope in the resurrection of the body at the end of time. I am grateful for the gift of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Advocate in times of darkness. Please pray for us in our time of need!

“Mary shines on earth “until the day of the Lord shall come, a sign of certain hope and comfort to the pilgrim People of God” (Lumen gentium, n. 68).

Related Links

Defining the Dogma of the Assumption- Pius XII

The Assumption of Mary

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3 Ways Hope Can Overcome Despair

/ chicoinematt

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on June 20, 2019.

According to the great English writer, J.R.R. Tolkien, “Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.” When I first discovered this pithy quote by the creator of Middle Earth, I paused and pondered his words’ truth. More often than not, the seed of hope gets planted within the soil of my loneliness.

Over the past year, my wife and I experienced spiritual highs and lows. Currently, I am in a period of stability—a time where hope is my guiding light! Reflecting back on my personal valleys, I realized that the times I felt distant from God, my friends, and even my wife. Oddly enough, this become an opportunity for me to turn to the virtue of hope! Since I placed my hope [and ultimately greater trust in the Lord], I am better anchored in my faith—even in the midst of continual strife.

Mahatma Gandhi once declared, “When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it–always.” Hope defends against despair, especially hope in truth, goodness, and beauty. According to Mike Pacer in Mercy and Hope, “Hope guides us through the darkness. It assures of the light that is just beyond our sight.” Along with this profound insight, I discovered three easy ways which helped shift my mindset away from despair and towards hope.

Hope

Larger Piece of the Puzzle

Growing up my mom and I used to always work on jigsaw puzzles during hot summer days or cold winter months. Five hundred and one thousand piece puzzles seem daunting at first. What helped alleviate any anxiety is knowing that I was not alone in figuring out how the pieces fit together. A second key aspect to putting together puzzles is forming the outside frame first. Finishing the perimeter provided hope in solving the puzzle!

Getting lost in the shuffle of life is analogous to navigating through a massive jigsaw puzzle. Without borders and helpers it’s easy to lose hope and give up. Puzzles provide a concrete example of how different pieces fit together perfectly to create a completed picture. Knowing your place in the world—as a piece to the larger story of life—may be helpful in lessening anxiety and orient us towards hope.

Hope Our True Consoler, Not False Optimism

Dovetailing off the previous point, the virtue of hope is a true helper.  Mike Pacer writes, “The key to hope is to acknowledge our feelings and separate them from reality (Mercy and Hope p.121). Hope isn’t the same as wishful thinking or mere pseudo-optimism. A realness exists with hope. The virtue of hope does not produce a placebo effect like false-optimism.

Holy Spirit and Hope

God gives us the gift of hope. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph number 691, “When he proclaims and promises the coming of the Holy Spirit, Jesus calls him the “Paraclete,” literally, “he who is called to one’s side,” ad-vocatus.18 “Paraclete” is commonly translated by “consoler,” and Jesus is the first consoler.19 The Lord also called the Holy Spirit “the Spirit of truth.”

St. Therese of Liseux quote

Heaven—the Final Frontier

Referring to St. Paul’s assertion for our yearning for Heaven in Hebrews 13:14, Mike Pacer declared, “We are not living in our permanent home. Rather, we are on a journey. We have a definite destination (Mercy and Hope pp. 134-135). Put another way, St. Augustine’s axiom, “Our souls are restless until they rest in thee [God].” All the material possessions, power, and control in the world do not offer long-term and lasting fulfillment. Humanity keeps yearning for something greater, and greater, and greater!

St. Therese of Liseux famously summed up this truth using a nautical example, “The world’s thy ship and not thy home!” Earthly existence is a pilgrim journey. The virtue of hope allows us to don our theological lens to view more clearly that Heaven is the final frontier!

O my God, relying on your infinite goodness and promises, I hope to obtain pardon of my sins, the help of your grace, and life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer.

Related Links

Five Ways to Move from Despair to Hope

Hope: A Misunderstood Virtue

3 Titles of Mary that Give Me Hope

Satan’s Sinister Weapon—Dosage of Despair

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True Diversity Unites

/ chicoinematt

💡 Truth is like a beam of light—singular, illuminating and focused.

But when you shine light through a prism different colors appear—a rainbow.

❤️We should celebrate our differences in our home and in the workplace.

🧡We should celebrate our differences in our home and in the workplace.

Again.

💛We should celebrate our differences in our home and in the workplace.

💚Embracing differences does not mean that you have to abandon your principles in the things that make you unique.

💙 But willingness to look at things differently does lead to the most value 21st century skill—empathy.

💜 I can’t imagine what people that are marginalized due to racial prejudice go through on a daily basis.

🖤 That doesn’t have to stop me though from reaching out to others and trying to learn from their point of view.

🤍 I will never fully understand but I can always get 1% better than I was yesterday.

True Diversity unites.

What are some ways that you have helped to develop empathy at home and in the workplace?

#Diversity #empathy #perspective #writing

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