I was thumbing through my Daily Roman Missal this week looking for a specific Mass offering and the scriptural choices that were available when I came across a section titled “How to be a Better Catholic.” And I thought: Okay, how can I be a better Catholic? Who wouldn’t want to answer this question because it would ultimately translate into a very simple question: How can I be a better person? The Missal breaks it down into four simple things. First, there is the recognition of a call to holiness. I’m good with that. I want to be holy. Second, is the need for a life of prayer. Okay…I pray. Third, the discipline and growth in a life of self-denial. Not the biggest fan but we can work with this. Last, there is a need for a life of work. Got it…now how do we do it?
In truth, with all funning aside, these four steps are not that new, inventive or strange to the spiritual life of any Christian. They are the normal pathway to follow. When we read any of Matthew Kelly’s books we see these four calls to holiness. If we have read any of the lives of the saints, this is what they do and who they are. So no surprises here. But………we must do them….that’s the fun part. And believe me there is much more to “being and better Catholic” because the section of the Missal goes on for several more pages…these are just the beginning. So my proposal is a simple one…I’m going to go through this section by section…it won’t be part of my Friday emails but you can follow it on my website which I will list at the bottom of the page.
How to be a better Catholic.
Step 1. Recognize that I can be a better Catholic. I am a sinner but as the Church reaffirmed in the Second Vatican Council, each and every person is called to holiness and to live a life that moves away the sins which bind me and keep away from the grace and love that God desires me to live in. This universal call to holiness is universal because it is better when we travel in groups of holiness rather than doing on our own which as we all know (or at least I wish I would remember more often) is the trap of the devil to fall into to sinful pride. What does this look like? Well, Mass on Sunday when a whole bunch of sinners come together to seek holiness by asking forgiveness, praying with and for others and receiving the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. It looks like a family praying the Rosary together on a Saturday night (or any night) seeking holiness. It is the reality of children and grandchildren gathered around the sick bed of their elderly (grand)parent in love. It is the noisy and raucous music of young Catholics giving glory and praise to God in music and dance. In other words, it looks like many different things, but it always looks like the search for God even in the quiet contemplation of Adoration when the unified silence of those gathered togethers lifts a joyous gift of praise and blessing to God.
Step 2…do step one again. If I am seeking holiness, then my conversations with God (prayer) draw me deeper and deeper into a loving relationship of love. And a relationship with God in love is a relationship of holiness.
Step 3…do step one again and step two because self-denial and discipline entails a continual and holy offering of daily sacrifice of time, talent and treasure, the stewardship of life. Self-denial is turning towards God and away from the individualist egocentric greed that focus on the momentary and denies the eternal of life.
Finally, step 4, yes repeat and begin to work. Work is the call to fulfillment. Pope John Paul II Encyclical “Laborem Exercens” reminds us, “Far from thinking that works produced by man’s own talent and energy are in opposition to God’s power, and that the rational creature exists as a kind of rival to the Creator, Christians are convinced that the triumphs of the human race are a sign of God’s greatness and the flowering of his own mysterious design.”(#25)
More later…when I pray that I am a better Catholic.
God bless,
Fr. Mark

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.” Mt 5:43-45

With everything that has happened during this past week, the words of Jesus spoken to us above should slow us down and give us all pause. It was just last year when our Holy Father Francis gave us the Jubilee Year of Mercy and I can only reflect on how quickly we have moved on and forgotten the works of mercy. And it is here that I wish to begin. God invites us to be community and to grow in mercy and love. We could all quote for pages biblical citations (see below) and teachings of peace from our Catholic tradition and while we may, as a Church, not always lived up to the ideals, we are still called to the perfection of love and mercy our Heavenly Father offers to us.
“There’s a bit of nobility in the worst of human beings because all are made in God’s image, and the image can never be completely effaced or lost…No matter how desperate the case, no matter how ignoble the character, theirs is the unshakable condition that there is always hope!” (P 118 from “Light in the Darkness: The Teachings of Fr. James Keller, M.M. and the Christophers” presented by Fr. Jonathan Morris) The reality of this quote from Fr. Keller echoes strongly the truth of Jesus’ words from the Gospel of Matthew. No matter how vile an ideology, how heinous the action of a person we believe that there is the real hope of redemption. It is the greater respect of life where we see and know the dignity of God’s creative love in each and every person.
As Christians this is our duty, to seek the very best in our sisters and brothers as the foundation of all relationships. My first true understanding of this was, as a young man, seeing the photo of Pope John Paul II sitting in prayer and reconciliation with his would be assassin, Mehmet Ali Ağca. The great saint seeking the best and the holy from the person who wished him dead. Is this not the command Jesus shares above…to love and pray for even those we call enemies.
How are we called to confront sin and violence. St. Padre Pio is quoted as saying, “The rosary is the weapon of our times.” It is the weapon of our time because especially in the Sorrowful Mysteries we walk through the hatred and violence Jesus took upon his cross so we may understand what the great saints of peace, like St. John Paul II, lived in their heart. The prayer of the rosary calls us to become the words we pray. St. Louis de Montfort shared this wisdom on praying the rosary, “People who say Our Lord’s Prayer carefully, weighing every word and meditating upon it, may indeed call themselves blessed for they find therein everything that they need or can wish for.” (p 39 “The Secret of the Rosary”)
Ultimately in the Christian life we discover and become more Christ-like when we walk with him and allow the presence of Jesus to heal the wounds of sin which we all hold. St. Gregory of Nyssa understands this, “Since we possess Christ who is peace, we must put an end to this enmity and live as we believe he lived. He broke down the separating wall, uniting what was divided, bringing about peace by reconciling in his single person those who disagreed. In the same way, we must be reconciled not only with those who attack us from outside, but also with those who stir up dissension within flesh then will no longer be opposed to the spirit nor the spirit to the flesh.” (St. Gregory of Nyssa)
The internal and eternal peace is trusting in goodness and hopefulness which discovers the holiness of God’s divine presence in our soul and in each and every person. “Now peace is defined as harmony among those who are divided. When, therefore, we end that civil war within our nature and cultivate peace within ourselves, we become peace. By this peace we demonstrate that the name of Christ, which we bear, is authentic and appropriate.” (St. Gregory of Nyssa) Harmony is never sameness but rather it is the gift of musical joy that is produced when the master musician is touching each string to draw out the beauty and truth of the note we are each called to contribute in joyful love. To allow our Master to hold us, to touch us and to draw forth from us the note of peace, the note of beauty, the note of mercy and love is to allow ourself to be with the Master in trusting love and care for those around us.
Our Lady Queen of Peace, pray for us.
God Bless
Fr. Mark
ps. As I was finishing this note, the news of the terrible violence in Barcelona Spain came across the news. More than ever, pray for peace, justice and God’s grace to reign in the hearts of all.

Just a few quotes from Sacred Scripture to place in prayer in the coming days, weeks, months and years.

He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing. So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.”You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name. (Deut 10:18-20)

Hear, O Israel!* The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength. Take to heart these words which I command you today. Keep repeating them to your children. Recite them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deut 6:4-7)

Finally, all of you, be of one mind, sympathetic, loving toward one another, compassionate, humble. Do not return evil for evil, or insult for insult; but, on the contrary, a blessing, because to this you were called, that you might inherit a blessing. For: “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep the tongue from evil and the lips from speaking deceit, must turn from evil and do good, seek peace and follow after it. (1 Peter 3:8-11)
And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for: “God opposes the proud but bestows favor on the humble.” So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you. Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for [someone] to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same sufferings. The God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory through Christ [Jesus] will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you after you have suffered a little. To him be dominion forever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:5-11)

Today, August 11, we celebrate the Memorial of St. Clare of Assisi and I would like to share with you two short quotes from her that encapsulate her life of love but also direct us towards our true love.
“Love God, serve God, everything is in that.”
“We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become.”

Both quotes point us to God and remind us, made in the image and likeness of God, we are bound by a deep and abiding love with God in and through His son Jesus Christ. We may want to pray and meditate on these two quotes in the coming days. It is a way of pointing ourselves toward and choosing to walk with Jesus that “shapes what we become.” What else would we want to do?
Last week I shared a brief reflection on the Rosary and why we pray this important prayer. One of the great reasons, as with the quotes from St. Clare above, we desire to become conformed to God and walking with Jesus through the mysteries of the Rosary we discover the love of God, the service of God and the shape of God in our lives.
St. Pope John Paul II in his Encyclical Letter “Veritatis Splendor: The Splendor of Truth” shares these beautiful words, “The Church, and each of her members, is thus called to share in the ‘munus regale’ of the Crucified Christ (cf. Jn 12:32), to share in the grace and in the responsibility of the Son of man who came “not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mt 20:28) (#87)
Jesus, then, is the living, personal summation of perfect freedom in total obedience to the will of God. His crucified flesh fully reveals the unbreakable bond between freedom and truth, just as his Resurrection from the dead is the supreme exaltation of the fruitfulness and saving power of a freedom lived out in truth.” (#87) While St. John Paul II is not talking directly about praying the Rosary, what he talks about is being with Jesus throughout the Gospel. From the first mystery of the Rosary to the last mystery we begin to form this “unbreakable bond” St. Clare describes so beautifully. And we begin the journey. Meditating the mysteries of the Rosary allows us to walk with Jesus through his mother Mary.
When we choose to walk with Jesus we begin the walk of faith and perfection, but not the perfection of the world rather we walk the way of faith and trust knowing we are created in God’s blessing. Fr. Jacques Philippe gives us this beautiful reminder. And once again he, while is not speaking about the Rosary, is talking about what happens when we begin to pray this beautiful prayer. Fr. Donald Calloway, whose booklet we shared at St. Lucy Parish this past week, reminds of the spiritual battle the Rosary helps us to fight and to seek Jesus in resisting the temptations of life. “We believe, for example, that to win the spiritual battle we must vanquish all our faults, never succumb to temptation, have no more weaknesses or shortcomings. But on such a terrain we are sure to be vanquished! Because who among us can pretend never to fall? And it is certainly not this that God demands of us, for “He Knows of what we are made He remembers that we are dust.” (Ps 103) (p11-12 from Searching for and Maintaining Peace)
The Rosary helps us to fight our sins and resist falling again when we take time to pray and mediate on this wonderful gift and once more, pondering on the two small quotes from St. Clare we see how we are called to love, serve and walk with Jesus through Mary. Because when we choose to walk with Jesus we find the mysteries of the cross celebrated with joy and not fear and doubt. “Taking up our crosses is only part of the equation. After recognizing and accepting the crosses in our lives, we are faced with a choice: to carry it while heading toward or away from Christ. When we choose to run toward God, even in our darkest moments, we discover that suffering brings us deeper into the mystery of His life, where suffering is not the final word. Resurrection is. Glory is. Eternal love and joy is.” (p 95 from Head & Heart by Katie Warner)
Below are two short videos explaining the Rosary and a longer one from Fr. Calloway sharing the joy of the Gospel and the truth of the Rosary.
God bless
Fr. Mark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACfwnlktvi4 (Fr. Calloway)

“Who is the best teacher you ever had? I’m sure that you can recall one or perhaps several teaches rather quickly. I can name a few of mine that were in the very first rank. They were skilled in maintaining interest and converting information. The increased my understanding their subject. They are with me still in my memory of their material and of their enthusiasm for teaching.” (p 39)

As I read this quoter from Fr. John Crossin, O.S.F.S. book “Everyday Virtues” many women and men who have nurtured my curiosity came to mind almost immediately. So I sat down and made a list which quickly morphed from those teachers in the classroom to those teachers of life that have been vital in my development as a man, a priest and a Christian.
The teachers who filled my classroom experience with so much joy often came later in my schooling. I will readily admit that my studies and grades did not live up to my ability for many years and this is where the outside teachers came in to my thoughts. As a young boy I dreamed of being a Marine and serving our country (I had a strong John Wayne infatuation) and for many years, especially early in high school my dreams lead me to discount education. At the end of my sophomore year the Marine Corps recruiter came to visit and I was able to make an appointment with him. When I walked into the room after a brief conversation he closed my school records and stated the Marine’s didn’t want me. I was dumbstruck. He looked at me directly in the eyes and said baldly, “Why would we want you? You clearly don’t do your best. The Marines only want the best.” Believe it or not, those three small sentences were burned into my brains and kickstarted my betterment of my academic progress. While this Marine recruiter was never a classroom teacher, this quick lesson is one that called me back to be in the words of Matthew Kelly, “The best version of myself” a version that two years later took the oath of a United States Marine.
As a classroom teacher for eight years in Catholic schools I was honored and blessed to work with hundred of wonderful families and their children. I know from both sides of the desk the influence and gifts that teachers share with their students. It is the power of words lift up or pull down the dreams of people. This was one of the reasons that I chose to teach in Catholic schools, to be able to share the truth, love and forgiveness of Jesus’ words I could not do in other settings. Because, it is often not the long journey of learning a new subject or master a new skill that we are thankful for, rather it is many times the simple phrase or word which impacts us greatly.
This is how God works in our life…yes, we learn through the long journey of life but more often it is the little blast of the Holy Spirit and the nudging of Guardian Angel that change the direction to make the journey fruitful. Throughout scripture and the stories of our faith the little light that becomes the beacon of hope, joy and blessing. And here is the but…but it takes work and can at times be difficult because it requires the readjustment and reevaluation of the habits of life.
Getting back to the teacher…one life lesson given by a professor at Holy Names College, my advisor Dr. Richard Yes, who taught philosophy. He reminded me one day with a few small word about gentleness and kindness in the arguments of life…especially in philosophical debates.
Fr. Crossin writes, “Ultimately we seek understanding of God’s work in our hearts. The great saints and mystics tell us that God comes to us, embraces us, in the deepest forms of prayer. Here our understanding gives way to the experience of the divine.” (p 41)
Let us give thanks to all teachers in our lives and especially pray that we may keep our ears, eyes and hearts open to the embrace of God’s nudging and give thanks to god who blesses us with his love.
God bless
Fr. Mark

Why pray the rosary? There are many reason, Fr. Donald H. Calloway, MIC in his booklet “How to Pray the Rosary” gives us this as one of the many reasons, “the rosary is an evangelical tool that brings the light of Christ into all situations.” (p 11) So the question may be deeper than, Why pray the rosary? and becomes quite clearly…”Who wouldn’t want Christ in all parts of my life?”
This weekend, at St. Lucy Parish, we will through the generosity of some parishioners be making available Fr. Calloway’s booklet as well as several age appropriate pamphlets on praying the rosary both as an individual devotion but also as a family prayer seeking the unity and love of God blessing “into all situations” of our lives.
Why do I pray the rosary? There are many reason but let me go through several steps. First, as a priest, praying the rosary with our Blessed Mother is life giving and fills me with hope on a daily basis. Several years ago I read a book by Liz Kelly, “The Rosary: A Path Into Prayer” that has several quotes helping to explain the passion of the rosary. The first it is a physical action of praying the rosary. Liz Kelly shares, “The rosary is a physical object that has developed over time, but it mirrors God and his creation in a remarkable way.” (p 54) The reality of passing the beads slowly through my fingers as I pray the rosary reminds me of the connection that I have with God through the incarnation. And like the rosary having developed over time my deepening love of the rosary also has grown and developed as I have spent more and more time in walking with Mary in prayer and mediating on the mysteries of her son’s life, death and resurrection.
“Each decade of Hail Mary inevitable leads us back to the Our Father—the prayer Christ taught us himself. And so Mary leads us to the Father—the source of all life, all grace—again and again. With him we linger for a while contemplating the next mystery, recalling our our petition or thanksgiving, asking once again for the Lord to be present to us in our meditation, praying his perfect prayer.” (p 55) Kelly shares this beautiful understanding of the path of the rosary, where the rosary leads us back to the God the Father. I have shared this many times before but it bares repeating. When I was in the hospital after my heart attack the one prayer I repeated over and over again was the rosary and the path of peace and calm amidst the doubts and fear was real and gentle as I slowly repeated again and again the gentle Hail Mary followed by the prayer Jesus shared with us. Today, when I pray the rosary, experience much the same peacefulness. Usually on my morning walks and during other times I bring to Jesus, through Mary, the concerns, hopes and dreams of the day where I am able to slowly and quietly life these prayers with Mary’s perfect prayer.
“Because it’s simple, the rosary meditation can be a good way to begin to build the trust that all prayer requires. For example, in my greatest time of distress, the rosary asked very little of me, which helped set the stage for the process of building trust.” (p 57) Truly the simplicity of the rosary is a great blessing. I don’t need to think, I just need to be during this time of prayer. There are times when the rosary slips so quickly by that the 20 minutes feels like only a few seconds and other times where it goes slowly as God works into my heart to slow me to hear his holy words.
The rosary is the great invitation into a unity of life and love with Mary as we pray with her son our Lord and Savior Jesus.
God bless
Fr. Mark