Do You Want to be Happy for the Rest of Your Life? There's a Way!

Owen Francis Dudley

I've been re-reading Owen Francis Dudley's series on the Masterful Monk which is recommended by Fr. John Hardon in his Catholic Lifetime Reading Plan. Dudley was an Anglican priest who converted to the Catholic Church in 1915 and was ordained a Catholic priest in 1917. Like Anselm Thornton, who became the Masterful Monk of the series, but was a doctor, he served in the British Army (as a chaplain) during World War I and, again like Thornton, was wounded. 

Dudley's series addresses the problem of human happiness. It explores the meaning of suffering and exposes the moral quandary after the war when many rejected the belief that a good God could allow the horrors of trench warfare, poisoned gas, etc. that marked that horrible waste of human life.

Fr. Tom Collins: Where Have All the Shepherds Gone, Long Time Passing?

Les Femmes looking for faithful shepherds to encourage the flock.

Editor's comment: Fr. John Hardon, S.J., is one of the few proofs I to that "holy" and "Jesuit" put together don't always constitute an oxymoron. He often predicted that entire dioceses in the United States would disappear. I think that prophecy is imminent, hastened by the bishops' pathetic response to the Wuhan virus. 

Meditating on My Pencil and the Desire to Be among the Sharpest in the Box!

Let's all aim to be the
sharpest pencils we can be!

I'm using a pencil to make notes today. It looked fine when I picked it up, nice and sharp and ready to use. But when I put it to paper I realized the graphite was not in the pencil's center. (Must be made in China!) On one side the graphite seemed to have a nice point that should write well. But on the other side the wooden sheath went all the way to the tip. So my pencil will only write on one side. And even that deteriorates quickly as the graphite wears down and the wood hits the paper. Frustrating!

That faulty pencil got me thinking about centering. The Oxford definition defines centering as "placed or situated in the center." Hmm...I was taught you should never use the word being defined in the definition. Dictionary.com does a little better in that respect defining it as " equidistant from all bordering or adjacent areas." When used to describe a person, being "centered" means "to be well balanced and confident and serene."

The Year of Faith

Anyone with eyes to see knows that faith is sorely needed in our world. The collapse of catechesis over the last few generations in the United States has left many Catholics wandering in a desert of ignorance. What an opportunity the Year of Faith that began October 11th is to grasp the invitation to evangelize and be evangelized during this holy year. Ignorance of Scripture, St. Jerome said, is ignorance of Christ. In order to follow the imperative to "know, love, and serve God" we first need to know him through prayer and study. And there is no better teacher than Fr. John Hardon, S.J. who died in 2000. In 1992, Fr. Hardon echoed the call of Pope John Paul II for a re-evangelization of America. He described it as the responsibility of the laity from the very practical consideration that there aren't enough priests and bishops to do it:

In order to achieve this – notice – re-evangelization – the language is the Holy Father’s – to achieve this re-evangelization the laity has certain obligations: to understand their Catholic Faith, to live their Catholic Faith faithfully, to pray their Faith by a growing union with God, to share their Faith by personal – should be personal – conversation and active evangelization; and finally and crucially to suffer for their Faith by uniting their trials – physically and spiritual – in union with Christ for the conversion of sinners and the extension of Christ’s kingdom. 

To read Father's article on evangelization go here.  If you study Fr. Hardon's works you can't help but grow in faith during the next year. And with the knowledge of faith and the outpouring of grace from the Holy Spirit, we can all experience a new Pentecost and go out like the apostles did to transform our world.

Election Prayer

by Servant of God, Fr. John Hardon, S.J.

Lord Jesus Christ, You told us to give to the Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God. Enlighten the minds of our people [in] America. May we choose a President of the United States, and other government officials, according to Your Divine Will. Give our citizens the courage to choose leaders of our nation who respect the sanctity of unborn human life, the sanctity of marriage, the sanctity of marital relations, the sanctity of the family, and the sanctity of the aging. Grant us the wisdom to give You what belongs to You, our God. If we do this, as a nation, we are confident You will give us an abundance of Your blessings through our elected leaders. Amen.