A Sad Farewell to a Holy Friend, Fr. Tom Collins

Dear Friends, 

I call you friends because you've touched my life. Some of you with kind comments and promises of prayers I hardly deserve, others with nasty comments that invite me to humility and patience. And then there are the invisible readers some of whom I think also probably pray for me. How much I appreciate you all.

Those who are long-time readers of the blog have seen many articles from my dear friend, Fr. Tom Collins. He contributed numerous guest articles filled with wisdom and Catholic truth. What a gift!

 Father had a stroke recently and died of complications on Monday. How much he will be missed. 

Let us pray to love as God loves! He Loves Us Now -- Just the Way We Are!

God loves us "just the way [we] are." Does he want more from us? Absolutely! He wants us to be saints. He wants us to "be perfect" even as our heavenly Father is perfect. And he gives us all the tools we need to grow more and more into that perfection. 

Do You Like Poetry? Here's One that's Worth Memorizing.

Hat tip to The Catholic Thing for publishing this beautiful poem by Lope de Vega. And a prayer of gratitude to Longfellow for translating it into English. It reminds me of Thompson's The Hound of Heaven. 

                        TOMORROW    

Lord, what am I, that with unceasing care
Thou did’st seek after me, that Thou did’st wait
Wet with unhealthy dews before my gate,
And pass the gloomy nights of winter there?
Oh, strange delusion, that I did not greet
Thy blest approach, and oh, to heaven how lost
If my ingratitude’s unkindly frost
Has chilled the bleeding wounds upon Thy feet.

How oft my guardian angel gently cried,
“Soul, from thy casement look, and thou shalt see
How He persists to knock and wait for thee!”
And oh, how often to that Voice of sorrow,
“Tomorrow we will open,” I replied,
And when the morrow came I answered still “Tomorrow.”

Lope de Vega

— translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The Lord Comes, not on the Clouds of Heaven, but as a Baby in a Manger

I was cuddling my grandson Max yesterday. He was missing his mommy and daddy who were off on secret Santa business. As I rocked Max I gazed across the room at the manger scene. I have several set up around the house this season so I can hardly go into a room without reflecting on the Lord Who comes. And it makes me think.

Why did Jesus come as a baby? He is, after all, -- the Lord of the universe, the creator of all things, He Who is and Who was and Who will be. He is all-good, all-powerful, all-knowing -- and yet He comes to us, His sinful creatures, as a helpless baby.

What would we expect if we were to guess how God would come to us? Would he come as a king? An emperor? A world judge with the power to pass judgment and dispense justice?


He is all those things and we will certainly see Him that way on the Day of Judgment. But He came to us as a helpless baby? Why?

What Does the Church Teach about Sex?

Go here for a great explanation on sex, marriage, why contraception is wrong, and Natural Family Planning. God is not the big spoilsport in the sky. He gave us love and marriage to generate new souls for heaven and to help us to be happy here on earth. If you follow his rule book you have a better chance to succeed in your "pursuit of happiness." Catholics who follow Church teaching on marriage don't get STDs, have a much lower chance of divorcing, have a lower risk of contracting breast cancer and other diseases associated with artificial hormones, etc.

If you bought a Porsche wouldn't you read the manual from cover to cover to make sure you did everything necessary to keep it in good working order? Well....you ARE more valuable than any Porsche and if you want to keep yourself and others in mint (baptismal) condition, it's not that hard. Read the manual and follow its directions. What's the manual? Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, writings of the Church Fathers and the saints.

Life is an exciting and wonderful adventure. You will enjoy it the most, if you follow the rules set down by the "life coach." Don't let the lies of the enemy mess up your adventure. It can easily become a nightmare that way.

Thought for the Day from St. Therese of Lisieux

"Not a single soul falls into Hell that has not torn itself out of my arms."

Wow! Think of that. God is holding on to you like superglue. Only you can make the decision to tear yourself away from him. But like paper attached to a rock with superglue, it's the paper that will suffer in the tearing away. 

Just think of what life would be like if we would just rest in God's arms, look up into the eyes of the Holy Face of Jesus, and listened to His voice. His love is beyond our imagination. Imagine the moment in your life when you have felt most loved and it will be like comparing a tiny drop of water to the vastness of the ocean.

I'm praying today for those who feel abandoned and unloved that Jesus will reveal Himself to them in a special way -- through the kindness of a stranger, the companionship of a friend, the embrace of a family member, or a very obvious blessing. "Come, Lord Jesus."