Suffering? Join It To the Cross of Christ

Today is the feast of the Sacred Heart. It offers an invitation to each of us to look on our sufferings as fuel. The heart of Christ is a burning furnace of charity. We can place the logs of our sufferings in that furnace and watch them burst into flame creating embers mixed with the glowing embers of Christ's love. 

Remember St. Paul's admonition in Romans 12:20 to heap burning coals on the heads of our enemies, the burning coals of conversion. Let us never miss an opportunity to love our neighbor with both the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. 

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto thine.

Morning Thoughts on Acts of the Apostles

I've been reading Acts of the Apostles most mornings since Easter and it's amazing how relevant it is to 

what's happening in our day. Paul's missionary journeys expose him to much of the same types of controversy boiling over here and now. People don't change. Envy, greed, and the other deadly sins operate today just as they did in Paul's time.

Consider Acts 19. Paul and his associates preach the gospel and the dissent from some elements is so vehement it causes riots! Sound familiar? 

Are You and I Willing to Die for the Faith? St. Stephen, Pray for Us.

For some reason, I got it into my head this morning that today is the feast of St. Stephen. I must have been suffering a senior moment. (Is that a symptom of COVID 19)? I know it's not the feast of St. Stephen, so where did that come from? (His feast is actually December 26th.) 

Is Fox News Correct? Is the Pope Waging "War on Conservative Catholics"

The Pope Francis Effect

I don't like the terms conservative and liberal when speaking of Catholics. I prefer orthodox and heterodox. But I guess you run into a third category because the orthodox can be split into the orthodox who prefer the traditional Latin Mass vs. the orthodox who prefer the novus ordo or are equally comfortable in either setting.

It does seem these days, though, that those who love the traditional Mass are under major assault. And, frankly, I get pretty sick of the nasty remarks on Catholic blogs about "rad trads" and other disparaging comments about my sisters and brothers who prefer the Latin Mass. What's wrong with that? I generally attend the novus ordo, but also attend an annual Ignatian retreat led by a priest from the Fraternal Society of St. Peter. I love the retreat: the silence, the reverence! What a break from the social hall setting after the novus ordo Mass in my little country parish. (However, the Mass itself is always reverent.)

I find it unsettling to feel like we are living the Chinese curse of "interesting times" since Pope
Francis mounted the papal throne. He seems like a "people's pope," but at the same time some of the people (i.e., orthodox Catholics) seem to be getting the rod, while others (liberal Catholics, liberation theologians, Protestants, etc.) are getting the gentleness. Are some of the sheep smellier than others? I wonder what St. Paul would think.

"Shall I come to you with a rod or with love in a spirit of gentleness?" 1 Cor. 4:21