What We Can Learn from the Bees.

Bees have been the subject of countless meditations from the saints over the generations. They are mentioned so often I believe they must have a special place in God's kingdom. And what a privilege to serve as a beekeeper for these tiny creatures of God. They teach me so much.

Yesterday my husband and I inspected our hives to make sure they all have enough room to expand. This time of year we try to prevent swarming.

 Three hives had so many bees and the boxes were so full of nectar and pollen we added a new box to each one. It made me think of the posts I've seen lately about how many people have come into the Church this year. Praise God for all the newbies (and newbees)! 

Guest Post: Be a Friend, Make a Friend, Bring a Friend to Christ

St. Andrew brings Peter to Jesus.
Ottavio Vannini, 17th c. 

Editor's comment: The priest who prepared my husband and me for marriage and witnessed that blessed event used to tell us, "Be a friend, make a friend, bring a friend to Christ." All of us have many opportunities to witness to the "hope that is in us" through Christ Jesus. Sometimes that witness is verbal and sometimes it's silent. But our witness begins with drawing closer to the Lord. Can you meet Him today at daily Mass? Can you speak to His Mother Mary and honor her through praying the rosary? She faithfully brings every soul who desires it to meet her Son Jesus. No matter what has happened in your life or where you are today, you can "bring a friend to Christ" through your love, kindness, patience, understanding, etc. 

HANDING ON TO A NEW GENERATION

by James M. Thunder* 

Last month I listened to a parish Director of Youth Ministry describe a sociological study documenting how so many young Catholics think of our Faith as a set of propositions without a personal relationship with God Who is the subject of the propositions. Then I watched World Over Live broadcast a videoclip of Bishop Robert J. Baker of Birmingham at the Junes meeting of the American bishops (the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), request that the words, the Name, Jesus Christ, appear at least once in one of the USCCB documents that was then under review.

Guest Post by Fr. Tom Collins -- Mary as Co-Redemptrix Part II: The Mystery of Redemption

Editors Note: See the Premises and Foundations for this article here and Part I here. 

From this covenant perspective, a beautiful dimension of the mystery of the Redemption becomes more evident. Scripture is quite clear in stating the fact that Jesus died for us because God loved us (John 3:16, Rom. 5:10, I Jn 4:19). Jesus' death on the cross did not cause God to love us, since God is beyond the control of the cause-effect dynamic. Thus the Redemption is not an act of appeasing the anger of a wrathful God, but rather the epiphany of the merciful God in the midst of the mercy-less condition that festers in the heart of sinful humanity. This condition of the human heart is the consequence of our free choice to reject a covenantal life with God and with one another. In the mystery of the Redemption, each human person is given the opportunity to break away from the power of sin and, by God's mercy, be restored to the status of membership in His covenant family. In the process, the redeemed are given the strength to break away from the corrupting "covenant" of sin; i.e., the tendency to commit one's self to the perverted fellowship of complicity with the spirits of evil, such as lust, envy, pride, avarice, anger, gluttony and sloth for the sake of some transient pleasure or advantage. 

When you feel discouraged, read the saints!

I'm reading the Autobiography of  St. Anthony Mary Claret. What an incredible priest!

Who needs the "new evangelization" when we had great saints like this giving us a sound prescription for an effective evangelization based on tried and true methods!

We need to get back to the "old" evangelization!

St. Anthony was born about two hundred years ago. Nabi's posts make me think of him because of his call for virtue in the clergy! That, without doubt,  is the beginning of an effective evangelization.

Here's what St. Anthony said about the sinful culture of his own day:

The sole reason why society is perishing is because it has refused to hear the word of the Church, which is the word of life, the word of God. All plans for salvation will be sterile if the great word of the Catholic Church is not restored in all its fullness.

Do You Practice "Joyful Subversion?"

Andrew brings Peter to Jesus.

The priest who witnessed my marriage, Fr. Hugh Monmonier, a wonderful Benedictine who became a good friend, once told my husband and me that Catholics should be on the watch to "make a friend, be a friend, and bring a friend to Christ." I thought of that this morning as I read Mary Eberstadt's article honoring Fr. Arne Padula, former director of the Catholic Information Center who died in July.

One phrase particularly caught my eye. She said Father's legacy was to bring "joyful subversion to new generations."

"Joyful subversion!" What an interesting paradox. Webster defines subversion as a "systematic attempt to overthrow or undermine a government or political system by persons working secretly from within." The word comes from 14th century Old French and the etymology dictionary defines it as "physical destruction, demolition, ruination; overthrow of a system or law."

Reading Acts of the Apostles for the Easter Season

Send me, Lord!

If I had to choose a favorite book in the Bible I think it would be Acts of the Apostles. What an adventure it relates about the early days of the Church.

When someone asks me about the Bible or comments on its difficulty, I always suggest they read Acts first. It's easy to understand and shows the zeal and commitment of the apostles after they receive the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. What an adventure story with Paul being shipwrecked and marooned, jailed and beaten. (Robinson Crusoe and the Count of Monte Cristo have nothing on Paul.) What models those early evangelizers offer us!

While You're Searching for Pokemon, Why Not Make a Christ Search Visit!

I think St. Philip would enjoy a
good laugh over Pokemon Go.

Priests Encourage Pokemon Seekers to Seek Christ

I'm a little bemused by the Pokemon craze, but it seems a harmless game. When I first heard about it and how it's played I came to the conclusion that it's similar to geocaching except that the Pokemons are virtual rather than real. So instead of finding a "treasure" and swapping little trinkets, you "capture" a virtual Pokemon. I was intrigued when I read this bit from the article above which quotes a priest from my own diocese:

Fr Patrick Posey, pastor of St James Parish in Falls Church, Virginia, sent a letter informing parishioners about the six Pokemon stops on the church property.

St. Patrick's Breastplate: A Surprise to Me.

I've always loved St. Patrick's Breastplate, but it seems I've been under a false impression. In the wee hours of the morning at adoration, I wanted to say the prayer so I looked it up on my phone. Lo and behold, I found that what I thought was the entire prayer is only the tail end of a much longer piece that resembles a litany.

On one website, I read that St. Patrick imitated the form of a druid incantation which reminds me of the way the Church has always taken pagan practices and transformed them.

Tell Us Something We Don't Know, Pope Emeritus Benedict.

Pope Emeritus Benedict breaks silence: speaks of ‘deep crisis’ facing Church post-Vatican II

Two big problems according to the former pope:

1) People go to hell, (Somebody tell Bishop Robert Barron!) but modern Catholics have lost the sense of sin and the necessity of baptism for salvation. "Without this attentiveness to salvation, the Faith loses its foundation," Pope Benedict says. 

2) Because of the "evolution" of the dogma, "Outside the Church there is no salvation," which has essentially been dumped since Vatican II, the Church has lost its missionary zeal. In Pope Benedict's words, “any motivation for a future missionary commitment was removed.” (Amen to that. I'm okay; you're okay; we're all okay!)

Conversion Begins When God Puts a Missionary in Your Home

I wonder how long these parents will be atheists. Let's pray for this family: for the daughter as she prepares for baptism and for the parents that she will lead them into the faith.

My wife and I are atheists, but our daughter wants to be baptised Catholic

Evangelii Gaudium, the Introduction: Quotes and Thoughts

Evangelii Gaudium I: A Joy Ever New, A Joy which is Shared

Well, I'm moving slowly into Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation on Evangelization and find the introduction comfortingly familiar. The pope's words reinforce what I have often said when I was sidewalk counseling outside abortion mills. There is nothing too big for Jesus. He is always there with outstretched arms, but He never forces our free will. If we walk away from Him He will not drag us kicking and screaming back. He simply waits, like the father of the prodigal son, for us to "come to our senses."

"[W]henever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms....Time and time again he bears us on his shoulders. No one can strip us of the dignity bestowed upon us by this boundless and unfailing love." 3

Resolve to Evangelize the Authentic Catholic Faith

And realize that many who need evangelization are INSIDE THE CHURCH.

Vatican launches news site

Check out the Vatican's new website here. Pope Benedict launched it with a tweet. Here are a few of the items currently available:

The most important moment of my life - Sixty years ago, 29 June 1951, Joseph Ratzinger was ordained a priest

The Ambassador of Israel to the Holy See recalls Pius XII helped the Jews of Rome

Nothing is more essential - Eucharist and Priesthood

Editorial: A single love   "Virginal love and conjugal love cannot but spring from one fount and have a single model, which is Christ."